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Habits App - $13K MRR. Marketing hacks, Viral loop, detailed story of success
31 July 2024
Exclusive interview
$13K+MRR
Mobile AppsCategory
SubscriptionsBusiness Model
FlutterTech
Habitkit.app
Habitkit.app
MRR$13K+
CategoryMobile Apps
Business ModelSubscriptions
TechFlutter
All our content is created manually, without using AI to write it (we use it rarely only for grammar corrections). In an era of exponentially increasing useless information, we will stand out by creating high-quality and valuable knowledge
HabitKit MRR statsHey! My name is Sebastian. I'm software engineer from Germany. In 2022 I decided to leave my full-time job as a software engineer in a middle-sized German company and dedicate one year to building my projects.
SebastianFounder
Sebastian: Why did I do that? We need to get back in time a little bit to find the reason:
While I was still in university, I stumbled upon an online community called Indie Hackers and immediately became fascinated with the concept of creating my projects and selling them online to people I've never met before.
I listened to almost all available podcast episodes and became encaptivated by the concept of building a small, sustainable business just for myself (without taking funding or employing people)
Sebastian: However, after obtaining my degree, this idea took a backseat. I applied for several jobs and ultimately landed a position as a software engineer because that's what people do after university, right?
I was pretty happy with my job there. I had the privilege of working with a lot of cool people and interesting technologies and learned a ton about programming, agile project management and the real world in general.
But, after spending three years in the industry, and two of those years working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I felt the burning desire to do something different, be creative and try out the indie hacker lifestyle before I turned 30
So I finally decided that it was time to pursue my dream of dedicating a full year to indie hacking.
I had nothing to lose: I was still relatively young, with no major financial or family obligations, had some savings to fall back on, and knew that I could always find a job as an experienced software engineer again
I realized that if not now, then when? So in April 2022, I took the plunge into the big indie hacker ocean..
SebastianFounder
👀 How was the idea born?
The inspiration for all my apps springs from personal needs I encounter in my everyday life
SebastianFounder
Liftbear, my first app, was born out of my passion for weightlifting and my struggle to find an existing tracking app that could satisfy all my needs. Frustrated by this gap, I decided to create a solution myself
Meanwhile, my second app, HabitKit, started as a side project. I was seeking a habit tracking app that could visualize all my habits in one place using a GitHub-like consistency grid. Finding none that matched this description, I took it upon myself to create one.
😎 Growth and first customers
Right from the start, there were indications that this new app would outperform the initial one:
I was building in public on Twitter and the first time I posted a picture of the main screen of HabitKit, the post totally blew up — it got 800 likes. That was the moment when I knew, okay, this could be more successful than Liftbear.
SebastianFounder
First posts about habitkit - insane virality
Release postAfter launching HabitKit, Sebastian earned $1.5k in the first month, surpassing his earnings from the previous six months with Liftbear. This was an encouraging sign, yet as he approached the final month of his self-imposed 12-month deadline, Sebastian faced a difficult choice: should he return to his corporate job? Ultimately, he decided to go back to his old job and continue developing HabitKit as a side project
🔮 Stepping into full-time indie development
In June 2023, just two months after Sebastian returned to his job, HabitKit experienced a sudden surge in popularity. The app began ranking in the top five search results for a key term, significantly boosting its downloads and revenue. By September, the app was generating thousands of dollars, prompting Sebastian to reconsider his career path. "Should I stay at my job, or should I leave to focus full-time on this indie developer venture? I took a few months to decide because I felt a responsibility towards my employer and I really valued the friendships I had at the company," he explained. "But given those figures, I really didn't have much choice."
By the end of 2023, HabitKit had amassed 120,000 downloads and earned $51,000 in revenue. The trend continued into 2024, with the app bringing in $110,000 from January to May. Now, Sebastian is focused on expanding HabitKit's success by introducing new features, enhancing App Store Optimization (ASO) strategies, and fostering a community through social media and email marketing.
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