Subscription League

Despite a lot of doom and gloom out there about the slowdown of VC investment and how start-ups need to brace for the impact, smart and well-disciplined investors are still looking for home runs, and funding opportunities are still available for the best subscription app companies. 

In this episode with Eric Crowley, partner at GP Bullhound, we talk about Consumer Subscription Software Flywheel, the investment north star that defines the main attributes of a successful CSS.

Then we talk about how subscription apps can maximize investors’ attention by 

• Building a paradigm-shifting Consumer Subscription Business 
• Paring UX and UI with high-quality content and proprietary data
• Targeting a niche
• Thinking as a third-party

Listen to the episode to find out more about the investor’s inside scoop.

For noteworthy quotes and key takeaways from the episode, read the article -  

What venture investors look for in subscription apps with Eric Crowley (GP Bullhound).

Episode Topics at a Glance

• Consumer Subscription Flywheel
• What GP Bullhound look for in a company
• UX and UK
• The role of premium content and proprietary data
• Success examples
• How to be the king of a niche 
• GP Bullhound’s events

More about Eric Crowley

Eric is a Partner at GP Bullhound, focusing primarily on M&A, Capital Raises, and Advisory transactions with expertise in consumer subscription software, tech-enabled agencies and ad-tech.  Over his career, he has completed transactions totaling over $3 billion in enterprise value. 

Prior to GP Bullhound, Eric served as an executive at a software start-up where he focused on financial management and driving growth. In addition, Eric worked at Lazard and Antares Capital focusing on middle market transactions.

In addition to his CPA, Eric has an MBA from the University of Chicago and a B.S. degree from Xavier University.

Eric Crowley’s Links

• Eric Crowley’s LinkedIn profile
• CSS Spinning the CSS flywheel to delight consumers.
• Medium.com articles by Eric Crowley
• Techcrunch article - Taking consumer subscription software to the great outdoors

Timestamps

00:20 Introducing Eric Crowley and GP Bullhound

01:08 Consumer subscription flywheel

03:35 What GP Bullhound looks for to invest in companies

05:13 The importance of UX and UI

06:55 The role proprietary data takes in building a business mode

08:41 Transitioning from founder-backed to venture-backed companies

11:20 Post-pandemic subscription net businesses

12:59 Examples of creative ways to engage consumers

15:01 Will the Winner-Take-All trend continue?

16:56 Best success stories

18:24 The digital to analogue transition

19:28 Should funders worry about reaching specific APIs?

21:03 Consumer subscription software conference

23:10 Where to learn more about GP Bullhound


Trancript

Episode production by Mobdesign: https://podcasts.mobdesignapps.fr

Uptime is built on a mission to help people to learn quickly and grasp knowledge from trusted thought leaders without spending too much time, energy and/or resources. 

Only launched in 2021, the app already boasts almost a five-start customer reviews on the App Store, recognized as an Apple Editor's Choice and a Google Play App of the year 2021.

In episode 8, Léa Samrani, lead product manager at Uptime, talks about how the company expedited the app’s growth by 

• Conducting heavy market and user research
• Leveraging one-on-one user engagement to complement the lack of data as an early startup
• Tracking everything with data tools once the user base has grown
• Leading with the product that speaks for itself
• Getting users on board with the apps benefit by giving full premium access.

Listen to the episode to find out more about the brand’s growth strategy.

For noteworthy quotes and key takeaways from the episode, read the article - 

Uptime - How to build a successful user-first app strategy with Léa Samrani.

Episode Topics at a Glance

• Uptime’s mission and history
• Initial research and consumer survey
• A/B testing
• Setting the right KPIs
• Paywall strategies 
• Educating users about the app’s value

More about Léa Samrani

Léa is a London-based product management veteran with about a decade of experience managing teams, driving product strategy, and building products ground up in fast pace environments. Currently, she’s the lead product manager at Uptime, a freemium app featuring 5-minute knowledge hacks from the world's best books, courses, and documentaries. Prior to her current position, Léa worked as a senior product manager at Bumble and Badoo. She also has years of experience as head of product management in the charity sector. Her educational background includes a public law and politics science degree and a master’s in marketing communications advertising. Léa is also a lecturer at Product School.

