Evan's sole acquisition channel from day one was influencer marketing on short-form social media (TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts). He identified creators in the productivity/focus niche by searching relevant terms on Instagram and TikTok, scrolling through videos, clicking into creator profiles, and sending a cold outreach message that always opened with "Paid promo?" He then moved interested creators to a call to negotiate a deal, requiring them to show the app within the first 15 seconds of their video. His first notable partnership was with Jeremiah Jones, a creator whose content focused on staying "locked in" and on task — directly aligned with the app's brand. Evan paid approximately $800 with a 600,000 minimum view clause (MVC). The video hit roughly 1 million views across platforms, spiked daily revenue from ~$300/day to $600–$1,000/day, generated around $3,000 in revenue, and drove approximately 1,800 downloads. This single piece of content was the primary driver of the app's early traction.
Locked
Gamified habit/focus tracker app with XP, leaderboards, and characters
7 moves, in order
- Pre launch / ConceptPrior app experience
Built and monetized a previous app (Problem Pal) to ~$2K/month then sold it, establishing core skills in iOS app development, paywall design, and monetization before building Locked.
Problem Pal peaked at ~$2K/month; sold for undisclosed amount - Build (Month 0)Vibe coding figma xcode
Designed the full app in Figma from scratch (~2 weeks), then built in Xcode using YouTube tutorials, prior knowledge, and Claude (AI coding assistant at $200/month subscription). Went from idea to App Store live in ~6 weeks.
App live on App Store in ~1.5 months - Launch / Month 1Influencer outreach cold dm
Searched productivity/focus-related terms on TikTok and Instagram, scrolled through videos, clicked into creator profiles, and sent every creator the same cold DM opening with 'Paid promo?' to build an initial pipeline of interested influencers.
Built influencer pipeline; began booking first deals - Month 1–2Influencer short form video
Partnered with Jeremiah Jones (productivity niche creator). Paid ~$800 with a 600K minimum view clause. Required the app to be shown within the first 15 seconds. Video explained how to 'stay locked in and on task' with a seamless app integration. Posted ~Feb 6.
~1M views across platforms, ~1,800 downloads, ~$3,000 revenue generated, daily revenue spiked from ~$300 to $600–$1,000 - Ongoing scalingInfluencer deal structuring
Developed a 4-deal framework to keep influencer CPM below app RPM ($2–3): (1) Flat rate ($500/reel or $1,200/4 reels) for proven high-view creators; (2) CPM deal ($1–2 per 1K views with a cap); (3) Minimum view clause deal (e.g. $500 for 500K MVC — Evan's preferred); (4) Bonus deal ($500 base + $500 bonus at 1M views). Always sends video requirements and a contract with a 1-week deadline.
Structured deals to maintain profitability; scaled to $14K/month within ~4 monthsMRR $14k - Ongoing scalingPaywall optimization
Implemented a two-stage paywall: primary offer of $40/year (with 3-day free trial) or $7/week, plus a transaction-abandon paywall at $20/year for users who exit. Uses Superwall to A/B test paywall variants (1% revenue fee).
Improved conversion on paywall exits; contributes to $14K/month MRRMRR $14k - Ongoing scalingInfluencer retention reinvestment
If a creator performs well (hits MVC and generates strong revenue), Evan re-engages them for bigger deals. If they don't hit the MVC, they post additional videos until the view threshold is met before payment. This creates a performance-gated reinvestment loop.
Compound growth from repeat high-performing creator partnershipsMRR $14k
Prior app-building experience (sold a previous app, Problem Pal, at ~$2K/month peak). Deep familiarity with his own demographic (young, productivity-focused users) and firsthand understanding of what gamification features resonate. Also had a brother (Zach) who pointed him toward the app space, giving him an early directional nudge.
influencer_short_form_video
No channels explicitly called out as failures for Locked specifically. For prior ventures, Evan tried dropshipping, reselling, content clipping, and vending machines — all of which failed. A previous app, Clear AI, also went nowhere. Paid ads are implicitly avoided in favor of influencer deals structured to remain CPM-profitable.
I'm 14 And I Built A $14K/Month App
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