How to consistently go viral: Nikita Bier’s playbook for winning at consumer apps

Lenny's Podcast August 25, 2024
Video Thumbnail
Lenny's Podcast Logo

Lenny's Podcast

@lennyspodcast

About

Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover concrete, actionable, and tactical advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.

Video Description

Nikita Bier is one of the most in-demand consumer, social, and growth experts in the world. He’s the co-founder of TBH (sold to Meta for more than $30 million) and Gas (sold to Discord for millions more) and has helped more consumer apps that have hit #1 in the app stores than any other person I’ve come across. He currently spends his time advising founders on growth, product, and design and is an investor and advisor to some of the best consumer tech companies, including Flo, Locket, Eight Sleep, Citizen, BeReal, Captions, and more. In our conversation, we discuss: • The inside story of how TBH and Gas achieved explosive growth • Strategies for building viral consumer apps • Why teens are such a great audience • Fighting the human trafficking hoax at Gas • The challenge of creating durable social products • His experience working as a PM at Facebook • Advice for founders on building consumer apps • Much more — Brought to you by: • Webflow—The web experience platform: https://webflow.com • Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security: https://vanta.com/lenny • Explo—Embed customer-facing analytics in your product: https://explo.co/lenny Book Nikita for 1:1 consultation/mentoring: https://intro.co/NikitaBier Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-consistently-go-viral-nikita-bier Where to find Nikita Bier: • X: https://x.com/nikitabier • Threads: https://www.threads.net/@nikitabier • Website: https://intro.co/NikitaBier Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Nikita’s background (06:08) Nikita’s early ventures: Politify and Outline (08:42) Transition to consumer apps (13:45) The birth of TBH (16:43) Building for teens vs. adults (20:00) TBH’s viral success (32:18) Leveraging live chat (34:08) Lasting lessons from TBH (37:00) Selling TBH to Facebook (42:19) Big-tech product management (48:46) Nikita on why “product management is not real” (51:49) The Tim Cook painting story (53:53) Leaving Facebook and starting a new venture (58:02) Rebuilding TBH and overcoming challenges (59:46) Addressing criticism (01:04:24) The human trafficking hoax (01:09:51) Selling to Discord and lessons learned (01:11:36) Lasting lessons from Gas (01:13:14) Building durable consumer apps (01:22:35) The VC route (01:23:27) Contact permissions in iOS 18 (01:26:53) The success of Dupe (01:31:53) Advice for startup founders (01:34:14) Work with Nikita Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected]. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

You May Also Like

Viral App Success Kit

AI-recommended products based on this video

Loading...
Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes Micellar Alcohol-Free Face Towelettes Remove Waterproof Mascara & Oil, Compostable 100% Plant-Based Cloth, Dermatologist & Ophthalmologist Tested, Twin Pack 2 x 25 ct The Forest Stewardship Council

Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes Micellar Alcohol-Free Face Towelettes Remove Waterproof Mascara & Oil, Compostable 100% Plant-Based Cloth, Dermatologist & Ophthalmologist Tested, Twin Pack 2 x 25 ct The Forest Stewardship Council

(115,463)
$9.97
FREE delivery Tue, Dec 30 on $35 of items shipped by Amazon
100K+ bought in past month
Loading...
Agfabric 40" x 75 Feet Natural Burlap Fabric Roll,Gardening Burlap Roll,High Density Jute Material for Winter Plants Tree Cover Protection,Weed Barrier,Decorations,Crafts

Agfabric 40" x 75 Feet Natural Burlap Fabric Roll,Gardening Burlap Roll,High Density Jute Material for Winter Plants Tree Cover Protection,Weed Barrier,Decorations,Crafts

(127)
47.84
PrimeFREE delivery Saturday, June 14
Loading...
Kaistyle for Magsafe Car Mount【20 Strong Magnets】 Magnetic Phone Holder for Car Phone Holder Mount Dash Cell Phone Holders for Your Car Accessories for Women Men for iPhone 17 Pro Max 16 15 14 13 12 ClimatePartner certified
Best Seller

Kaistyle for Magsafe Car Mount【20 Strong Magnets】 Magnetic Phone Holder for Car Phone Holder Mount Dash Cell Phone Holders for Your Car Accessories for Women Men for iPhone 17 Pro Max 16 15 14 13 12 ClimatePartner certified

