On the podcast, I talk with Alper about the competitive advantage of ignoring (some) best practices, the risk of drawing false conclusions when researching competitor ads, and why poor metrics are just facts until proven problematic.

Top Takeaways:

📊 Challenge Best Practices
Test what works for your app and market, even if it goes against common advice. Adapt best practices to your data and current stage.

💡 Facts vs. Problems
Low trial conversions aren’t always a problem—sometimes they’re just a fact of your setup. Only treat them as a problem after you’ve tested and ruled out other factors.

🎯 Quality Over Quantity in Creative Testing
It’s not about testing hundreds of creatives—it’s about testing fewer, but with stronger hypotheses. Focus on creative iterations that drive high success rates, not just metrics.

⚖️ Strategic Control of Spend
Set guardrails and adjust bids based on performance. Test spend limits, but always maintain control over your budget and its allocation.

💬 Be Inspired
Learn from competitors, but don’t mimic their exact strategies. Customize based on your own data and target audience.

🔍 Instrument Your Data Right
Accurate data is key. Whether it’s MMP, in-app analytics, or creative performance, ensure you interpret results accurately to drive better decisions and scale effectively.

About Alper Taner:

🚀 Head of Performance Marketing at a stealth-mode app studio.

📱 With over 10 years in mobile growth, Alper drives user acquisition and marketing tech strategies, managing 8-figure budgets. He’s known for challenging conventional marketing practices and leveraging data to fuel growth.

👋 LinkedIn

Follow us on X:

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

Episode Highlights:

[0:00] Introduction to Alper Taner and his mobile growth expertise

[1:39] Why challenging best practices and testing your own data is crucial

[5:04] Poor metrics are facts, not problems

[8:10] Creative testing: Focus on quality and strong hypotheses, not just quantity

[12:00] Set spend guardrails and control budget allocation for better results

[15:30] Learn from competitors, but don’t copy their strategies blindly

[19:10] Accurate data is key: instrument it right for smarter decisions

[22:18] Small event mapping changes can lead to significant performance boosts

[27:00] Don’t shy away from unconventional strategies

[32:45] Iteration is key for creative optimization

[37:20] Manage budget thresholds in creative testing to avoid overspending

[41:00] Understand platform algorithms and guide them to work for you

[46:00] Use guardrails and budget caps to control spend while optimizing performance

[49:50] Balance risk and experimentation with data-backed decision-making

[54:05] Retention and user behavior drive long-term growth

[58:00] Key lessons from creative testing: Adjust based on results

[1:00:30] Mixing creativity with data is the key to optimized user acquisition

On the podcast, I talk with Greg about knowing when to pivot, why most consumer apps shouldn't raise VC, and why making free trials optional outperformed making them the default.

Top Takeaways:

📉 Know When to Pivot
Wrangle struggled because it wasn’t solving a real problem. Burner succeeded because it met a clear need. Don’t be afraid to pivot when the product isn’t working.

💭Most Consumer Apps Don’t Need VC

Venture capital can be a blessing but also a curse. If you attract investment that doesn’t line up with your product vision or culture, the cash injection can turn out to be a costly mistake. Building a business that pays for itself is a better fit for most founders.

🔑 Focus on Retention
Success is about keeping users, not just acquiring them. Burner’s ability to retain users, even short-term ones, proved its value. If users keep coming back, you’ve found something meaningful.

🛠 Trials, Errors, Wins
Testing was crucial to Burner’s growth. Every experiment was a learning opportunity. Don’t guess—test continuously, especially pricing, to find what drives retention and revenue.

🎯 Small Changes, Big Results
Minor tweaks, like switching to a free trial, led to significant growth. Optimize for retention with quick, simple changes. Even minor adjustments can have a substantial impact on results.

About Greg Cohn:

🛫 Founder and CEO of Ad Hoc Labs

📱 Greg Cohn is the founder of Burner, the leading mobile app for managing personal privacy through disposable phone numbers. With a passion for solving real-world problems, Greg transitioned from an early startup failure to building a successful business that prioritizes user privacy, simplicity, and seamless functionality.

