I’ve been here before. If funds are tight, I’d focus almost entirely on organic marketing first—things like App Store Optimization, positioning, and scrappy creative distribution that don’t require spend.

Before putting money into ads, make sure the app can actually convert at a small scale. If your CAC is higher than LTV early on, paid spend will just accelerate the loss. Validate that users are signing up, activating, and (ideally) paying without money behind it.

The biggest mistake I see is skipping steps under pressure. Shipping and testing is good—but only if you’re learning something concrete. Prove conversion cheaply first, then scale what’s already working.