Anya launched a bare-bones MVP with a student developer using her own savings. The first version was essentially one core feature — a "panic attack button" that walked users through a panic attack — plus a simple breathing tool and educational lessons. She shared early access and the first few hundred users, despite encountering bugs and incomplete sections, gave encouraging feedback and urged her to keep going. To drive those initial users, she spent hours doing active social media engagement: finding posts from people discussing anxiety or panic attacks, writing genuinely helpful comments (often drawing from Rooted's own lesson content), and occasionally leaving a link back to Rooted. The approach was never "download my app" but rather providing real value in the comment itself — e.g., explaining why someone might feel anxious during a run and normalizing the experience.
Rootd
iPhone app for panic attack and anxiety relief with guided tools
7 moves, in order
- Pre launch / MVPStudent developer partnership
Unable to afford an agency, Anya partnered with a student developer and put in all her savings to build the first MVP. She had already prepared notebook sketches and Photoshop/Illustrator wireframes, so development took only a few months once a developer was onboard.
MVP launched with core panic attack button, breathing tool, and lessons - Year 1 (2019)Social media community engagement
Spent hours daily finding social media posts from people discussing anxiety and panic attacks, then wrote detailed, genuinely helpful comments drawing from Rooted's lesson content — explaining the 'why' behind symptoms — and occasionally linking back to Rooted. Never led with 'download my app.'
~10,000 downloads in first yearUsers 10k users - Year 1–2Cold email to journalists
Identified journalists and writers who covered mental health topics (finding them via LinkedIn or email), then sent personalized cold pitch emails tying Rooted to their beat. Required high volume of outreach for low response rate, but yielded occasional major placements including Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, and Time magazine.
Featured in Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, and Time magazine - Year 2App Store optimization
Focused on closing the loop between the app store product page promise, the in-app experience, and user review keywords. Ensured the product delivered exactly what the listing promised so users organically used the same keywords in reviews that appeared in search — creating a self-reinforcing ASO flywheel. Also released updates weekly to signal active development.
~100,000 downloads reached by year 2Users 100k users - Year 3Word of mouth
By focusing relentlessly on product quality (maintaining a 4.8/5 App Store rating) and user outcomes (users reporting panic attack relief in under 2 minutes), Rooted generated organic word-of-mouth sharing. Anya tracked user reviews as her primary KPI rather than revenue, using them to continuously improve the product.
1 million downloads reached in year 3Users 1.0M users - Growth / Scaling (Year 3+)B2b partnerships
Pursued strategic B2B partnerships with wellness organizations, therapy groups, and psychologist offices who began recommending and using Rooted with their clients. Signed B2B contracts to formalize these relationships.
Meaningful B2B revenue channel established; therapists and psychologists actively recommending the app - Ongoing / MaturityUser review feedback loop
Anya continued reading every user review personally even after hiring someone to write responses. She used reviews to drive product decisions — e.g., the games feature was added after years of user requests. Frequent weekly releases maintained App Store ranking signals and kept the product visibly active.
4.8/5 rating sustained; 4 million+ total downloads; $1M+ total revenueUsers 4.0M users
Deep personal lived experience with panic attacks gave Anya authentic credibility and insight into the exact gap in existing apps (too clinical or hypnosis-based, no in-the-moment guidance). She also identified the gap by systematically reading user reviews of competitor apps before building — a structured validation approach rather than guesswork.
app_store_optimization
Early reluctance to attach her personal story and identity to press outreach slowed media traction — she initially didn't want to be known as "the anxiety girl." Once she put her name to the story, press coverage resonated much more. Cold email pitching to journalists had a very low response rate and required enormous volume of outreach for occasional breakthroughs.
This app made over $1M
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