👋 LinkedIn
💬 Text Greg’s Burner: (323) 579-1830
🧑‍💻 Open Roles at Ad Hoc Labs (Mention “Sub Club” to get a closer look at your resume.)

Follow us on X:

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

Episode Highlights:

[0:00] The concept behind Wrangle, Greg’s first app

[1:39] Twilio’s role in developing Wrangle and early challenges

[3:24] Burner’s breakthrough with the “burner” feature for privacy

[9:42] Wrangle’s pivot and what went wrong

[13:36] Moving from paid downloads to a subscription model for Burner

[24:47] Importance of user feedback in shaping the Burner product

[33:24] The credit system and why it transitioned to subscriptions

[38:55] Why retention and cohort analysis are key to Burner’s success

[44:29] How Burner integrates new features like VPN for growth

[54:33] Premium tier features: phone number lookup becomes popular

[1:02:18] Bundling products: the decision to expand Burner’s offerings

[1:09:53] Greg’s thoughts on acquiring apps vs building new features

[1:23:38] Win of the year: faster paywall testing speed for Burner

On the podcast we talk with Ravi about subscriptions as a force multiplier for consumables, why narratives matter more than metrics in goal-setting, and why you might want to try a longer onboarding, or a shorter one.

📊 Stack the demand curve
Tinder didn’t just offer one price—it built a staircase of value. Low-tier subs, premium upgrades, and microtransactions filled in the gaps of user willingness to pay. The result? More people paid something, and some paid a lot. Don’t pick one price point. Map the whole curve.

🎯 Create value before monetization
The fastest way to expand your TAM? Get users to the “aha” moment faster. Tinder made onboarding nearly instant to tap into a new, younger audience. In contrast, Sesame Care increased conversions with a 25-step flow by increasing user confidence. Friction isn’t the enemy—poor timing is.

💰 Free is a monetization strategy
At Tinder, 85–90% of users never paid. But their presence was the product—fueling demand and justifying spend for the other 10–15%. Don’t underestimate free users. Sometimes, they’re the reason someone else is willing to pay.

🧪 Price is product
Tinder didn’t guess what users would pay. It ran hundreds of localized price tests across SKUs to learn what users valued. Pricing isn’t a spreadsheet exercise—it’s part of the product experience and should be tested like one.

📐 Narrative beats metrics
OKRs fail when they skip the why. Ravi’s NCTs framework, which stands for Narratives, Commitments, Tasks, anchors goals in story and context. If your team is hitting the numbers but drifting on focus, it’s probably time to start with the story—not the spreadsheet.

🪞 Monetization reveals product market fit
Most apps undercharge. A scanner app might seem basic, but if it powers daily workflows, it’s worth real money. Set your price high enough to test willingness, not just conversion. If no one bites, you don’t have a monetization problem—you have a product one.

About Ravi Mehta:
🔥 Former Chief Product Officer at Tinder and product leader at Meta, TripAdvisor, and Microsoft.

📈 Ravi helps companies turn behavioral insights into scalable monetization systems — from multi-tier subscriptions to habit-forming onboarding flows.

🗣 “If you have a product that’s solving an important need for someone, there’s a system around that that fits into the problem you’re solving, and you should think about the value of that system rather than just the price.”

👋 LinkedIn

Follow us on X:

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

Episode Highlights:
[0:00] Subscriptions as a force multiplier for consumables

[3:03] Filling the demand curve with tiers and microtransactions

[6:47] Why free-to-play was Tinder’s breakthrough innovation

[10:26] Matching monetization to different user behaviors

[13:09] Creating value for whales without breaking the game

[17:22] Experimenting your way into the perfect pricing model

[20:03] When free, trial, or paid onboarding makes the most sense

[23:47] Why apps are undermonetized and how to fix it

[28:43] Why a longer onboarding boosted conversion 40%

[35:20] How shorter onboarding expanded Tinder’s total market

[43:03] Narratives, commitments, and tasks: a better goal framework

[01:02:49] Growth is easier when you own your audience