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On February 5, 2013, Seattle-based MiKandi announced that its adult-content marketplace had passed 1 million registered users and reached 3.8 million device installations. The company said it had paid nothing for advertising to acquire that audience. Those figures described accounts and installations—not a million paying or active users—and the advertising claim concerned user acquisition, not every part of MiKandi’s business. GeekWire’s contemporaneous report is the source for the milestone.
What MiKandi was
MiKandi launched in November 2009 as a third-party marketplace for adult apps and digital content on Android. It was not an official Google Play store: users obtained the marketplace through MiKandi’s own distribution channel. The company also developed payment and monetization services for developers and studios. Its company profile described a broader mix of apps, streaming channels, virtual currency, an offerwall, an ad network and in-app billing.
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That distinction mattered. MiKandi offered a route to adult content that mainstream app storefronts restricted, while asking users to trust and install software from a separate provider. On Android, this alternative distribution was possible in practice, but it did not carry Google’s official-store status or eliminate the installation and security choices involved in using a third-party app.
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Apple’s App Store restrictions made native distribution of adult-content apps difficult or unavailable. MiKandi’s Android marketplace could operate outside the official storefront, while an HTML5 version of its video service later offered a different route to Apple devices: access through a web browser rather than an iPhone or iPad app listed in Apple’s App Store. GeekWire reported that the HTML5 Theater experience reached touch devices including iPhone and iPad.
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These were distinct products and distribution methods. The marketplace was principally an Android offering; the HTML5 Theater was browser-based streaming. MiKandi’s approach illustrates how platform rules could create demand for alternative distribution, but it also traded app-store reach and familiarity for more direct control over distribution.
MiKandi Theater added subscription video
MiKandi expanded beyond app downloads with MiKandi Theater, a mobile video service launched in March 2012. XBIZ reported that the service launched with material from 12 studios, including channels containing hundreds of videos, and a channel subscription priced at $7.99 per month. That is the price reported at launch; it should not be treated as a confirmed February 2013 price.
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Theater gave MiKandi a subscription product alongside its marketplace. A recurring video service could generate revenue without requiring users to buy each item individually, while HTML5 let the company serve some devices without an approved native app. In exchange, users had to create an account and access the service outside the familiar app-store experience.
How the business could earn money
“No ads required” did not mean MiKandi had no monetization beyond subscriptions, or that it was wholly unrelated to advertising. Contemporary reporting and the company profile point to several revenue and developer-support mechanisms:
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- Paid apps and virtual currency: In 2010, MiKandi added paid applications using MiKandi Gold. PocketGamer.biz reported Gold packages of $5 for 450 Gold and $20 for 2,100 Gold at that time. These are historical package prices, not current offers.
- Video subscriptions: Theater offered paid channel access; the $7.99 monthly price was reported at its March 2012 launch.
- Developer and studio tools: MiKandi’s profile described in-app billing and an offerwall, along with an ad network—tools that could support monetization within the wider platform.
The essential distinction is between acquisition and revenue: MiKandi said it had not bought advertising to attract the users behind its milestone. That does not establish that it incurred no marketing costs, displayed no ads, or sold no advertising-related services.
What “organic growth” meant—and what it cannot prove
MiKandi characterized its growth as organic. In GeekWire’s account, CEO Jesse Adams pointed to customer service and serving adult users as paying customers; direct availability, word of mouth and publicity also fit the company’s distribution context. “Organic” is the company’s description, not an audited breakdown of where users came from. The milestone report did not provide acquisition costs, conversion rates, retention cohorts, revenue, or active-user totals.
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Publicity appears to have played a role. GeekWire noted that a 2010 remark by Steve Jobs referring to a “porn store” on Android brought attention to MiKandi. That is a reported publicity episode, not evidence that Jobs endorsed the company or that his remark alone produced the later milestone.
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What the milestone numbers do—and do not—say
| Reported figure or claim | What it refers to | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| 1 million registered users | Accounts MiKandi said had been registered by February 5, 2013. | That all accounts belonged to distinct people, were active, or had paid. |
| 3.8 million device installations | Installations reported by MiKandi in the same milestone coverage. | 3.8 million unique users; one person could use multiple devices, and installations are not an active-user count. |
| No paid advertising | MiKandi’s claim that it had not paid for advertising to acquire the audience. | No marketing expense, no publicity or partnerships, or an entirely ad-free business. |
The figures were company-reported and covered by GeekWire; the story did not provide an independent audit or explain how duplicate accounts, reinstallations, or device changes were counted. Nor did it state how many users subscribed to Theater, bought apps, or used the marketplace during a particular period.
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What the episode says about alternative app distribution
MiKandi’s growth claim combined a clear niche with a platform gap: adult-content users could not rely on mainstream storefronts to carry the same products, so a specialist marketplace and browser-based streaming service had room to attract attention. Direct distribution gave the company flexibility, but imposed extra trust and installation friction. Subscription video, paid apps and developer tools offered ways to monetize that audience; publicity and word of mouth could help people find the service without paid ad campaigns, but they were not cost-free or necessarily repeatable.
This is a historical account, not a current service guide. The available surviving sources do not establish that MiKandi remains an operating consumer service; its official domain and company profile should not be read as proof of present availability. Later company claims used different terms and dates, so they are not directly interchangeable with the 2013 count.
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