Why 70% of Blossom's Revenue Comes from Brand Partnerships (Not Subscriptions)

Most consumer app founders assume subscriptions are the holy grail of monetization. After all, recurring revenue is predictable, scalable, and the foundation of many successful SaaS businesses. But what if there's a better way?

Tim Johnson, Head of Brand Partnerships at Blossom Social and former Wattpad executive, is challenging this conventional wisdom. On the latest episode of the Levels Podcast, Tim revealed that Blossom generates 70% of its revenue through brand partnerships, with subscriptions accounting for just 30%.

"30% of the revenue comes from subscriptions, which most apps are only half that 30%. And that's really fucking hard, guys. Like, to be a subscription app, it's so bloody hard, in my opinion. And then 70% of our revenue is coming from brand partnerships."

This isn't just an impressive statistic—it's a complete reimagining of how consumer apps can build sustainable, profitable businesses.

The Hidden Revenue Stream Most Apps Ignore

For many founders, brand partnerships feel like an afterthought or a "nice-to-have" revenue stream. But Tim's experience across three different consumer platforms—Wattpad (acquired for $600M), his own app Couply, and now Blossom—has shown him the transformative power of strategic partnerships.

At Blossom, a social network for investors, this approach has generated serious results.

"Since I've been working at Blossom, I brought in around $2 million for the company and we're a seed-staged company. So it's not insignificant at all. And then we're just scratching the surface."

The key insight? Understanding your audience creates exponential value for the right partners. Blossom's millennial investor audience between ages 25-45 represents exactly what many companies need to reach during the current wealth transfer period.

The Framework: Stag Hunting vs. Squirrel Hunting

Tim's approach to brand partnerships isn't about chasing every possible opportunity. Instead, he advocates for what he calls "stag hunting versus squirrel hunting."

"With a stag hunt, you're organized, you are focused, you know what you're looking at. You're looking at this big creature that's gonna feed you for a long, long time, right? And it's a very, very deliberate process going towards working with that partner. Versus a squirrel, you're sort of like chasing after it, expending a bunch of energy, and then it's not gonna last long term anyway."

This strategic focus involves identifying clients based on five key criteria:

1. Repeating budget - They consistently spend in this area
2. Targeting your audience - They specifically need to reach your users
3. Time-sensitive needs - They have burning platform requirements
4. Technical compatibility - Integration requirements can be met
5. Aligned success metrics - Both parties agree on what success looks like
   

"Because if your money per user or your revenue per user is like decently high, now all of a sudden everything works. If it's not, and you're just relying on subscription or low priced sales, then it's going to become much, much harder."

Building Relationships, Not Transactions

Perhaps the most crucial element of Tim's approach is the emphasis on genuine relationship building. Rather than rushing into transactional partnerships, he focuses on cultivation and long-term value creation.

"To build a long-term relationship, you don't want to rush it too much. You want to cultivate a real relationship, make sure you truly understand their problems, and then really serve them very well."

This philosophy extends to how he initiates contact. Instead of generic outreach emails, Tim creates valuable experiences that attract potential partners naturally.

"It's a dinner or it's a small client event. I've got a nice bar, come, grab some cocktails and learn something and meet some people... That's like a very nice way I think of doing an introduction. It's classy, it's not too salesy."

The results speak for themselves. Tim reports an 80% response rate to his outbound efforts—a striking contrast to the typical spray-and-pray approach many founders take.

The Compound Effect of Strategic Partnerships

What makes this model particularly powerful is how brand partnerships compound over time. Unlike subscriptions, which require constant user acquisition and retention efforts, successful brand partnerships often lead to multi-year relationships and referrals.

"We only need like 20 or 25 big clients and then we're... once we get all these clients like a million dollars like we're starting to like getting some serious serious money."

This approach also creates valuable market intelligence. At Wattpad, brand partnerships provided early signals about cultural trends—they predicted BTS would become massive in 2016 based on fanfiction data. At Blossom, they can see investment trends in real-time, creating additional value for partners beyond just audience access.

Lessons for Consumer App Founders

Tim's success offers several key insights for founders looking to diversify beyond subscriptions:

Start with audience understanding.

"Just understanding your audience and then finding hopefully thoughtful and engaging ways to monetize that audience isn't going to piss them off too much."

Focus on quality over quantity. Rather than pursuing hundreds of small partnerships, identify the 20-25 clients who could provide significant, recurring revenue.

Invest in relationship building. The upfront time investment in cultivation pays dividends through longer partnerships and higher deal values.

Think beyond direct monetization. The insights and data from your platform may be as valuable as audience access itself.

For many consumer apps struggling with subscription churn and acquisition costs, brand partnerships represent an underexplored path to sustainable revenue. As Tim's experience demonstrates, sometimes the most profitable strategy is the one everyone else is overlooking.

Key Points

• Brand partnerships can generate 70% of revenue vs. 30% from subscriptions for consumer apps
• Focus on "stag hunting" - identifying 20-25 high-value, long-term clients rather than chasing many small opportunities
• Build genuine relationships through valuable experiences rather than transactional outreach
• Understanding your audience deeply creates exponential value for the right brand partners
• Strategic partnerships compound over time through multi-year relationships and referrals
• Data and insights from your platform can be as valuable as audience access to partners
• An 80% response rate is achievable through personalized, value-driven outreach

Ready to dive deeper into consumer app strategies? Listen to the full conversation with Tim Johnson on the Levels Podcast where he shares even more insights on building network effects, working with creators, and scaling B2C apps.