Subversive

Rik Haandrikman, VP of Growth at RevenueCat and former growth lead in gaming and dev tools, walks through big trends from RevenueCat’s 2026 State of Subscription Apps report. He covers winner-take-most dynamics, the 7x boom in AI app launches, AI apps’ higher revenue but faster churn, hard paywall vs freemium tradeoffs, and why Day 0 onboarding is now make-or-break.

Casey Winters, Cofounder and CEO of SuperMe and veteran growth/product leader from Eventbrite, Pinterest, and GrubHub. He discusses building AI-native professional profiles from experts' content. Short takes cover early growth lessons, why SuperMe crawls public content, differentiating from generic chat tools, and hiring and product practices for AI-first startups.

Sameer Ahuja, President of GameChanger and SVP at Dick’s Sporting Goods, led the app’s shift from scorekeeping to a video-forward youth sports platform. He discusses building network effects between coaches, parents and fans. He recounts the COVID pivot to livestreaming, the viral growth from automated highlights, and plans to expand into more sports and AI-driven capture.

Connor Zwick, cofounder and CEO of Speak, built a speech-first, AI-powered language app that reached a $1B valuation. He discusses leaving Harvard for deep learning, building superior speech models with Andrew Hsu, launching in Korea to rigorously validate product-market fit, and scaling to multiple languages while solving reliability, moderation, and growth challenges.

Paul Warren, founder and CEO of the Margins reading app, dives into the journey of transforming readers' experiences. As an 'extreme reader,' he emphasizes the importance of a robust book database and user-friendly features like searching by 'vibes.' Warren shares how viral TikTok content catapulted Margins into success, highlighting the role of UGC and influencers in their growth strategy. With delightful design elements and a soft paywall approach, he stresses early retention over monetization while discussing the future of reading in an AI-driven world.

Weber Wong, founder and CEO of FLORA, shares his journey from investment banking to revolutionizing creative tools with AI. He discusses how FLORA offers an infinite workspace for creatives, transcending outdated tools. With clients like Netflix and Nike, Weber emphasizes the shift towards top-down creation in design. He provides insights on product evolution, user feedback, and the importance of community in scaling creative innovations. Additionally, he predicts a future where AI transforms creative processes by 2030, making them more accessible and efficient for professionals.

Allen Chen, Cofounder and CEO of Fitbod, discusses his journey from high-frequency trading to creating a powerful strength-training app. He shares insights on building habit loops inspired by Nir Eyal's framework, enhancing subscriber retention through personalized workouts. Allen highlights Fitbod's growth through word-of-mouth and strategic paid ads, as well as its transition from simple algorithms to advanced AI for tailoring fitness plans. He also explores future AI applications in fitness like audio coaching and injury guidance, revealing the innovative spirit driving Fitbod's success.

Kenneth Schlenker, founder and CEO of Opal, previously worked at Google and has a history of successful startups. He discusses how Opal evolved from a wellbeing app to the world's top screen-time tracker, achieving $10M ARR with just 11 employees. Kenneth reveals the impact of Apple's Screen Time API, which allowed Opal to track data more accurately. He highlights the importance of gamification for user retention and shares insights on their organic growth strategies. Lastly, Kenneth envisions a future where Opal scales to a billion users using AI.

Simon Mizzi, VP of Product Growth at Preply and former Agoda product leader, dives into the world of language learning and how Preply became a major player in the market. He highlights the unique advantages of a human-powered marketplace over digital apps, emphasizing motivation and personalization. Simon outlines the complexities of matching learners with tutors and the importance of long-term subscriptions over vanity metrics. He also discusses the role of AI in enhancing learner experiences while maintaining the human touch in tutoring.

Nick Candler, the former Director of Growth Marketing at Calm, talks about his exciting journey from derivatives trading to leading a marketing team that added 1.2 million subscribers. He highlights how Calm leveraged social listening to create viral ads, particularly using catchy trends for their Sleep Stories, which addressed insomnia. Candler discusses the importance of creative iterations and data analysis in crafting effective campaigns. Now the founder of 10 Scale, he emphasizes the role of AI in shaping the future of performance marketing.