Ep.51 Cryptic DJ | The Creation of a Daily Music Quiz App
With Dave Jenkins
Episode Description:
This episode features Dave Jenkins, the founder of Cryptic DJ. Discover how Dave transitioned from his e-commerce ventures to pursue a passion project that’s now captivating a growing audience. Learn the strategic decisions behind Cryptic DJ’s design, including how it draws inspiration from the viral success of games like Wordle to create a simple, universally engaging daily challenge accessible right in your browser.
Dave shares the fascinating journey of bringing Cryptic DJ to life, from initial airport napkin sketches to navigating the complexities of securing legal music licenses. Explore the ongoing dedication required to curate fresh, high-quality content daily and ensure seamless play across all devices. Jenkins also reveals his unique approach to promotion, blending community engagement through social media and live events with strategic media mentions that have led to significant user surges. Finally, get a glimpse into his “build it and they will come” philosophy for monetisation, focusing on audience growth as the foundation for future opportunities.
Cryptic DJ: Cryptic DJ
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Listen to the episode
Episode Time Codes
00:00 Greeting
00:18 Introduction to Dave Jenkins
00:52 Dave’s approach to business
02:17 What is Cryptic DJ?
03:21 The ingredients for creating a popular game like Wordle
04:54 How Dave created his game and the technical side
08:25 The platform used to develop his game
09:28 The research done to create the game
11:46 Challenges in developing the game
13:54 Promoting the game
16:40 Monetising games
21:01 Final thoughts
Videos
Dave's Approach to Business
What is Cryptic DJ?
What Made Wordle Popular?
How Dave Promotes Cryptic DJ
Key takeaways
From Napkin Sketch to Market-Ready Product: Dave shares his practical journey of taking an idea scribbled on a napkin and developing it into a functional product. This highlights how even non-technical founders can create an app.
Monetisation Through Traffic Building: Instead of seeking immediate revenue, Dave’s core monetisation strategy for Cryptic DJ is “build the traffic and the money will come”. This demonstrates a long-term, patient approach to business growth, emphasising consistent quality and audience engagement.
The Power of Naivety: Dave openly admits to “a bit of naivety” and advises against trying to have “it all worked out”. He stresses the importance of simply creating your “thing” and learning from the process, rather than being paralysed by the “curse of knowledge” or perceived complexities.
Episode references
The site Dave used to find his app designer:
Check upcoming events at The Purple Turtle:
Check out Popmaster:
Podcast episode mentioned in the episode with Dave that you maybe interested in:
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