In my fourth year of university, I had a panic attack out of nowhere.
I didn’t even know what panic attacks were. I was far from home, I had no family doctor, and I couldn’t find the resources I needed to feel better.
That moment became Rootd, the app I built with no coding experience. Since launching in 2019, it’s been downloaded over 4 million times and made over a million in revenue.
Here’s how it happened.
Table of Contents
The Problem
I looked through the app stores. I searched online. Nothing spoke to me.
Everything was either very clinical or hypnosis based. Neither is what you want in the middle of a panic attack.
That’s when I realized I had something to build.
The Validation
Before writing a single line of code, I downloaded every anxiety app I could find and read the reviews.
A theme kept showing up. People couldn’t figure out what a panic attack actually was, and nothing walked them through one in the moment.
So I put together a prototype. An MVP.
The first few hundred users told me that even with the bugs and missing pieces, they wanted me to keep going. That was all the encouragement I needed.
The Advice
If you’re sitting on a painful personal problem and wondering whether to build something for it, here’s what I’d say:
- Launch an MVP and get real feedback.
- Don’t listen to the naysayers too much.
- If other people share your problem, put it out there and see if what you made helps.
The Build
I don’t have a technical background. I’m not a programmer.
So I started drawing in a notebook. I thought about what would actually help me in the middle of a panic attack. How would I want the information presented? How could I keep it simple for someone who is already overwhelmed?
I taught myself enough Photoshop and Illustrator to turn my sketches into wireframes. I went to an agency and couldn’t afford them. Eventually a student developer said he’d love to work with me.
I put in all my savings. We launched the first MVP a few months later.
The Core
The first version of Rootd was essentially a panic attack button that walks you through a panic attack.
That core hasn’t changed much. It’s still the aha moment that resonates with users. The design has evolved, but the heart of the app is the same.
I also launched with a simple breathing tool and lessons on understanding where panic attacks and anxiety come from.
The Growth
Rootd didn’t blow up overnight.
- Year one: around 10,000 downloads
- Year two: 100,000 downloads
- Year three: 1 million downloads
Once we hit 100,000, I knew there was real demand. I just kept going.
The Side Hustle
For the first few years, I built Rootd alongside a full-time job.
I worked my other job four days a week and Rootd three days a week. No weekends. No social life.
I don’t think there are any shortcuts. That’s just what it took.
The Leap
I wanted to go full-time on Rootd for about a year before I actually did it.
The revenue was there. It could sustain me comfortably for over a year. But the leap only happened when my other job became a lot less enjoyable.
That was about two and a half to three years into building Rootd.
The Tactics
When people ask how I grew Rootd to over 4 million downloads, I point to three things.
- Active social media engagement. I spent hours on posts, writing helpful comments and linking back to Rootd when it made sense.
- Press. I found journalists on LinkedIn, wrote cold emails, and pitched our story. Most never replied. But we ended up in Cosmopolitan, Women’s Health, and even Time Magazine. Later on we were also featured on Google’s #WeArePlay, which was another huge moment for us.
- App store optimization. The product matches what users search for. They download it, use it, then describe their experience with the same keywords in reviews. That loop is powerful. It also led to us being named Apple’s App of the Day.
Being Helpful
My advice on being helpful online in 2026: don’t lead with “hey, download my app.”
Answer a question your app answers. If someone posts about a rough anxiety moment on a run, I might share why that happens and why it’s okay.
That’s what actually builds trust.
The Playbook
If you’re starting an app today, this is what I’d do:
- Build a product that delivers what your page promises. That drives positive reviews and word of mouth.
- Listen to your users. Most of what you need to know is already in the reviews.
Conclusion
I didn’t have a technical background. I didn’t have a business degree. I had a painful problem and a notebook.
If you’re sitting on something similar, the best thing you can do is launch a simple MVP and let your users tell you where to go next. The rest of the journey is just showing up.
Ready to try Rootd for yourself? Download the app here.
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