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- How a Porn Addiction App (Quittr) Scaled to $250K MRR in 4 Months
How a Porn Addiction App (Quittr) Scaled to $250K MRR in 4 Months
PLUS: How I use LLMs by Karpathy
How a Porn Addiction App (Quittr) Scaled to $250K MRR in 4 Months
Porn addiction runs deep today, with OnlyFans and platforms like Instagram and TikTok pushing explicit content to keep users scrolling.
Itâs become so normal that many guysâespecially younger onesâbattle it in silence.
Three friends, Chris (17), Alex (19), and Connor (22), saw this struggle and turned it into Quittr, an app now pulling in $250,000 in monthly recurring revenue (MRR) just four months after launch.
Identifying a High Pain Point in a Normalized Market
Pornâs everywhere, and guys donât talk about it.
Connor put it plain: âYou donât go to your boy and say, âIâm addicted to porn, man, how do you help me?ââ That silence screamed opportunity.
Quittr became a discreet lifelineâright on your phone, no one has to know. They focused on Gen Z, a generation hooked on OnlyFans but ignored by apps like Covenant Eyes, which targets older men, 35 and up.
Chris noted how kids as young as middle school swap porn on iPod Touches at lunch. Quittr stepped in where others didnât.
Leveraging Personal Experience and Market Observation
Chris and Alex lived the self-improvement life, swearing by NoFapâquitting porn for boosts in energy and focus. Theyâd felt the pull of addiction themselves and knew semen retention could sharpen a guyâs edge.
No apps tackled this for young people, though. They dug into competitors. Covenant Eyes served an older crowd. Brain Buddy, stuck in time for 14 years, barely tried. Brain Buddy got zero marketing efforts⊠barely innovated in a decade.
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Brainbuddy - iOS App
Alex built Quittrâs idea off Calmâs success and a friendâs app, seeing a gap too big to ignore. Their personal stakes met a clear market need.
Building an MVP: Starting with a Simple Timer and Community
Quittr started smallâa timer to track how long youâd gone without porn, aiming for that 90-day âBreakthrough point.â Then came the community. Guys posted, âIâm tempted, help,â and got replies like, âYouâre better than this.â
It broke the isolation. Breathing exercises eased the tension.
A panic button, pressed during urges, buzzed your phone and flashed your goals.
A virtual plant grew from a seed to a tree as your streak stretchedâcut it down, and youâd feel it.
An AI therapist, Melus, popped up for 24/7 chats, steeped in NoFap wisdom.
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Quittr - iOS App
Alex coded it with Swift, leaning on ChatGPT for tricky parts like the community feature, with Firebase holding the data.
Onboarding Psychology: Designing a High-Converting User Journey
Crafting a 12-Page Quiz for Self-Diagnosis and Intent
Quittr grabs you from the start with a 12-page quiz.
It asks stuff like, âHas your exposure gotten more twisted?â âHow long have you been hooked?â âWhen did it start?â These arenât fluffy questionsâthey make you face yourself.
Like Chris Voss says in Never Split the Difference, labeling emotions defuses them. Here, it locks in intent.
Mixpanel Analytics show 99% finish the onboarding, hooked by the topicâs weight. It is the best onboarding flow in the industry with a CVR of 25%â25% of downloads turn into paying users.
Next, you pick your strugglesâlow drive, losing interest in real girls, and so on. Testimonials from other Quittrs pop up, showing it works.
A page spells out pornâs damageâbrain fog, low energyâand quittingâs winsâclarity, stamina.
An App Store review prompt boosts rankings. Then the paywall lands: âHey [Your Name], time to invest in yourself,â with $12.99 monthly or $45 yearly options.
Itâs personal and cheap enough to bite. Without this flow, theyâd be stuck at $10,000 in revenue instead of $250,000.
Post-Paywall Experience: Streak Tracking, Community, and Tools
Pay up, and youâre in. A streak counter ticksâ1 day, 2 days, badges at milestones.
A to-do list nudges you to journal or post. The communityâs anonymousâyou pick a name, an age, and vent.
âIâm temptedâ gets instant replies.
The panic button ties to journaling or chat. Your plant grows. Melus listens anytime. A resource page dives into pornâs psychology, with brain scans from their marketingânormal versus addictedâhitting home.
Why a Hard Paywall Works: Commitment and Perceived Value
They tried freemium once. Usage tankedânobody cared. A hard paywall changed that.
When you drop $45 for a year, youâre in. Users rated it higher, stuck around longer. When you pay, you value it more. That commitment drives Quittrâs edge.
Growth Hacking: Influencer Marketing and Viral Content
Influencer Marketing as a Bootstrapping Strategy
Influencers sparked the fire. Connor targeted Christian and fitness folks first, then self-help.
He shelled out $50 for a call with a Christian creatorâbam, $1,000 a day. A $30 fitness call worked too. With $3,000 from his pocket, he hit $37,000 in month one, pouring it back in.
Jeremiah, with 2 million followers, got $3 per 1,000 views for 1 million monthly, plus bonuses. His video hit 9.9 million views, raking in $40,000 in a day, $100,000 in 65 hours.
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Jeremiah Jones - Quittr App
Contracts gave 20% upfront, rest after Apple paid out. A deal might be $4,000 for 1 million viewsâ250,000 per video across TikTok and Instagram.
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Jeremiah Jones - Quittr App #2
That first $37,000 came from smart betsâ20% down, rest later. Jeremiahâs viral hit proved it, earning him $3,000-$5,000 extra.
