MEET TODAY’S GUEST
Jayod Kavinda, Indie Developer & Creator of Sleepy Sounds
Jayod is an independent consumer-app developer based in Sri Lanka.
He built Sleepy Sounds, a relaxation and sleep-sound app for iOS and Android, as a university hobby project. With zero paid marketing, it reached nearly 400,000 users and holds a 4.8+ rating across more than 1,000 five-star reviews.
It also became his first app exit.
In short: Jayod Kavinda, an indie developer from Sri Lanka, built Sleepy Sounds and sold it to Rounds.com, the AI-powered mobile asset platform, in his first app exit. With zero ad spend, the app reached nearly 400,000 users and a 4.8+ rating. His lesson: research your buyer, and don't wait for a perfect app to sell.
Hey there!
You’re reading Rounds Insights - stories and case studies from global developers who built, scaled, and successfully exited their software assets. Let’s dive in.
THE CASE STUDY
The Ad Budget Was $0
How a student project rode App Store Optimization to a global audience.
Ask most developers what it takes to reach hundreds of thousands of users, and they'll talk about paid acquisition budgets.
Jayod didn't have one.
"I never expected it to grow into something that would reach nearly 400,000 users over the years. I grew the app entirely through App Store Optimization and organic discovery, without spending any money on paid marketing."
— Jayod Kavinda
Keyword by keyword, store search did the work. Sleepy Sounds found people all over the world who needed help winding down, and they stayed. A 4.8+ rating with over 1,000 five-star reviews is the kind of social proof that keeps an organic flywheel spinning.
"I still enjoy reading the reviews from users. Seeing people say that the app helped them is probably the most rewarding part of building it."
— Jayod Kavinda
When Your Side Project Outgrows Your Calendar
The indie developer's real constraint isn't talent. It's hours.
Every indie developer hits the same math eventually. There's only one of you. Every hour spent on a stable app is an hour not spent on the next one.
Jayod wanted to build new consumer apps and take on bigger projects. Around the same time, the Rounds team reached out about Sleepy Sounds.
"It felt like the right opportunity because I could move on from an app that I had already built and grown, while also getting some capital upfront to invest back into my next projects, particularly in areas like marketing and user acquisition."
— Jayod Kavinda
That last part is the twist: the app that never needed an ad budget would now fund one for everything he builds next.
He Researched His Buyer First
What a careful first-time seller checks before saying yes.
It was his first sale, and it was cross-border. Jayod's biggest questions were about trust and safety: was the process legitimate, were the agreements clear, and was the payment safe?
So before anything else, he did his homework.
"Before starting the deal, one of the first things I did was research Rounds and read reviews on Trustpilot from other developers, because I wanted to make sure I was working with a legitimate and trustworthy service."
— Jayod Kavinda
The process itself was hands-on. Jayod sold both the iOS and Android versions and had two calls with the Rounds iOS and Android technical teams to walk through the transfer.
The timeline is the number every developer wants: about two to three weeks from accepting the deal to completing everything. Once the transfer was done, the funds reached his account within 24 hours.
Rounds is an official partner of Escrow.com payment services.
After the deal closed, Jayod went back to Trustpilot and left a five-star review of his own, for the next developer doing the same research he did.
From Hobby to Growth Budget
What happens when an organic hit funds the next launch.
Jayod is putting the proceeds back into building. His goal is to keep making consumer apps, now with real capital behind their growth.
"For me, selling Sleepy Sounds was more like closing one chapter and using what I learned and earned from it to start the next one."
3 Rules for Your First App Exit
▶ Don't Wait for "Perfect": A stable app with real users and strong reviews is already a valuable asset. Waiting for a flawless version can mean missing the window.
▶ Do Your Buyer Due Diligence: Read independent reviews from other developers, understand every term, and ask until you're comfortable. A serious buyer welcomes it.
▶ Ask the Bigger Question: Is running this app still the best use of your time, or could the capital build something bigger?
FAQ
Who is Jayod Kavinda?
Jayod Kavinda is an independent developer based in Sri Lanka who built Sleepy Sounds as a university project and sold it to Rounds.com, the AI-powered mobile asset platform.
How did Sleepy Sounds reach nearly 400,000 users without ads?
Jayod Kavinda grew Sleepy Sounds entirely through App Store Optimization and organic discovery, earning a 4.8+ rating before selling it to Rounds.com.
Why did Jayod Kavinda sell Sleepy Sounds?
Jayod Kavinda sold Sleepy Sounds to Rounds.com to focus on new consumer apps and gain upfront capital for marketing and user acquisition on his next projects.
How long did the Sleepy Sounds sale take?
Selling Sleepy Sounds to Rounds.com took about two to three weeks from accepting the deal to completing the transfer, and Jayod Kavinda's funds arrived within 24 hours.
How did Jayod Kavinda check that Rounds.com was trustworthy?
Before selling Sleepy Sounds, Jayod Kavinda researched Rounds.com and read Trustpilot reviews from other developers, then left his own five-star review after the deal.
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