Podcast Summary
Identifying latent demand: Focusing on identifying latent demand and user motivations can lead to intense adoption and viral growth for apps, as demonstrated by Nikita Beer's experience with Saraha and successful acquisitions of TBH and Gas.
Identifying latent demand and understanding user motivations can lead to intense adoption and viral growth for apps. Nikita Beer, a seasoned product manager, shared his experience of launching the app Saraha, which went viral despite being in Arabic, demonstrating strong user demand. He emphasized that product managers should focus on designing the pixels, flows, and hierarchy of their apps, as products live and die in those elements. Nikita's success stories include selling TBH to Facebook and Gas to Discord, all with tiny teams and minimal funding. He now advises companies on viral growth strategies and product development processes. This conversation highlights the importance of strong opinions rooted in real-world experience and the power of identifying latent demand in building successful apps.
Pivoting and adapting to new opportunities: Core competency and target audience can change, discovering network effects and high urgency in teen audience can lead to success in consumer apps
Pivoting and adapting to new opportunities is crucial for success in business. The founder of Midnight Labs, a startup studio, shared his experience of transitioning from building a policy simulation tool for governments to creating consumer apps. He discovered that his core competency was making things that go viral on the internet and that teens were a prime target audience due to their malleable habits and high frequency of inviting others to new apps. However, the shift to mobile was a significant challenge, requiring a complete paradigm shift and numerous failures. The lesson learned was that targeting older audiences for consumer apps is difficult and often requires significant investment in user acquisition through ads, while teens present an opportunity to build products with network effects and high urgency to communicate. The road to success involved trying multiple apps and learning from failures over several years.
Product testing and validation: Effective product testing involves developing a reproducible process, focusing on multiple shots at success, identifying latent demand, and crystallizing users' motivations.
The most effective way to validate a consumer product idea is not just through research or theory, but through actual experimentation and testing. The founder of TBH, an app that took off virally, emphasized the importance of developing a reproducible testing process and focusing on the process for taking multiple shots at success rather than relying on the unpredictability of consumer adoption. He also highlighted the importance of identifying latent demand and crystallizing users' motivations to build a product that meets their needs in a clear and positive way. The success of TBH was a result of the team's persistence, adaptability, and ability to respond to user feedback and trends. The app took off when they identified a trend among teens for seeking anonymous feedback and built an app that provided a positive and uplifting experience, in contrast to the negative experiences on other anonymous apps.
Marketing and user engagement: Effective marketing and user engagement strategies can help determine a product's success and value to users, while excellent customer support and responding to feedback maintain user satisfaction and promote positive word-of-mouth.
Intensive marketing and user engagement were key factors in the explosive growth of the TBH app. By saturating a school with marketing messages and following students to create a sense of urgency and exclusivity, the team was able to get a large number of users to adopt the app simultaneously. This allowed them to quickly determine if the product had legs and provided value to users, eliminating uncertainty and potential confounding variables. Additionally, providing excellent customer support and responding to user feedback were crucial in maintaining user satisfaction and promoting positive word-of-mouth. When it came to selling the company to Facebook, the founder described the process as draining but necessary, with Facebook's resources and expertise allowing the app to reach an even larger audience and scale effectively. Working at Facebook for four years provided valuable experience and opportunities for growth.
Product management in large tech companies: The disconnect between product management and design in large tech companies can lead to atrophied skills for those with a design background, and the slow and difficult process of bringing new ideas to fruition can make it seem daunting for individuals to create new social apps, but large companies offer advantages such as distribution and resources.
Working as a product manager in a large tech company, such as Facebook, can be an academically stimulating experience, but it comes with its challenges. One of the main challenges is the disconnect between product management and design, leading to atrophied skills for those with a design background. Additionally, the process of bringing new, innovative ideas to fruition within large companies can be slow and difficult due to risk aversion and the need for market signals. This can make it seem daunting for individuals to attempt to create new social apps, as they may believe incumbents like Facebook or Instagram will easily copy their ideas. However, large companies do offer advantages, such as distribution and resources, that startups may not have. Ultimately, the incentives within large companies can make it challenging to present new, abstract ideas, and the most viable path may be to copy existing products.
Product Manager roles: Product managers at large companies may have less hands-on involvement, while those at startups should be deeply involved in every aspect of the product. Balancing creativity, technical expertise, and business acumen is crucial.
