The Story
Ania Wysocka built Rootd - a panic attack and anxiety relief app - after experiencing debilitating panic attacks herself. As she shares: "In my fourth year of university, I actually got a panic attack seemingly out of nowhere. I had no idea what they were before and I was far away from home."
When she searched for apps to help: "I realized that there's nothing that really spoke to me. Things were really either clinical or there were hypnosis based apps and it just really wasn't what I was looking for. So that's why I figured I had something to launch here."
What started as a personal project has grown into a million-dollar business: "Since launching in 2019, it's been downloaded over 4 million times and made over a million in revenue."
Key Insights
The Personal Origin
"I don't have any technical background. So, I basically started taking what I thought would be helpful and I started drawing it out in a notebook."
Building Without Technical Skills
"I was thinking about the way I wanted the information to be presented, what would be most helpful for me in that moment of a panic attack. How do I keep things super simple in the app when somebody's really overwhelmed as they're using it?"
Process:
- •Drew ideas in notebooks
- •Taught herself wireframes in Photoshop/Illustrator
- •Approached an agency (couldn't afford)
- •Found a student developer willing to work with her
- •"I just put in all my savings"
The Core Feature That Never Changed
"The first prototype of Rootd was essentially the panic attack button that would walk you through a panic attack. And that actually hasn't changed a ton over the years because it's really the core of Rootd. It's the aha moment that really resonates with users."
Growth Timeline
- •Year 1: ~10,000 downloads
- •Year 2: ~100,000 downloads
- •Year 3: 1 million downloads
- •Now: 4+ million downloads, $1M+ revenue
"It started off quite slow... It wasn't until year two or so that we reached 100,000 downloads."
Building While Working Full-Time
"When I first started Rooted, I was working 4 days a week... I'm doing Rooted 3 days a week and this other job 4 days a week. So I basically had no weekends or social life for quite a few years. I don't think there's any shortcuts though."
4-Step Growth Playbook
Step 1: Build a Product That Delivers
"Build a product that actually delivers what your page promises. That'll lead not only to more positive downloads, but people will also then share it."
Step 2: Listen to Your Users
"User reviews are super important. Oftentimes everything you need to know is written in the user reviews and sometimes your own assumption of what a user needs might not actually be what they do need."
Step 3: Optimize App Store Presence Continuously
"Doing a release frequently shows that you continue to work on the app. I do one once every week and that shows you're constantly working on fixing bugs, improving the user experience."
Step 4: Partner Strategically
"We've done a few B2B contracts... a ton of different therapy groups and psychologist offices are recommending and using Rooted."
3 Tactics That Drove Growth
1. Active Social Media Engagement
"I used to spend literal hours going through posts, writing helpful comments, leaving links back to Rooted, and really trying to be helpful in what I wrote."
2. Press Releases & Cold Outreach
"I would find people online, journalists that wrote about mental health and then I would reach out to them either on LinkedIn or try to get their email and send pitches."
Results: Featured in Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, and Time magazine - "All of that really happened from these organic cold emails."
3. App Store Optimization (ASO)
"I focused a lot on making sure that the product matches what the users are looking for. They see on your product page, they download the app, they use it, and then they use the same keywords to describe their experience via the user reviews. That was like the holy circle."
The App Features
- •SOS Button: Walks you through a panic attack in the moment
- •Ron: Blue app mascot that guides users
- •Deep Breathing Tool
- •Lessons: Understanding anxiety, causes, theories
- •Journal Tool: Share feelings, accomplishments, gratitude
- •100+ Visualizations and Sleep Sounds
- •Simple Relaxing Games: For anxious moments
"We're able to now take a panic attack and users are feeling better from the panic attack within under 2 minutes."
Key Metrics
- •4.8 out of 5 rating maintained
- •"Users leave comments about how Rooted has helped them go back to work, go back to school, and just reclaim confidence in their lives."
Key Advice
"Listen to users very closely. They will have the answers you need. They'll help you know what to focus on."
"I'd also recommend taking care of yourself along the way... Looking back I wish I celebrated a few of the smaller moments more because now I realize that those were like the most awesome moments."
Resources
- •Rootd: https://www.rootd.io/
- •Follow Ania: https://x.com/aniawysocka