 Léa Samrani’s Links

• Léa Samrani’s LinkedIn profile
• Uptime website
• Lea’s Product School lecturer profile

Timestamps

00:20 Introducing Lea Samrani

00:43 Lea Samrani and Uptime backstory

02:17 What did the research you did for your app entail?

05:51 Knowing when Uptime was on the right path 

07:58 Challenges of A/B testing

12:00 Importance of testing the paywall

15:03 Does your advice change based on the scale of the company (large vs small)?

16:31 What KPIs do you optimize for today and why?

18:45 Did you encounter any unexpected tests?

20:31 How do you educate users on the value of the app?

22:17 Where to learn more about Lea Samrani and Uptime

Transcript

Episode production by Mobdesign: https://podcasts.mobdesignapps.fr

In this episode of Subscription League, we sit down with Belen Caeiro, the VP of Product Management of Babbel Live, to talk about the bold decisions, attempts, and success along the journey of creating the latest business branch of Babbel, Babbel Live. 

Belen shares the logic behind the brand’s unusual approach of not offering a free trial and tips on how Babbel Live differentiates itself from its competitors in the market. 

Listen to the end to steal Belen’s predictions of the future of subscription apps, and her view on the benefit of pursuing product-led growth.

For noteworthy quotes and key takeaways from the episode, read the article - How to create and launch a success in a crowded market with Belen Caeiro.

Episode Topics at a Glance

• Three attempts, one success
• Product marketing 
• Babbel’s unique selling proposition
• Start-up approach 
• Why free-trial doesn’t work for every app
• Simplifying the acquisition flow

More about Belen Caeiro

Prior to Babbel, Belen led the international roll-out of SoundCloud’s monetization options. She was involved in the early-stage development of other online companies in the entertainment and ticketing industries. Now based in Berlin, Belen is originally from Argentina and lived in Spain, Singapore, the Philippines, the United States, and the Netherlands. She’s a firm believer that learning new languages helps us understand each other and integrate new perspectives into our way of thinking. 

Belen Caeiro’s Links

• Babbel Live
• LinkedIn

Timestamps

[0:36] Belen is introduced on the show

[1:30] What is Babbel Live? 

[1:56] Belen explains product marketing and the importance of product USPs

[3:19] How Babbel brought Babbel Live to market

[6:28] Managing a business strategy pivot within the Babbel team

[8:13] Why it was third time lucky for live language learning lessons

[9:35] How Babbel positioned itself against its competitors

[12:25] The strategies that Babbel deployed to roll out Babbel Live

[17:33] Experimenting with the subscription app model

[19:38] Ditching the free trial: An unusual way to end churn in subscription apps

[21:04] Babbel’s pricing models

[22:06] Belen’s tips on how to apply a subscription model to a premium price app

[24:56] Why a referral program might be the way forward in user acquisition

[25:33] Belen’s predictions for the future of subscription apps

Transcript

Episode production by Mobdesign: https://podcasts.mobdesignapps.fr

Luni’s journey as an app empire started out only about four years ago as developers of utility apps such as Scanner. Their business extended to creativity and wellness apps, including Fitness Coach(wellness), Omada(social sports betting), Meditation Nest(wellness), and Photo Studio(creativity). Luni boasts all together over ¼ million daily downloads. The company’s success is essentially based on providing gratifying app content and continuous improvement through frequent testings and optimizations. Luni is also a big advocate of influencer marketing. About 60% of Luni’s users are based in the United States.

Adrien's secret recipe for starting from scratch to reach success?

• Have a well-made application with good, fresh, and content, engaging content - it’s the basics.
• Kick off with paid traffic to gain the first user base. This will help generate data to leverage for future testings and optimizations.
• Once users start sticking around, perform frequent A/B testings on paywalls and onboardings. Use tools like Purchasley, Amplitude, and Appsflyer that allow you to achieve this efficiently.
• Build a branding strategy and gradually switch to targeting organic traffic. Also, leverage influencer marketing.

Listen to the episode to steal all the step-by-step tips for growing small apps from scratch to success!

