Building is cheap. Getting users is not.
Over the last years, I've built products myself and worked closely with people who did. What I kept seeing was always the same pattern:
Good ideas didn't fail because they were bad. They failed because no one ever saw them.
Today, almost anyone can build software. Tools are better, faster, and more accessible than ever. But the moment you want users, you hit a wall: advertising.
If you don't have deep pockets, distribution becomes a constant source of stress. You either spend money you can't afford — or you slowly watch motivation fade.
I've been there.
Why ads felt wrong to me
Traditional ad platforms are incredibly powerful — but they're not built for indie developers.
Paying several euros per click isn't a growth strategy when you're bootstrapping. It's a bet. And most of the time, it's a losing one.
What bothered me most wasn't even the money. It was the feeling that good products were being priced higher — or never launched at all — just to finance ads.
That didn't feel like progress.
The moment the idea clicked
What I kept asking myself was simple:
What if discovery didn't start with ads, but with value?
People like discovering new products. They just don't like being sold to.
But when discovery comes with a real incentive — a meaningful discount, early access, or a special deal — curiosity turns into action.
That's when AppGorilla started to take shape.
What I'm trying to build
AppGorilla is a place where:
- 1Developers can get early users without burning cash
- 2Users can discover genuinely good indie apps at fair prices
- 3Visibility isn't reserved for those who spend the most
It's not about growth hacks or overnight success. It's about giving products a fair starting point.
What AppGorilla won't promise
AppGorilla won't magically make a bad product succeed. It won't replace good onboarding, pricing, or product-market fit.
What it can do is remove one major obstacle: the cost of being seen.
Why this matters to me
I care about this because I'm building in the same environment.
I don't have an ad budget.
I don't have a marketing team.
I'm figuring things out as I go.
AppGorilla is the product I wish existed when I started building.
If you're here
If you're a developer who struggles with distribution, you're not alone.
If you're a user who enjoys discovering new products early, you're exactly who this is for.
I don't know yet where AppGorilla will end up. But I know why it exists.
And that's enough to start.