Cat on Chair ↗: a cat Pomodoro app a designer built with ChatGPT
- MRR
- - Source checked 2026-10-20
- Total revenue
- -
- Active subscriptions
- -
In one line: A cat-themed Pomodoro timer app, free to download, with Pro sold as a lifetime purchase or yearly plan plus family sharing.
- Founder
- Ryan YaoX ↗
- Dates
- Launched 2025-08-27
Timeline
- Starts building; a simple Pomodoro timer after a few weeks (self-reported)
- First version done; dozens of beta testers from RedNote for about a month (self-reported)
- Launches, then spends the next months fixing serious bugs (self-reported)
- Downloads pass one hundred thousand in 8 months (self-reported)
- Featured as App of the Day in over a hundred App Store regions (self-reported)
Sources: YouTube interview; X post by @RyanQYao; X post by @RyanQYao.
Compared with similar products
Sources: YouTube interview; App Store: Cat On Chair; App Store: Forest. In-app prices for both apps are from their App Store lists, checked 2026-10-26.
3 moves Cat On Chair made
Turned his girlfriend's necklace into a product.
The idea came from a necklace of a cat on a chair.
Grew through influencer app roundups.
An Instagram roundup post featured them, then Threads users reshared it (self-reported).
Broke features into small steps when coding with AI.
This helped the most (self-reported).
Sources: Interview 07:13; Interview 05:08; X post by @RyanQYao; X post by @RyanQYao.
How to copy it
Read the top apps' bad reviews in a category you use daily, then turn a character you already have into the core mechanic
Pick an app category you use every day, search it in the App Store and read the top apps' 1-3 star reviews. Then write down a concrete character you already have (a piece of work, a pet, an illustrated character) and turn it into the app's core mechanic, borrowing from games where it helps. What the founder did: he entered a crowded category and stood out with an existing character plus customization mechanics (interview 08:25), and advises starting from an app you already use, studying reviews and remixing mechanics from games and other industries (interview 10:29).Expand ▾Collapse ▴
Pick an app category you use every day, search it in the App Store and read the top apps' 1-3 star reviews. Then write down a concrete character you already have (a piece of work, a pet, an illustrated character) and turn it into the app's core mechanic, borrowing from games where it helps. What the founder did: he entered a crowded category and stood out with an existing character plus customization mechanics (interview 08:25 ↗), and advises starting from an app you already use, studying reviews and remixing mechanics from games and other industries (interview 10:29 ↗).
- A bad-review table (app, review text, complaint type) and a one-page mechanic doc: how the character appears and what the user gets for what.
- A few of <your target users> read the mechanic doc and can say how it differs from existing apps.
I want to build a new app in <app category>. Below are 1-3 star reviews of the top apps in it and a description of a character we already have. Please: 1) group the reviews by complaint and count; 2) design a mechanic around the character: how it reacts when the user completes or abandons a <core action> and what they gain or lose; 3) say which complaint groups it addresses; 4) use only my material. Material: <paste>
Step 1: group the bad reviews and turn your character into a mechanic (our recommended use; the founder uses ChatGPT for coding).
Have AI write one small feature at a time: get the core working first, then add mechanics one by one
Break the step 1 mechanic into small features, build the basic core first, then add the character and reward mechanics one at a time. Have ChatGPT write only one per session and get it running in Xcode before the next. What the founder did: as a designer who doesn't code, he uses ChatGPT for coding and found breaking features into smaller steps helps most (X post by @RyanQYao), getting the basic function working before fleshing out the character and mechanics (interview 04:16).Expand ▾Collapse ▴
Break the step 1 mechanic into small features, build the basic core first, then add the character and reward mechanics one at a time. Have ChatGPT write only one per session and get it running in Xcode before the next. What the founder did: as a designer who doesn't code, he uses ChatGPT for coding and found breaking features into smaller steps helps most (X post by @RyanQYao ↗), getting the basic function working before fleshing out the character and mechanics (interview 04:16 ↗).
- A small-feature list with each item marked "working"; the app runs the full core flow on a real device.
- Someone who doesn't know you installs it from TestFlight and completes the core flow.
I don't code and I'm building a <app category> app in SwiftUI. Below is the feature list; now only item <n>: <feature>. Existing code: <paste relevant files>. Please: 1) implement only this item without changing other features; 2) tell me which files to create or change and where they go in Xcode; 3) give me steps to verify it in the simulator.
Step 2: write one small feature at a time; the code was written with the ChatGPT Pro plan ("I'm mainly use ChatGPT Pro plan for the coding part").
Step 2: run and debug the iOS app (our recommendation; the founder doesn't mention it).
Recruit a few dozen beta testers on a platform where you already have followers
Post on an account where you already have followers, with app screenshots and a screen recording, recruit beta testers, ship builds through TestFlight, and collect feedback and fix bugs weekly. What the founder did: his girlfriend already had followers on RedNote from sharing illustrations, and they invited a few dozen people there to beta test for about a month (interview 04:36).Expand ▾Collapse ▴
Post on an account where you already have followers, with app screenshots and a screen recording, recruit beta testers, ship builds through TestFlight, and collect feedback and fix bugs weekly. What the founder did: his girlfriend already had followers on RedNote from sharing illustrations, and they invited a few dozen people there to beta test for about a month (interview 04:36 ↗).
