Building a mobile app portfolio to
$15k+/mo
Sebastian Röhl's first mobile app never got traction, but he learned from it and applied those lessons to his second app — HabitKit. Now, it's making more than $15k/mo.
Here's Sebastian on how he did it. 👇
Back and forth between employment and building
I first discovered the Indie Hackers community in 2019. I was finishing up university and I got super inspired by all the cool people sharing details about their businesses on the IH podcast.
I worked as a Software Engineer for three years, but I wanted creative freedom: being in charge of my own products, choosing my daily tasks spontaneously, and building a lifestyle where I could work on what I love. So, in 2022, I left my job to pursue my dream of becoming an indie hacker.
A year later, with limited traction, I returned to my old job and turned app development into a side hustle. But, as my apps began generating enough revenue to support my lifestyle, I left my job again in February 2024.
I'm currently working on three mobile apps available on both the App Store and Google Play:
HabitKit: My flagship app and main revenue source. It's a minimalist habit tracking app that displays consistency in a GitHub-like grid. It hit $15k in monthly revenue in November of 2024. I'm not sharing specific numbers anymore, but it has continued to grow since then.
Liftbear: My first app, born from my passion for weightlifting when I couldn't find a tracking app that met all my needs.
WinDiary: My third app, created to help me remember past victories and personal achievements, especially during difficult times.
Learning from his mistakes
My first product, Liftbear, was developed over the course of six months and never gained any traction. After reflecting on what went wrong with it, I decided to pursue a completely new idea: HabitKit, a minimalist habit tracking app.
This time, I took a different approach. I set myself a tight deadline of just 2 months to release the first version, forcing me to keep the scope small and focused on the core functionality.
Throughout the entire development process, I built HabitKit in public on Twitter, sharing everything about my journey and progress. I posted screenshots from the early development stages, asked for feedback from my audience, and added their suggestions quickly.
Cross-platform development
I mostly use Flutter for my apps because it allows me to build for iOS and Android with one codebase. It’s fast to develop, and I really like the design flexibility.
On the backend side, I actually don’t have much: HabitKit is fully local and privacy-focused, so there’s no external server. I use SQLite for local data storage.
For subscriptions, I use RevenueCat, and for analytics, I use Appfigures. For ASO (App Store Optimization), I usually use Astro.
I recently started developing a new app too — a Pomodoro focus timer. This one will be built for iOS with native technologies — SwiftUI, SwiftData, iCloud Sync, etc.
Subscriptions and lifetime deals
My business model is pretty simple: All my apps use the freemium model. You can download and use them for free, but there’s a Pro version that unlocks extra features.
For HabitKit, I offer monthly and yearly subscriptions, and also a lifetime one-time purchase. That combination works really well, because some users prefer to pay once and be done with it, while others are fine with a small monthly fee.
January is always the best month of the year, because everyone wants to build new habits. That’s where most of my revenue is made.
ASO and BIP
Most of my users come directly from the App Store and Google Play. I've spent a lot of time learning about App Store Optimization (ASO) and here's what it comes down to:
Good screenshots
Great title + subtitle
The right keywords
And a clear description
Besides that, Twitter has been my main channel. I talk about my indie hacking journey and post updates, screenshots, new features, etc.
People like to see behind the scenes, and sometimes my posts get shared and bring a lot of new downloads. This was super important at the beginning, and it still helps a lot — both with visibility and motivation.
Don't give up
One of the biggest challenges was staying patient and motivated. Mobile apps usually don’t take off right away, and for a long time, it felt like I was building into the void. There were months where nothing really moved, and it’s hard to keep going when you don’t see results — especially when your savings are draining away.
So, don’t give up too early. The first few months are usually slow, and it can feel like nobody cares. But if you keep improving, listening to users, and sharing your progress online, things can change really fast.
That said, not every app will be a success and that’s totally fine. You just have to keep learning and move on to the next one.
What's next?
Right now, my main goal is to keep improving HabitKit and make it even more useful for people who want to build better habits. There are still many ideas I want to add!
At the same time, I’m also working on a new app, a Pomodoro focus timer for iOS. It’s a small, fun project where I want to combine a clean design with simple productivity tools. I already have some early builds running, and I’m really excited about how it’s turning out.
