Slices: The Deep Dish Swift Podcast S4E7: Joe Allen
Mar 15, 2026
Joe Allen, indie iOS developer behind Teleprompter Pro and creator of Captions, shares stories from his 15+ year app career. He covers launching niche apps, evolving legacy code to Swift, indie marketing tactics like honest email lists, and building small teams. He also talks about product craftsmanship, App Store hurdles, and bringing Captions to market.
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Niche Utility Drives Dependable App Revenue
- Niche professional tools can sustain steady revenue because users rely on them for real work rather than casual installs.
- Teleprompter Pro benefited from being a focused category where professionals actively searched and purchased, producing long-term organic sales.
Customers Used The App In Unexpected Places
- Teleprompter Pro users included broadcasters and even a team that attempted to run it on the space station.
- A Firebase-dependent phone-home call caused issues in space until Joe provided a whitelistable domain to resolve it.
Ask For Emails Early To Build Direct Customer Access
- Ask for your customers' email addresses early to open a direct conversation channel.
- Joe credits early prompts for email signups with driving practical feedback and real customer questions that shaped product improvements.