Growth rarely comes down to a single lever, and Lowtide was built around that idea. Founded by a team that has worked as agency employees, agency clients and founders, the digital growth studio works inside its clients’ teams across ASO, paid media, creative and reporting. Now, with demand for ASO outpacing the talent available, Lowtide is turning its focus to app growth and training teams to run it themselves. We spoke to Taya Franchville, Founder of Lowtide about how it started, what it’s building next, and how app growth will change in 2027.

Q: For those who may not know, could you tell us a bit about Lowtide and what you do. 

Lowtide is a digital growth studio that covers ASO, paid media, creative production, reporting, and more. I like to describe Lowtide as a digital Swiss Army knife, because we rarely hit an obstacle we can’t figure out how to solve. We work as part of our clients’ teams, integrating into their systems as much as we can. 

We’ve worked across 25+ industries and 500+ campaigns, from startups and nonprofits to household brands and creators. We’ve also seen the work from nearly every side, as agency employees, agency clients, and founders, and that gives us a holistic, founder’s view. Growth never comes down to a single lever. Lowtide was born from the idea that trends are often hidden in the sand, and you can’t see them until someone with a fresh, expert eye takes a look.  

Q: Let’s go back to the start. What was the moment or problem that made you want to build Lowtide? 

My partner and I have been on both sides of the agency relationship, and we kept running into the same gap. Most agencies deliver work from the outside, but the businesses we cared about needed a partner who would step into the team and own the outcome with them. So we built the studio we wished we’d had as clients: flexible enough to cover whatever the business needs, and set up to work on systems and long-term solutions as well.  

Q: You describe yourselves as founders working with founders. What did you learn from your own ventures that shaped how the studio works? 

Founders pour themselves into what they’re building, and to them, their business is one of a kind. Anything that looks templated tends to lose their trust fast. We’ve been through launches, pivots, tight budgets, and the long search for product market fit ourselves, so we can care about a venture the way its founder does and talk to them as peers. Trust comes quicker, people are more open about what’s really happening, and the work gets better for it. We bring that same care to every client, whether it’s a startup, an established brand, or a creator. 

Q: Today you offer three things: launching new ventures, growing existing ones, and developing the creative that drives results. How did those three come together, and was it planned or did it grow organically?  

It grew naturally out of the partnerships we were building. The structure is fairly new, launched last year, and Launch, Grow, and Create reflect the three kinds of needs we kept seeing from clients. They work as entry points more than separate departments, and many engagements cross all three. A conversation that starts with paid media, for example, often extends to landing pages, email, and organic efforts, because we understand how each one supports the others. The structure gives clients a clear way to describe what they need, and from there we work across all three as the project requires. 

Q: More recently, you’ve put a spotlight on app growth. What made you decide to lean into that? Do you have plans for how this will evolve?  

Part of it was personal timing. App growth has been my specialty for 5+ years, including time at AppTweak and Jam City, so when I was ready to go all in as a full-time business owner, it made sense to build around what I know best. 

The bigger reason is what I keep seeing in the market. Demand for ASO help is growing quickly, but the talent hasn’t kept pace. ASO is a niche skill, and teams struggle to hire people who can hit the ground running. So it often lands on someone who’s already wearing several hats, with little ASO background and limited resources. Those teams need someone working alongside them day to day, inside their tools and their workflow. 

That’s where we’re taking Lowtide next. We offer app growth consulting and audits, and we’ll keep doing the hands-on work. Alongside it, we’re building training for both new hires and existing team members. It covers how to set up ASO systems, what to prioritize for the biggest impact, and how to report on results with confidence. The goal is for teams to take the reins themselves, with us nearby when they need support. 

Q: Looking ahead, what do you think will change most about how brands and apps grow? 

The market is crowded enough that there’s very little room for error. ASO and paid depend on each other more than ever, and AI search is adding a new way for people to discover apps and games. Someone might see an ad, land on your store page, and compare you with a few competitors in the same minute, so every part of the funnel has to work, product included. Brands face the same pressure in crowded feeds. Creative has to be tested and refreshed far more often to hold attention, and AI search is changing how people find brands too, so being clear and consistent everywhere you show up matters. Things also shift fast enough that a team can’t wait on an outside partner for every decision. The teams that do best will understand why each piece matters and adjust quickly when something changes. Getting teams to that point is a big part of where we’re headed for 2027.

Taya will be joining us at Gamesforum San Francisco to present “Tested AI Workflows for ASO.” Her talk looks at where AI genuinely speeds up creative briefing and keyword research, and where it falls short. Expect concrete examples of sharper creative feedback, more polished assets, keyword research that scales across regions, and the areas where human judgement still has to do the heavy lifting. If you’re tired of hearing that “AI will change everything” with no workflow or results behind it, this session is for you.

Find the full agenda here.