Nikita Bier has twice turned a simple, feel-good polling idea into chart-topping apps that sold to giant buyers. His playbook relied on hyper-targeted launches, guerrilla social tactics, ruthless iteration, and a “no-budget” marketing philosophy that let the product itself do the work. Below is a closer look at the exact moves that took tbh and Gas from zero to millions and what Bier is building next.
1. Build for One Tight Audience First
1.1 Pick a “seed” school
Bier chose a single Georgia high school that started its semester earlier than the rest of the country so he could test quickly while rivals were still asleep. He set a goal of 40% penetration in 24 hours as the pass-fail line.
1.2 Own the campus’ Instagram graph
Using teen-run burner accounts, the team followed every profile tagged at that school’s location page, then DMed a download link. 40% of students installed tbh on day one and shared invites with friends in neighboring schools, creating an instant growth cascade.
2. Create Scarcity and FOMO
Only four poll questions unlocked per day kept usage snack-sized and prevented fatigue while nudging users to return tomorrow.
Polls disappeared after 24 hours, so teens felt pressure to vote immediately or miss out on a compliment. Bier capped each new geographic rollout until server stability caught up, making the app appear exclusive.
3. Make Every Tap a “Miracle”
Bier’s motto: “Every tap on a mobile app is a miracle.” Anything that added friction was stripped out. Registration used the phone’s contact list, push notifications arrived only at high-engagement times, and UI colors were pastel to feel safe and friendly.
4. Spend Nothing on Marketing
Bier famously said the rule was “launch from your couch or don’t launch.” No paid ads, no campus flyers – just viral loops and free social channels. When growth slowed, the team rewrote copy or tuned notifications instead of buying installs.
5. Iterate Until You Hit No-Doubt Product-Market Fit
“If you are unsure whether it’s working, it’s not,” Bier told Lenny Rachitsky. He pushed daily builds, watching App Store rank as the only scoreboard; when tbh dropped, features were killed or re-imagined overnight.
6. Layer in Revenue Only After Virality
With Gas, the core loop was identical to tbh, but this time Bier added “God Mode,” a $7 weekly subscription that hinted who sent each compliment. In three months the feature drove almost $7 million in in-app sales while keeping the free experience intact.
7. Keep the Team Tiny and Focused
Four engineers lived and worked out of Bier’s Los Angeles house during the Gas sprint, shipping the entire app in eight weeks. A small crew meant decisions could be made in minutes and changes pushed the same night.
8. Exit at Peak Momentum
tbh sold to Facebook for roughly $30 million nine weeks after launch. Five years later, Gas sold to Discord for an undisclosed eight-figure sum within six months of its debut. Bier struck while each app still topped the charts, avoiding the post-hype plateau that killed many social startups.
What Bier Is Working on Now
After Gas, Bier joined Lightspeed Venture Partners as a product-growth adviser, helping new consumer apps replicate his playbook. In January 2025 he quietly shipped Explode, an iMessage mini-app for disappearing photos, already offering a paid “Explode+” tier. Early adopters describe it as “Snapchat without the overhead,” hinting that Bier is once again chasing the teen cohort that made him a two-time success.
For those looking to tap into his expertise directly, Bier offers one-on-one consultations through Intro.co. Sessions start at $5,000, with options for deeper monthly mentorship packages that include design reviews, growth strategies, and fundraising tactics. You can book a session at intro.co/NikitaBier.
Bier’s blueprint is clear: start hyper-narrow, obsess over the first 100 users, and let them pull the product into the world. When the flywheel catches, double down, monetize lightly, and move fast before attention shifts. He may soon prove, for a third time, that lightning can indeed strike in the same place.