App Masters · Jan 17Early Stage Growth Strategies
Bootstrapped and 95% organic, it became number one in the App Store for panic attacks and flips between second and third for anxiety. It launched with one red panic button, waited a year for feedback before adding features, and is freemium with mostly free content.
Tips
- Rank for a small niche keyword before chasing the big one▶ 2:47Rootd became number one for panic attacks in the App Store, held it, and now flips between number two and three for anxiety.
- Pair your press pitch with a real world event▶ 4:31The logos on the Rootd site, like Cosmopolitan, Healthline, Women's Health and Bustle, came from organic press releases.
- Start PR with local press, then widen to other journalists▶ 4:02This was how Rootd's early press coverage began, before it reached larger outlets.
- Send press pitches several times and keep following up▶ 7:01Anya says she sent releases several times, and as a bootstrapped founder it was her only option.
- Reuse press logos and listings as social proof and SEO▶ 5:33Healthline listed Rootd as one of the best anxiety apps of the year, alongside venture-backed apps like Calm and Headspace.
- Launch one core feature first and validate before adding more▶ 9:57She waited pretty much a whole year before expanding the feature set.
- Design the product for yourself and speak in your own words▶ 11:17The biggest demographic was females 24 to 35, which happened organically, and she made few changes to find product market fit.
- Get early feedback from App Store reviews and social, and be honest you are small▶ 10:31
- Comment helpfully on creators' posts instead of dropping generic plugs▶ 15:33Anya spent a couple of hours every day liking posts and commenting in the early days.
- Post genuinely helpful content and mix in occasional testimonials▶ 16:49Instagram worked better for Rootd than Facebook in 2018 and 2019, and Anya never gave Twitter a real try.
- Use native TikTok content instead of templated posts▶ 17:52A mom-focused app client running TikTok ads is seeing success.
- Give each weekday a theme and outsource what you can▶ 20:05At first she did everything herself: PR, social, ASO, email, business development and support.
- Keep core value free and charge for less essential extras▶ 24:35
- Test screenshots separately for each country▶ 29:09The same Rootd creative that works in the US underperforms in Brazil.
- Keep onboarding screens before sign-up to a minimum▶ 32:12
- Make ASO the main growth engine and use outside channels as a bonus▶ 22:27Rootd is 95% organic.
- Break down what you can do yourself when you cannot afford an agency▶ 8:27She is still non-technical and now uses contractors only, with no employees.
