96: Plinky — Joe Fabisevich

On the podcast: Joe Fabisevich shares how he went from Twitter's health and safety team to building Plinky, a link-saving app born of trading memes with his wife. He talks about why he treats every beta like a production launch, how his wife's pro marketing playbook — lookback calendars, email campaigns, and press outreach — shaped his entire go-to-market strategy, why he regrets starting with a generous freemium tier, and how a scrappy 19-day ChatGPT wrapper went viral off one email to John Gruber.

Top Takeaways:

🛒 You should charge people — and you should charge them sooner
Settling on a generous freemium tier feels kind, but it quietly kills your ability to learn who converts, why they convert, and when they drop off.

📅 A lookback calendar turns launch chaos into a system
Work backwards from your launch date and assign every single day a strategic task — teasers, emails, press pitches — so nothing happens ad hoc the night before.

📧 Email is the single best revenue lever for indie apps
Run three emails per sale (launch day, a few days out, 24 hours left), segment by open behavior, and don't panic if the first two are quiet — the last one drives the most conversions.

🧪 Treat your beta like a production launch
Building export systems, handling migrations, and collecting real feedback during a TestFlight isn't wasted effort — it pays dividends when you ship for real and already have the infrastructure.

🧠 AI is superhuman, but it's not a mind reader
If your prompt wouldn't be enough for a human engineer to build from, it's not enough for AI either — most people are one lightbulb moment away from building real things.

About Joe Fabisevich:

🚀 Indie iOS developer and founder of Plinky, a thoughtfully designed link-saving app. Previously an engineer at Twitter, he also builds open-source developer tools and writes about AI, product development, and software craftsmanship.

👋 LinkedIn

🌐 Learn more about Plinky

Follow us on X:

• Charlie Chapman - @_chuckyc
• RevenueCat - @RevenueCat
• Launched - @LaunchedFM

Episode Highlights:

[00:00] Introducing Plinky and designing apps with care

[03:16] What Plinky does and why it exists

[04:34] Growing up in Queens and discovering programming

[07:21] Early iOS development and first jobs

[10:20] Lessons from working at Twitter

[16:15] The personal story behind Plinky

[19:51] From side project to indie business

[23:00] Building in public and earning trust

[27:26] Delaying the launch to build Boutique

[30:29] Why TestFlight should feel like production

[32:25] Finding the right product and pricing strategy

[35:17] Launch planning and go-to-market strategy

[39:17] Press outreach and launch momentum

[41:20] The Short Circuit AI app

[46:01] Launching Plinky and product philosophy

[47:32] Subscriptions, pricing, and paywalls

[50:42] Growing through email and seasonal sales

[56:55] Teaching developers to build with AI

[01:00:43] Embracing AI instead of fearing it

[01:04:41] Red Panda Club and creative inspiration