From Viral TikToks to $5M Raised: Building a Stem Cell Startup with Consumer DNA

From Viral TikToks to $5M Raised: Building a Stem Cell Startup with Consumer DNA

This week on May I Have Your Retention Please? we step beyond consumer apps and into consumer healthcare. Kathryn, founder of Anja Health, is building a cord blood banking startup that helps parents safeguard their child’s future health. She shares how she turned personal motivation into a company, grew it through TikTok, and raised $5M from top funds like 776 and Hustle Fund. Key Topics * Turning a personal story into a healthcare startup * Validating through mom groups and early interviews * Why 80% of customers came from TikTok * Which channel is having a “moment” right now * Fundraising lessons: from cold DMs to closing $5M * How to build trust when marketing in healthcare * AB testing sales materials with OB/GYNs * The importance of urgency and founder-product fit

From Burrito Bribes to #1 in the App Store: Lessons on How Unscalable Things Can Scale Consumer Startups to Millions

In this episode of May I Have Your Retention Please?, we sit down with Harry Dixon, co-founder and CEO of one of the fastest-growing shopping apps in the world. Harry shares how scrappy hacks like “Burrito Gate” on college campuses turned into a playbook that scaled to millions of shoppers and even a #1 App Store ranking. We cover: * how he got the very first users on the app * what happened when they tried influencer marketing * the system behind their TikTok growth * the onboarding trick every founder should know * why marketing is more technical than you think About Checkmate Checkmate is a shopping app that helps people save money with personalized deals and offers.

Nomadtable: The Solo Travel Meetup App that Scaled to 75K MAUs and $18K MRR in 6 Months

In this episode of May I Have Your Retention Please, I talk with Jay, the founder of Nomadtable, a fast-growing meetup app for solo travelers. Nomadtable connects travelers to activities and people nearby, making it easy to meet others while on the road. We cover how Jay bootstrapped from idea to 75,000 monthly active users and $18,000 MRR in under six months, the “ghost marketing” method he used to validate the concept before building, and the lessons learned from three MVP pivots. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone in the travel app, social networking, or consumer startup space. You’ll learn: * How Nomadtable validated demand before writing code * Why monetizing from day one worked in the travel market * The onboarding and growth tactics that drove rapid adoption * How to differentiate from competitors and copycats * The importance of being your own target user * Why bootstrapping can be an advantage over raising VC * Practical advice for founders building marketplace and travel apps About Nomadtable Nomadtable is a solo travel app that lets you instantly find and join activities with other travelers nearby, making it easy to meet people on the road. About the podcast "May I Have Your Retention Please?" is a podcast where we break down how the best consumer apps grow, retain, and delight their users. Each episode features tactical, no-fluff conversations with founders and builders who’ve done it. About the host Saba Karim is a founder-turned-investor with a global network built from years of backing and advising startups. A seasoned public speaker and now a founder again, he leverages his investing experience and connections to build and grow products that people genuinely love.

From A Gift For His Girlfriend To 9M+ Daily Active Users: Locket’s Viral Growth, TikTok Strategy, And Retention Wins

Locket started as a birthday gift for one person — and became one of the most downloaded consumer apps in the world. In this episode, you’ll learn: * How a private project between two people turned into a global product. * Why the first TikTok video going viral wasn’t just luck * The surprising factor that kept user growth consistent beyond the spike * How to turn authentic UGC into a repeatable growth engine * The retention metric that convinced them they had a business * Why onboarding might not matter as much as you think (in the early days) * The team structure that powers their in-house content machine * How to decide when to kill a feature — even if it’s “working” * The mental model they use to decide what’s worth focusing on and the early signal that proved Locket had real staying power This is a masterclass in building a consumer app that people actually love — from finding early product-market fit to sustaining virality and keeping retention strong long after launch. ••••••••••••••• About Locket Locket is a photo-sharing widget that lets you send pictures directly to friends’ home screens in real time. It turns everyday moments into a personal, instant connection without the noise of traditional social media. About the podcast "May I Have Your Retention Please?" is a podcast where we break down how the best consumer apps grow, retain, and delight their users. Each episode features tactical, no-fluff conversations with founders and builders who’ve done it. About the host Saba Karim is a founder-turned-investor with a global network built from years of backing and advising startups. A seasoned public speaker and now a founder again, he leverages his investing experience and connections to build and grow products that people genuinely love.

Memes, Carousels, and How Howbout The Social Calendar App Quietly Took Over

Neil from Howbout joins Saba to break down how a simple idea — a better way to share time with friends — turned into one of the most downloaded social apps in Europe. With over 5 million users and 100 million+ events created, Howbout is quietly winning in a category most builders write off as dead. In this episode, Neil shares the scrappy tactics, surprising insights, and hard lessons behind their growth. You’ll hear: – How a meme account helped them get their first 1,000 users – Why "Chief Friendship Officer" isn't just a cute title — it’s a core growth lever – What happened when they tested invite walls in 2024 (hint: it still works) – How TikTok carousels outperformed video for viral reach – The small product detail that spiked retention (and almost didn’t ship) – What investors actually asked for in their Series A – How they handled the classic chicken-and-egg problem of social apps – And why branding came after product-market fit, not before Neil also opens up about building without a technical background, leading with intuition, and why most consumer founders are optimizing for the wrong things too early. If you're working on a consumer product — especially something social, utility-driven, or event-based — this episode is a goldmine. And yes, we get into the hard stuff too: churn, local network density, when to fake it, and what didn’t work at all. ••••••••••••••• About Howbout Howbout is a social calendar app that makes it easy to find a time, pick a place, and get friends together. It replaces endless group chats with one shared space for invites, polls, and plans. About the podcast "May I Have Your Retention Please?" is a podcast where we break down how the best consumer apps grow, retain, and delight their users. Each episode features tactical, no-fluff conversations with founders and builders who’ve done it. About the host Saba Karim is a founder-turned-investor with a global network built from years of backing and advising startups. A seasoned public speaker and now a founder again, he leverages his investing experience and connections to build and grow products that people genuinely love.