Stedi landed its first in-app purchase after shipping feedback someone could see

Product snapshot

Stedi is a routine planner that helps you build and reuse routines without having to set them up again each time. It combines planning, tracking, and focus tools in one place so you can stay organized, follow through on tasks, and track your progress over time.

Before the first customer

The founder built Stedi first to solve a personal problem, staying consistent with a guitar routine. Early validation came from friends and family who joined an internal testing group on Google Play, which helped shape the product before money changed hands. For outreach, the founder posted on X and Reddit, but X brought little traction and no clear path to a paying user.

What actually worked

Reddit became the useful channel, especially productivity communities like r/ProductivtyApps and r/getdisciplined. The founder shared the real reason behind building a template based, multi tool routine planner and openly asked for feedback instead of pushing a hard sell. They also offered redeemable codes for optional in app purchases, which lowered the barrier for people to try the product and start a conversation.

The breakthrough moment

The first paying user came after a Reddit user gave feedback and the founder acted on it inside the app. Once the user saw their input reflected in the product, they spent 2 dollars on an in app purchase. This worked because the exchange stopped feeling like marketing and started feeling like collaboration, which built trust and made the app more valuable to that person.

Key takeaway

The main lesson is not just to post where your audience hangs out, but to engage directly and respond in a way people can see. Honest context, a clear request for feedback, and fast follow through can turn an interested user into a paying one. For an early product, that kind of personal loop can matter more than broad reach.

How you can apply this

Start with communities where people already talk about the problem your product solves, then share why you built it and what kind of feedback you need. Make it easy for people to try the product with a code, free access, or a simple onboarding path, then reply quickly and look for feedback you can implement fast. When you ship an improvement based on real input, tell that user directly, because visible responsiveness can be the moment interest turns into payment.