Sub Club by RevenueCat

On the podcast: the experiments behind Mojo's 60% lift in ARPU, why a winning paywall in Japan completely failed in the US, and why not relying on day one for most of your revenue is actually a strength.

This conversation is shorter than usual and will be featured in RevenueCat’s State of Subscription Apps report. Each episode in this series will explore one crucial topic and share actionable insights from top subscription app operators.

Top Takeaways:
🌍 A winning paywall in one region can completely fail in another
A long scrolling paywall with detailed comparisons drove a 20% revenue lift in Japan but failed in the US, where cleaner designs with punchy messages performed better. Always retest regional winners before global rollout.
💪 Getting only 50% of revenue on day one is actually a strength, not a weakness
While most apps see 80% of revenue on day one, getting half from existing users signals strong retention, generous free tier value, and healthy long-term monetization beyond onboarding.
⚡ Experiment velocity is a huge unlock for paywall optimization
Using third-party platforms to shorten iteration cycles from days to hours, running parallel test streams across geo segments, and taking more shots overall creates shorter feedback loops and compounds learning over time.

About Michal Parizek

🚀 Senior Growth Product Manager at Mojo, a mobile-first content creation platform that empowers businesses and creators to produce professional, animated social media content in minutes.

👋 LinkedIn
Episode Highlights:
[0:00] Introduction to Michal Parizek, Senior Growth Product Manager at Mojo
[1:02] How Mojo achieved a 60% increase in average revenue per user
[2:16] The impact of paywall design experiments on Mojo's revenue
[3:31] Why the same paywall design worked in Japan but failed in the US
[4:45] Mojo’s global pricing strategies and the role of regional differences
[5:45] How Mojo optimized early revenue with the 7-day ARPU metric
[7:02] The role of customer feedback in shaping Mojo’s growth strategies
[8:15] Testing different pricing models: How Mojo decided on the $79 price point
[9:30] Why focusing on new revenue, rather than renewals, was crucial for Mojo’s growth
[10:45] The benefits of running paywall campaigns for existing users
[12:02] How Mojo balances customer experience with aggressive monetization strategies
[13:15] The importance of experiment velocity and fast iteration in scaling Mojo
[14:34] Surprising results: Mojo’s success with paywall strategies for existing users
[15:41] Closing thoughts on scaling an app with data-driven experimentation and customer focus

On the podcast: about the cost of not tracking your experiments and decisions, how refunds and chargebacks quietly erase your paywall wins, and why stacking A/B test wins should compound your growth, but almost never does.

This conversation is shorter than usual and will be featured in RevenueCat’s State of Subscription Apps report. Each episode in this series will explore one crucial topic and share actionable insights from top subscription app operators.
Top Takeaways:

💸 Every experiment has a cost
Not tracking your experiments and their long-term impact is like flying blind; a simple decision log that maps revenue changes to specific tests can reveal what’s truly driving growth.
🤫 Refunds and chargebacks are silent killers
A paywall “win” can quickly become a net negative if you aren’t tracking the downstream effects of refunds and chargebacks, which often hide the true cost of a seemingly successful experiment.
📈 Your stacked wins are a fantasy
If your A/B test wins aren’t compounding into real-world growth, it’s a red flag that you’re over-optimizing for short-term metrics and ignoring the lagging indicators of long-term retention.

About Sara Grana: 
 🚀 Revenue Strategy Lead at Yousician, a revolutionary music platform for anyone to learn, play, create, and teach music. 
👋 LinkedIn

Follow us on X: 
David Barnard - @drbarnard
Jacob Eiting - @jeiting
RevenueCat - @RevenueCat
SubClub - @SubClubHQ

Episode Highlights:
[0:00] Introduction to Sara Grana, Revenue Strategy Lead at Yousician
[1:05] The importance of tracking experiments and business decisions in subscription apps
[2:19] Mapping revenue and understanding its evolution across different user segments
[3:06] Tracking revenue changes and connecting them to business decisions
[4:34] The pitfalls of focusing too much on early funnel metrics and ignoring long-term impacts
[5:26] The impact of chargebacks and refunds on paywall performance and customer retention
[7:20] Why understanding downstream effects is crucial for making smart pricing decisions
[8:44] The challenges and opportunities of introducing new subscription plans (e.g., lifetime subscriptions)
[9:43] How commercial strategy influences churn rates and renewals
[13:13] The importance of rechecking experiments after months to measure long-term impact
[14:52] Sara's advice on when to revisit experiments based on their impact on pricing and user behavior
[15:49] Tracking cohort data for subscription retention and understanding renewal trends
[16:21] Why surprising lifts in experiments may require deeper investigation
[17:13] The mismatch between short-term experiment results and long-term growth expectations
[18:02] Final thoughts on driving sustainable growth, tracking, and adapting strategies over time

On the podcast: the tailwinds driving a boom in non-game app revenue, how vibe coding and AI workflows are fueling growth in categories that have nothing to do with AI, and why people predicting the "death of apps" have never been more wrong.
This conversation is shorter than usual and will be featured in RevenueCat’s State of Subscription Apps report. Each episode in this series will explore one crucial topic and share actionable insights from top subscription app operators.

