Can Bizarre Be Profitable?
Evidently, yes! In this post, we’ll look at five weird apps and pieces of software that make a lot of money.
After that, we’ll share three takeaways that you can apply to your app and software ideas.
Basically, how you can make money by tapping into your inner weirdo.
Here are a mix of five Android, iOS, and web apps with ideas that sound too weird to work, yet do!
1. Batch: Let’s Party
We were pretty shocked when Starter Story reported that Batch, a US-based bachelor and bachelorette party planning app, was making USD 500,000 a month.
Maybe it’s a cultural thing, but bachelorette parties aren’t a huge deal where we’re from.
People usually splurge on the wedding, not the pre-wedding.
From their apps on Google and Apple’s app stores, Batch lets users plan, pay for and split the bill for various bachelorette or bachelor party experiences. According to their team, 40,000 parties are booked every month via their platforms!
To be clear, partying is not weird.
But it’s weird to me that this app is this successful.
Maybe us developers are just really introverted?
2. Betterhalf.ai
Betterhalf.ai is an AI-powered Tinder for urban Indians who want to get married.
Traditional Indian matchmaking is very time-consuming and dating apps like Tinder focus on superficial values – fine for hookups, but not for finding a life partner.
So Betterhalf uses AI to predict match users based on more long-term criteria like religion, language, salary, partner preferences, and more.
They also operate from a website and an Android and iOS app, and according to an article, were making USD 75,000 per month as far back as 2021.
3. Excel Formula Bot
David Bressler‘s Excel Formula Bot uses AI to do three main things:
- Generate spreadsheet formulas and code
- Analyze spreadsheet content and provide insights in the form of tables and charts
- And it does this all within a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet through an add-on
So you don’t have to go back and forth between a ChatGPT window and your spreadsheets.
Yawn!
A weird and boring app is usually not a good combo.
But we’ll make an exception as Indiehackers reported in 2023 that Excel Formula Bot made over USD150,000 in profit over 12 months!
And the best part is that it was built with Bubble – it’s a no-code SaaS.
This means almost no overhead and a mouthwatering profit margin of 80 percent!
4. What3Words
What3Words is a geocoding app that divides the world into 3-meter squares.
Each square is given a unique 3-word combination called a ‘What3Words address’.
App users can then use this address to pinpoint several things, such as:
- where to meet,
- deliver and pick up parcels,
- send SOS signals
- save memorable spots, and
- make it easy for customers to find a business
The app and map are completely free for personal users and What3Words makes money from licensing their API to businesses.
Though not yet profitable, it’s been on an upward slope since launching from USD 30,000 in 2015 to USD 838,000 in 2022.
Don’t get us wrong, we think it’s ingenious.
But it is WEIRD!
5. Draw Something
Draw Something was launched in 2012 as a game where one player (tries to) draws a picture of a certain word, after which their partner guesses the word from the drawing.
The person drawing will always have a choice of three words worth one, two and three stars.
The words given are random, and the harder a word is to draw, the more valuable it is.
Why is it weird, you ask?
Draw Something was reportedly making six figures a day – insane for a game this simple.
But even more insane is that the app was acquired the year it launched for USD 183 million.
All these mobile games man.
They come, they conquer, then they disappear.
But not before turning their creators into billionaires.
3 Lessons These Weird Apps Can Teach Us
It’s all well and good to see these offbeat ideas strike gold.
But how can you make their success your success?
We believe there are three things you should do forever moving forward.
1. Embrace Weird and Niche Ideas
You can test out niche and odd and seemingly bizarre ideas for apps.
Especially when it caters to cultures and norms that aren’t as well represented.
Apps like Batch and Betterhalf.ai are polar opposites.
One helps you plan a crazy one-time party and the other helps you find a spouse for life.
You can find success by addressing specific cultural or personal preferences that might seem unusual to some but are highly valued by others.
2. Diversify Monetization Strategies
What3Words identified multiplied effective revenue streams for their app.
So just because you’re already doing subscriptions, doesn’t mean you can’t explore white labeling, premium add-ons, or even some ads here and there.
Monetization should never affect UX, but there’s a thick line you’d have to cross to mess it up.
Check out our app monetization ideas for some inspiration.
3. Weird Ideas Can Have Simple Execution
Draw Something gained huge popularity despite straightforward gameplay and graphics.
Excel Formula Bot is just a well-trained GPT model.
And Batch is just a hybrid of a directory and party planner!
It’s entirely possible to create an engaging user experience that resonates with an audience, without highly technical software.
And simple app or SaaS ideas can probably be built using a no-code app builder.
If you want to go down this route, check out our no-code app builder tier lists where I rank no-code app builders to help you quickly find the right one for your project.
- Here’s our no-code web app builder ranking
- Here’s our no-code mobile app builder ranking
Good luck!
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