For noteworthy quotes and key takeaways from the episode, read the article -  Subscription Marketing 101: tips to drive acquisition and retention with Adrien Miniatti (Luni)

Episode Topics at a Glance

• Luni’s journey to becoming an app empire
• Apple Search Ads
• User acquisition strategy mixing organic and paid approach
• Influencer marketing
• A/B testing
• Using 3rd party tools like Purchasley
• Reasonable conversion rates to target

More about Adrien Miniatti

A passionate autodidact, Adrien Miniatti started coding at 13, recruited engineers at 19, and today spends more than 2.2 million euros per month on marketing to take the mobile applications of the Luni empire, a mobile app publisher and developer of a wide variety of applications, to the top. Adrien founded gaming studios and launched Luni about four years ago. Adrien is also an investor in several tech companies.

Adrien Miniatti’s Links

• Adrien Miniatti  LinkedIn profile
• Luni website
• Luni apps on AppStore

Timestamps

00:19 Welcome and Introduction 

01:05 Adrien Miniati Background 

02:55 How do you approach user acquisition? 

03:50 Organic User Acquisition Good and Bad 

05:31 Advice for Early Start-Up 

06:45 How are you building a brand? 

08:25 Influencers Impact on Culture and Awareness 

10:12 Converting Users to Customers with Fitness Coach 

14:58 Profit and Conversion Rate 

18:20 The Effect of App-Tracking Transparency 

20:57 Apple Custom Code 

25:09 Fitness Coach’s Development Process 

30:42 Where to Learn More

Transcript

Episode production by Mobdesign: https://podcasts.mobdesignapps.fr

Rootd is "anxiety and panic attack relief right in your pocket.” It leads the #1 rated app on both iOS and Google Play and boasts over a 1.7 million user base. The award-winning application has paved a unique path to success based on an unusual approach - bootstrapping. 

While raising venture funding is a celebrated practice in the startup industry today, the brand has been insisting on 100% financial and technical independence. Today, the app is trusted by users in 150+ countries and continues to grow its revenues.

In this episode of Subscription League podcast, Olivier and Jeff sit down with Ania Wysocka, Founder of Rootd to talk about the story behind the app’s creation and how its strategies around onboarding, paywall, and user engagement had a catalytic impact on the app’s growth. 

Please listen, subscribe, share, and leave a glowing review!

For noteworthy quotes and key takeaways from the episode, read the article -  How to bootstrap #1 health and fitness app with Ania Wysocka (Rootd)

Episode Topics at a Glance

• The story behind Rootd’s creation
• Bootstrapping
• Ania’s personal experience with anxiety
• User reviews
• Onboarding and early-stage paywall display
• Story submission 
• Next steps for Rootd

More about Ania Wysocka

Ania is the founder of Rooted - the #1 rated mobile app for anxiety & panic attack relief. Ania designed and created Rootd’s complete content and has led the business to over 1.7 million users in over 150 countries. Her unique combination of graphic design, marketing, and subject matter expertise provides Rootd with its unmistakable personality.

Previously Ania served as Program Director at Alacrity Canada, where she created and led a Digital Marketing Bootcamp to run province-wide in partnership with the BC government, helping over 6,000 individuals and small businesses, particularly those impacted by COVID-19.

Entrepreneurial by nature, with a strong sense for effective design and cross-cultural communication, Ania has been selected for a Developer Spotlight by Apple, as a “30 Under 30” winner by BC Business, a "Canadian Woman in Tech you Should Know" by the Daily Hive, and one of “20 Women Entrepreneurs to Watch” by Founders Fund. 

Ania Wysocka’s Links

• Ania Wosocka  LinkedIn profile
• Rootd website
• Rootd_app Instagram 
• Roord_app Twitter

Timestamps

[00:00] Welcome to the Subscription League 

[00:22] Ania Wysocka & Rootd background 

[01:39] The early days & origin of Rootd 

[03:26] Is Rootd in Flutter now? 

[03:37] What pushed you to go the self-funded route? 

[05:34] Benefits of Ania using Rootd 

[07:20] Ania’s communication with users and tone vs a larger company 

[08:13] The importance of positive reviews 

10:45 Other methods to monetize Rootd 

[11:53] What are the variations you tried around your paywall? 

[13:10] Is the Panic Button free? 

[14:09] Did the paywall have an impact on the reviews? 

[15:38] What are some takeaways from the experiments on the paywall? 

