Part 2 of Mob: From £1.2m in debt to Number 1 in the app store
The final 2 lessons — including the one that surprised me most
Hi there,
Last week, I shared how Mob, a meal prep app, went from £1.2m in debt to Number 1 in the app store — and the first two lessons that got them there: cutting distractions and actually speaking to their users.
This week, lessons 3 and 4. And honestly, lesson 4 is my favourite.
Lesson 3: Experimentation mindset for everyone
Not just in-app, but in their ads. Initially, they had one ad that kept working. As Ben puts it, “The damn duck kept winning.” It was a simple ad of a duck dancing around, happy about the free trial and the packed lunch we all wish we had time to prep (and maybe with Mob, you actually could).
But there was a problem: it only converted warm audiences. Often, simple videos or static ads appear to perform well but skew to warmer audiences.
For Mob this meant that no matter how well Ducky performed, it didn’t allow for spending to scale.
So they started experimenting with every part of their video ads.
Bye-bye, Ducky, hello, Evergreen Adam. A video ad that walks through "Adam’s experience with using Mob.
I wrote out the script covered in the ad, because if you look back at the JTBD, you’ll see how powerful it is:
“If you’re the main cook of the house, this app is for you” — helps the audience resonate
“It’s called Mob, a weekly cooking app that takes the stress out of eating in the week” — super clear and simple what it is and the main pain point it solves
“It suggests delicious, easy recipes, developed by brilliant chefs personalised to your taste” — clear USPs
“If you want to make something ahead, plan your week in meals or just cook something great that evening, it makes it all so simple” — when to use
“The recipes have no ads, no long back stories and each ingredient amount is shown in the method. So you don’t need to scroll mid-cook” — differentiator from other solutions (aka free recipes online)
“For my planning, I pick the dishes I want to make, and it makes a smart shopping list. I do the shop, and that’s everything sorted.” — reinforces ease
“This app has solved weeknight cooking for me” — reinforces the pain it solves
“They are running a free trial. Try it out.” — clear CTA and offer
(Okay, I’m hungry after seeing all the food in that video, be right back.)
Experimenting over 6 months unlocked this super winner and showed the power of continued testing. But still, there was something — or well, someone—accidentally holding them back.
Related resources:
Lesson 4: Get out of the way
At a Mob offsite, a powerful question was asked:
“If you could ask one person in this room something to make your job easier, what would it be?”
The response was a tough one for Ben — a founder who had given so much to his business — to hear: “Let me do my job.” Ouch.
But with respect to him, he did. He stopped being involved in every design decision, every piece of content, and even left Slack channels where he wasn’t needed.
Things sped up—from prototyping to shipping code. While there were other factors at play, Ben Lebus explains: “It needs to be the right moment, you must constantly assess: is my input helping here, or am I in the way?”
Related resources:
Where is Mob today?
280,000 Premium subscribers
$12.5M ARR
Runway that secures the company’s future
Not bad for a business that started as a branded content Instagram account. And I’m sure they will continue to grow.
Recommendation
I’ve shared related newsletters alongside each lesson, so I thought I’d do something different here instead.
First, if you want more on Mob’s growth journey, Ben very candidly shares their wins and challenges on LinkedIn. Worth a follow.
Second, if you struggle with weekly cooking, definitely try the Mob app. As someone who almost never cooks the same thing twice, I’m still enjoying their recipes five months in.
Tonight I’ll be making their Tikka Halloumi & Curried Lentils recipe. Wish me luck!
Till next week,
Daphne