SUMMARY

In this podcast interview, Lots shares his playbook for building viral consumer apps like PrayScreen, which earned $120k annually in the Christian focus niche before a quick six-figure acquisition, emphasizing simple iterations on trends.

STATEMENTS

Lots built PrayScreen as a faith-based app that requires users to pray before unlocking their phone, inspired by secular focus apps like One Sec.
The app achieved $120k in annual revenue within six months through TikTok UGC and Meta ads, with installs at under 80 cents in the US.
PrayScreen reached 60% day-30 retention by encouraging users to pray four times daily, turning a frustrating delay into a habit-building feature.
Lots sold PrayScreen within a week of tweeting about it, prioritizing speed over maximum price for a seamless exit process.
He identifies viral TikTok content by focusing on hooks that evoke strong emotions and high engagement through comments.
Splash screens and shareable app moments are key in UGC videos to demonstrate functionality without full onboarding.
Targeting followers of celebrity pastors on Twitter enables low-cost user acquisition for faith-based apps.
Bible Buddy started as a WhatsApp bot for Christian therapy via AI chats tied to Bible verses, later becoming an app with 100k monthly active users.
Magic Music was rapidly built in four days by replicating Suno AI's music generation, leading to quick monetization without an official API.
Toxic Traits app uses rage-bait TikToks analyzing screenshots of conversations to spark debates and drive downloads.
Lots advises beginners to aim for a first "nut" with 5-10k MR apps for quick sales, building skills through repeatable small wins.
App exits typically range from 2x to 6x ARR, with consistent three-month revenue preferred over volatile spikes.
Buyers value untapped growth potential like internationalization, which Lots leaves for acquirers to handle.
Faith niches remain underserved for viral content, as seen with PrayScreen spawning 70 copycat "Bible focus" apps within months.
Mobile games like White Out Survival generate over $50 million monthly through in-app ads, suggesting opportunities in Bible-themed versions.
Lots funds promising ideas like a Bible survival game after proving repeatable success with prior exits.

IDEAS

Copy proven app mechanics from saturated markets but niche them for underserved audiences like Christians to capture loyal users quickly.
Viral TikTok hooks thrive on controversy or shock value that sparks comment debates, turning negativity into engagement and conversions.
Use splash screens in ads as a branding tool to show app essence without revealing full mechanics, keeping videos snappy and intriguing.
Organic TikTok videos that perform well can be directly repurposed into targeted ads for lower CPIs, like 39 cents in the US.
High retention trumps high conversions: Offer free versions with ads for non-payers if 60% stick around daily.
Target social media followers of niche influencers, such as celebrity pastors, for hyper-relevant, cheap installs at two cents each.
Build apps rapidly around emerging AI tools, like wrapping Suno music generation in four days, to beat competitors to market.
Rage-bait content with ambiguous scenarios in UGC drives arguments in comments, boosting algorithmic reach organically.
Exit strategy: Accept third-highest offers for fast closes to avoid deal fall-throughs, which happen over 90% of the time.
Leave internationalization and scaling to buyers; focus on US validation to maximize acquisition appeal.
Small wins derisk future big swings: Selling a 5-10k MR app funds and builds networks for larger projects.
Underserved niches like faith-based gamification offer massive revenue potential, as secular games print $50M+ monthly.
Consistent revenue over three months signals reliability to buyers, enhancing multiples regardless of total ARR.

INSIGHTS

Success in app building stems from iterating on validated trends rather than inventing originals, allowing quick market entry with proven demand.
Emotional hooks in content not only drive virality but build brand affinity, as initial shock evolves into user endorsement.
Retention-focused features transform user friction—like delays—into value, fostering habits that sustain long-term engagement.
Platform-specific targeting, such as Twitter follower lookalikes, unlocks precise audiences at fractions of standard ad costs.
Prioritizing speed in exits preserves momentum and relationships, turning one-off sales into repeat opportunities with buyers.
Beginners accelerate by stacking micro-skills through simple apps, compounding into expertise for high-stakes ventures.
Niche adaptations of broad successes reveal untapped revenue streams, especially where cultural loyalties amplify retention.
Ad ecosystems in apps offer indirect monetization paths, like serving game ads in prayer apps, blending user experiences profitably.
Framing apps as "pre-growth" opportunities—highlighting untested expansions—elevates perceived value in acquisitions.
Repeatable systems over singular moonshots enable consistent wins, building capital and credibility for ambitious ideas.
Viral formats evolve rapidly; monitoring ad-heavy games signals emerging metas for timely app or content creation.

QUOTES

"I would rather take like the third highest price if they can be like, 'Yo, we can close in the next four, five days.'"
"Preycreen is an app that makes you pray before unlocking your phone and it hit 120K AR in 6 months and got acquired within a week of him tweeting about it."
"While most people are struggling to build their first successful app, this guy just sold his fourth one."
"Get your first nut first... if you can get something to like even five to 10k MR, you can sell that thing."
"Most deals fall through, like 90% plus."
"We've got this content. This thing's already working. You haven't even tried this, this, this, and this."
"Games print and they're profitable as hell."

HABITS

Rapidly prototype apps around new trends, such as building Magic Music in four days after Suno AI's launch.
Test multiple UGC hooks on TikTok, focusing on comment engagement to identify viral formats.
Maintain 10-12 TikTok accounts managed by agencies for consistent content scaling.
Target niche audiences via social ads, like followers of celebrity pastors, for low-cost acquisition.
Prioritize splash screens and shareable moments in app design for easy video demonstrations.
Build free versions with ads for high-retention users to monetize non-converters effectively.

