Two AI apps grown almost entirely by creator videos.
Grow AI consumer apps with UGC creator campaigns: Glam Up and Sprout, $400K a month
Once one creator video format works, a paid creator network can repeat it at scale.
Figures as told to Starter Story (self-reported by the founder) · source
From Starter Story · Sep 2026
The Short Version
How Nicole Cheung (Glam Up and Sprout) made $400K revenue a month (2 apps), according to Starter Story (self-reported).
- What: Nicole Cheung, co-founder and CMO with a background in psychology and social media marketing, launched Glam Up, an AI beauty app, and Sprout (formerly Prep AI), an AI job-application app, from New York starting in April 2024.
- Result: She told Starter Story Glam Up reached 1M users, a peak of $150K MRR and #3 in the US App Store Lifestyle category within six months, and Sprout reached $250K MRR and about 100 million monthly social views within eight months.
| Who | Nicole Cheung (Glam Up and Sprout) |
|---|---|
| Tool | Not named in the source |
| Money | $400K revenue a month (2 apps) |
| Timeframe | Sep 2026 |
| Source | Starter Story |
| Self-reported | Yes |
The workflow
Where & With What
What They Did
- 1The moveNicole Cheung, co-founder and CMO with a background in psychology and social media marketing, launched Glam Up, an AI beauty app, and Sprout (formerly Prep AI), an AI job-application app, from New York starting in April 2024.
- 2Step 2Find one viral format
- 3Step 3Recruit many UGC creators
- 4ResultShe told Starter Story Glam Up reached 1M users, a peak of $150K MRR and #3 in the US App Store Lifestyle category within six months, and Sprout reached $250K MRR and about 100 million monthly social views within eight months.
Quick Answers
What tools do you need?
Just the platform account.
How much does it cost?
No paid tools needed: this case uses only the platform itself, which is free to join.
Is it allowed?
Yes. Disclose ads and label realistic AI content using TikTok's AI label. Source.
Watch out: Self-reported. Paid creators must disclose sponsored posts.
Try It Yourself
(Our template, not the creator's prompt.) My app [describe] needs UGC. Write a one-page creator brief: 3 hook formats, what to show in the first 3 seconds, the disclosure line, and how I will judge which videos to scale.
Your first step
Paste the prompt into your AI assistant and swap the [brackets] for your own niche.
Full write-up & sources
More detail: Growth for both came from UGC creator campaigns: Sprout works with over 150 creators, and the team built creator courses, content banks and strategies to help each one go viral.
Results: Starter Story lists the two at $400,000 a month with 9 employees (Starter Story, Sep 2026).
Source: Starter Story · Sep 2026. Summarised in our own words; figures as told to Starter Story (self-reported by the founder). Updated .