- The recruiting post is live; a group of testers installed the TestFlight build; a feedback table (issue, reporter, fixed or not).
- Every serious issue testers reported is fixed.
I'm building a <app category> app whose core mechanic is <one-line mechanic>. Below are our account's style and follower details. Write a beta recruiting post: 1) open with the experience users get; 2) explain how to join, what to do and for how long; 3) write a 3-question weekly feedback survey for testers. Don't promise a launch date. Material: <paste>
Step 3: recruit beta testers from an account that already has followers; interview 04:36: "We invited dozens of people on RedNotes to beta test it".
Launch with a RevenueCat paywall: free to use, premium content in a lifetime purchase and an annual plan, and get first revenue
Keep the core free and put premium content in Pro. In App Store Connect create a lifetime purchase and an annual subscription, optionally with Family Sharing, and configure the paywall in RevenueCat. You set the prices. What the founder did: the app is free, Pro comes as lifetime, annual and family sharing, and most sales come from lifetime (interview 02:09), with the paywall on RevenueCat (interview 06:28).Expand ▾Collapse ▴
Keep the core free and put premium content in Pro. In App Store Connect create a lifetime purchase and an annual subscription, optionally with Family Sharing, and configure the paywall in RevenueCat. You set the prices. What the founder did: the app is free, Pro comes as lifetime, annual and family sharing, and most sales come from lifetime (interview 02:09 ↗), with the paywall on RevenueCat (interview 06:28 ↗).
- The app is live; the paywall appears and a sandbox account can buy lifetime and annual; RevenueCat shows the first real purchase.
- RevenueCat shows the first real purchase not made by you.
My <app category> app is free, with Pro at $<price> lifetime and $<price>/year (optional Family Sharing). Please: 1) list what stays free and what goes in Pro, with reasons; 2) write English paywall copy: headline, 3 Pro experiences, a line per option; 3) write the first 3 lines of the App Store description. Use only my prices.
Step 4: set up the lifetime purchase, annual subscription and paywall; interview 06:28: the app uses RevenueCat.
Step 4: create the lifetime and annual products in App Store Connect and turn on Family Sharing (our recommendation for where to set them up).
Pitch your app to creators who post "useful apps" roundups and aim for their next one
On Instagram or wherever your target users gather, search app roundup posts, note accounts that posted roundups recently and their views, and DM a batch with your App Store link and a few screenshots, asking to be in the next one. What the founder did: real growth came when Instagram creators featured the app in roundup posts on their own and one went viral; he calls that luck and plans more UGC for steady traffic (interview 05:08, X post by @RyanQYao).Expand ▾Collapse ▴
On Instagram or wherever your target users gather, search app roundup posts, note accounts that posted roundups recently and their views, and DM a batch with your App Store link and a few screenshots, asking to be in the next one. What the founder did: real growth came when Instagram creators featured the app in roundup posts on their own and one went viral; he calls that luck and plans more UGC for steady traffic (interview 05:08 ↗, X post by @RyanQYao ↗).
- A creator table (handle, followers, latest roundup views) and the DMs sent.
- A creator features your app and downloads rise after the post.
I built a <app category> app whose core mechanic is <one-line mechanic>. Below are creators who post "useful apps" roundups: handle, followers, content and views of their latest roundup. Write each an English DM under 70 words: 1) open with a specific app from their latest roundup; 2) one line on how mine differs; 3) include <App Store link> and ask about their next roundup; 4) no payment talk, no hype. Profiles: <paste>
Step 5: find roundup creators and message them (interview 05:08: the takeoff came from Instagram creators' roundups; reaching out is our recommendation).
Sources
- Starter Story interview (2026-07-26)
- From the founder in a July 2026 interview: 01:54, "In the last 30 days from April 13, we made over 18K"
- From the founder in a July 2026 interview: 04:36, RedNote beta, launch on 2025-08-27, about 3,000 first-week downloads
- From the founder in a July 2026 interview: 05:08, an Instagram roundup passed 2 million views, then a Threads reshare
- From the founder in a July 2026 interview: 07:13, the idea came from his girlfriend's cat-on-a-chair necklace
- X: "We crossed 100k downloads in 8 months!" (2026-04-22)
- X: "We were lucky some influencers posted us on instagram" (2026-04-23)
- X: "I found breaking down features into smaller steps helps the most." (2025-10-20)
- X: "AI is the only reason why this is possible." (2026-07-29)
- X: App Store "App of The Day" in over 110 regions (2026-07-27)
- App Store: Cat On Chair: Pomodoro Timer (developer Cat On Desk Design Inc.)
- Cat on Chair website
- apps.apple.com
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Data source: TrustMRR, checked 2026-10-17