21:58
I launched Brainrot last year, and since then we've grown from 10k a month to about 400k a month. This is Yoni. A year ago, he created an app simply to solve his own problem, and to his surprise, it began to grow rapidly. He had no idea that this app would turn into a business that would change his life. And today, his app, Brainrot, brings in an impressive $400,000 a month. But in addition to his incredible success, Yoni has a wealth of experience in creating applications. He has tried every trick, tactic, and strategy there is. So I wanted him to come on the channel and tell me how he did it and how you can do the same. So, in this episode, we'll dive into the app he built for himself that's now making $400,000 a month,
his simple approach to finding good app ideas, and the exact steps he'd take if he were starting over with apps in 2026. This will be cool. They drove. I'm Gus, and this is Starter Story. Well, Yoni, welcome to Starter Story, dude. I'm very happy to see you on the channel. Could you tell us who you are, what you have created, and what your story is? Thanks for the invite, Gus. I am delighted. I love this channel. My name is Yoni Smolar, and I built a mobile productivity app called Brainrot that does about $400,000 in revenue per month. I have a co-founder named Brock Anderson, he's a legend,
so congratulations to Brock. Last year, in the summer of 2025, I launched Brainrot, and since then we've scaled from 10k per month to about 400k per month. Yes, Yoni, this is an incredible story. So, let's talk about Brainrot. For those who don't know what it is: what is Brainrot? Explain in a few sentences what it is, and maybe tell us a little about who your users are, what kind of people use this app. This is a gamified app for controlling screen time. It's a play on the words "brain rot," of course, and there's a cute digital pet brain that " rots" the more time you spend in the Brainrot app. Brainrot is a subscription app. We mainly sell annual
subscriptions. We have about a couple million downloads, about 400,000 in revenue, and about 150,000 users. And it's just amazing. So, let's talk about how you got to this point. What did you do before Brainrot? My story: I was a corporate software engineer and have always been something of an ambitious entrepreneur. I always wanted to try starting small businesses, but nothing ever took off. So I started creating content telling my story, and over time, it started to resonate with people. I've grown my audience online a bit. Then I looked for a new project and eventually came up with the idea of Brainrod, which I implemented in the summer of 2025.
I like everything that Yoni tells us. He has an amazing story and I think you'll really enjoy the rest of this episode. But before we continue, this got me thinking. If you were inspired by Yoni's story or any of the other app founders featured on our channel, I'm sure you'll want to start your own business. So, the question is, are you ready to create? To help you get started, we've created a free database of over 100 business ideas that you can start for under $500. This free database is packed with data and information- everything you need to validate an idea and start developing. I repeat, it is available for download absolutely free of charge. Just follow the link in the description. Okay, back
to the episode. What inspired you to do this? What inspired you to start doing all these daily vlogs or what were you doing there? To be honest, I was pretty deeply immersed in the "indie hacker" space. I followed Pat Walz's Starter Story, people like Peter Levels, these guys from technical Twitter who had a built-in distribution, and every time they launched a new site or product, they had users from day one. So I wanted to start telling the story of an entrepreneur from the inside, stop being a shadowy figure who acts silently, and just make myself known to see what would come of it.
You've already mentioned this in part, but you started creating this content and it got you a little bit stuck on your phone. Tell us a little more about the story behind the idea for Brainrod. I was just addicted to my phone. I was on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and other things like that all the time. And of course, I could download an app blocker. I wasn't the first to come up with this concept, but I had an idea: what if the brain rotted or you "degraded"? And no one has created such an application yet. So, I was like, wow, you know, I'm a genius, and I was so excited. And I think that's an important point-I was so excited that I dropped everything and dove headfirst into it for a month.
So, you create this in a couple of weeks. Tell us about your early development. How did you launch this business and reach the first 10 thousand per month? What is the story of this growth? I think I had a somewhat unusual story: before launching the app, I had amassed about 100 or 150 thousand followers on Instagram. I was just maintaining a certain intrigue. I said: I'm creating an app, sign up for the waiting list. I kind of raised expectations. And when I launched, I managed to earn about $10,000 on the first day Well, this is an incredible launch. How did you take that and turn it into what it is today?