They tested retainers ($2,000-$10,000), bonuses ($500 for 500,000 views), and CPM ($2-$3 per 1,000).
A pitch might go, âBrett, you average 100,000 viewsâ4 videos, 500,000 total, $1,500.â
View rewardsâpaying per 1,000 after postingâstayed on the table, though influencersâ egos often balked.
Outreach Strategy: Paid Promos and Verified Accounts
Outreach hit hardâDMs, calls, emails.
Messages led with âPaid promo for Quittr, helped 100,000+ users,â sent from a verified account to climb inboxes.
No dollar talk in textsâcalls sealed it.
Niches matched values: religion (âagainst Godâ), fitness (âlow Tâ), self-help (âsemen retentionâ). Alex pushed this from Quittrâs handle for max reach.
Contractual Agreements and Usage Rights
Videos had to show the app, with captions they could tweak.
Usage rights let them run clips as ads. View guarantees locked it inâ$1,500 for 500,000 views. If short, they proratedâ$700 for 350,000âor demanded reposts. View guarantees kept influencer egos grounded.
Tech Stack and Design Principles
Minimalist Tech Stack for Rapid Development
Alex built Quittr with Swift, tapping ChatGPT to code the community feature. Firebase stored the data. Figma shaped the look. Mixpanel tracked onboardingâ99% across 12 steps. Superwall tested paywalls, tweaking $12.99 versus $45.
Their design got so good, Superwall used it as a template on their site.
Chris went with a black theme and DM Sans font for a slick, premium feel. He stuck to multiples of 4â8px padding, 16pt textâfor a clean layout. âUse 4 for everything,â he advised designers. Itâs simple, refined, and hooks you in.
Automation and Team Management Tools
Google Sheets tracked influencer leads. Omar, a VA from Fiverr since Connorâs college days, DMed creators.
Growi managed contractsâ4 videos, 8 posts, 500,000 views. Agree.com signed deals. Zapier sent emails from Notion triggersâcontract done, onboarding out. âA feed of feedback we can implement,â they said.
Future Growth and Brand Building
Now itâs about getting known. They look to Liquid Deathâwater that hit a billion with wild branding. Plans include purple paint at porn conventions or a fake âQuittr buys PornHubâ tweet. Jeremiahâs $100,000 day showed viralityâs power. Risks build the name.
Expanding Marketing Channels and Partnerships
Ads run $40,000 monthly on Meta and Instagram, pulling 3-4x back. Next up: organic Shorts, Twitter, church tie-ins.
Big swings like a $50,000 Theo Von plug or chats with Andrew Tate and George Janko aim for reach, not instant cash. Discord could deepen roots.
Science backs the next stepâstudies with YouTubers and neurologists for cred. High-ticket coaching or a custom app could follow. âThatâs the next level⊠one-on-one support,â they envision.
Actionable Advice for Aspiring App Entrepreneurs
Validate with Reddit and Product Hunt
Connor hit Redditâs niche cornersâself-improvement, NoFapâto test Quittr. Product Hunt flopped for Alex but taught pivoting. âYouâll know straight away if itâs good,â he said.
Test Different Marketing Channels and Iterate
They tried Reddit, Twitter, influencersâ10 ways to grow. âKeep testing,â Connor urged. Influencers won, but some nichesâlike AI toolsâneed other paths.
Focus on Onboarding and Conversion Optimization First
Onboarding came first. They screenshot top appsâ flows in Figmaâapps making $5-6 million. âItâs the most important thing in consumer apps,â Alex said.
Bootstrap Smartly and Prioritize Revenue Generation
Connorâs $3,000 sparked $37,000. âTurn $1 into $4,â he said. âGet birthday cash⊠skip legal stuff,â Alex added. Revenue drives it all.
Team Up and Donât Go It Alone
Chrisâs design, Alexâs code, Connorâs hustle clicked. âDonât go alone⊠find someone on Discord,â Alex advised. Complementary skills win.
Action over Perfection and Procrastination
Quittr launched fast. âJust build it⊠donât procrastinate,â Alex said. âSend DMs to 2,000 influencers,â Connor pushed. Iterate beats delay.
Monitor Metrics and Iterate Continuously
Mixpanel tracked 2% drop-off per screen. Superwall tweaked pricing. Cancellation asks, âWhy leave?ââfeeding updates. âWe implement what they want,â they said.
Replicate Success and Study Competitors
They copied top appsâ playbooks. âIf theyâre a billion-dollar company, you can make $1,â Alex said. âDonât reinvent the wheel,â Connor agreed.
Focus on Value and Solve a Real Problem
Quittr hits a raw need. âYou have a high pain point⊠they want it solved,â Connor said. Onboarding sells the winâenergy, real lifeânot just tools.
Jeremiahâs hit proved viralityâs gold. âGet the brand in peopleâs heads,â Connor said. Stunts and big names like Theo Von push Quittr forward.
Mobile App Specific Tips
iOS ledâhigher payers. A âskip accountâ button cuts friction, but emails snag follow-ups. $12.99/$45 hits the sweet spot. Show the app in videosâmore cash flows.
PS: I tried this with Mistral's Le Chat and it came out good but was missing few key points. Then went for the final finishing touches with Grok 3 and the output made it too friendly. It needs some final touches for later but too late now. Will re-add the Mistral's Le Chat later this week (sneak-peek) so re-read it again since it has excellent stuff.
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