Liftoff
A gym app with ranked workouts that gamifies lifting progress.
Liftoff, a gym app with ranked workouts, earned 200 to 300k a month and held over 100k a month for at least 12 months. That proof led Caleb to copy its reel format and onboarding: under 50 videos in about 2 weeks drew 2,000 waitlist signups before the app existed. Lesson: validate in a niche with one to three proven apps above 100k a month, though typed-in weights make its ranks easy to fake.
- 1Find an app making moneyOne to three apps at 100k a month
- 2Check how it acquires usersLiftoff's top Instagram Reels
- 3Copy the reel formatRanked running, ChatGPT-generated icons
- 4Post under 50 videosAbout 2 weeks, 30 minutes of content
- 5Collect waitlist signups2,000 signups before the app existed
From Caleb Dean on Runafy
What was said about Liftoff
Liftoff's sustained revenue made its niche worth entering. Liftoff made 200 to 300k a month and held over 100k a month for at least 12 months when Caleb Dean validated. He looks for spaces with one to three apps doing at least 100k a month.
He takes the concept to an adjacent area rather than copying the product, such as ranked gyms to ranked running. One app alone could be a monopoly, and 5,000 a month is not enough validation. Liftoff's ranks rely on typed-in weights, which makes them easy to fake.
Copying Liftoff's ranking video format validated demand before any app existed. Runafy copied Liftoff's rankings reel for running, using ChatGPT-generated icons. Under 50 videos in about 2 weeks produced 2,000 waitlist signups before the app was built.
The method is to find an app already making real money, check how it acquires users, and replicate its top Instagram Reels format for your niche. Caleb said of the content: "the actual content like it took me 30 minutes to make".
LiftOff's App Store screenshots: 4.8 rating from 59K reviews, exercise ranks, workout tracking, muscle bodygraph. Liftoff's onboarding fed a full Figma design done before development. Caleb drew on the onboarding of Liftoff, Cal AI, Quitter and Life Reset. He spent three days at about 15 hours each designing every screen, the onboarding, the UI and the UX in Figma.
The developer then had no confusion and no need to improvise. The CTO worked about 14 hours a day for a month and a half to ship. Caleb: "I want to know what everybody's going to do."
I speedran an ai app from 0 to $100k exit in 26 days
It made 200 to 300k a month and held over 100k a month for at least 12 months, so Caleb copied its reel format and onboarding. Its ranks rely on typed-in weights, which makes them easy to fake.
Liftoff's sustained revenue made its niche worth entering. Liftoff made 200 to 300k a month and held over 100k a month for at least 12 months when Caleb Dean validated. He looks for spaces with one to three apps doing at least 100k a month.
He takes the concept to an adjacent area rather than copying the product, such as ranked gyms to ranked running. One app alone could be a monopoly, and 5,000 a month is not enough validation. Liftoff's ranks rely on typed-in weights, which makes them easy to fake.
Copying Liftoff's ranking video format validated demand before any app existed. Runafy copied Liftoff's rankings reel for running, using ChatGPT-generated icons. Under 50 videos in about 2 weeks produced 2,000 waitlist signups before the app was built.
The method is to find an app already making real money, check how it acquires users, and replicate its top Instagram Reels format for your niche. Caleb said of the content: "the actual content like it took me 30 minutes to make".
LiftOff's App Store screenshots: 4.8 rating from 59K reviews, exercise ranks, workout tracking, muscle bodygraph. Liftoff's onboarding fed a full Figma design done before development. Caleb drew on the onboarding of Liftoff, Cal AI, Quitter and Life Reset. He spent three days at about 15 hours each designing every screen, the onboarding, the UI and the UX in Figma.
The developer then had no confusion and no need to improvise. The CTO worked about 14 hours a day for a month and a half to ship. Caleb: "I want to know what everybody's going to do."
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