On the podcast: estimating the revenue potential of an app, crafting an exit strategy, and why LTV is such a terrible metric.

Top Takeaways:
🎯 Finding the right market fit – Not all apps have billion-dollar potential, and chasing massive markets often means competing with big players. Instead, focus on markets where your app has room to stand out. By positioning yourself in a "Goldilocks zone"—big enough to scale but niche enough to avoid overcrowding—you’ll lay the groundwork for sustainable growth.

📈 Portfolios over all-in strategies – Instead of putting all your effort into scaling one app, building a portfolio of smaller, successful apps can diversify risk and drive steady revenue. Portfolios give you the flexibility to test new ideas and spread your earnings across multiple use cases, avoiding the pitfalls of over-concentrating on one product.

🔍 When to expand features or create a new app – Apps with focused, singular value propositions tend to attract and retain users better than those overloaded with features. Before adding more functionality, ask: Does this align with the app’s core mission? If not, consider launching a complementary app to avoid cluttering your existing product.

🧪 Price testing without regrets – Effective price testing requires patience and precision. Run small tests, and use early retention patterns—such as trial-to-paid or monthly renewal rates—to model the impact on long-term subscribers. Always prepare for possible retention dips by planning worst-case scenarios to protect your bottom line.

✍🏻 Set up for a strategic exit – If acquisition is your goal, build your app to be buyer-ready. Private equity and strategic acquirers look for apps with clean operations, predictable revenue, and scalable systems. Crafting a clear differentiation and avoiding operational mess increases your chances of attracting high-value offers and makes the process smoother.

About Patrick Falzon
👨‍💼 Co-founder of The App Shop, Patrick helps app developers build sustainable portfolios, optimize monetization, and prepare for strategic exits.

📈 With extensive experience in app monetization and growth strategies, Patrick is focused on creating streamlined user experiences while identifying opportunities for sustainable scaling and market differentiation.

💡 “A big market is great only if you can take a substantial or specific share of that market. If it’s so competitive that you can’t garner any market share, it’s not actually valuable to you."

👋 Patrick on LinkedIn

Resources
The App Shop website

Follow Us:
• David Barnard: https://twitter.com/drbarnard
• Jacob Eiting: https://twitter.com/jeiting
• RevenueCat: https://twitter.com/RevenueCat
• Sub Club: https://twitter.com/SubClubHQ

Episode Highlights
[1:41] The story begins: Patrick’s career evolution — from investing in to operating at Mosaic Group.
[7:59] A stand-out app: Why RoboKiller, an app for blocking spam calls and texts, stood out in Mosaic’s portfolio.
[9:07] Evaluating market size: Mosaic’s framework for assessing an app’s revenue potential balances market depth with competition and user demand.
[14:20] Tough markets to crack: Mosaic avoided saturated app categories (like VPNs and personal finance), due to high acquisition costs and competitive pressure.
[19:36] Depth vs. breadth: How Mosaic decided whether to enhance existing apps or create new ones.
[25:52] Portfolio strategies: Building a diverse portfolio of smaller apps, instead of scaling a single app, can reduce risk and increase sustainable revenue.
[32:14] LTV pitfalls: Patrick stresses the importance of capping LTV projections and focusing on shorter payback periods to make realistic growth decisions.
[39:20] Exit strategy: Aligning operational processes, profitability, and a clean setup improves the chances of a successful app exit.
[49:12] Retain to sustain: Why user retention metrics are key to building durable, long-term revenue.
[1:01:05] Good press: How Mosaic leveraged proprietary data to secure media coverage, boosting RoboKiller’s organic growth and user trust.

On the podcast: the power of user segmentation, executing bold strategic shifts, and why imaginary customer conversations are sometimes better than real ones.

Key Takeaways:
💡 Simplification drives growth - Alex shares how transitioning from a freemium to a free trial model simplified V1 Sports' monetization strategy, aligning better with their users and discovering new revenue opportunities.

🤔 Rethink assumptions to uncover opportunities - Alex emphasizes the importance of questioning outdated business assumptions, using user feedback and internal discussions to refine strategies and reignite growth.

📊 User segmentation unveils hidden value - By identifying key user needs, like connecting golfers with coaches, V1 Sports leveraged segmentation to create tailored offerings that boosted engagement and revenue.

⏳ Bold decisions can pay off - Switching longstanding free features to paid access generated friction but ultimately led to a 90% revenue growth, proving that sometimes taking risks is necessary to drive business viability.

🌐 Focus on ideal users for long-term success - Alex highlights the importance of catering to highly engaged users who find value in the product, ensuring sustainable growth while reducing churn from less committed users.

About Alex Prasad

👨‍💻 CEO of V1 Sports, a leading provider of video golf swing analysis software and seamless video lesson solutions for golfers and instructors.

👥 Alex Prasad is committed to driving growth through bold strategic shifts, user segmentation, and simplifying complex monetization models to serve better the needs of both consumers and professionals in the golf industry.

💡 "You can’t please everybody—much harder when those people are already in the tent and some may perceive it as you kicking them out because you’re changing the rules of the game."

👋 LinkedIn

Resources - Alex

• V1 Sports Website

Follow us on X:

• David Barnard - @drbarnard
• Jacob Eiting - @jeiting
• RevenueCat - @RevenueCat
• SubClub - @SubClubHQ

Episode Highlights

[2:10] Adapting for success: How V1 Sports, a 30-year-old technology company, became a leader in video golf swing analysis by adapting to market changes.

[5:48] Trials and tribulations: Why V1 Sports switched from freemium to free trials, and the challenges it created.

[10:32] Keep it simple: How simplifying monetization can lead to new revenue opportunities.

[17:15] Bold bets and backlash: Asking long-time users to pay for previously free features and navigating the resulting backlash.

[24:30] Segmentation wins: How V1 Sports identified key user needs, like finding a coach, to create tailored solutions and increase engagement.

[30:22] Innovation meets tradition: The challenges of preserving legacy app features while modernizing your product to meet new user demands.

[36:48] Critical feedback: The dreaded one-star review can be an opportunity to improve and grow your business.
[43:10] Talking it out: How Alex uses hypothetical user dialogues to guide product and customer strategy decisions.
[57:20] Know your audience: Alex emphasizes the importance of catering to ideal customers and avoiding the trap of chasing uncommitted users.