How a 24-Year-Old Built a $50M Anonymous Messaging App from His Bedroom

Introduction

In March 2021, 24-year-old Hunter Isaacson launched NGL, a bare-bones anonymous messaging app, from his bedroom with a budget under $10,000. He designed a single core feature: users post a link to social media, friends tap it, then send questions or confessions anonymously. No fancy bells, no clutter—just a fast path to that “aha” moment in under 60 seconds.

From College to Side Hustle

Isaacson left USC after realizing his real job was building apps. He’d already wasted two and a half years on Leadr, a check-in game that flopped. That taught him to manage developers and actually track results. When the pandemic hit, he decided to focus on design: he cold-emailed an app founder, got scolded for mistakes, then weeded out every step that didn’t move metrics.

Design Founder Mindset

Isaacson identified as adesign founder, not an engineering or marketing lead. He refined Zoom University and Wink to prove simple UI sells. Wink reached 30M downloads by rewarding Snapchat shares. He saw first-hand that refining core features beats piling on extras.

Building NGL

With NGL, the team shipped an MVP fast. They tested branding, link flow, and copy, then paused to optimize funnels and design for four months. Every revision tracked a single goal: make it so fast that sending and receiving the first anonymous note felt like magic.

Viral Growth Hack

A single TikTok from a user in the Middle East put NGL on the map. One overnight video showed a hug reaction to a juicy message and exploded to 1M views. Daily installs jumped from 1,000 to 1.5M within days, crashing their dashboards. The team leaned into influencer seeding and UGC to keep the momentum.

Results and Impact

By the end of its first year, NGL hit 110M downloads worldwide and netted Hunter $10M take-home earnings. The founders resisted acquisition chatter, aiming to keep the ceiling higher. They focused on a fun, moderated experience, personally responded to user DMs, and built a “love wall” of reposts to foster community.

Key Lessons

Launching fast with a core MVP, measuring each tweak, and pushing for that instant user thrill can turn a cheap side project into a global phenomenon. Giving users social proof, personal shout-outs, and a safe space drives retention. Simplicity often wins over feature bloat.