(16,688)
$9.99
FREE delivery Sun, Sep 21 on $35 of items shipped by Amazon
10K+ bought in past month
Loading...
Car Phone Holder for Magsafe [78+LBS Strongest Suction & 2400gf Magnetic] 360° Adjustable Car Phone Mount, Phone Holders for Your Car for iPhone 17 Pro Max 16 15 14 13 12 Air Plus (Carbon Fiber) Global Recycled Standard
Best Seller

Car Phone Holder for Magsafe [78+LBS Strongest Suction & 2400gf Magnetic] 360° Adjustable Car Phone Mount, Phone Holders for Your Car for iPhone 17 Pro Max 16 15 14 13 12 Air Plus (Carbon Fiber) Global Recycled Standard

(10,765)
$26.99$26.45
FREE delivery Fri, Oct 3 on $35 of items shipped by Amazon
10K+ bought in past month
Loading...
LISEN Retractable Car Charger, 69W USB C Car Accessories Adapter for iPhone 17 USB C Charger Fast Charging, Gifts for Women Men, Travel Essentials, for iPhone 17 Pro Max Air 16 15 14 13 12 Samsung S25
Best Seller

LISEN Retractable Car Charger, 69W USB C Car Accessories Adapter for iPhone 17 USB C Charger Fast Charging, Gifts for Women Men, Travel Essentials, for iPhone 17 Pro Max Air 16 15 14 13 12 Samsung S25

(10,850)
$16.99
FREE delivery Sun, Sep 21 on $35 of items shipped by Amazon
10K+ bought in past month
Loading...
Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 Business Laptop (14" FHD+ Anti-glare, Intel 10-Core i7-1355U, 40GB RAM, 1TB SSD) Backlit, Fingerprint, Fast Charge, 1080p RGB Webcam, Wi-Fi 6, Win 11 Pro w/ Copilot

Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 Business Laptop (14" FHD+ Anti-glare, Intel 10-Core i7-1355U, 40GB RAM, 1TB SSD) Backlit, Fingerprint, Fast Charge, 1080p RGB Webcam, Wi-Fi 6, Win 11 Pro w/ Copilot

(12)
$899.99
FREE delivery Wed, Jun 18
Loading...
Lenovo V-Series V15 Business Laptop | 15.6" FHD 1920 * 1080 | 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13620H | 40GB RAM | 1TB SSD | Webcam | Wi-Fi 6 | Windows 11 Pro | Black | Bundle with ADATA 512GB External SSD

Lenovo V-Series V15 Business Laptop | 15.6" FHD 1920 * 1080 | 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13620H | 40GB RAM | 1TB SSD | Webcam | Wi-Fi 6 | Windows 11 Pro | Black | Bundle with ADATA 512GB External SSD

(6)
$849.00
FREE delivery Jun 18 - 23
50+ bought in past month
Loading...
Lenovo V15 Laptop | 15.6" FHD Anti-Glare Display | AMD Ryzen 7 7730U | 40GB RAM | 1TB PCIe SSD | HDMI | Type-C | Webcam | Wi-Fi | THUNDEROBOT Wireless Ergonomic Mouse | Windows 11 Pro | Black

Lenovo V15 Laptop | 15.6" FHD Anti-Glare Display | AMD Ryzen 7 7730U | 40GB RAM | 1TB PCIe SSD | HDMI | Type-C | Webcam | Wi-Fi | THUNDEROBOT Wireless Ergonomic Mouse | Windows 11 Pro | Black

(26)
$649.00$636.02
FREE delivery Jun 18 - 23
Loading...
Lenovo ThinkBook 15 Gen 4 Business Laptop (15.6" FHD Anti-Glare, Intel 10-Core i7-1255U, 40GB RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD), 1080p Webcam, Narrow Bezel, Fingerprint, Wi-Fi 6, Ethernet, Win 11 Pro, Grey

Lenovo ThinkBook 15 Gen 4 Business Laptop (15.6" FHD Anti-Glare, Intel 10-Core i7-1255U, 40GB RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD), 1080p Webcam, Narrow Bezel, Fingerprint, Wi-Fi 6, Ethernet, Win 11 Pro, Grey

(30)
$759.98
FREE delivery Wed, Jun 18
50+ bought in past month