All
Building a Social Experience Platform from 0 to 10,000 Users
Client:
IN.
When:
2021-2023
Stage:
Pre-Seed
Role:
Founder & CEO
SITUATION
APPROACH
We executed an aggressive product development strategy focused on building an all-in-one platform for group experiences. After extensive user research, we prioritized the core tools needed for any group experience: chat, polls, smart invitations, shared notes, cost splitting, and travel details.
Our team established a systematic development operation that continuously scoped, designed, engineered, and released features while tracking user feedback for iterations. This enabled us to maintain consistent production velocity while growing our user base through targeted marketing and the platform's natural virality.
OUTCOMES
The platform demonstrated strong initial traction across various use cases:
Raised nearly $500K in pre-seed funding from tech leaders
Grew to 10,000 active users
Powered ~2,500 group experiences
Built an advisory board of world-class professionals
Learnings: Leading this venture provided invaluable insights into building consumer platforms:
The importance of focusing on retention over growth in early stages
The critical need for rapid iteration and user feedback loops
The value of consistent content creation in maintaining user engagement
The necessity of building "magical" experiences that delight users