26 days from submission to both stores live — what I learned shipping CatchNote solo
I am a Korean solo developer working from Seoul. CatchNote is now live on iOS and Android. This is the honest version, with numbers.
Numbers:
- iOS installs: 55 (launched April 29 — about 13 days of organic growth)
- Android installs: 11 (launched May 10 — first 2 days. The 26-day Google review consumed most of the prep window I expected to use for early marketing)
- Pro conversions: 0 (IAP not built yet — pre-monetization)
- Marketing time: ~3 hours per week
- Reddit posts before this campaign: 2 (one decent, one bad — disclosure mistake on the bad one)
- User-data servers: 0. No accounts. Saves live in SQLite on the device.
- Recurring infra cost: low (inference API for the auto-sort). Platform fees: $99/yr Apple, $25 lifetime Google.
- Marketing spend: $0
What worked:
Building for myself first. The app is just "what I wanted, nothing extra." That clarity shows up in every line of copy.
The hard "no accounts, no sync, saves stay local" stance. It is polarizing on purpose. Skeptics convert quickly. The rest leave immediately. Better than a soft middle.
One thing I will not claim, even though it would sell better: I do not say CatchNote is "100% on-device." It is not. Categorization runs on a remote inference call with metadata only. The saved content body does not leave the phone, but a small payload does. I would rather defend that exact line for years than overclaim and walk it back later.
Shipping a different app (Calorie Counter, also on Play) while Google review sat at day 14, day 15, day 16. For a solo developer, sitting and refreshing the review status is dead time.
What did not work:
The first Reddit post in a related sub. I tried not to mention I was the developer. People sniffed it out in about four comments. The cost was the sub. The lesson was: full disclosure is cheaper.
The Product Hunt launch was lukewarm. Wrong moment, no community build-up, generic pitch.
The $0 marketing budget is by choice, but the cost is real — slower compounding. Probably staying at $0 through the 90-day PoC gate.
What is next:
This week — a community-targeted launch sprint. You are reading one of seven posts.
Day 90 gate: 1,000 installs combined across both stores. Not there yet. If we pass the gate, more time goes in. If not, maintain only and the next app gets the focus.
I am open to questions on the launch math, the split architecture (local saves + remote categorization), or the solo workflow side of things.
CatchNote: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6762549430?ct=week5_indiehackers (iOS) / https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.orangeai.catchnoteapp&utm_source=indiehackers&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=week5_indiehackers (Android)
