š Growth Gems #134 - Insights from RAGA '25 (Part 1)
Hi, fellow growth practitioner!
This week, Iām bringing you insights from the talks at the last NYC RevenueCat App Growth Annual (RAGA).
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My favorite thing? Being able to leverage custom attributes (like an onboarding answer) to target unique paywalls. You can also do this with several other dimensions.
Jacob also teased the AI-generated paywall feature. Pretty cool stuff.
Thatās it!
I found my favorite event in the industry: RevenueCatās App Growth Annual (RAGA).
The discussions Iāve had this year were amazing, and making it an App Growth week was genius. Plus, it was at home, which is convenient š½
I shared many insights from RAGA 2024 here, and I wanted to do something similar for this yearās event.
I mined all the talks.
I asked the workshop experts to share their favorite gem from their session.
Today, Iām sharing part 1: my favorite insights from the talks and on-stage discussions.
If youāre getting any value from todayās edition, support by saving/sharing/commenting on the LinkedIn post š
Lessons in value creation at Duolingo by Natalia Castillejo (Senior Director of Product, Duolingo)
š When implementing competitive features like leaderboards, match users with peers at similar skill levels to make competition motivating rather than discouraging. Comparing users to global elites can backfire and decrease engagement.
(19:16) by Natalia Castillejo
š When launching premium tiers, avoid tech-centric messaging that doesnāt resonate with users. Instead, pick one user need and double down on the feature serving it in messaging. Duolingoās initial āAI-poweredā and āadvancedā messaging for Max failed because it was too abstract. Things clicked when they promoted ācall with Lillyā instead.
(33:48) by Natalia Castillejo
The risks and rewards of paywalling a previously free feature ā lessons from Lose It! by Danielle Goryl (VP Growth Marketing, Lose It!) and Burton Hohman (Senior PM, Lose It!)
š When testing paywalling a feature, segment users into three distinct cohorts: new users (no expectations), reactivated users (returning after time away), and existing base users (consistent usage). Each cohort will react differently to feature locking based on their relationship with your app.
(03:19) by Danielle
š Platform parity isnāt sacred. Create platform-specific monetization models based on user preferences: ad-supported features on Android where users accept ads, and paid features on iOS where users prefer subscription over ads. This hybrid approach can satisfy both user bases.
(12:05) by Burton
Burton mentioned you should still prepare customer care scripts for cross-platform complaints but that users actually rarely complain about other platforms getting different features: they care about their own experience.
š Continuously optimize review prompt flows by reducing friction. Simplifying from 5 sentiment options to 2, and removing the middle confirmation step before the app store rating can significantly improve conversion from prompt to actual review submission.
(15:35) by Burton
Here they were trying to recover from previous bad ratings, and they focused on engaged users. They later also recommended to target review requests during periods when your most engaged/dedicated users are active (like fitness apps in November/December).
Rev-share partnerships ā how to grow with creators and communities by Emmanuel Crouvisier (Founder, CardPointers)
š Use the term āRevenue Shareā instead of āAffiliate Programā when approaching potential partners. The terminology makes a significant difference in receptiveness, as creators have negative associations with traditional affiliate marketing but view revenue sharing as a more legitimate partnership.
(26:37)
He recommends positioning revenue sharing as having unlimited upside potential compared to fixed-rate sponsorships.
š Send instant email notifications to partners every time they earn a commission to create positive reinforcement loops. These real-time ādopamine hitsā showing actual earnings motivate creators to continue promoting your app and create more content.
(20:20)
Another tip was to create special promotional opportunities tied to their milestones and achievements. Smart.
Beyond the paywall ā bundling, pricing, and post-purchase upsells by Michael Ribero (SVP, Global Consumer Revenue, CondĆ© Nast)
š The post-purchase moment is your highest-engagement opportunityānever waste it. Immediately after subscription purchase, upsell additional products, monetize the screen real estate through partners, or drive high-value actions. Even 5% conversion rates make it worth it because you have 0 incremental customer acquisition costs.
(18:28)
This is something heavily used in web funnels with often several upsells in a row. Some players like Flo, Simple or BetterMe promote it in-app as well, sometimes also to non-subscribers.
š Do not launch a premium product (e.g., higher subscription tier) unless you can prove there is a cohort that is big enough to justify the effort (1-2% of the user base makes it NOT worth it).
(24:08)
Iāve experienced this first-hand and couldnāt agree more (although one exception is probably AI apps where power users can cost a lot).
