Techmeme Ride Home (Bonus) a16z's Andrew Chen On The Cold Start Problem
6 snips
Dec 11, 2021 
Andrew Chen, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, discusses insights from his book, tackling the 'cold start problem' that many startups face. He delves into the complexities of launching products and emphasizes the importance of building an 'atomic network' for initial user engagement, with examples from famous platforms like Tinder and Uber. Chen explores how iconic companies navigate growth plateaus, the risks in Web3, and how investors can leverage these concepts to identify promising opportunities in the tech landscape.
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Tinder's Initial Struggle
- Tinder initially struggled with low engagement despite having good features.
- They solved this by throwing a party at USC, requiring Tinder installation for entry, creating a dense user base.
Atomic Network
- An 'atomic network' is the smallest network size needed for high product engagement and retention.
- Focus on building several initial atomic networks to kickstart growth and leverage network effects.
Slack's Atomic Network
- Slack found that while three users could use the platform, a whole team was ideal for it to thrive.
- If the initial user base is too small, the product might collapse due to lack of engagement.
