Vahe Baghdasaryan - Our No-Code Apps Made $50M Using THIS Paywall

Vahe Baghdasaryan took one app from a 1.1% install-to-paid conversion rate to 4% in five months—without spending a dollar more on user acquisition. That's nearly a 4x revenue increase just by fixing paywall leaks. Now his company Tangent has helped apps generate over $50 million in revenue from 10,000+ paywall experiments.

In this episode of The Superwall Podcast, Vahe breaks down the exact playbook he uses to spot money leaks hiding in plain sight. Our host Joseph digs into everything from multi-step paywall mechanics to psychological triggers that boost conversions by 40%. Watch the full interview here.

Here's what Vahe reveals:

• Why copying famous paywalls kills your conversion—and the contextual factors most founders ignore
• The multi-step paywall strategy that doubled Claim's trial start rate to 34% (vs. 15% benchmark)
• How mentioning "free trial" 5-7 times across screens crushes purchase anxiety
• The trial toggle feature that captures 10% more revenue by letting users skip trials for instant discounts
• Transaction abandonment tactics: offer 80% off with trial, 90% off without—then add an undiscounted option for price anchoring
• The spin wheel gamification tactic (borrowed from e-commerce) that doubles conversion vs. static discount displays
• Why $3.33/month pricing outperforms $2.99—unconventional numbers signal authenticity
• Four high-leverage paywall placements: session start, contextual actions, premium gates, and transaction abandonment

Whether you're stuck at a 2% conversion rate or trying to scale past seven figures, this episode shows you exactly how to plug revenue leaks without touching your product or growth budget.

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Superwall gives you full control over your mobile app paywalls — so you can build, test, and optimize native paywall experiences without needing to ship a new app update. Whether you're launching your first app or scaling to millions of users, Superwall helps you grow faster, smarter, and with less code.

Learn more and create a free account at superwall.com
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Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:46 The big "money left on the table" paywall mistake
• 1:24 Case study: boosting install-to-paid from 1.1% to ~4
• 2:08 What this episode covers (playbook, tactics, placements)
• 2:55 Superwall & paywallexperiments.com
• 3:34 Why paywalls and onboarding matter more than growth hacks
• 4:51 Common founder mistake: copying other apps' paywalls
• 5:36 Key benchmarks for trials and install-to-paid rates
• 6:55 Adding $100K+ without new users (just paywall experiments)
• 7:46 High-leverage paywall placements inside your app
• 9:43 Claim app: multi-step free trial paywall breakdown
• 14:44 Multi-step vs single-screen paywalls (20-40% uplift)
• 16:24 When to remove free trials and charge upfront
• 18:25 Discount psychology & spin-the-wheel offers (Cal AI example)
• 22:08 Trial toggles and capturing different user intents (Riz & Cal AI)
• 27:02 Quitter app: 3-step, no-trial paywall & social proof
• 32:38 How to think about pricing your app (costs, competitors, ROAS)
• 38:06 Transaction abandonment paywalls & advanced discounting
• 40:46 Must-have paywall placements and quick wins for new apps
• 42:29 Outro - Next Steps