Lessons on building a viral consumer app: The story of Saturn
In all of these cases, the primary challenge with building a large consumer company is not “how will you make money,” but “how do you get to be a long-standing durable network and define a new set of behaviors or verbs?” Once you can do that, it’s very likely you will be able to monetize at significant scale.
Josh Elman • “How will they make money?” is the wrong question
It’s hard to compete with big social networks head-on these days. The network effects of those giant social networks are so strong, a straight-on challenge seems, well, challenging. But there is lots of opportunity to focus on one user niche or one specific form factor.
Jonathan Lai • The Founder's Dilemma: To Compete or Unbundle | Andreessen Horowitz
Startups, on the other hand, have the advantage that they can start small, and grow, which is why some of the largest networked products in the industry—eBay, Facebook, Uber, Airbnb, and TikTok—started with small, atomic networks. Respectively, these initial networks began in collectibles, college students, limos for rich people, airbeds and breakf
... See moreAndrew Chen • The Cold Start Problem: How to Start and Scale Network Effects
When you start a new product with network effects, the first step is to build a single, tiny network that’s self-sustaining on its own.
Andrew Chen • The Cold Start Problem: How to Start and Scale Network Effects
Clubhouse is an audio-only social network where people can listen in to live chats and discuss various topics, like tech or sports. Started in 2020, the company got millions of users and a billion-dollar valuation in less than a year. It looks like an overnight success, but Davison and Seth had launched various consumer social apps over the previou
... See moreAli Tamaseb • Super Founders: What Data Reveals About Billion-Dollar Startups
7 unique distribution advantages: 1. Starting with a pre-existing audience
2. Developing a unique viral loop
3. Being first on an emerging platform
4. Having a remarkable story
5. Starting with pre-existing strategic relationships
6. Closing early strategic partnerships
7. Bringing extraordinary hustle
Lenny Rachitsky • Finding your distribution advantage
