- Pickle Rooms
- Posts
- 🥒 Air Taxi?
In partnership with
Hey Pickle Gang, it’s Rob.
Here's what's in today's issue:
Subscription Services Face a New Reality: Click-to-Cancel
How Steven Cravotta’s “Puff Count” Went Viral and is doing $40K MRR
FAA Releases Final Regulations for Air Taxi Industry: Joby Aviation’s $200M Raise Takes Flight
And more…
First time reading? Sign up here
This Weeks Favourites
Article: Google releases tech to watermark AI-generated text (link)
Article: UnitedHealth says Change Healthcare hack affects over 100 million, the largest-ever US healthcare data breach (link)
Article: Siri’s big ChatGPT upgrade is here - for better and worse (link)
Fun Stuff: When the startup CEO & CTO take their intern out for “drinks” (link)
Today’s Sugar Daddy
Learn AI in 5 minutes a day.
The Rundown is the world’s most trusted AI newsletter, with over 700,000+ readers staying up-to-date with the latest AI news, understanding why it matters, and learning how to apply it in their work.
Their expert research team spends all day learning what’s new in AI, then distills the most important developments into one free email every morning.
News
Subscription Services Face a New Reality: Click-to-Cancel
In what many of us have been waiting for, the FTC’s “Click to Cancel” rule promises to make ending subscriptions as easy as signing up for them. No more endless calls or confusing processes—just a straightforward, quick online cancel button. The rule mandates that cancellations match the simplicity of sign-ups, targeting subscription tactics that have relied on long hold times and sneaky auto-renewal policies to keep customers locked in. This consumer win kicks in six months from now, barring any roadblocks.
But not everyone’s thrilled. Industry giants like Comcast, ADT, and even Meta are suing to block the rule, claiming it’s an “abuse of discretion.” With big names lining up against the FTC, the battle over canceling that gym membership with one click might be far from over. Could consumer convenience finally triumph over corporate interests? Spring will tell.
How Steven Cravotta’s Puff Count Went Viral and is doing $40K MRR
Steven Cravotta is doing $40,000 in MRR (monthly recurring revenue) from his mobile app, Puff Count, without being a coder.
He's gone from a series of failed businesses to a viral app.
He’s also proof that coding skills aren’t a prerequisite for building an app - you just need an appetite to learn.
His app, Puff Count, is designed to help users quit vaping, stemming from an issue he had in everyday life.
Cravotta outsourced design and development, using platforms like 99designs and Upwork. He kept costs low with a basic MVP under $5,000 so he could focus on the important stuff: the marketing. TikTok was his winning strategy, creating subtle CTA’s (calls-to-action) that took the app viral.
For monetization, he used a hard paywall and optimised by A/B testing using Superwall boosted. His key lesson? Start simple, market smartly, and build a dedicated team – you don’t need to code to launch a viral app.
Read more about how he did it here
Funding
FAA Releases Final Regulations for Air Taxi Industry: Joby Aviation’s $200M Raise Takes Flight
News: It’s official—Joby Aviation is ready to hit the market, and not just with its flying vehicles. The electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) pioneer has launched a public offering to raise up to $200 million, planning to channel the funds toward aircraft certification, manufacturing, and its commercial launch slated for 2025. It’s offering an additional 30-day option for underwriters to purchase $30 million more in shares.
This capital raise comes on the heels of the FAA’s approval of new regulations that clear U.S. airspace for eVTOLs and establish pilot and operating guidelines. With a $55 million Department of Defense contract and recent investments from partners like Delta, Uber, and Toyota (who just injected another $500 million), Joby is poised to launch air taxis in New York, Los Angeles, and even the UAE. With $2.6 billion raised to date, Joby aims to make the flying car a reality.
Growth
The Juicy Stuff: Why Having a Big LTV Makes You Win
If you have a big LTV (Lifetime Value), you can outspend your competitors on advertising.
Example
Sounds simple, but this is ridiculously powerful. Let’s say you have a higher LTV, which allows you to pay £15 for a customer, compared to the £10 your competitors can afford.
You can now outbid them for every single ad they run. Want to rank number one on Google Ads? Tough luck for them; you outbid and capture the majority of clicks and customers.
Facebook Ads? Same story. You outbid them, and while both CACs go up, you can spend more, meaning they stop running ads.
Congrats, you’ve just taken all the customers, and they’re left with none. You win.
Recommendation
|
Meme of the Day
Hope you enjoyed today’s issue!
I won’t lie, it takes me a while to write, so I’d love it if you could give it a share! (just forward it to a friend if you’re lazy like me!)
Cheers,
Rob 🥒
Robert Benson-May, ACA
How did you like today's newsletter? |