How to know if your app reaches $10k MRR before you build it

February 17, 2026

Hey there,

When I first started Puff Count (now acquired), I was struggling. I was making lots of mistakes and couldn’t generate serious revenue.

But I never thought about giving up.

Not because I’m a mindset monster or something like that.

I validated Puff Count before writing a single line of code and I knew the demand was real.

I knew if I found the right angles, it would blow up.

That confidence came from a simple validation process that took less than a week.

Here's exactly how I did it:

Step 1: Analyze your day-to-day

The best app ideas come from problems you already live with.

Vaping was everywhere in my life - my friends vaped, I vaped, it was all over TikTok, and new vape stores were opening on every corner.

When a problem is that visible in your daily life, it's usually worth solving.

Step 2: Check Google Trends

I searched "quit vaping" on Google Trends and saw a consistent rise in search volume climbing like Bitcoin in 2017.

Rising search volume means rising demand.
Rising demand means people are actively looking for a solution.

Step 3: Find the viral content

Before hiring a developer or touching any code, I searched "quit vaping" on TikTok.

Millions of views on content about quitting vaping told me two things: the problem was marketable and people cared enough to watch content about it.

Later I recreated one of those viral videos, hit 2.6 million views, and drove 4,000 downloads overnight.

Step 4: Spy on competitors

I used Sensor Tower to check what similar apps were making and found other “quit bad habit” apps doing $50-100k every month.

If they're making money, the market is real.

Step 5: Build only the MVP

Once validated, I built the simplest version possible - one core feature that solved the key problem and nothing else.

I skipped fancy UI, extra features, and just shipped it.

The whole process took less than a week and gave me enough conviction to keep going when Puff Count was slow to take off.

Validation doesn't guarantee overnight success but it guarantees you're not building something nobody wants.

Peace,
Steven