We studied 50+ startups on TikTok and here’s what we found

After speaking with a bunch of early stage founders, it’s clear that organic has been the best performing channel on TikTok from an ROI perspective – invest in organic content when you can.

If you’re a small team or startup just getting started, launching your own TikTok presence can be a great way to go.

What Pinterest was to images, TikTok is becoming for short-form video. Thanks to its infamous algorithm, the Bytedance-owned video platform now has over a billion global monthly active users, and kids and teens reportedly spend an average of 91 minutes watching TikTok per day (versus an average of 56 minutes per day on YouTube). TikTok creators are... See more

• Embrace Opportunities for Edutainment. TikTok’s short-form video format isn’t just addictive—it offers brands a unique opportunity to educate consumers about their products. Additionally, teaming up with TikTok beauty and fashion experts, à la The Inkey List, can help brands build credibility and win over potential skeptics.

TikTok and other social platforms are acting as potent top-of-funnel discovery channels for emerging music creators. ConvertKit’s acquisition of Fanbridge could help these newly discovered music creators re-engage fans. And recent developments around NFTs powered by platforms like Audius and Ditto Music could offer substantial and reliable monetiza... See more

After speaking with so many founders, it was clear that many of their first viral videos were random or happened by chance – it’s difficult to manufacture virality on TikTok on Day 1. It often takes experimentation with different series, content styles, and sounds to find your rhythm / build an audience.

When a creator posted a video, TikTok showed it to a sample audience and then expanded to bigger targeted audiences if it did well—a form of a recursive publishing feedback loop. Creators with no followers could still reap rewards for videos that were funny and understandable by anyone. This was uniquely powerful for the medium of short-form video,... See more