Helium

What do they actually do

Helium provides a hosted tool and mobile SDK that lets consumer apps create, edit, A/B test, and personalize in‑app paywalls without shipping a new app build. Teams install a lightweight SDK (iOS/Android/React Native/Flutter), connect their products/pricing (Apple, Google, or RevenueCat), and Helium serves paywalls remotely at runtime so copy, layout, and offer changes don’t require an app release Docs Quickstart Homepage.

In the web editor, teams can build paywalls from a screenshot, Figma link, or templates, attach them to triggers (e.g., onboarding or settings), and publish. Revenue and conversion events are fed back to Helium so A/B tests measure actual subscription impact rather than clicks Docs Quickstart Docs: revenue reporting.

Beyond manual tests, Helium offers automated suggestions and per‑user selection (e.g., “SmartSelect”) so different users can see different paywalls based on what converts better. Pricing is public: Starter is free up to 500 conversions/month, Growth is $0.20 per conversion, and a Scale plan adds enterprise features and support Homepage features Pricing.

Who are their target customer(s)

• Product or growth manager at a consumer mobile app: Paywall changes are gated by app releases, so tests and copy tweaks take weeks instead of hours. They need a way to launch and measure paywall variants without blocking on engineering or the app stores Docs Quickstart.
• Subscription/monetization lead at a mid‑sized app: Small conversion lifts materially affect revenue, but it’s hard to run clean A/B tests on offers and pricing tied to real revenue. They want experiments that report subscription impact directly and let them try different price/offers safely Locket case study Docs.
• Mobile engineer or engineering lead: Shipping minor UI/text/paywall changes is low‑leverage and distracts from roadmap work. They prefer a lightweight SDK so product teams can update paywalls remotely without app releases Homepage Docs.
• Growth/data analyst: Experiments are often noisy and tracked by clicks rather than revenue, making it hard to pick true winners or segment responses. They need revenue‑linked metrics and automated selection logic they can trust Docs: revenue reporting.
• Head of growth or enterprise buyer managing multiple apps: Running continuous experiments at scale requires reliability, faster iteration, and dedicated ops. They look for higher‑touch service, custom SLAs, and a partner to run and analyze tests for them Pricing / Scale Seed/vision.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Target warm introductions to product/growth leads at consumer apps, offer hands‑on onboarding, and run short pilots that show measurable conversion/revenue lifts; the SDK is designed for quick installs so pilots complete fast Quickstart Locket case study.
• First 50: Drive self‑serve signups via a free Starter tier, clear docs, templates, and integrations so PMs can trial without long engineering cycles; support with case studies and how‑to content that highlights revenue impact Pricing Quickstart.
• First 100: Add a small sales motion and a “Growth Team” pilot service for larger subscription apps; use pilot results to sell Scale plans with custom SLAs, and pursue partnerships (e.g., RevenueCat, analytics vendors, growth agencies) to accelerate trust and procurement Pricing / Scale Seed/vision.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Global in‑app purchase (IAP) spend is roughly $150B/year; using a conservative share for subscriptions and average monthly prices implies a TAM for paywall conversions in the low billions per year at $0.20/conversion Sensor Tower summary Pricing.

Bottom-up calculation:

RevenueCat tracks 30k+ subscription apps with 290M+ subscribers; assuming monthly renewals yields ~3.48B conversions/year. At $0.20 per conversion, that’s ~$696M/year as a conservative, dataset‑backed baseline RevenueCat 2024 Pricing.

Assumptions:

• A billed “conversion” is a subscription purchase or renewal event Pricing.
• Most subscribers are on monthly plans; more annual plans would reduce billed events RevenueCat 2024.
• Not all subscription apps will adopt a hosted paywall/experimentation tool; actual capture will be a fraction of TAM.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• RevenueCat: Subscription infrastructure with remote‑configured paywalls and built‑in experiments tied to subscription events; widely adopted and a direct competitor for paywall testing and pricing experiments Experiments Testing Paywalls.
• Adapty: No‑code paywall builder and SDK across iOS/Android/React Native/Flutter, enabling design, publishing, and A/B testing of paywalls for subscription apps Paywall Builder Products/Paywalls.
• Qonversion: Subscription infrastructure with a visual paywall editor and revenue‑first experiments (pricing, trial offers, UI) plus analytics and segmentation tools Experiments Docs.
• Apphud: SDK and dashboard for remote paywalls represented as JSON and A/B experiments, with placements and traffic control plus SDK fallbacks for reliability Paywalls Experiments.
• Glassfy: Open SDK and platform for in‑app subscriptions that includes paywall management and basic price A/B testing; positioned as a lightweight, developer‑friendly option Product overview G2 summary.