90: Teleprompter Pro – Joe Allen

On the podcast: Joe Allen has been building Teleprompter Pro for 15 years — and he'll be the first to tell you he's not sure how much of that growth he actually caused. He talks about why he waited 5 years after the app could sustain him before finally going full-time, how a simple email list became his safety net through the transition to subscriptions, and the two weeks he spent battling App Store Review to get his new app Captions approved — including the phone call that finally cracked it.

Top Takeaways:

🛠️ Build for the itch you already have

The best indie apps start as tools their creators needed, not market opportunities they spotted.

🌱 Let the App Store river carry you

Sometimes organic growth comes from being in the right place at the right time, and the healthiest approach is to accept you don't control every drop of water.

📈 Don't rush the full-time leap

It's okay to let a side project sustain itself for years before making it your sole source of income.

🤝 Support is a feature, not a chore

Treating customer support as a core part of the product builds loyalty and reveals the actual features users are looking for.

📧 An email list is your only real safety net

Having a direct line to your customers is the single most important asset when platform algorithms change or business models shift.