Product management roles can vary greatly depending on the organization and the specific project. At large tech companies like Facebook, product managers may have less involvement in design and development, acting more as team secretaries and coordinators. However, for smaller initiatives or startups, product managers should be deeply involved in every aspect of the product, from design to implementation. A notable example of this is Nikita's experience at Facebook, where he was physically seated near Mark Zuckerberg and had a painting of Tim Cook overlooking him, symbolizing the influence of Apple on Facebook's success. Later, when Nikita started his own app, he found success by monetizing an idea that had been previously overlooked, demonstrating the importance of revisiting and refining old ideas. Overall, the role of a product manager is multifaceted and requires a balance of creativity, technical expertise, and business acumen.
TBH app transformation: Despite regulatory challenges and false narratives, TBH's focus on ethics, positivity, and transparency led to significant impact on teens' mental health and growth.
The growth and development of TBH, an anonymous polling app, required a complete reinvention due to regulatory changes and shifting user behavior. Founder Nikita Bier, emphasized the importance of operating ethically and above board, especially when it came to growth systems. Despite facing challenges such as school adoption and user engagement, TBH's focus on positivity and affirmation led to significant impact, with users reporting improved mental health and reduced instances of self-harm. However, the app faced a major threat when a hoax emerged claiming it was used for human trafficking. Nikita and his team fought back, using various strategies to combat the false narrative and protect the app's reputation. Ultimately, their commitment to transparency and truth prevailed, and TBH continued to grow and make a positive impact on teens' lives.
App hoaxes: When facing a hoax or misinformation, act quickly and decisively to minimize damage and prevent further spread. Validate product aspects in sequence, prioritize user engagement and virality, and reach out to relevant platforms to remove false information.
When faced with a hoax or misinformation spreading about your app, it's crucial to ensure the hoax is less viral than your app. This was a lesson learned the hard way by the team behind the popular app Gas, which faced a human trafficking hoax that threatened to destroy the company. At the peak of the crisis, 3% of users were deleting their accounts daily. The team worked tirelessly to combat the hoax, even reaching out to TikTok to delete viral videos spreading the false information. They also prioritized validating key aspects of the product in a specific sequence, focusing on user engagement and virality after validating the core flow. The hoax originated from a Snapchat story and quickly spread, leading to a rebranding effort and even a relaunch in a different location. Ultimately, the team realized they had to fight the hoax head-on and learned the importance of testing and learning quickly to condense the product development process and minimize risk.
Consumer app success: Building a successful consumer app involves strategic thinking, adaptability, and a bit of luck, with challenges from strong network effects and recent iOS contact permissions changes.
The success of a consumer app, particularly in the communication or social space, can be both a science and a random event. While it's possible to make an app grow and go viral with good product development skills, building a durable and long-lasting consumer app is a rare achievement. The incumbents have built strong network effects, making it challenging for new entrants to provide an order of magnitude better experience. However, there are opportunities to find success by focusing on specific edges or niches. The decision to pursue venture funding depends on the founder's motivations and the ability to scale while maintaining a lean team. Regarding app growth, the recent iOS 18 contact permissions change makes finding and inviting friends more difficult, requiring founders to rethink their strategies. Overall, building a successful consumer app requires a combination of strategic thinking, adaptability, and a bit of luck.
Onboarding experience: Provide a seamless onboarding experience within the first 3 seconds to reach the 'aha moment' and consider non-traditional methods like API integration and contact sync to activate users.
To build a successful consumer social app, it's crucial to get users to the "aha moment" as quickly as possible, ideally within the first three seconds. This can be achieved by inverting the time to value and providing a seamless onboarding experience. Founders should also consider using non-traditional methods to activate users, such as leveraging APIs and simplifying contact sync. When working with a startup, product consultant Adam DuVander advises founders to analyze their user analytics, align marketing and in-app experiences, and focus on getting users to the activation moment. He aims to help companies make back 10 times their investment within the first 30 days by addressing table stakes growth and identifying step function changes. To work with him, companies can be introduced through mutual connections or directly reach out if they are venture-backed.
Nikita's growth hacking advice: Nikita, a seasoned advisor and growth hacker, offers valuable insights and experiences to startups, rooted in real-life expertise, encouraging engagement on Twitter.
Nikita is a seasoned advisor and growth hacker who shares his valuable insights and experiences with startups, helping them succeed. He identifies potential in companies and offers advice based on his hands-on expertise. With a track record of investing in a small percentage of the companies that seek his advice, Nikita offers invaluable guidance, and his advice is rooted in real-life experiences rather than theoretical concepts. He encourages listeners to follow him on Twitter for his insights and enjoys engaging with his audience. Despite his sometimes brash online persona, Nikita is a kind and thoughtful individual. His unique approach to growth hacking and his willingness to share his knowledge make him an invaluable resource for startups.