The Story
Jack Friks taught himself to code and built two apps to $10K/month - all from his mom's basement. He dropped out of college and quit his McDonald's job because he "would rather be homeless than work a job."
After 3 years of failed attempts (writing a book, selling t-shirts, crypto YouTube channel), he landed on learning to code. His first app, Curiosity Quench, took 4 months to build because he was learning while building. Everything broke constantly - he just kept putting errors into ChatGPT until he had a working product.
His secret weapon: spending just 1 hour a day on marketing, generating over 300 million views and making 1,000+ videos.
The Two Apps
Curiosity Quench ($3K MRR, $60K+ total)
- •Helps people scroll less on their phones
- •Gives users hobbies and action plans to do instead
- •$30/year subscription with 7-day free trial
- •100,000+ downloads
- •Built in 4 months while learning to code
PostBridge ($7K MRR, $40K in first 5 months)
- •Social media scheduling tool
- •Post to all platforms from one place
- •Starting plan: $9/month (multiple tiers now)
- •Built because Jack was spending 30 min/day posting the same content everywhere
- •Existing tools cost 10x more than he wanted to pay
Finding Ideas
The Best Ideas Solve Your Own Problems
- •Curiosity Quench: Jack was scrolling hours a day, existing apps weren't great
- •PostBridge: Spending 30 min of his 1-hour marketing time just posting to platforms
Validation Process
- •Ask yourself: Would I pay to solve this problem?
- •If yes, it's more likely to be a painful problem worth solving
- •Post a 60-second TikTok talking about the idea
- •If 15+ people comment "I need this" - that's validation
- •Keep making videos, see if pattern continues
- •Eventually: "Hey, I should probably make this thing hundreds of people say they want"
Building Process
Pure Chaos Method
- •Jump into code editor
- •Open ChatGPT
- •Ask how to build the thing
- •Use boilerplate for landing page
- •Make small improvements week over week
Learning to Code
- •Went in head-on with Curiosity Quench as first project
- •Everything broke almost every time
- •Kept putting errors into ChatGPT
- •Eventually had a working product
The 1-Hour-a-Day Marketing Strategy
Account Warm-Up (First 2 Days)
- •Open TikTok and Instagram accounts
- •Scroll 15 minutes/day on each
- •This tells algorithms you're a real human, not a bot
- •Save viral videos you see
- •Comment and follow people in your niche
- •DO NOT post content during this time
Content Creation
- •Download CapCut (learn it in an hour)
- •Post videos based on proven examples you saved
- •Add your app as call to action (3 seconds or less at end)
- •OR don't put app in video - use caption and first comment as CTA
The Winning Template
- •2x2 images with caption
- •6 seconds long (100-200% watch time)
- •Pinned comment: "Go download and try our app"
- •Intentional mistakes to drive engagement (e.g., mixing up astrology/astronomy makes people angry → comments)
Results
- •Posted 2x2 template 300+ times on 2 accounts
- •60-70K signups from these simple templates
- •Hundreds of millions of views
When You Find a Winner
- •Double down on it
- •Recreate the video in different ways
- •Post it over and over
- •"Milk it till it's dry"
Multiple Accounts Strategy
- •Runs 3 Instagram accounts
- •Spreads videos out by 3-4 hours
- •Prevents algorithm from thinking you're spamming
- •Always different videos (algorithms detect same metadata)
Daily vs. Batching
- •Posts same day, doesn't schedule far out
- •Reason: Can iterate way faster
- •Every day = try something new
- •Batching = same stale content for a month without knowing if it works
Content Philosophy
What Makes Content Work
- •Must provide value, connection, or laughs
- •Can be entertainment or education
- •If it's directly an ad, people scroll
- •Algorithm loves watch time
- •6-second videos = easy 100-200% watch time
Building in Public on X/Twitter
How to Grow
- •Don't try to grow a personal brand
- •Just build cool things, do cool things, share them
- •"Cool things" = tangible output (app, book, organizing your house)
- •Most people share aphorisms and quotes no one cares about
- •Share what you're actually doing - 10x more interesting
Getting Over Fear
- •Made new social media accounts to escape real-life people
- •Only way to get over fear: just do it
- •Realize no one really cares if you fail or win
- •People are paying attention to themselves, not judging you
- •Authenticity matters - people can feel if you're being real
Monetization
Mobile App (Curiosity Quench)
- •Paywall (can skip, but offers trial)
- •Best features behind paywall
- •Key: Onboarding before paywall
- •Tell them the problem you're solving
- •Explain how you'll solve it
- •Get them excited
- •They're more primed to pay
Web App (PostBridge)
- •7-day free trial (no free version)
- •Credit card required to try
- •Can cancel anytime
- •40% discount on yearly pricing
- •These two things drove revenue up significantly
Pricing Strategy
- •Priced at what he thinks is fair
- •What he was willing to pay himself
- •Still makes healthy profit at that price
- •Undercuts competitors who charge 10x more
Retention
The Key
- •Make a product so useful they need it daily
- •Stickiness comes from the initial idea
- •Problem must be painful enough to pay monthly
Tech Stack
- •Next.js (web)
- •React Native with Expo (mobile)
- •ShipFast boilerplate (from Marc Lou)
- •Supabase (database)
- •Apple Notes / Trello (internal use)
- •Timer for focused work sessions (inspired by Pat)
Costs
- •Twitter API: $200/month
- •Hosting/database: ~$400/month
- •Total: ~$600/month
- •Margins: 95%+
Day in the Life
- •Wake up early, get 8 hours sleep (doesn't sacrifice sleep)
- •Read a bit
- •2-4 hours focused work
- •Lunch
- •2-4 hours focused work
- •Stop at dinnertime (sleep better, excited to work next day)
Focus Strategy
- •Start timer, block in
- •Focus on ONE task
- •1 hour, 90 minutes, or 2 hours at a time
- •"When you're focused you get a lot more done"
Key Advice
Keep Going
- •Many times wanted to give up or was doubtful
- •Few months later, figured out the hurdle because he kept going
Solve Real Problems
- •Easiest way to make a successful business
- •Both successful apps solved his own problems
For Aspiring Solopreneurs
- •Keep trying different things even when something doesn't work
- •Get through the haze of "this isn't going to work out"
- •Won't happen overnight - may take 3-4 years (that's average)
- •Ability to not give up is the #1 thing
Resources
- •YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jackfriks0
- •Twitter: https://x.com/jackfriks
- •Curiosity Quench: https://www.curiosityquench.com/
- •PostBridge: https://www.post-bridge.com/