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

Aug 30, 2025

In this discussion, Mark Weinstein, a tech entrepreneur and privacy advocate known for founding MeWe, shares his journey of building a successful privacy-first social media platform with 20 million users. He highlights the importance of ethics and privacy in app design and practical strategies for indie founders to scale their apps using AI and social media marketing. Mark discusses navigating challenges in the tech landscape dominated by Big Tech and emphasizes the need for community-driven approaches in fostering ethical user engagement.

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ANECDOTE

Early Social Networking Roots

Mark built early social networks (superfamily.com, superfriends.com) from Albuquerque and got PC Magazine Top 100 recognition.
New Mexico supported his servers and staff with grants, which jump-started his early product growth.

INSIGHT

Privacy-First Product Differentiation

MeWe launched as a privacy-first social platform to counteract surveillance capitalism and news feed manipulation.
The product focused on no algorithms, no data selling, and a privacy bill of rights to differentiate from Big Tech.

INSIGHT

Web3 Is Not The Answer For Social Media

Web3 does not scale well for personal social networking and does not deliver true anonymity.
Monetizing personal relationships with cryptocurrency rewards contradicts what users want from social platforms.

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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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