Long-term, I just want to keep growing my small app business, stay independent, and build products that people actually enjoy using every day.
I build my apps in public on X and LinkedIn. I also write a weekly newsletter called “Building An Indie App Business” where I try to share extended insights about my life as a full-time indie hacker.
And make sure to check out my app HabitKit.
Leave a Comment
Loved the playbook: 2-month MVP, build in public, ASO, and a simple freemium with lifetime. Which lever moved the first $1k MRR fastest, ASO screenshots/keywords or Twitter build-in-public?
This is really insightful.
Thanks for sharing this detailed post. Very helpful and well-explained.
This is inspiring
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It’s great that you turned a failed app into lessons for HabitKit and now have a portfolio generating $15k+ per month. But don’t confuse multiple apps with a diversified business—if HabitKit is driving most of the revenue, it’s still a single point of failure. Doubling down on shipping quickly and building in public works, but you should also invest in a repeatable growth channel beyond App Store discovery. Which experiments have actually moved the needle: ASO, Twitter build-in-public, or something else? And how are you planning to maintain focus while adding a Pomodoro timer?
This is such a real and inspiring post, man. The powerful lesson in not over-engineering and actually building with your audience from day one. Thanks for laying out the roadmap so clearly. Truly inspiring!
Wow, congrats on hitting $15k/mo! That's an incredible milestone, and thanks for sharing the story.
It's super inspiring for those of us just starting our own journey. I'm literally on day 1 here, just launched my first budgeting tool and fighting to get my very first sale today.
Seeing posts like this is a huge motivation boost. Seriously amazing work!
I really love how candidly you share both the struggles and the wins of indie hacking. Your journey from Liftbear to HabitKit is a perfect example of learning from mistakes and iterating quickly. Building in public and involving your audience in the process clearly paid off — it’s inspiring to see how sharing progress can both motivate and attract users. Also, your approach to subscriptions and freemium models is smart and user-friendly. Thanks for sharing such a detailed roadmap — it’s incredibly valuable for anyone looking to build sustainable indie apps.
This is so inspiring. I’ve also worked on a few apps and web apps over the years and learned some expensive but valuable lessons along the way. Those experiences taught me to ship fast (even at 70%), get user feedback early, and iterate from there.
Currently building Loopra, and your story really motivates me to keep pushing. Wishing you all the best on your journey!
I'm currently working on my first real project. Ready to fail xD
Can any one help me about
Experimenting with Roblox Script Performance: My Findings
Nice product! Have you thought about using a short SaaS video on your homepage to show how it works?
The idea of freemium with the options to either pay it all off upfront or do a subscription is awesome, that's not something that I see often! Congrats on your success
I help founders turn their AI ideas into working software fast — no dev team needed. Curious what your biggest challenge is with your current build?
that is really inspiring and gave me motivation to keep up my work on my projects
Really inspiring journey — I’m currently working on something similar with the Honista app. The article’s points about fast iteration and focusing on user experience really hit home.
We’ve been developing Honista APK and recently started optimizing Honista APK for iOS to bring the same smooth performance across both platforms. Seeing stories like this keeps me motivated to grow the project and community around it. visit this: honissta. com
Love your journey! HabitKit’s success really shows the power of shipping fast, keeping scope small, and building in public. Your approach to learning from Liftbear, iterating quickly, and leveraging ASO plus community feedback is a masterclass in indie app growth. Also, the mix of subscription and lifetime options is smart—it respects different user preferences while maximizing revenue. Truly inspiring for anyone trying to turn a side hustle into a sustainable business.
Congratulations! Your hard work is now bearing fruit. Stories like these give me strength and motivation to keep going.
Really liked this; building a mobile app portfolio to $15K/mo is such a smart, diversified approach. The through-line is clear: simple, utility-first apps → fast shipping → smart ASO → compounding revenue without bloat. Love that you leaned into micro-use cases instead of chasing one “unicorn” app.
Curious; what single signal best predicts a winner early on: keyword conversion rate, retention after week one, or first in-app purchase velocity? And if you were starting from scratch today, would you go breadth-first again or double down on one breakout app sooner?
