How Sebastian Built Habit Kit to $15K MRR in 2 Years
TL;DR: Sebastian quit his corporate programming job with no plan, just 12 months of runway to figure out indie app development. After 6 months of struggling with minimal downloads, he changed strategies and built Habit Kit - a visually appealing habit tracker with privacy-first design. He validated demand by sharing screenshots on social media and seeing positive reception, then shipped the MVP in just 2 months using Flutter for cross-platform development. His growth came from three channels: building in public across multiple platforms (X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Threads), strategic App Store Optimization (putting 'habit tracker' in the app name, ranking top 5 for key terms), and minimal paid ads ($100/month Apple Search Ads as a ranking signal). He also gathered reviews aggressively by triggering the review dialog immediately after users completed their first habit. When his 12-month deadline passed, he returned to his old job and ran the app as a side business, reaching $3K MRR by end of 2023. By end of 2024 he hit $15K MRR and quit his job again, this time for good. The app now has 300,000+ downloads, 2,000+ reviews, and operates with extremely low overhead ($200-300/month plus 1% to RevenueCat).
Key Insights
- Quit job with 12-month deadline to force focus - couldn't code side projects after 8-hour programming job
- Shared early screenshots on social media to validate demand before investing in full build - positive reception confirmed market interest
- Put primary keyword 'habit tracker' at start of app name to rank top 5 in multiple countries
- Triggered review dialog immediately after first habit completion (success moment) - generated 2,000+ reviews and 5-star ratings
- Building in public across 4 platforms (X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Threads) led to podcast features, video appearances, and developer connections
- Returned to job when 12-month runway ended, ran app as side business until it hit sustainable revenue
Actionable Takeaways
- Use cross-platform frameworks like Flutter to ship to iOS and Android simultaneously with one codebase
- Test demand by sharing screenshots and development progress on social media before building the full product
- Optimize app store metadata aggressively - put your primary keyword at the start of your app name for ranking
- Trigger review requests at the moment of first success (first completed action) to maximize 5-star ratings
- Build in public across multiple platforms simultaneously to create compounding opportunities (podcasts, features, connections)
- Save 12 months runway before quitting your job to give yourself real focus time without side-project burnout