0 to 10M users: The Quicktools playbook

When I joined Picsart in October 2021, I had one mandate: figure out how to acquire relevant organic traffic that could convert into product users. The main domain lacked SEO presence for utility searches like "background remover" or "resize image."

I started with zero roadmap, zero team, and a lot of questions.

The Challenge

Picsart needed a new acquisition channel. The main app was strong, but we were missing out on millions of users searching for specific image tools every month.

No SEO presence for high-intent utility keywords
Long development cycles for new features
Limited resources to compete with established players

The Approach

Instead of building one perfect product, we built many good-enough tools that solved specific problems.

Ship Fast, Ship Often

We created a technical framework that let us ship 2 complete tool flows per week with just 2 engineers. The key was:

Reusable component library
Standardized tool architecture
Rapid iteration over perfection

Target High-Intent Keywords

We focused on searches where users needed immediate solutions:

"Remove background from image"
"Resize image online"
"Convert PNG to JPG"

These weren't vanity metrics—these were users ready to act.

Make Tools Actually Useful

This might sound obvious, but too many "free tools" are just lead capture forms. We made tools that genuinely solved problems. Free, fast, no sign-up required.

The result? Users trusted us enough to check out the main product.

The Results

After 18 months:

10M monthly active users
1M ARR through activation and advertising
50% conversion rate on tools
3% upsell rate to main Picsart.com product

The growth curve: 6 months to 1M, another 6 to 5M, another 6 to 10M.

Key Learnings

Small teams with sharp systems beat large teams with process overhead. We did more with 2 engineers than many teams do with 10.
Ship velocity matters more than perfection in early stages. 50 good tools > 5 perfect ones.
Free tools that actually solve problems build trust faster than gated content. Give value first.
Target intent, not vanity metrics. A user searching "remove background" is more valuable than a random social media impression.

What I'd Do Differently

If I were starting again, I'd invest in automated testing earlier. We moved fast, but we also introduced some bugs that could've been caught. Worth the trade-off at the time, but I'd build the safety net sooner now.

This case study is part of my ongoing series about building products at scale. Subscribe for more insights on product growth and AI productivity.