Pre product / Idea validation
Youtube organic
Published a YouTube video about the 'compare lists method' — a safe, TOS-compliant way to find Instagram unfollowers. The video went viral and drove over 1 million views, validating massive demand for the solution.
→ 1M+ views; proven demand; accidentally sent traffic to a third-party tool that built someone else a business
Pre launch / Idea development
Freelance marketplace upwork
Spent ~4 years checking Upwork annually for development cost estimates. Once cost dropped to an affordable price point, hired a full-time developer to build Follow Buddy using React, MongoDB, AWS, and RevenueCat.
→ Product launched approximately 2 years before interview
Launch / Early growth
YouTube SEO
Created a dedicated branded YouTube channel for Follow Buddy. Built a keyword list of 10–20 target search terms using Keywords Everywhere, mapping them to the customer awareness ladder (aware of problem → aware of solutions → ready to buy). Made short, direct videos confirming the search intent immediately on click.
→ Channel generating 40,000 views per 28 days predominantly from search
Ongoing growth
YouTube SEO
Published 'best Instagram unfollower tracker apps' — a 20-minute-to-make comparison video targeting bottom-of-funnel buyers. Ranked #1 for 'unfollower app Instagram' and 'best Instagram unfollower tracker.' Used video to both educate on why competitors get accounts banned and position Follow Buddy as the safe alternative, boosting conversion.
→ 25,000 views in 7 months; consistent views every 48 hours from high-intent searchers
Ongoing growth
YouTube SEO
Applied a 4-step repeatable SEO system: (1) map awareness ladder keywords, (2) record concise videos that confirm the search click immediately, (3) optimize title/description/tags with keyword variants written for both humans and YouTube's algorithm, (4) monitor performance and stack variations of the same keyword with multiple videos to dominate multiple top-5 rankings.
→ Ranking #1 across multiple high-intent keywords; $0 ad spend to reach $20K MRR
MRR $20k Users 82k users
Ongoing growth
Multi platform search seo
Extended the same YouTube search strategy to TikTok and Instagram search, targeting the same high-intent unfollower-related keywords across all three platforms to maximize surface area and ensure Follow Buddy appears whenever a user searches any variation of the problem.
→ All organic traffic attributed across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram search
MRR $20k
Monetization
In app subscription funnel
Offered free trial converting to weekly, monthly, or yearly plans. Aggressively pushed the $50/year plan as the anchor option. Used RevenueCat for payment processing (~1% fee). Free trial lowered friction while the yearly push maximized LTV.
→ 3,128 paying users; 2,752 active subscriptions; 484 active trials at time of interview
MRR $20k Users 82k users