[16:45] Rootd stories published by Apple and its impact 

[21:03] Advice for bootstrappers 

[23:00] The future of Rootd 

[24:42] Where to learn more about Rootd 

[25:20] Thank you for listening

Transcript

Episode production by Mobdesign: https://podcasts.mobdesignapps.fr

On the 5th episode of The Subscription League, Olivier Destrebecq and Nicolas Tissier sit down with Eveline Moczko, Head of Product Management at Blinkist, an app offering 15-minute explainers of the most memorable insights from non-fiction books and podcasts. Eveline is passionate about A/B testing and has driven innovation at Blinkist to increase mobile app subscription and retention. 

The episode covers many aspects of working on a subscription app including the impact of different onboarding approaches and trial periods, and how to cope with subscription anxiety. Eveline also talks about how the brand combined big bets and extensive A/B testing to optimize the subscription flow and launch a new content type. 

Eveline explains how being transparent by sending a reminder of a forthcoming charge to users on a free trial can actually increase conversion. She also talks about increasing app engagement, which she describes as the biggest challenge of working with a subscription-model app. 

Please listen, subscribe, share, and leave a glowing review!

For noteworthy quotes and key takeaways from the episode, read the article -  Using transparency to increase your conversion rate with Eveline Moczko.

Episode Topics at a Glance

• Love for A/B testing and its limitations
• Examples of A/B testings and big bets
• Simplifying onboarding process
• How to cope with subscription anxiety
• Hard paywall vs soft paywall
• How to achieve long-term habits with users

More about Eveline Moczko

Currently Head of Product Management at Blinkist, the leading destination for lifelong learners, Eveline has been responsible for maximizing conversion and optimizing subscription funnels, playing a key role in growing the app’s user base to 20 million. Prior to joining Blinkist, Eveline launched and managed products in the e-commerce and food delivery space. She’s now dedicated to bringing to life the big vision of inspiring people to keep learning. 

Eveline Moczko’s Links

• Eveline on LinkedIn
• Blinkist signup: Enter promo code “subscriptionleague” for a free 3-month subscription to Blinkist! This promo code can be only redeemed on this web page https://www.blinkist.com/nc/friends

Timestamps

[00:00 Welcome to the Subscription League

[00:22] Eveline Moczko & Blinkist Background

[01:18] Love for A/B Testing and Limitations

[02:13] How do you measure success without A/B testing?

[03:48] Examples of Proxy Metrics

[04:32] The Impact of A/B Testing & Bigger Bets

[06:41] Things to Avoid with Subscription Flows

[08:37] Impact of Removing the Hard Sign Up

[09:36] How do you adapt the subscription flow to each market today?

[11:55] Addressing Subscription Fear from Users

[14:15] How do you achieve long-time habits with users?

[16:20] How have your personas translated into Blinkist?

[17:58] Which motivation does Tim Cook fall into?

[18:12] The Impact of Apple Features of Blinkist

[19:03] Where to Learn More About Blinkist

[19:38] Thank You for Listening

Transcript

Episode production by Mobdesign: https://podcasts.mobdesignapps.fr

The most trusted digital-content news in the world, The Guardian’s core business mission has always been to help people understand better the world we live in by keeping journalism accessible to everyone. 

The model that the brand settled on to achieve this was keeping all its content free without adopting paywalls. While this is clearly a countertrend move, especially in the journalism industry, the British newspaper enjoyed the most significant rewards - an exponential increase in readership, the capacity to perform effectively A/B testings with velocity, and customer trust.

The Guardian’s customer experience optimization based on routine research and A/B testing enabled the brand to see themselves as the readers saw them, hold that mirror up and speak to them in an authentic way.

For noteworthy quotes and key takeaways from the episode, read the article - Growing the user base The Guardian way - with Jesse Wilkins

Episode Topics at a Glance

• The Guardian's evolution of success
• Guardian's mission to make journalism accessible to everyone
• Voluntary donation
• Why The Guardian settled on offering open access without using paywalls
• Research and A/B testings 

More about Jesse Wilkins

Currently at the Guardian, one of the world's leading liberal newspapers. After working in a variety of e-commerce roles, Jesse has spent the last few years in the donation/subscription space, thinking about how to convert readers of the Guardian, which has a free and open model of journalism with no paywall. He was part of a small team that launched the Guardian’s voluntary donations ‘Contributions’ product in 2016 and played a key part in helping them reach 1m acts of financial support, helping to pivot the organization towards a reader funded model. He is now the senior growth manager for global reader revenues, leading a team of six.
 

