Weather App Monetization Scale

The speaker reveals the surprising scale and monetization potential of mobile apps, particularly focusing on weather apps and gaming apps that created efficient money-making machines through user acquisition.

Key Points:

• Weather App Scale:

  • Weather apps (like Weather Bug) generating 200 million impressions per day
  • Scale was surprisingly large for seemingly simple utility apps

• Gaming App Economics:

  • User Acquisition Model:
    • Spending $8 to acquire a US male user (18-35 age range)
    • Making $20 per user within 7 days
    • 3x return on investment within a week

• Money-Making Machine:

  • Companies could systematically:
    • Input marketing spend
    • Get 3x return within 7 days
    • Scale by reinvesting profits

• Notable Examples:

  • Casino gaming apps showing massive scale
  • Candy Crush described as a "money printing machine"
  • Companies willing to spend heavily on user acquisition due to strong unit economics

The core insight is that certain mobile apps, particularly games, created predictable revenue machines through efficient user acquisition, where spending on new users would reliably generate multiples in return within days.