founder / CEO @ TWL
Patrick RiveraCome for the creator, stay for the economy
"Come for the tool, stay for the network" is a classic strategy for bootstrapping social networks. It aimed to solve a hard problem: how do you convince people to join your social network when there's nobody else to socialize with? One approach is to build a single-player tool that gets people to use the product. Over time, as more people use the single-player tool, you then add social features such as likes, comments, follows, etc. to plant the seeds for a defensible network. Today, wit...
Patrick RiveraThoughts on DAO Tooling
DAO tooling is all the rage these days. Jordi Hays @jordihays Pedal to the metal 49 9:36 PM • Mar 17, 2022 brian flynn @Flynnjamm everyone at ETHDenver is either an investor or working on DAO tooling no in between 389 6:48 PM • Feb 17, 2022 But there are definitely some challenges. Jess 🌱 @thattallguy We need more DAOs, not more DAO tools ... 675 2:00 PM • Mar 2, 2022 This post shares some thoughts on DAO tooling based on my experience as a member of multiple DAOs, building DAO tooling at Mi...
Patrick RiveraTips for creators getting into crypto
One of the cool things about working at a startup is that you get to wear a lot hats.One of my favorite parts of the week is speaking with creators about how they can use crypto to build stronger communities. In the future, I think crypto will be a core part of every creator’s business. Kinda like how tech products rely on AI to remain competitive today. But we’re still really damn early. So, what is crypto actually good for, right now? In this post, we'll cover a framework I share with ...
Patrick RiveraCome for the creator, stay for the economy
"Come for the tool, stay for the network" is a classic strategy for bootstrapping social networks. It aimed to solve a hard problem: how do you convince people to join your social network when there's nobody else to socialize with? One approach is to build a single-player tool that gets people to use the product. Over time, as more people use the single-player tool, you then add social features such as likes, comments, follows, etc. to plant the seeds for a defensible network. Today, wit...
Patrick RiveraThoughts on DAO Tooling
DAO tooling is all the rage these days. Jordi Hays @jordihays Pedal to the metal 49 9:36 PM • Mar 17, 2022 brian flynn @Flynnjamm everyone at ETHDenver is either an investor or working on DAO tooling no in between 389 6:48 PM • Feb 17, 2022 But there are definitely some challenges. Jess 🌱 @thattallguy We need more DAOs, not more DAO tools ... 675 2:00 PM • Mar 2, 2022 This post shares some thoughts on DAO tooling based on my experience as a member of multiple DAOs, building DAO tooling at Mi...
Patrick RiveraTips for creators getting into crypto
One of the cool things about working at a startup is that you get to wear a lot hats.One of my favorite parts of the week is speaking with creators about how they can use crypto to build stronger communities. In the future, I think crypto will be a core part of every creator’s business. Kinda like how tech products rely on AI to remain competitive today. But we’re still really damn early. So, what is crypto actually good for, right now? In this post, we'll cover a framework I share with ...
founder / CEO @ TWL
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The hottest consumer social apps of the past few years have either shut down (Popparazzi) or slowed growth significantly (BeReal, Clubhouse, Dispo).
There's a few reasons why:
Massive UGC networks (YouTube, TikTok, IG) have the best content and recommendation algorithms
Messaging apps (iMessage, WhatsApp, Discord) are good enough
Long-term retention is really hard when you're competing against the entire internet for consumer attention
Some of the most successful consumer apps of the past 24 months (in terms of social impact and value capture for the core team) have internalized the market reality and taken a different approach.
They're building "ephemeral apps".
Ephemeral apps have a few properties:
Lean team (~3 people)
Monetize from day one (usually through subscriptions and microtransactions)
Have a strong viral loop
Only meant to last 6 to 12 months
Feel like a casual free-to-play mobile game
A couple examples of ephemeral apps are Gas and NGL. In web3, examples include Stealcam (created by @tryfriendtech) and Dookey Dash (by Yuga Labs)
Contrast this w/ the previous era of consumer social products which were all about "persistent apps". They raised a ton of money, hired a bunch of people, and doubled down on one core product experience. This approach can still work, but it's more difficult than ever.
Another opportunity is a product studio that specializes in building ephemeral apps for a specific niche.
Potential playbook:
Build a community through niche-specific content and a group chat
Launch ephemeral apps that solve problems for the community and generate revenue
Create a membership model that provides access to apps, content, and experiences across the ecosystem (through subscriptions, NFTs, fungible tokens, loyalty points, etc.)
Build a strong developer ecosystem that's incentivized to launch apps and plugins for the community
I'm currently in the early stages of building out this model with a team of designers, engineers, and marketers so if you have any thoughts or want to collaborate, feel free to reach out 👀
The hottest consumer social apps of the past few years have either shut down (Popparazzi) or slowed growth significantly (BeReal, Clubhouse, Dispo).
There's a few reasons why:
Massive UGC networks (YouTube, TikTok, IG) have the best content and recommendation algorithms
Messaging apps (iMessage, WhatsApp, Discord) are good enough
Long-term retention is really hard when you're competing against the entire internet for consumer attention
Some of the most successful consumer apps of the past 24 months (in terms of social impact and value capture for the core team) have internalized the market reality and taken a different approach.
They're building "ephemeral apps".
Ephemeral apps have a few properties:
Lean team (~3 people)
Monetize from day one (usually through subscriptions and microtransactions)
Have a strong viral loop
Only meant to last 6 to 12 months
Feel like a casual free-to-play mobile game
A couple examples of ephemeral apps are Gas and NGL. In web3, examples include Stealcam (created by @tryfriendtech) and Dookey Dash (by Yuga Labs)
Contrast this w/ the previous era of consumer social products which were all about "persistent apps". They raised a ton of money, hired a bunch of people, and doubled down on one core product experience. This approach can still work, but it's more difficult than ever.
Another opportunity is a product studio that specializes in building ephemeral apps for a specific niche.
Potential playbook:
Build a community through niche-specific content and a group chat
Launch ephemeral apps that solve problems for the community and generate revenue
Create a membership model that provides access to apps, content, and experiences across the ecosystem (through subscriptions, NFTs, fungible tokens, loyalty points, etc.)
Build a strong developer ecosystem that's incentivized to launch apps and plugins for the community
I'm currently in the early stages of building out this model with a team of designers, engineers, and marketers so if you have any thoughts or want to collaborate, feel free to reach out 👀
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