Jesse Wilkins’ Links

• Jesse Wilkins on Linkedin
• Support The Guardian
• The Guardian Digital Subscription
• Support with a contribution of any size

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome to the Subscription League 

00:22 Jesse Wilkins Introduction 

01:15 Can you explain what business model The Guardian has landed on and allowed you to break even with the $1 million financial support? 

02:45 Background on the Ownership Model at The Guardian 

04:55 How did you approach the challenge of keeping content free? 

07:38 Why is it so important to do A/B testing and experiments? 

09:32 How much optimization did you put behind the current messaging on each article and subscription page? 

10:21 Do you have anything to share regarding the triggering strategy and the way the messaging is adapted to the content and the way it is displayed? 

12:02 Failed Experiments and Surprises in A/B Testing 

14:25 Experiments Conducted on Web vs Mobile App 

15:21 Your content is not hidden behind a paywall; how does that impact you? 

17:06 Are your heavier readers donating the most or is there a different correlation there? 

17:51 Why is the solution you picked for The Guardian working compared to others? 

23:02 Where to Learn More About The Guardian 

23:34 Thank You and Outro

Transcript

Episode production by Mobdesign: https://podcasts.mobdesignapps.fr

Mojo is an app used to create incredible animated social content. Since its launch in 2018, the app has reached +30M downloads and has a community that spans over 180 countries, and is rated 4.9/5.0 stars with over 800k ratings. Not every app achieves such an impressive level of success but mojo made it happen in just four years. While the brand’s success story makes the subscription business look as easy as ABC, there was no magic in how they’ve arrived where they are today. 

In this episode of the Subscription League podcast, the CEO and co-founder of mojo opens up about the strategies they put in place from the early days of the business development. You’ll hear about the logic behind their paywall placement, transparency approach around unsubscription, how they dedicated their resources to the product by adopting third-party tools from the early stage, and some happy mistakes that led to success.

For noteworthy quotes and key takeaways from the episode, read the article - Strategies you should focus on for a successful subscription business with Jean Patry
 

Episode Topics at a Glance

• How the subscription model contributed to mojo’s success 
• Mojo’s paywall strategies
• Overcoming subscription fatigue
• Adopting third-party tools 
• Transparency and user win-back
• Mojo’s hiring opportunities

 
More about Jean Patry

Jean Patry has a background in mathematics and science and is passionate about programmatic design. He was hired as a software developer and as one of the first employees of a French startup called Stupeflix, which focused on making video editing apps. Five years ago, Stupeflix was acquired by GoPro and Jean became Product Manager of GoPro’s own video editing app.

Almost four years ago, Jean left the company in order to start their own venture and went through the Y Combinator accelerator program. Jean and his business companion Francescu launched the mojo app in late 2018. mojo enables everyone to create stunning animated content for social media. Recently, the app reached 25M installs and several hundred thousand paying subscribers. mojo is now the #1 app for creating animated content for social media.

Links

• Jean Patry on LinkedIn
• Jean Patry on Twitter
• Mojo
• Mojo’s job vacancies

Timestamps

[00:36] Nicolas introduces Jean Patry and mojo

[01:57] What is programmatic design? Jean explains

[02:55] How the subscription model contributed to mojo’s success 

[04:15] Paying subscription fees to Google and Apple

[06:48] How Jean decided when to insert a paywall in the mojo app 

[08:40] Overcoming user subscription fatigue

[10:24] What separates a good subscription app from a successful subscription app 

[12:58] Why mojo hasn’t focused on push notifications yet

[14:00] Jean’s most important piece of advice for building a subscription app: Don’t do it alone

[15:46] The happy accidents that helped mojo to grow

[17:58] The one metric that determines the success of a start-up

[20:06] Mojo's hiring! Why you should apply to work there

[21:34] What the future holds for mojo

Transcript

Episode production by Mobdesign: https://podcasts.mobdesignapps.fr

In this episode of Subscription League, we sit down with Belen Caeiro, the VP of Product Management of Babbel Live, to talk about the bold decisions, attempts, and success along the journey of creating the latest business branch of Babbel, Babbel Live. 

