In the high-stakes world of mobile app development, the conventional wisdom says you need a polished product, a massive venture capital seed round, and a sophisticated influencer marketing strategy before you even think about launching. Blake Anderson proved the world wrong. After teaching himself to code with ChatGPT in less than two months, he built three apps—Riz GPT, UMX, and Cal AI—that have collectively generated over $10 million in revenue. The most shocking part? He scaled his first app from a 'messy' MVP to $80,000 in monthly recurring revenue (MRR) using a single $100 marketing experiment.
The MVP Myth: Why Distribution Beats Product
Many founders get stuck in the 'perfection trap,' spending months tweaking UI elements and fixing minor bugs. When Blake launched Riz GPT, an AI dating assistant, the app was objectively 'bad' by industry standards. According to his interview on Starter Story, the design was a mess, it had zero reviews, no notifications, and a terrible paywall. However, he understood a fundamental truth of mobile app growth hacking: in the consumer market, distribution and attention win the game, not just features.
Blake’s journey started from a place of desperation. Living at home with his parents, borrowing money for groceries, and watching his friends land six-figure jobs, he set a goal to make $50,000 in a year. By focusing on user acquisition for apps through viral social media channels rather than perfect code, he bypassed the traditional slow-growth trajectory of most startups.
Finding 'Underground' Creators: The $100 Strategy
The core of Blake’s success was identifying what he calls 'underground' creators. These are often 18-to-19-year-old influencers on platforms like TikTok and Instagram who have high engagement and millions of views but haven't yet realized the commercial value of their reach.
Blake found two such creators and paid them just $50 each for a promo. This $100 investment resulted in:
- 5 to 10 million views total across their videos.
- 45,000 downloads in a single day.
- $80,000 MRR almost immediately.
This micro-influencer outreach works because these creators are still creating content 'for fun' and their audiences trust them implicitly. Their content feels like a genuine recommendation rather than a paid advertisement. For startups, the goal should be to find these untapped pockets of influence before they are discovered by major agencies and price themselves out of the market.
"I find these two underground kind of undiscovered creators... I pay them each $50 for promo... and overnight 5-10 million views total, 45,000 downloads in that first big day." [Source: My First Million Podcast]
The 'Discord Outreach' Method: Getting Creative with Gen Z
Traditional email outreach is often a dead end when dealing with Gen Z creators. Many don't check their emails, or their inboxes are flooded with spam. To succeed in creator economy marketing, Blake had to get creative. He discovered that many of these creators had hidden Discord links in their bios or belonged to specific gaming and community servers.
His strategy involved joining these servers and messaging the creators every ten minutes until they responded. In some cases, he even resorted to messaging the creators' family members on social media to get a direct line of communication. This level of unconventional outreach is what separates successful growth hackers from those who give up after a few ignored DMs.
Managing this level of discovery and communication can be a full-time job. Platforms like Stormy AI streamline this by allowing brands to search for creators using natural language and automating the follow-up process, ensuring you don't have to spend your whole day in Discord servers to find the next viral partner.
Comparing Marketing Channels: Profitability vs. Scale
When scaling a mobile app, it’s vital to understand the margins of different marketing channels. Blake eventually shifted from purely external influencer promos to an internal UGC content engine. This involves creating branded accounts on TikTok and Instagram and posting content directly, which offers significantly higher margins.
| Channel Type | Estimated Profit Margin | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internal UGC | 50% - 80% | Highest margins, full control | Time-intensive content creation |
| Influencer Marketing | 25% - 70% | Fastest viral potential | Unpredictable creator reliability |
| Paid Ads (Meta/Google) | 0% - 30% | Highly scalable and predictable | Expensive, lower margins |
For founders looking to scale beyond organic reach, managing campaigns across Meta Ads and Google Ads remains a staple, though the acquisition costs are significantly higher than viral content.
Building an Internal UGC Engine
Once you’ve validated your app with a few influencer promos, the next step in a sustainable influencer marketing strategy is to bring content creation in-house. This involves hiring people to create 'user-generated' style videos that are posted to accounts owned by the brand. Using tools like CapCut to edit quick, engaging clips allows you to test dozens of hooks per day.
Blake emphasizes constant iteration. If a video style works, double down on it. If it doesn't, pivot immediately. By managing your own creators or using an AI-powered CRM like Stormy AI to track which creators and content styles are driving the most app installs, you can maintain high profitability while scaling to millions of users.
"The most successful B2C founders truly understand that product is just not as important as distribution. Attention wins the game."
The Growth Stack: Tools for Scaling to $10M
Success in the app space isn't just about the idea; it's about the execution. Blake utilized a modern tech stack that allowed him to move at lightning speed. Speed is the ultimate competitive advantage for small teams and solo founders.
- Development: Blake used Cursor as his AI-powered code editor and built his apps using React Native with the Expo framework.
- Design: He relied on Figma, using existing successful apps as design references to ensure his UI was functional and familiar to users.
- Monetization: To maximize revenue, he used Superwall to split-test different paywalls and subscription prices. Subscription-based models are the gold standard for long-term profitability in the App Store.
- Talent: When he needed extra help, he hired specialists from Upwork, often hiring 5-10 people for a trial task and keeping the best performer.
- Banking: For managing the millions flowing in, he used Mercury, which is purpose-built for startups.
Monetization Strategy: Subscriptions and Testing
Many founders struggle with pricing. Blake’s approach to user acquisition for apps involves starting with lower price points. This strategy serves two purposes: it lowers the barrier to entry for a global audience and encourages positive user sentiment on social media, which fuels organic growth. However, he doesn't guess on pricing—he uses A/B testing to find the 'sweet spot' where volume and margin intersect.
One major expense many founders overlook is the 'Apple Tax.' Apple takes a 15% to 30% cut of all revenue. By keeping AI infrastructure costs low—typically sub 3% of revenue—and focusing on high-margin organic marketing, Blake ensured that his apps remained highly profitable even after Apple's take. Focusing on organic content creation is the best way to offset these platform fees.
Conclusion: The Power of Urgency
Blake Anderson’s success wasn't just due to AI or coding skills; it was driven by a sense of urgency. Whether it was the pressure of his parents' house being on the market or the desire to prove himself after splitting with a co-founder, he used that 'fire' to execute faster than his competition.
For entrepreneurs today, the takeaway is clear: Micro-influencer outreach and low-cost content strategies are more effective than ever. Don't wait for the perfect product. Find your underground creators, get creative with your outreach, and use tools that automate the boring stuff so you can focus on the next viral hook. If you're ready to start your journey, focus on first principles and remember that distribution is king.