How MeWe Grew to 20M As A Privacy-First Social Media App

Aug 30, 2025

In this discussion, Mark Weinstein, founder of MeWe and a leading privacy advocate, shares insights on building a privacy-first social network amidst Big Tech's dominance. He reveals how indie app creators can leverage AI and social media marketing to scale up without hefty ad budgets. Mark emphasizes the importance of ethics and mental health in product design, and discusses the future of social media with a focus on user privacy. His journey offers a roadmap for fellow entrepreneurs navigating the evolving digital landscape.

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ANECDOTE

Early Days Building Social Networks

Mark built early social networks (Superfamily, Superfriends) from Albuquerque with government support and PC Magazine recognition.
He promoted via USA Today full-page ads and billboards instead of web advertising at the time.

INSIGHT

Surveillance Capitalism Spawned MeWe

Surveillance capitalism emerged when platforms tracked users invisibly and monetized behavior.
Mark launched MeWe as a privacy-first alternative with a privacy bill of rights and no feed manipulation.

INSIGHT

Web3 Misreads Social Motivations

Web3's crypto-reward model misunderstands social motivations and doesn't scale for personal social networks.
People want communication with family and friends, not monetization of those relationships.

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In this episode, we are joined by Mark Weinstein, a tech entrepreneur, thought leader, privacy advocate, and one of the original inventors of social networking. He is a founder of MeWe, the privacy-first social network app. Named one of the “Top 8 Minds in Online Privacy” and a “Privacy by Design Ambassador,” Mark has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, CNN, and more. His TED Talk on “The Rise of Surveillance Capitalism” has inspired technologists worldwide.

He’s going to talk about how indie founders can leverage AI and social media marketing to scale apps, attract investors without massive ad spend, and why ethics, privacy, and mental health must be at the core of product design.

Mark will also share the journey of building MeWe, how to stand out in a world dominated by Big Tech, and practical steps indie founders can take to future-proof their apps in the age of AI and Web3.

You will discover:

✅ Journey of building and scaling MeWe in a Big Tech world

✅ How indie founders can use AI and social media marketing to scale apps

✅ Strategies for attracting investors without massive ad spend

✅ A social framework for rebooting the internet with ethics and privacy at the core

Learn More:

MeWe: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mewe-the-safe-network/id918464474

Mark’s Book: https://www.amazon.com/Restoring-Our-Sanity-Online-Revolutionary/dp/1394273967/

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