Belen shares the logic behind the brand’s unusual approach of not offering a free trial and tips on how Babbel Live differentiates itself from its competitors in the market. 

Listen to the end to steal Belen’s predictions of the future of subscription apps, and her view on the benefit of pursuing product-led growth.

For noteworthy quotes and key takeaways from the episode, read the article - How to create and launch a success in a crowded market with Belen Caeiro.

Episode Topics at a Glance

• Three attempts, one success
• Product marketing 
• Babbel’s unique selling proposition
• Start-up approach 
• Why free-trial doesn’t work for every app
• Simplifying the acquisition flow

More about Belen Caeiro

Prior to Babbel, Belen led the international roll-out of SoundCloud’s monetization options. She was involved in the early-stage development of other online companies in the entertainment and ticketing industries. Now based in Berlin, Belen is originally from Argentina and lived in Spain, Singapore, the Philippines, the United States, and the Netherlands. She’s a firm believer that learning new languages helps us understand each other and integrate new perspectives into our way of thinking. 

Belen Caeiro’s Links

• Babbel Live
• LinkedIn

Timestamps

[0:36] Belen is introduced on the show

[1:30] What is Babbel Live? 

[1:56] Belen explains product marketing and the importance of product USPs

[3:19] How Babbel brought Babbel Live to market

[6:28] Managing a business strategy pivot within the Babbel team

[8:13] Why it was third time lucky for live language learning lessons

[9:35] How Babbel positioned itself against its competitors

[12:25] The strategies that Babbel deployed to roll out Babbel Live

[17:33] Experimenting with the subscription app model

[19:38] Ditching the free trial: An unusual way to end churn in subscription apps

[21:04] Babbel’s pricing models

[22:06] Belen’s tips on how to apply a subscription model to a premium price app

[24:56] Why a referral program might be the way forward in user acquisition

[25:33] Belen’s predictions for the future of subscription apps

Transcript

Episode production by Mobdesign: https://podcasts.mobdesignapps.fr

This is the 1st Episode of Subscription League, a podcast brought to you by Purchasely.

User retention is the lifeblood of every app business. But where do you start? 

Andy Carvell, Partner and Co-founder of Phiture looks at this question from the product development point of view and talks about how the effort to increase retention and engagement has to be built-in in applications.

For noteworthy quotes and key takeaways from the episode, read the article - All about Retention with Andy Carvell.

Episode Topics at a Glance

• Why is retention the key indicator of success for a mobile app? 
• What working on retention means, and how to do it in the early stages of app development
• Andy’s top tools to boost retention
• Friction or keeping it short for the onboarding process
• SoundCloud’s famous hard sign-up model - did it work and what’s the lesson?
• Examples of apps that help users to build a new habit
• Analytics Stack
• How to reduce churn
  
  

More about Andy Carvell

Andy has over 20 years of experience in the mobile industry. His company Phiture, is a Berlin-based mobile growth consultancy and agency co-founded in 2016 with Moritz Daan with over 110 employees. Phiture consults clients around the globe on mobile growth topics, helping them develop and implement holistic mobile growth strategies.

Prior to Phiture, Andy led the user retention team at SoundCloud in Berlin. Andy published the Mobile Growth Stack in 2015, widely adopted as an essential framework for mobile marketers, which he continues to develop.

Andy Carvell’s Links

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Medium
• SoundCloud
• The Mobile Growth Stack: 2022 Redux

Timestamps

[0:39] Introducing Andy and his background in mobile apps 

[0:37] Andy’s creation at Nokia - Space Impact game 

[2:50] Retention - the key indicator of success for a mobile app

[4:35] Working on retention from the early stages of app development

[6:07] How Phiture helps companies to grow their apps

[8:00] Andy’s top tools to boost retention

[11:28] Should you add friction to the onboarding process? 

[13:30] Advantages of having a hard sign-up wall in the onboarding process

[17:06] Apps that help users to build a new habit

[19:15] The best tools for building new features in a subscription app

[23:15] Benefits of predictive analytics 

Episode production by Mobdesign: https://podcasts.mobdesignapps.fr