Chris Figat | Increasing Rev Max subscriptions 40% in 6 months

Overview: Turning Rev Max into a clear, premium experience

Rev Max launched as a subscription product for AI-powered transcription, but struggled with unclear pricing, poor usage visibility, and an experience that didn’t reflect its value.

I led design to clarify the product model, improve account transparency, and reduce friction across core workflows. These changes contributed to a 40% increase in subscribers over six months, helping the product reach ~$1M ARR.

Context: From pay-per-use to a subscription model

Rev traditionally charged per transcription minute, charging lower rates for AI transcription (about 90% accurate and ready in minutes) or more for human transcription. Rev Max introduced a subscription model, bundling AI transcription minutes with optional paid add-ons. The product launched as an MVP but needed refinement to support broader adoption.

The MVP also struggled visually and the color palette didn’t help, there was a general “purple on purple” problem (jokes about Barney and Grimace were frequent). The MVP had been built utilizing a design system developed for Rev’s marketing site, and the bright brand colors and chunky type unfortunately made the product feel less refined than the premium experience that leadership wanted.

Rev Max MVP interface. — The Rev Max MVP (as mentioned, very purple)

Problem: Users didn’t understand pricing, usage, or value

User interviews ranged from surprising (a court reporter running four separate accounts to cover her workload) to insightful (conversations with journalists whose work I regularly read) to occasionally chaotic (freelancers have some great stories).

We focused on power users, people relying on Rev Max daily or a using larger volume of minutes compared to most. There was also a steady stream of issues surfaced from our customer support via Slack, who cited pricing confusion as one of the most frequent frustrations raised by users.

The issues were consistent across all sources:

Users didn’t understand what was included vs paid add-ons
They couldn’t easily track remaining transcription minutes
Managing their subscription required too much effort

The problem wasn’t a lack of features, it was clarity and trust in the product. Users couldn’t easily answer, “What am I paying for, and how much value am I getting?”

Approach: Reducing friction and clarifying value

Rather than focusing on isolated UI improvements, I focused on reducing decision friction and improving perceived value across the entire product experience.

This meant:

Making pricing and feature boundaries explicit
Surfacing usage and account state prominently
Elevating the UI to feel like a premium product

Defining a more engaging and premium product experience

The live recording and transcription experience was one of the first places users interacted with the product and was a fun introduction to Rev's technology. Unfortunately, in the MVP it felt pretty underwhelming.

The live recording feature on the Rev Max website was a fun way for users to test the platform's transcription capabilities.

I used the rework of live recording as an opportunity to define the visual direction for Rev Max, exploring motion and a card-based interface that made the live AI transcription feel more dynamic and engaging.

This evolved a bit after initial launch as I adapted the design system to better fit Rev's digital products, but it became a foundational pattern for the rest of the product. The updates helped shift the experience from simply functional to a product that felt polished and premium.

Solution: Clarifying the product and reducing friction

Usage & Account Clarity

Making subscription status instantly understandable

I introduced “the donut”, a compact, easy to read usage meter that made remaining transcription minutes immediately visible. Combining that with other key account info like a renewal status tag and easy access to other settings addressed the status and updating issues we’d heard from users.

Rev Max usage meter showing remaining transcription minutes. — The new usage meter gave users an instant view of their usage, renewal date, and access to account settings.

Pricing Clarity

Helping users understand what they’re paying for

Clearly separated included subscription features from pay-as-you-go services, making it easier for users to understand what they were paying for.

Rev Max pay-as-you-go pricing interface. — Sectioning off additional features and adding clear pricing labels meant users were no longer surprised by account charges.

Workflow Improvements

Reducing friction in core actions

Reduced friction across key workflows by simplifying navigation and improving access to files and core actions.

Product Experience

Creating a more cohesive, premium feel

Refined the visual system to create a more cohesive, premium experience aligned with user expectations.

Rev Max home screen. — The redesigned version of Rev Max was a significant upgrade over the MVP.

Mobile Experience Upgrade: Real-time transcription

Mobile usage was one of the strongest retention signals we saw, particularly among journalists and interviewers.

One frequent request was to add a live transcript view during recording, something that would be particularly useful in crowded press conferences where it could be a challenge to quickly hear the speaker. Being able to track that transcript in real time would be an asset for reporters who constantly dealt with tight timelines, enabling them to quickly note and forward details about a quote to a broadcast team before a press conference had even ended.

I led design for this feature so that users could follow the transcript in real time, and also pushed for it to be moved up in the backlog so it could be developed and added to the app sooner.

After the update launched, a producer from ESPN told us he had switched from our competitor specifically because of this capability. I like to think that there’s clips that wouldn’t have made the 6pm SportsCenter if the feature hadn’t been added.

Adding live captions to the Rev mobile app was directly responsible for adding customers.

Results: Increased growth and stronger product trust

By reducing friction and improving pricing and account clarity, the product became easier to understand, trust, and adopt.

Increased subscribers by 40% over six months
Helped grow the product to ~$1M ARR
Reduced confusion around pricing and usage
Improved trust and perceived product quality

While increased marketing contributed to growth, improving clarity and reducing friction in the product experience played a key role in conversion and retention.

By making the product easier to understand and easier to use, Rev Max shifted from an experimental MVP to a product users relied on regularly.