The average app loses 77% of daily users within 3 days of install. That's not a tech problem.
We build mobile apps engineered around the first 72 hours, where retention is won or lost, so yours becomes a daily habit, not a one-time download.
Your app doesn't have a features problem. It has an onboarding problem.
Every week, another founder tells us the same story: they shipped an MVP, ran paid install campaigns, watched their D1 retention collapse, and concluded the product needed more features. So they built more features. Retention dropped further. Repeat until the ad budget runs out and the Slack channel goes quiet.
Here's what actually happens: users who churn in the first 72 hours never saw the features. They saw a confusing first screen, a signup flow that asked too much too soon, or an empty state that didn't explain what the app was for. The app you're shipping and the app your users experience are rarely the same thing, and the gap between them is where retention dies.
The first 60 seconds decide everything
Before we design a single screen, we script the first 60 seconds of your app like a product launch. Every tap, every pause, every micro-decision mapped in advance. This is the difference between apps that retain and apps that bleed.
Seconds 0–10
The value proof
The user sees, in one glance, exactly what the app will do for them. No splash screen theatre, no marketing copy : a visual, instant confirmation they made the right choice.
Seconds 10–30
The first success
The user performs one meaningful action and gets an immediate reward. Not "sign up to continue" : an actual taste of the value, before any friction is introduced.
Seconds 30–60
The reason to return
The user ends the session with a clear reason to open the app tomorrow. Not a push notification prompt : a genuine hook tied to their personal context.
Three ways we build mobile apps
We work with founders and teams at three distinct stages. Pick the one that matches where you are or talk to us if you're between two.
MVP That Ships
For founders who need to validate a thesis with real users, not investors. Opinionated scope, 3–4 core flows, built to survive contact with the App Store. Designed to teach you something real in 90 days.
- React Native, iOS + Android from day one
- 3–4 month delivery, fixed scope
- Analytics baked in so you learn from launch
- Typical range: $50k–$120k
Retention Rebuild
Your app exists, install numbers look good on paper, and D30 retention is quietly killing the business. We diagnose where users drop off, redesign the critical flows, and rebuild what's blocking adoption, without scrapping what already works.
- Starts with a 2-week forensic audit
- Surgical rework, not a ground-up rewrite
- Measurable retention targets agreed upfront
- Typical range: $40k–$100k
Production-Grade Build
For funded companies shipping a flagship product where "good enough" isn't. Native iOS (Swift) and native Android (Kotlin), full offline support, enterprise-grade security, the works. Built for the long haul.
- Native Swift + Kotlin, separately optimized
- 6–9 month timeline, staged milestones
- CI/CD, automated testing, full documentation
- Typical range: $150k–$400k
Native vs React Native: the honest answer
Agencies tend to recommend whatever they've already built. We don't have a house religion, we pick the stack based on what the product actually needs.
Go native (Swift / Kotlin) when
- The app relies on cutting-edge OS features
- Performance requirements exceed 60fps consistently
- Camera, AR, ML or complex sensors are core to the UX
- You have the budget and team for two codebases
Go cross-platform (React Native / Expo) when
- Speed to market matters more than maximum polish
- The app is mostly CRUD with standard interactions
- You want one team shipping both platforms at once
- Budget constraints make two codebases untenable
The conversation we'll have on our first call includes this trade-off explicitly. No religious positions, no "we only do native" : the right answer depends entirely on your product, team and runway.
How a mobile project actually runs
Four phases. Each ends with something on an actual device in actual hands, not in a Figma file nobody uses.
1. Product thesis
Outcome: a one-page product brief and retention hypothesis.
We interrogate the business, the audience and the primary use case until we can articulate what job the app is being hired for, in one sentence. If we can't, we don't start building.
2. Prototype on a real device
Outcome: a clickable prototype running on your actual phone.
Not static mockups. An interactive prototype you can hand to five real users and watch them struggle. Cheaper to redesign now than to refactor later, so we front-load the rough edges.
3. Build in public (with you)
Outcome: weekly TestFlight and Play Store Internal Testing builds.
Every Friday, you install the latest build on your phone. You see progress in your pocket, not in a Jira ticket. You can change direction at any checkpoint, while it's still cheap to change.
4. Ship and instrument
Outcome: a live app with analytics telling you what's working.
Launch is day one, not day final. We stay engaged for 30 days post-launch, watching funnel analytics, fixing emergency bugs, and handing you a prioritized list of what to build next based on real user behavior.
The questions founders always ask
"How long until we're in the App Store?"
MVP: 3–4 months. Retention rebuild: 3–5 months. Production-grade build: 6–9 months. These include Apple review cycles, which have their own timeline nobody controls.
"What about Apple review rejections?"
We've shipped enough apps to know the common rejection triggers and we architect around them. If a rejection happens, we handle the appeal at no extra cost.
"Who owns the code?"
You do. Your GitHub, your App Store Connect, your Google Play account. We work inside your infrastructure. No lock-in, no "your app is hostage" moment six months later.
"Can we hire our own team after launch?"
That's often the plan. We document the codebase specifically so an incoming team can onboard in days, not weeks. We'll even help you interview candidates if useful.
You get one launch. Let's make it count.
Thirty minutes on a call. Tell us about the product you want to build or the one you already built that isn't retaining. We'll ask sharp questions and tell you honestly whether we're the right team for the job.
24h reply • No pitch deck • Straight answers only