I built a patented Apple Watch app that hit #3 in Education with 17K monthly users. I've never made real money from it. Looking for advice from anyone who's been here.
Back in 2017 I came up with this idea while playing guitar. I kept having to stop and look at my phone to check what chord came next and I was like, why can't my watch just show me this? So the concept was you flip the watch to the inside of your wrist and there's a digital fretboard right there showing you chords and scales while you play. I figured out a way to make the screen auto-rotate based on your hand position so it's always readable no matter where your arm is, filed a patent, got it granted.
Problem was I had no idea how to code. So I ran a Kickstarter and Indiegogo in 2020, got about 550 people to pay between $30-60 each for what was basically a lifetime subscription to the full platform. Raised around $20K total and every single dollar went to hiring a remote dev team of 8 people. We managed to ship the app, fully standalone on Apple Watch, no iPhone needed. It actually worked and people genuinely liked it.
Then the funding dried up. And I mean completely. We couldn't even afford to have the devs add a buy button. So the app just went out there for free and has been free ever since.
I ended up teaching myself Swift over the next few years and have been the only developer on it since. Built out a tuner, key detection, audio analysis, a whole song library where the chords and lyrics scroll in sync with the music. I also took the same rotation technology and built a totally separate navigation app with it that got to #10 in the Top Charts. All self taught.
So here's my situation now and where I need help:
The app keeps growing on its own even though I've done zero promotion since the crowdfunding days. I threw a couple $3 in-app purchases in there for a tuner and tap tempo but they're kind of buried and don't really sell. The bigger issue is the app only exists in the Apple Watch store, there's no iPhone companion app at all. So there's no real App Store page, no screenshots that do it justice, no way to send someone a link and have them get it easily. You have to go to the store on your actual watch to find it. It's like 2% of what it could be visibility wise.
I'm working on the companion iPhone app now which should open everything up but I'm also dealing with some mental stuff around re-engaging my original backers. I promised them a full learning platform and while I've been working my ass off behind the scenes to get there, I know it's not all the way there yet. Part of me thinks they'd actually be stoked to hear from me and part of me is scared they'll feel let down. Probably more in my head than anything.
The end goal is still what I originally pitched, a full multi-instrument platform covering guitar, ukulele, bass, piano with a real monetization model. I'm closer to that now than I've ever been, I just need to figure out the business side because clearly building the product isn't the part I struggle with.
Anybody been through something like this? Specifically figuring out how to start charging for something that's been free for years, or coming back to a product after a long stretch of quiet development? Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who's navigated this. Happy to talk about any part of it.
Crowdfunded $20K, shipped a top charting app, ran out of money before I could add a buy button. 5 years later I have 17K users but almost no revenue
byu/Joecorcoran inEntrepreneur
Posted by Joecorcoran
6 Comments
That was very inspiring and sad at the same time but loved how people like your idea and keep installing. You did great đź‘Ť.
Please keep updating this…. I can’t imagine how you can have that many users and potential and one of the devs or any dev for that matter wouldn’t offer to monetize it for some %. I mean come on talk about grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory. Next start with the how your going to make money step…..
Maybe one day you’ll learn how to add a BUY button, OP. Until then, good luck and keep going 💪
Are you able to contact users at all? I’d start building a community. If you have that many downloads, what are active users? You need them to subscribe to email or YT or something like that. Then you can hit them with a “Buy me a coffee” kind of tip, or even monetise your guitar skills by giving online courses or whatever. So yeah, start a YT, TIkTok, mailinglist. Also: Is it possible to start charging for the app now? I know you said 3 dollars in-app purchases, but why not just charge for the app. People are clearly into it? Even if you lose 50% of downlods, you’re still up 50% if you start charging now. Also, yes, I started a free service and started charging after around 300 signups. I’m not becoming a millionaire by any means, but it def taught me to just charge from day one because the people who are willing to pay will pay anyway, and the people who won’t simply won’t no matter what…
That shift from free to paid is where things get sensitive. It’s not just a pricing change, it reshapes how people view the entire product.This kind of move usually depends on how embedded you are in users’ habits. Are people using your app regularly as something they rely on, or more casually when they feel like it?
I totally understand your pain point. I’ve been in similar shoes as a entrepreneur, where the excitement of launching a product overshadows the financial reality of running a business.
Firstly, kudos to you for getting your product patented and shipping a top charting app! That’s no small feat.
In your case, the issue seems to be that you’ve optimized for user acquisition but forgot to monetize your user base. The solution isn’t to add a buy button, but to think about revenue streams that make sense for your users.
Have you considered offering in-app purchases for premium features, or even a subscription model for exclusive content? Alternatively, you could explore partnerships with music education companies or guitar manufacturers to offer bundled deals.
Here’s an actionable step for you: schedule a call with a revenue expert or a business coach to help you brainstorm monetization strategies that align with your app’s value proposition.
Don’t give up! With 17K monthly users, you have a solid foundation to build upon. Now it’s time to think about how to turn that user base into revenue.