Top Takeaways: 

🚀 AI workflows are fueling growth across all app categories, not just AI apps
While generative AI apps saw explosive growth, billions in new revenue came from movies, social media, and utilities using AI to build and market more efficiently.

💰 Consumer willingness to pay has fundamentally shifted due to AI apps
ChatGPT anchored users on $20/month pricing, and usage-based models now create whales paying hundreds per month, driving 2x higher revenue per user than pre-AI apps.

🎯 Perfect price segmentation is becoming reality through hybrid monetization
Apps can now capture value from every user segment, from ad-supported free tiers to premium AI features costing hundreds per month.

About Olivia Moore:
🚀 AI Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a venture capital firm that backs bold entrepreneurs building the future through technology.

👋 LinkedIn

👋 @omooretweets on X
Follow us on X: 
David Barnard - @drbarnard
Jacob Eiting - @jeiting
RevenueCat - @RevenueCat
SubClub - @SubClubHQ

Episode Highlights:
[0:00] Introduction to Olivia Moore, AI Partner at Andreessen Horowitz
[1:05] Olivia discusses the role of AI in transforming startup growth strategies
[2:10] The importance of aligning product development with user needs and market demands
[3:15] How Olivia helps portfolio companies leverage AI to scale effectively
[4:25] The challenge of balancing innovation with user experience and feedback
[5:50] Olivia shares insights on identifying and seizing AI-driven market opportunities
[7:00] Navigating the complexities of integrating AI solutions into existing business models
[8:20] The importance of long-term growth strategies over quick wins
[9:35] Olivia talks about the evolving role of AI in user retention and engagement
[10:40] Discussing the ethical considerations of AI implementation in growth initiatives
[11:55] Olivia’s thoughts on the future of AI in the startup ecosystem
[12:30] Closing thoughts on driving innovation and growth through AI

On the podcast, I talk with Michael and Mark about the boom in hardware-enabled subscriptions, why nothing worked until they stopped optimizing and started building a better product, and how they doubled their price to $79 even though the data said they could charge more.
Top Takeaways:

📱 Hardware-enabled subscriptions need daily usage to work 
Devices that sit unused make subscription value harder to justify, but products that become the heartbeat of daily routines (like a family calendar) naturally create subscription demand.
🎯 Stop optimizing when you should be building
Limited resources force careful prioritization, and sometimes the biggest wins come from building genuinely valuable features rather than running endless conversion experiments.
💰 Price based on customer emotion, not just data
Testing showed $99 would maximize revenue, but qualitative research revealed $79 felt fair while $99 approached "disgust territory," so they chose the lower price for long-term goodwill.
🏗️ Build a great product before scaling marketing
Skylight tried to scale Calendar in 2021-22 but the product wasn't ready, leading to wasted marketing spend and false negatives until they focused on getting to 40+ NPS first.
🛍️ Retail partnerships are the ultimate influencer
Being in Costco and Best Buy provides a stamp of quality that can't be underestimated, and multi-channel distribution drives higher overall growth despite lower subscription attach rates in some channels.

About Michael Segal & Mark Ungerer:

🚀 CEO, Skylight

📱 Michael Segal is the CEO of Skylight, a family tech company best known for its digital frames and calendars. Michael, a former venture capitalist, brings a unique perspective to Skylight’s growth strategy, focusing on balancing growth with profitability. He shares anecdotes about Skylight’s journey from hardware to subscription models, the importance of understanding customers' emotions about pricing, and how the team navigates the challenges of scaling both hardware and software.
👋 LinkedIn

🚀 CPO, Skylight
📱 Mark Ungerer is the Chief Product Officer at Skylight, where he leads product strategy, development, and design. With a keen focus on creating seamless user experiences, Mark discusses Skylight’s approach to subscriptions, how they test and refine features based on user feedback, and the key role retail partnerships play in building trust and credibility. 
👋 LinkedIn

Follow us on X: 
David Barnard - @drbarnard
Jacob Eiting - @jeiting
RevenueCat - @RevenueCat
SubClub - @SubClubHQ

