96: Plinky — Joe Fabisevich

On the podcast: Joe Fabisevich shares how he went from Twitter's health and safety team to building Plinky, a link-saving app born of trading memes with his wife. He talks about why he treats every beta like a production launch, how his wife's pro marketing playbook — lookback calendars, email campaigns, and press outreach — shaped his entire go-to-market strategy, why he regrets starting with a generous freemium tier, and how a scrappy 19-day ChatGPT wrapper went viral off one email to John Gruber. Top Takeaways: 🛒 You should charge people — and you should charge them sooner Settling on a generous freemium tier feels kind, but it quietly kills your ability to learn who converts, why they convert, and when they drop off. 📅 A lookback calendar turns launch chaos into a system Work backwards from your launch date and assign every single day a strategic task — teasers, emails, press pitches — so nothing happens ad hoc the night before. 📧 Email is the single best revenue lever for indie apps Run three emails per sale (launch day, a few days out, 24 hours left), segment by open behavior, and don't panic if the first two are quiet — the last one drives the most conversions. 🧪 Treat your beta like a production launch Building export systems, handling migrations, and collecting real feedback during a TestFlight isn't wasted effort — it pays dividends when you ship for real and already have the infrastructure. 🧠 AI is superhuman, but it's not a mind reader If your prompt wouldn't be enough for a human engineer to build from, it's not enough for AI either — most people are one lightbulb moment away from building real things. About Joe Fabisevich: 🚀 Indie iOS developer and founder of Plinky, a thoughtfully designed link-saving app. Previously an engineer at Twitter, he also builds open-source developer tools and writes about AI, product development, and software craftsmanship. 👋 LinkedIn 🌐 Learn more about Plinky Follow us on X: Charlie Chapman - @_chuckyc RevenueCat - @RevenueCat Launched - @LaunchedFM Episode Highlights: [00:00] Introducing Plinky and designing apps with care [03:16] What Plinky does and why it exists [04:34] Growing up in Queens and discovering programming [07:21] Early iOS development and first jobs [10:20] Lessons from working at Twitter [16:15] The personal story behind Plinky [19:51] From side project to indie business [23:00] Building in public and earning trust [27:26] Delaying the launch to build Boutique [30:29] Why TestFlight should feel like production [32:25] Finding the right product and pricing strategy [35:17] Launch planning and go-to-market strategy [39:17] Press outreach and launch momentum [41:20] The Short Circuit AI app [46:01] Launching Plinky and product philosophy [47:32] Subscriptions, pricing, and paywalls [50:42] Growing through email and seasonal sales [56:55] Teaching developers to build with AI [01:00:43] Embracing AI instead of fearing it [01:04:41] Red Panda Club and creative inspiration