What Turns a Roll-Up Into Real Returns?
Introduction
Insights from London’s Leading App Minds
The question at the heart of recent industry debate—what turns a roll-up into real returns—is more pressing than ever as the app market undergoes seismic change. Gathering insights from some of the sharpest operators, investors, and dealmakers—and sparked by the keynote from Evelin Herrera—revealed five trends shaping success in 2025.
1. The Great Consolidation: Fewer, Stronger Players
Vendor and portfolio consolidation is at full tilt in 2025. Over two-thirds of technology leaders say they are actively combining vendors and app assets to reduce complexity, accelerate AI readiness, and drive cost savings. Instead of betting on “super apps” cannibalizing each other, the real action is global parents quietly acquiring regional winners, especially those with unique local user bases or specialized tech stacks. In parallel, mature apps—especially those dating back to 2009–2011 with resilient revenue—command some of the market’s highest multiples, with current deals in the 2-8x range.
2. The Talent Crunch: Scarce UA, ASO & Product Teams
While consolidation creates opportunity, it also intensifies the war for A-level talent. Specialists in user acquisition (UA), app store optimization (ASO), and product development are so prized that acquirers often make “acqui-hire” deals, buying entire companies simply to lock in their teams. The demand for ASO alone is growing yearly, with a chronic shortfall of experienced practitioners as new app launches and evolving algorithms outpace supply. This talent crunch is visible across both gaming and non-gaming verticals, making recruitment as important as revenue in today’s roll-up playbooks.
3. Non-Gaming’s Revenue Moment - and the AI Effect
For the first time, non-gaming apps have overtaken gaming in global consumer spend, hitting $21.1 billion in Q2 2025, up 24% year-over-year. AI-powered development is a major accelerant—subscription and productivity apps that leverage generative AI (think Duolingo, Flo, and ChatGPT) are now category kings and key acquisition targets. This shift marks the end of a decade-long dominance by gaming: today’s winners are those embracing recurring revenue, sticky user journeys, and innovative monetization strategies.
4. Execution Is Everything: Post-Deal Playbooks
A standout message from Evelin Herrera’s keynote: the real value of a roll-up comes after the ink is dry. Winning portfolios operate on a unified metrics sheet, seamless data stack, and shared experimentation tools. Weekly experimentation, standardized analytics, streamlined paywall management, and cross-app push strategies create operational leverage. The lesson is clear: it’s not about accumulating apps, but integrating them using battle-tested frameworks and real-time learning loops for every title.
5. Community Over Hype: The Gen Z Paradigm
App stickiness—and thus lifetime value—is increasingly determined by community, not marketing spend. Gen Z users may scroll feeds, but retention comes from fostering tribes on Discord, Telegram, and private groups, combining digital word-of-mouth with scaled listening. Winning teams invest in tools that listen and adapt at community scale, instead of simply pushing more ads to feeds where attention is fleeting and switching costs are low.
12-Month Outlook: Operators Lead the Next Wave
Looking ahead, the number—and velocity—of deals is only set to increase. The next cohort of winners won’t be the loudest acquirers, but rather those who blend best-in-class operating discipline with strategic M&A. These leaders embed a unified data stack, prioritize week-over-week cash flow improvement, and run tight LiveOps to drive retention across portfolios. They build real returns not just on capital, but on operational excellence, talent, and a bias toward meaningful communities—essentials for outlasting the hype cycle.
Thanks to all who challenge industry assumptions and drive practical, honest dialogue. The road to real roll-up returns runs through talent, integration, innovation, and relentless execution.
