This founder solved distribution first, then built the app - smart move!
I recently saw Canary on Product Hunt, an English learning app powered by music and the founder’s strategy was brilliant.
Instead of rushing to build an app, Ben first started creating content on Instagram. He posted simple French song videos with English translations, and the response was amazing.
Within 5 months, his page grew to 100K followers. Only after proving that people actually loved this way of learning, he decided to build Canary, a language app where you can learn through songs, see real-time subtitle, save vocabulary, and practice with karaoke.
This is a perfect example of: distribution first, product second.
Seeing cases like this is what inspired me to build Clone The App: a list of validated mobile apps where you can study real products, their revenue, marketing strategies, and MRR before building anything yourself.
You can check out the full list here: https://clonetheapp.vercel.app
Respect for shipping it solo. What was the most challenging part for you?
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Get up to $200K in GCP credits (24 months)
Eligible AI businesses can access up to $200K in GCP credits (24 months)
*Note : only for AI teams who are focused to build profitable scalable businesses models from day 1
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sai-rithvik-2176302b1_eligible-ai-companies-can-access-up-to200k-activity-7442865181254209536-EiDB
Love this approach. I see so many people (myself included) jump straight to building when we should be testing demand first. Starting with Instagram content is genius because you get real feedback AND build an audience at the same time. Checked out Clone The App, really useful resource!
thanks buddy!
Curious how long it took you to validate this before committing to build. Did you test with DMs first or content?
For the past few months, I've been building open-source apps and clones of successful ones, then posting updates, demos, and content about them. People are genuinely interested. lots reach out asking if I can clone apps for them. That gave me confidence it'd work. To test further, I threw up a simple site, and boom, a ton of people submitted their emails right away. Now I know folks are even more into the idea.
That’s interesting — especially the moment where demand shows up before you formalize the product.
I’m curious whether anything broke that assumption later on — cases where early interest didn’t translate into sustained use, or where users wanted something adjacent rather than the “clone” itself. Those gaps are usually where the real product hides.
Users don't want an exact copy. They want design changes and extra features that fit them better.
That’s a great example of validating demand before building. Growing an audience around the learning format first clearly reduced risk and shaped the product in the right direction. Distribution-first strategies like this can save a lot of time and guesswork.
I totally agree with you. This is a great way to validate an idea.
Great example of distribution-first thinking. Proving demand through content before building the product removes so much risk, and Canary is a clean case of that done right.
I’ve seen a similar pattern work on Reddit as well; when founders participate in niche communities around the learning problem (not the app), they can validate demand, messaging, and even features before writing a line of code. It’s less about promotion and more about earning attention where intent already exists.
Strong breakdown; this mindset saves founders a lot of time and capital early on.
Reddit also works pretty good when it comes to validating an idea.
Absolutely. Reddit is underrated for early validation when it’s done right.
If you’d like to swap notes or move faster on this, feel free to reach me on Telegram @preshtechsolution or email: [email protected]. Happy to connect.
That matches what I’ve seen too.
Once people start asking for changes, you’re no longer cloning a product — you’re mapping intent.
Curious: did those requests tend to cluster around a few patterns, or were they mostly one-offs?
I did miss this at first. got too focused on the product. I started to feel there was no one on the internet after it launched. But I managed to get myself some distributions after a while
That's how we learn - building, learning and figuring everuthing out along the way.
This is a great example. Proving demand first makes everything easier later. When people already love the idea, the product just becomes a natural next step — not a risky guess.
exactly. he also found his biggest distribution channel.
like the idea. validation through insta.
that's an amazing way to validate an idea.
This is a great example of letting demand show itself before writing a line of code. What Ben did, was he discovered a new learning behavior people already enjoyed and then turning that into a product. The app feels obvious in hindsight because the audience was already trained.
I’ve noticed that when founders skip this step and start with the app, they end up spending months trying to convince users to care. When distribution comes first, the product almost builds itself around what’s already working.
Exactly. Distribution and audience fit matter more than cloning features. The product only really works once it adapts to a specific user and context.
Agreed. Most people don’t want a carbon copy.
What matters is the core behaviour and the boundaries — everything else should adapt to the user and the context.
The real work is locking the non-negotiables, then letting the rest evolve.
Comment:
This makes total sense for consumer apps. Building an audience first, then creating what they want, is smart.
But for B2B or SaaS products, this seems hard to pull off. You can't build thousands of followers on Instagram or any other social platform to validate enterprise software.
I agree you should validate before building. But for some products, you probably need to build something minimal to actually test if people will actually use it.
The first thing to remember from "Distribution First" is that it doesn't mean using ads or "hacks" to get your posting out. ~
It means using a method to demonstrate that there's demand for what you're producing in whatever format it is.
The way I look at this is to validate the learning motivation of the user, and not just an app. The app was simply the next way to present the information.
I'm curious what your thoughts on this are as well. Do you see this as only applicable for something that can be shared (like a song)? Or could this be used for sharing ideas that aren't as easily shareable?
As an example of how I've applied this practically, I believe that if an individual will not subscribe to your content in its raw form, that individual is unlikely to purchase any of your content once it is polished.
That makes sense.
What’s interesting to me is how quickly “cloning” turns into reinterpretation once real people get involved.
Did anything users do surprise you — or pull the project in a direction you didn’t expect?
This resonates.
Feels like the real unlock was learning what people reacted to emotionally, not just functionally.
The app almost became inevitable after that.
Did anything surprise you about what people responded to?
Nice breakdown. Curious what you’d do differently if starting again today.
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