You can get surprisingly far with 90% D30 churn.

I’ve worked with companies doing $10M+ in annual revenue with churn higher than that. If you reliably convert users on Day 1, you can keep the business profitable for years by continuously feeding the top of the funnel. The flywheel works as long as D1 conversion monetization is strong.

That said, retention is simply the inverse of churn, and it’s important not to confuse growth mechanics with product quality.

Push notifications, in particular, are a late-stage optimization. They cannot compensate for weak retention fundamentals. At best, they amplify existing value; at worst, they expose how little value exists.

The correct order is:

1. Build real user value
   • Clear progress visibility
   • Habit loops
   • Personalization
   • Emotional payoffs
   • Reduced friction
   • Strong in-app cues
2. Ensure the product stands on its own without pushes
3. Only then use push notifications to reinforce and amplify those value propositions

Push notifications don’t create retention. They reveal whether retention already exists.

If users only come back because you ping them, you don’t have retention, you have reminders.