The app space is wide open (95% do it wrong)

February 07, 2026

Hey there,

Everyone says the app space is dead.

The app store is too saturated, the competition is too big, and you’ve already missed your chance.

They're wrong.

The App Store has millions of apps, but here's what nobody tells you: 

95% of them are clueless about short-form marketing.

TikTok doesn't make sense to them.
Instagram Reels might as well be a foreign language.
And YouTube Shorts? Forget about it.

They post once a week, watch their videos die at 300 views, and quit before they ever had a shot.

Some hire agencies that pump out generic ads with creative so bad it makes you cringe.

Others convince themselves that going viral is pure luck and there's no system behind it.

But the market isn't saturated.
There's a massive marketing skill gap and it's wide open.

I've built two apps using the exact same playbook.

Puff Count pulled 50 million TikTok views and 120,000 followers before I scaled it to $44k MRR and sold the business.

Posted hit $1,000,000 in gross volume with the same short-form content strategy.

I used the same playbook on two completely different apps and both worked because the system is repeatable.

Most apps never figure this out.

They're stuck burning money on Facebook ads that don't convert, praying that ASO will eventually save them, or publishing blog posts that nobody will ever read.

Meanwhile, the apps that cracked TikTok, Reels, and Shorts are printing money.

The opportunity isn't gone. You're just looking at it wrong.

Stop making excuses and telling yourself the market is dead.

The market rewards the founders who actually know how to market.

Peace,
Steven