FACTS

PrayScreen achieved 60% day-30 retention with users praying four times daily.
One Sec generates $100k monthly by delaying app access with a three-second breath prompt.
White Out Survival earns $53 million monthly on Android and $51 million on iOS via in-app ads.
Bible Buddy reached 100k monthly active users starting as a WhatsApp bot costing two cents per conversation.
TikTok ads for PrayScreen hit 39 cents per install in the US, averaging 70-80 cents.
Faith-based apps like PrayScreen inspired 70 copycat "Bible focus" listings within 2-3 months.

REFERENCES

One Sec: Focus app delaying access with breathing exercise.
Opal: Screen time management app making $5 million ARR.
Screen Zen: Another focus app in the breathing delay niche.
White Out Survival: Mobile game with $100+ million monthly revenue from ads.
Bible Buddy: AI therapist app for Christians with Bible-tied chats.
Magic Music: AI music generator wrapping Suno tech.
Toxic Traits: App analyzing conversation screenshots for red flags.
ChatGPT: Used for initial AI integrations in apps.
Suno AI: Music generation tool without API, inspiring rapid wrappers.
WhatsApp Business API: Platform for Bible Buddy bot before app transition.

HOW TO APPLY

Identify a proven app mechanic in a saturated market, then adapt it to an underserved niche like faith-based users for quick validation.
Create UGC TikTok videos evoking strong emotions to spark comments, testing multiple hooks until one drives high engagement.
Repurpose top-performing organic videos into targeted Meta ads, aiming for low CPIs by controlling the audience.
Design apps with strong splash screens and retention loops, offering free ad-supported versions for non-paying users.
Tweet about revenue milestones to attract buyers, prioritizing fast-closing offers over maximum bids for efficient exits.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Build simple, niche-adapted apps for quick revenue and fast exits to fund repeatable successes in consumer tech.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Start with beginner-friendly apps targeting 5-10k MR to gain skills before scaling ambitions.
Monitor ad-heavy mobile games for emerging trends, adapting them to underserved niches like Bible-themed survival.
Use Twitter's follower lookalike targeting for niche apps to achieve two-cent installs.
Focus on high-retention features over instant conversions, monetizing via ads for sustained profitability.
Leave growth levers like internationalization to buyers to boost exit multiples.
Test rage-bait hooks in UGC for virality, ensuring ambiguous scenarios fuel comment debates.
Rapidly wrap new AI tools into apps, emailing founders for support if APIs are absent.
Aim for three months of consistent revenue before exiting to signal reliability to acquirers.
Network through small wins to derisk funding for larger ideas, like faith-based games.

MEMO

In the competitive world of mobile apps, Lots has mastered the art of the quick, profitable build-and-flip. His latest success, PrayScreen, a deceptively simple tool that prompts users to pray before accessing their phone, rocketed to $120,000 in annual revenue within six months. Inspired by secular focus apps like One Sec—which delays Instagram opens with a three-second breath—Lots niched it for Christians, tapping into a loyal audience craving faith-integrated tech. What began as a frustration-forcing mechanic became a habit-builder: users prayed four times daily, yielding 60% retention on day 30, a rarity in the attention-economy battlefield.

Growth came fast and lean, fueled by user-generated content on TikTok. Lots and his team managed 10 to 12 accounts, experimenting with shock-value hooks—think controversial scenarios pitting faith against modern distractions—that ignited comment wars and algorithmic boosts. One video, featuring a Christian song and an ambiguous demo, drove 70% of organic downloads before being repurposed into Meta ads. The result? Installs at 39 cents on peak days, averaging under 80 cents in the US, far below the typical $1.50. Rather than chasing high conversions (a mere 2.5%), Lots leaned into retention, offering a free ad-supported version that earned five cents per daily user, recouping costs in two weeks.

This wasn't luck; it's a system honed across multiple apps. Bible Buddy, his AI "therapist" for Christians, started as a WhatsApp bot chatting Bible wisdom, amassing 100,000 monthly users via Twitter ads targeting celebrity pastor followers at two cents per install. Magic Music, built in four days around Suno AI's music generator, exemplified his speed-to-market ethos, bypassing absent APIs through sheer hustle. Even Toxic Traits, a rage-bait analyzer of toxic conversations, sits ready for sale with 330 pre-made TikToks, primed for viral debates in comments.

Exits define Lots's playbook: He sold PrayScreen for six figures within a week of a single tweet, favoring swift closes over haggling—deals crumble 90% of the time, he notes. Multiples range from 2x to 6x annual recurring revenue, but consistency over three months trumps spikes. He leaves scaling—internationalization, ads in new markets—to buyers, framing apps as low-hanging fruit for growth operators. This derisks everything: Small wins fund swings, like his pitch for a Bible survival game to rival ad behemoths earning $100 million monthly.

For aspiring builders, Lots urges starting small: Nail a "first nut" at 5,000 to 10,000 monthly revenue, sell it, and stack skills. Underserved niches, especially faith, remain goldmines—PrayScreen spawned 70 copycats in months. In an era of fleeting virality, his approach proves that iterating on the familiar, not reinventing, turns ideas into cash flow and credibility, paving paths for bolder ventures.