One key point that gets talked about less than it should is understanding how your users use your app. If you launch an app, you already have real-world performance and data about what your users are doing. Over time, you can start to understand who your active users are and who are regular or casual. And you really need to know and understand these active users. So you should start learning analytics, and that was a big breakthrough for us. One more thing: every app is unique, every business and every founder is too. You should focus on what works for you. If something works, try doing it 10 times more. For us, what drove early growth was influencer content and paid advertising. So we just scaled what we knew
, and that allowed us to grow. I'll say it again: if you're working alone, I strongly advise you to find a co-founder. When Brock and I became co-founders, it was a huge success factor for the business and really allowed us to take off. Thank you for sharing some of these things. You previously said that you worked as a regular full-time software engineer. At what point did this matter become so big that you seriously considered whether it was worth devoting all your time to it? What was the moment of decision and tell us the story behind it. I thought about it a lot then and waited for the moment when this step would seem less risky. What time is correct? Is this some kind of number? Is this some kind of
date? Ultimately, I think the truth is that everything is risky. Staying in a job that makes you unhappy is a risk. Letting your dreams fade is also a risk. So, in the end, I think it's just the level of discomfort you're willing to tolerate. Have a sufficient margin of safety. There are some practical considerations, but you can always find another job. It's not that difficult. Such an incredible story. A lot of people who watch Starter Story are just starting out or, you know, trying to bring their first idea to life. So the question we like to ask founders like you is: if you were starting over, what would you
do or avoid doing when building apps in 2026? First, find a problem niche that you are genuinely passionate about, because creating apps or a business is very difficult. And if it's not what really drives you , what's your first thought in the morning and last thought at night, you'll give up as soon as the going gets tough. And it will inevitably become difficult. Step two-build a team. If you're trying to achieve your first entrepreneurial victory and have tried many times before on your own, I think you're better off not going it alone. It's too much work to pull it off as a solo entrepreneur, so I highly, highly recommend either finding a co-founder who will complement your skills or putting together a team
using your share, which is worth nothing yet. Step three, I recommend understanding exactly what users are doing in your app. Analytics should be collected and sent to service providers like Mixpanel or PostHog and allowed to be analyzed by Claude or Codex to truly understand user behavior. Understand the moment of activation. Find out which cohorts are the most active and loyal, and try to encourage the rest of your users to behave in the same way.
Step four, I would say: relentlessly iterate and experiment. Small experiments. What if I remove this slide from onboarding and move it there? Or what if the user sees it before then? All these little experiments, the results of which can be measured: nine times out of ten they won't change anything, but one time out of ten they can change the trajectory. Regarding distribution, I will say this: different audiences bring you different value. Understand which users you can attract more cheaply through one channel than another, and what revenue they bring you in comparison. And finally, remember that there is often a significant delay between your actions and their results
So if you've been doing everything right for weeks or months, you may find yourself in a situation where you're reaping the fruits of your labor over the past months, feeling successful, and starting to relax. Don't let yourself relax, because the work you do today is your results in the future. Thanks for taking me through these four or five steps on how to think about app development in 2026. We occasionally ask: what are some good ways to come up with an app idea for those who don't know where to start or think, "Oh, it's all been done before." How do I find mine?
Excellent question. Honestly, it depends on your experience as an entrepreneur and your goals for the app. So I don't recommend creating something in hyper-competitive niches if you're making your first attempt. And don't create a " super app" with a bunch of features, trying to solve many problems for many people. Create a simple utility app with a core function that solves a primary problem for a specific user. Create something you understand well or something that really solves your own problem. Don't chase trends or copy other apps for the sake of making quick money. Be an active user of your app, literally use it every day, and be as honest with yourself as possible. I also recommend creating either something
with a high LTV or something that the user will open on their phone every day. It may not come as a surprise, but the best advice is to create something that is truly useful for people. Steeply. Yes, I really like this advice. So, what is the technology stack at Brainscape? We use Mixpanel for analytics. We use Firebase for analytics and experiments. We use Superbase for internal tools and tracking. We use Superwall for our paywalls. We use AppStack for paid advertising attribution. We use Claude, Code, and Codex for a variety of programming and internal business tasks. And we use Upwork to find contractors and freelancers.
Okay, Yoni, we talked about Brainrot. Let's take a look. I would like to see a short demonstration of how Brainrot works. We can look inside Brainrot. You will see that it is a kind of digital brain-pet in its environment. He is currently at 97% health. You can see how much time I spent in various apps this morning. There are different blocking rules that you can set up to restrict access to apps at different times. You can see screen usage statistics, what apps you use and on what days, and everything in that vein. And the main function is triggered when you try to open an application blocked by Brainrot. Like in
this case, I'll open Instagram. You see a small message and must go through this short process. In this case, my brain is calling me on FaceTime. I have to go through this little interactive. It just adds a little bit of a hassle to using the app , which is enough to encourage you to change your habits. Okay, finally, Yoni, the question we ask every founder who comes to Starter Story. If you could turn to yourself a couple of years ago when you were just starting out at Brainrot, or to someone who is just starting out now, what would be your final piece of advice? I would say that there are many ways to feel busy without actually doing anything productive.
The goal of all this is not to work like a clock, to be constantly busy, to sit at the computer all the time and be unavailable. Many actions only give 1% of the result, but there are changes that give 20%, 50%, or even 100% improvement of the system. And your task as a founder is to find exactly such solutions. And then delegate or forget about all the little things. Great advice, Yoni. Thank you for coming to Starter Story. It was nice talking to you. Leave a comment for Yoni. Say hello. But yeah, dude, thanks for stopping by the channel. Thank you for inviting me.
