My addiction brought me to $44k MRR

September 20, 2025

Hey there,

I was addicted to vaping in college. So were all my friends.

One night, I wanted to quit and asked, "How many times do we hit that thing every day?"

Nobody had any idea.

That's when I knew I had a real problem to solve.

Not "help people be healthier." That's too broad and boring.

"Help people quit vaping." Specific, painful, desperate.

I built Puff Count around that exact pain point. Scaled it to $44k MRR before selling it.

Here's what I learned: People don't buy apps to make life slightly better. They buy apps to escape something that hurts.

That's exactly what the biggest apps figured out before everyone else:

  • Uber solved standing in the rain waiting for taxis

  • Slack solved email chaos, killing productivity

  • Tinder solved being alone on Friday nights

Pain, desperation, emotion. That's what sells.

You won’t become successful with another calendar or productivity app.

But an app that helps parents manage their screaming toddler at 3 AM? Now we're talking.

I didn't build Puff Count because I thought vaping apps were a good market. I built it because I was desperate to quit, and nothing else worked.

That desperation turned into $44k MRR.

Stop building for comfort. Start building for desperation.

Peace,
Steven