Here's the EXACT playbook someone will use to make $10M+ in 2026 rebuilding existing mobile apps:
1) Find apps people already pay for but hate using
I use Sensor Tower to find apps making $50-200k MRR in stable categories - things like productivity tools, utilities, or niche professional apps. The key is filtering for consistent revenue growth but dated interfaces. I'm looking specifically for apps charging $10-30 monthly for basic utilities that maintain steady users despite minimal updates.
The sweet spot is finding tools with sub-4 star ratings but strong retention - that's the signal that users need it badly enough to keep paying despite hating the experience. I pay special attention to revenue per download rather than total revenue - this shows me whether users stick around and pay month after month.
Most people miss this, but the real opportunities are often in the boring categories where small but loyal user bases quietly pay monthly for tools that just work. I recommend using Ideabrowser.com to get ideas too.
Example:
this is kinda an insane story but this developer is making $500K a month by just builder a louder version of an alarm clock.
turns out there are millions of people who want a louder alarm clock and thousands who'd pay for it.
And you can use claude code to make this pretty quickly.
2) Look for obvious missing features
Search for single dev apps doing $100k+ MRR with ancient UIs. Find tools where 50%+ revenue comes from one basic feature. Target apps still charging for features that should be free. Look for apps with steady revenue but no updates in 6+ months.
The best opportunities are utilities people use daily but hate using.
I also like to find apps and just localize them to certain geos.
“BuT tHaTs sUcH SmAlL tHiNkInG.”
Wealthfront is the Robinhood of Canada. Does ~$200M in revenue with $50B under management.
You can do well by being X for Y.
And remember, 5 years ago a mobile app costed you $500k-$1M to get an MVP out the door. It's now like $20.
You can try more things!
3) Spot the AI opportunities
The easiest AI wins live inside workflows people already tolerate (not new behaviors you need to teach_
Look for apps where users spend most of their time moving information, not thinking.
Examples:
Apps where you upload a file and wait for a result
Tools that ask you to paste the same type of text over and over
Dashboards that show data but make you decide what it means
Services that charge for “processing,” “review,” or “analysis” but still rely on manual steps behind the scenes
These products usually feel slow, clunky, or slightly insulting for the price.
The telltale signs:
“Upload and wait” as the core experience
Repetitive forms with minor variations
Manual categorization, tagging, or sorting
Long instructions explaining how to interpret results
Premium pricing justified by time saved, not outcomes delivered
AI fits best when it collapses steps, not when it replaces judgment entirely.
Strong AI-native upgrades look like:
Turning raw inputs into a clear recommendation
Summarizing messy data into one sentence
Flagging what matters instead of showing everything
Pre-filling decisions users usually make the same way
Explaining why something happened, not just what happened
The best targets are apps where users already trust the output but hate the effort required to get there.
That’s why AI works so well in:
Document review
Data cleanup
Report generation
Status updates
Compliance checks
Intake and triage workflows
If an app charges $20–$50/month to save time, and most of that time is spent copying, uploading, waiting, or interpreting, there’s almost always an AI-shaped gap.
4) Find the distribution plays
See if the niche TikTok creators are sharing it. Scour TikTok shop. Start reaching out. Pay ~5$ per CPM for B2C, can be higher for B2B. Build an army of UGC creators.
Search for utilities that creators use but never share. Look for tools solving shareable problems privately. The secret: Find apps with high usage in specific niches (photographers, designers, writers) but zero presence on their platforms.
5) Rebuild and scale
Launch with one core feature done right. Add AI to automate the tedious parts. Build sharing features from day one. Price based on value, not market. Key insight: Don't rebuild everything - just fix the one thing users hate most.
6) Building the holdco
I'm seeing more founders building app portfolios instead of single products. Each starts by finding an app people pay for despite hating it. Use cashflow to buy more apps. Use shared infra. Add AI. Improve UX. Build distribution moat. Ya baby! We’re cruising.
tldr;
find things people already pay for, make them 10x better with AI, add distribution, repeat.
use as many unfair advantages and tools to get your creative juices flowing (sensor tower, ideabrowser.com etc.)
and experiment by shipping many apps in 2026 to find the ONE that work.
If this was helpful, let me know so i'll share more playbooks like this.
I live to serve. I am rooting for you.
Greg
