I Grew This Mobile App to Over $12K/Month
Who are you and what business did you start?
My name is Giancarlo Sarti, and I'm the co-founder and CEO of MyFutureSelf, an AI-powered mobile app that helps people become who they want to be. I started the company in college, after realizing most personal growth tools focus on discipline or motivation but ignore the deeper problem: identity. People don't fail because they lack discipline — they struggle because their current identity doesn't match the life they want.
MyFutureSelf helps users design who they want to become and guides them toward that identity. Users interact with their Future Self, an AI trained on their goals and vision, that helps them make decisions, stay aligned, and take daily actions that reinforce that identity. Our customers range from ambitious goal-setters to people searching for clarity and direction. In February, we generated $12.9K in revenue.
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How do you come up with the idea for MyFutureSelf?
Before MyFutureSelf, my co-founder and I built an email marketing agency while still in college. We had set a goal to hit six figures before graduating, but we were stuck. Then a mentor told us that if we wanted to build a six-figure company, we needed to start acting like the person who already ran one. We took that advice seriously, changed how we operated — and about three months later, we scaled to $20K per month and hit our goal.
That was the "aha" moment. The biggest shift wasn't tactics or information, it was identity. But after reaching that milestone, the agency plateaued, and email marketing wasn't something we wanted to spend a decade on. Since we were already deeply interested in AI and personal development, MyFutureSelf emerged naturally from that intersection. Neither of us knew how to code and we had no experience with consumer apps, so we validated the idea by building quickly, putting it in front of users, and learning from how the market reacted.
How did you build the initial version of MyFutureSelf?
Giancarlo Sarti and his co-founder built MyFutureSelf by validating the idea, building quickly, and receiving feedback from the market. They had no coding experience and used tools like Claude and Cursor to create their first mobile app, which experienced early crashes. Despite the initial challenges, they improved the app quickly and gained traction. The biggest lesson learned was that speed matters more than perfection, as negative feedback provides valuable information for improvement in building the product.
How did you launch MyFutureSelf and get initial traction?
We started by posting organic content on Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit, which helped us get our first wave of users and test whether the idea resonated. As we saw traction, we expanded into influencer partnerships, a UGC creator program, and eventually paid ads on Meta to scale distribution.
When we launched, the product wasn't perfect. It was our first mobile app, built largely with the help of tools like Claude and Cursor, and we experienced early crashes. But our early users were surprisingly understanding, and we worked quickly to fix every issue and improve stability. Once people started discovering the app, users began subscribing fairly quickly. The biggest lesson I learned is that if you feel completely ready to launch, you probably waited too long. You learn far more by shipping, getting feedback, and improving quickly.
What was the growth strategy for MyFutureSelf and how did you scale?
We've experimented with several growth channels including organic social media, influencer partnerships, user-generated content, and paid advertising. Early on we focused on organic content across Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit because it was free and our target audience already spends time there discussing mindset, productivity, and self-improvement. Those channels let us reach people already thinking about personal growth and introduce them to the idea of interacting with their Future Self.
One of our most effective strategies has been building a UGC creator program. We originally hired someone who specialized in TikTok Shop to set it up, but their approach was very quantity-focused. They brought in a lot of creators, but most weren't highly qualified, so we decided to bring the program in-house and focus on quality over quantity to build a strong foundation. I began personally reaching out to creators already posting about psychology, mindset, and self-improvement. Cold messaging them, getting them on calls, and pitching the idea of creating content for the app.
Today we work with a small group of UGC creators who post daily about MyFutureSelf. Instead of controlling their content, we give them creative freedom. They already know how to make content that resonates with their audience, so our role is mostly to provide the product and let them interpret it in their own style. Even with fewer creators, the quality and performance of their content has been significantly better. The biggest lesson from this is that growth often requires unglamorous work.
Entrepreneurship is often portrayed as sexy and glamorous, but most of what actually moves the needle is ugly and boring. Sending cold messages, following up, getting on calls, and building relationships one conversation at a time. For aspiring entrepreneurs, I'd recommend experimenting with multiple channels and paying close attention to where you get traction. The only reliable way to find what works is by testing.
What were the biggest lessons learned from building MyFutureSelf?
One of our best decisions was focusing on distribution from day one. Because we had previously run a marketing agency, we understood that a great product means nothing if no one sees it.
We've also made plenty of mistakes. We built MyFutureSelf without any coding experience, and the early version crashed constantly. But those moments forced us to problem-solve quickly and taught us that negative feedback is just information that helps you improve.
The biggest lesson I've learned is that speed matters more than perfection. It's easy to overthink decisions or wait until everything feels ready, but most of the learning only happens once you put something into the world. If I could give one piece of advice, it would be to stop waiting for permission or validation before you start. Start acting like the person you want to become and figure it out along the way. That belief is what inspired MyFutureSelf, and it's the same thing that helped us build it.
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More about MyFutureSelf:
Who is the owner of MyFutureSelf?
Giancarlo Sarti is the founder of MyFutureSelf.
When did Giancarlo Sarti start MyFutureSelf?
2025
How much money has Giancarlo Sarti made from MyFutureSelf?
Giancarlo Sarti started the business in 2025, and currently makes an average of $132K/year.
