← HomeResearch case studies of famous apps — how they grew, their ad machines, their paywalls. These are apps we did not work on: every number is drawn from public sources and labelled with whose number it is.
Each teardown includes a Miro board with the charts, plus a full write-up. Client-reported outcomes live separately in client stories.
Block Blast turned a free block puzzle into ~$127M of ad revenue in five months. Cal AI went from $0 raised to $5.7M in a single month on creator retainers, then paid ads. ReelShort turned one-minute vertical soap operas into an estimated $785M a year after its first launch failed. DramaBox spends more on ads than anyone in its category: 5.5 million in one month behind an estimated $530M of app-store revenue.
Snap-your-food calorie counter built by a 17-year-old. $0 raised, $30M in 2025, sold to MyFitnessPal. Every number sourced.
Read the case studyA failed launch, a pivot to US actors and cliffhangers, then beating TikTok in US downloads. Revenue, ad machine, pricing, all sourced.
Read the case studyHow a 10-year-old web-novel paywall became a short-drama app spending more on ads than anyone in the category.
Read the case studyThe free puzzle that became the #1 ad-earning game — and the viral claim that its difficulty is rigged. Claims labelled, sources linked.
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