Episode Highlights:
[0:00] The balance between growth and profit: Making decisions based on business goals
[3:22] Timing the introduction of subscriptions: Skylight's early adoption and consumer reception
[5:35] The hardware-enabled subscription boom: Market maturity and Skylight’s position
[8:00] Unique challenges of marketing hardware-enabled subscriptions: Overcoming consumer skepticism
[10:52] How Skylight integrates hardware with daily family life to drive subscription value
[12:47] Pricing strategy: The magic behind Skylight’s price increase and minimal subscriber loss
[17:43] Challenges in scaling growth: How Skylight navigates its multi-channel strategy
[24:15] Shifting from free trials to subscription: The evolution of Skylight’s approach to testing
[27:35] The importance of talking to customers: Using qualitative feedback to guide decisions
[30:00] Retail partnerships as a growth strategy
[33:45] Subscription dynamics: How pricing and subscription models shape Skylight’s business
[36:25] Scaling with limited resources: Skylight’s approach to growth without a dedicated growth PM
[38:40] Navigating hardware, software, and subscription moats
[42:00] Biggest win: The success of the $79 subscription price increase
[44:05] Biggest fail: Learning from free trial experiments and the need for more growth testing
[46:01] Growth would be easier with more resources and strategic price adjustments for wider market reach
[48:30] The importance of reducing friction in onboarding for increased conversions
[52:30] The challenges of balancing customer acquisition with retention efforts
[55:02] Skylight's vision for long-term customer value and growth
[57:45] The impact of reducing friction in purchasing: How simple changes can dramatically increase conversion rates
[59:10] Closing thoughts on growth strategy: Aiming for long-term success, not short-term wins

On the podcast we talk with Tanmay and Jack about how earned media can drive paid performance, building features that make for good tweets, and why stripping out your onboarding quiz might beat optimizing it.
Top Takeaways:

📊Pricing should match how users think — not how AI works
One of the biggest wins came from simplifying pricing. For ElevenReader, selling listening time instead of tokens or credits dramatically improved clarity and conversion. Abstracting away AI complexity for consumers is not dumbing things down — it’s good product sense.

🏎️Small, autonomous “pods” enable speed to become the moat
Instead of one massive org, ElevenLabs operates like 10–12 startups inside the company. Small teams with full ownership can ship fast, iterate relentlessly, and make real product decisions without waiting on heavy processes — a critical edge in fast-moving AI markets.
💸Earned media compounds — and fuels paid performance
ElevenLabs treats launches as compounding assets. Each launch earns attention, which boosts branded search, improves paid efficiency, and makes future launches stronger. Growth isn’t just ads vs. organic — it’s a flywheel where story, brand, and performance reinforce each other.
🕊️Start launches with the “tweet thread,” not the feature
Before building launch assets, teams write the Twitter/X thread first. If a feature can’t be explained clearly and compellingly in a short narrative, it’s a red flag. This keeps teams focused on real user value instead of shipping “flashy but hollow” features.

🌐 Consumer apps are a strategic advantage for platform companies
ElevenLabs doesn’t see consumer apps as competing with its API customers — they’re a force multiplier. Being their own best customer helps them build better APIs, understand real user needs, and strengthen brand affinity across creators, consumers, and developers.

About Tanmay Jain & Jack McDermott

🚀 Mobile Growth Lead, ElevenLabs
📱 Tanmay Jain leads mobile growth for the core ElevenLabs app, focused on translating ElevenLabs’ powerful web + API capabilities into a mobile-native experience that’s simple, fast, and creative-first. He brings a founder mindset from previous roles (including Canva), and shares how ElevenLabs ships through small, autonomous pods — moving quickly, running experiments (like pricing + paywalls), and holding teams accountable to what actually improves the user experience.

👋 LinkedIn

🚀 Mobile Growth Lead, ElevenReader
📱 Jack McDermott leads mobile growth for ElevenReader, ElevenLabs’ consumer app that turns PDFs, articles, and books into lifelike audio — powered by a massive catalog of high-quality voices. He breaks down how ElevenLabs uses earned media to amplify paid performance, why launches start with the “tweet thread” narrative, and how simplifying pricing (selling listening time instead of tokens) can dramatically improve consumer conversion.
👋 LinkedIn

Follow us on X: 
David Barnard - @drbarnard
Jacob Eiting - @jeiting
RevenueCat - @RevenueCat
SubClub - @SubClubHQ

Episode Highlights:
[0:00] Why consumers won’t pay in “tokens” — they pay in outcomes
[2:13] The case for building consumer apps and an API (without competing with customers)
[4:10] ElevenLabs’ operating system: 10–12 “speedboat” pods shipping in parallel
[7:20] The Canva spin-out lesson: award-winning product ≠ distribution or retention
[12:07] Monetization that matches intent: “hours of listening” vs creator credits
[13:30] Two growth modes at once: compounding earned-media launches + steady paid UA
[16:27] Why earned media makes paid cheaper (branded search + trust lift)
[19:30] The launch playbook: write the Twitter thread first → turn it into a video
[32:20] “Speed is the moat” — and how they avoid shipping gimmicks
[36:57] Don’t copy Spotify Wrapped — find your product’s natural shareable moment
[43:31] ElevenReader’s “aha”: bring your own PDF/ebook + pick a voice worth sharing
[56:58] Biggest fail: over-optimizing onboarding instead of testing the “strip it back” base case