P.S. I’m with Buzz; we design conversion-focused Webflow sites and pragmatic SEO for product launches. Happy to share a quick 10-point GTM checklist if useful.
Nice App
Do you have any Go to market strategy? What exactly an app can get traction other than spend money on ads and ASO?
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wuaww , it really interseting makes me want to make an app too
This is an interesting story. Big ups!
Interesting journey. Motivates to read stories like these.
Impressive background! Love how James blends startup insight with creativity — his newsletters are always a great read.
Very helpful. I really need this now since I'm a beginner.
Fantastic story shows you don’t need huge teams, just smart decisions and relentless execution.
At Simplita.ai we’re prepping for launch this Nov 18 building a platform for visual AI + SaaS creation.
To the indie community: what’s one SaaS or workflow you’ve always wanted to automate but felt “no tool really lets me own it fully”? 👇
Definitely gonna check out HabitKit and learn more about his indie hacking journey! ASO tips are gold!
VERY INFORMATIONAL AND HELPFUL
Inspiring! Love the idea of sharing on X and getting feedback from the audience. It's brilliant
I saw your app on the Play Store — I’m really impressed by your story!
After your first app failed, you reflected deeply and created a minimalist habit tracker.
I’ve also built an AI emotional support chatbot, but I’m struggling to get user engagement.
Could you share what made you choose this idea and where you got your inspiration from?
(Sorry if my English sounds a bit awkward — it’s a translation.)
Thankyou for writing...these type of posts give motivation that your hard work will answer
Really inspiring to read how Sebastian stayed consistent even when things didn’t pick up at first. That kind of patience and discipline really resonates — it’s the same mindset I had to apply while working on my own project related to education tools. I built something to help students calculate and convert their grades easily, and it took months before anyone even noticed. But once people started finding it useful, it really began to grow. You can check it out on this site.
VERY INFORMATIONAL AND HELPFUL
Yes, I agree with you.
what bussiness model are you following ?
Really inspiring story, Sebastian! Love how you turned early challenges into growth that’s what true indie hacking is all about. I’ve been exploring similar lessons while building small productivity tools myself. By the way, if anyone’s into finance or investing tools, you might find this stock average calculator helpful for tracking averages easily. Keep up the awesome work.
Couldn’t agree more! It’s awesome seeing people turn side projects into something sustainable. And yeah, that calculator tool looks pretty cool — love discovering small but useful tools like that
Yes, I agree with you.
Absolutely! Stories like this remind me why persistence matters so much in indie projects. Also gave that stock average calculator a try surprisingly neat and straightforward to use. Thanks for sharing it.
Yeah, I feel the same! Sebastian’s story is super motivating for anyone trying to build something on their own. And that calculator tool you shared seems useful — always good to have simple tools for tracking numbers.
Thanks for sharing that! Totally agree — it’s amazing how much we can learn from early failures. Also checked out that calculator you mentioned, looks pretty handy for quick stock analysis!
very inspiring, how'd you grow from zero to one? marketing wise, your first 100 users.
That's inspiring
This is very inspiring
That is really inspiring and myself being in a very similar place i really can feel you during your job times. Keep making such great apps like and inspiring people.
That’s inspiring — love how you scaled it up!
Good job! It really is inspirational, and its also very relatable, building products into void :DDD
Love the UI on that app
Really inspiring story, Sebastian 👏 — loved how you turned lessons from your first app into the success of HabitKit.
The focus on simplicity, community feedback, and building in public shows exactly how indie apps can grow sustainably.
Great reminder that persistence and iteration matter more than overnight success. 🚀
Wow it's really great with app how do with marketing ?
Your story to quitting your job for good is inspiring. Are you a solopreneur ? How did you get you first users ? Trying to build for the first time.
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Thanks for the post, I'm currently building a somewhat related app and this is very helpful.
The post highlights that building a niche mobile-app portfolio and building in public alongside strong App Store optimization were key strategies in reaching $15k/month.
Nice work I am building out an app how atanible is 1000 downloads if i pay for advertising
Very informational
Thanks for this post! Exactly what I needed to hear right now.