Here is a related gem from that I shared in Growth Gems #125 š
Launched Podcast live with Ryan Jones (Founder/CEO, Flighty)
š Identify existing user behaviors and build features that make those actions easier or more shareable. Rather than creating entirely new behaviors, ādraft behindā what users already do naturally and reduce friction or add value to those moments to leverage existing momentum.
A few things he shared on this topic:
Look for features where helping one user naturally creates value for others and brings them into your ecosystem.
Consider the social dynamics and potential negative perceptions around sharing your content (which is why drafting behind is smart).
Your top growth drivers may spread through channels you canāt directly track.
One of their top growth drivers is Flighty Passport.
š Invest heavily in your first three App Store screenshots despite the difficulty to āboil down your product to four wordsā. But 95% of potential users only see your first screenshots so itās worth it.
So true, and something Iāve heard from others as well.
Growth hack or black hat? Shedding light on questionable app growth strategies by Steve P. Young (Founder, App Masters)
š Ask for a review before the paywall. If you do this, prime users by displaying a 5-star rating visual at the top along with testimonials and social proof showing āpeople like you.ā
(09:15)
Many apps do this beyond Cal AI. Here is an example by Clue where they ask right after the intro pitch.
Here is another example by Moongate where there is a bit more shared before.
If/When you can figure it out, itās best to provide an actually valuable (mini-)experience to users first, then ask for the āprimedā review. Easier said then done, but given most developers will never ask for review during onboarding, it might be a competitive advantage.
š App Store keyword rankings are directly influenced by in-app purchase revenue. When a client switched from Apple IAP to Stripe, their revenue visible to Apple dropped 90% and their keyword rankings immediately plummeted, proving that revenue is a major ranking factor.
(23:02)
š Replace free trials with low-cost introductory offers that convert to annual subscriptions. A $2.99-3.99 first month that renews at the full annual price can outperform traditional free trials by immediately generating revenue while still lowering the barrier to entry.
(28:10)
Lots of things to take into account here, like can you afford to wait 1 month vs. 1 week (in addition to Appleās payout delay) before getting the revenue from yearly? But more on why moving away from trials can make sense (DO read the comments too).
Free trials kill your growth (Ketty Slonimsky)
Free trials are a disaster for your business (Marcus Burke)
Why a paid introductory offer is better than a free trial (Nicole Weiss)
From indie side project to $2M in funding ā lessons from growing Shotsy by Aja Beckett (Founder, Shotsy)
š Maintain financial stability while building your app rather than going full-time prematurely. The temptation to quit your job for āeight more hours a dayā often backfiresāfinancial pressure leads to fear-based decisions rather than clear problem-solving. Build with stability first, then transition when you have traction.
(37:16)
š Authentic insider perspective creates defensible competitive advantage against well-funded opportunistic competitors: authenticity becomes your moat. Being the only app built by people actually using GLP-1s provides empathy and understanding that finance-driven competitors canāt replicate, even with larger budgets.
(41:10)
This works best if you build products for problems you personally experience.
How Ladder became the #1 grossing fitness app in the US by Greg Stewart (CEO, Ladder)
š When building a subscription app, dissect the premium offline experience youāre replacing and identify its core value pillars. Ladder broke down personal training into three elements: structured programming, expert coaching, and accountabilityāthen built their entire product around replicating these digitally.
(01:26)
This reminded me of a gem from Samuel Hulick (Founder of UserOnBoard) I shared in Growth Gems #73 š
š Define your North Star metric (for Ladder: workout completions) and build a comprehensive feedback system around it. Donāt guessāsystematically collect input from beta members, DMs, product usage, app reviews, and lead quizzes to understand what drives your core metric.
(04:35)
Greg later said āactivation is make or breakā and shared theyāve spent a lot of time defining and optimizing their core activation metric (they ended up with 2 workouts).
More insights on activation metrics from a roundtable discussion with Hannah Parvaz š
š Be willing to completely pause growth to fix monetization. Ladder stopped all growth investment to overhaul pricing, packaging, and subscription offerings and move away from one-size fits all. This foundational work was the unlock that enabled all future growth and they wouldnāt have succeeded without it.
(17:15)
They realized their one-size fits all approach didnāt make sense. He gave a shoutout to this Reforge course for this where the core principle is to align the monetization strategy with consumersā perception of value.
See you next time for part 2.
Stay curious!
ā Sylvain
Chief Insights Miner at Growth Gems āļø
(Fractional) Head of Growth at Reading.com
Growth Consultant/Advisor for subscription apps
Now also growing my own app
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