Everyone in Silicon Valley is obsessed with viral loops. They draw them on whiteboards, pitch them to VCs, and write endless blog posts about them. But here’s a little secret: most of it is bullshit.
I’m not saying that because I’m cynical. I’m saying it because I’ve been in the trenches. I built a company, RemoteTeam, that got acquired by Gusto. Before that, I co-founded MovieLaLa, which was acquired by Gfycat. We chased virality, and we caught it. We got to over a million users, and I learned a few things along the way that you won’t find in any textbook.
1. Your "Viral" Feature is Probably a Gimmick
I remember when we first launched our referral program at RemoteTeam. We were so proud of it. We had this beautiful dashboard showing how many users each person had referred. We A/B tested the copy on the share buttons. We even offered a cash bonus for every new customer.
And you know what? It worked. Sort of. We saw a spike in sign-ups. Our vanity metrics looked great. We were high-fiving each other in the office. But when we dug into the data, we realized something alarming: the new users weren’t sticking around. They’d sign up, poke around for a few minutes, and then disappear forever.
We had built a leaky bucket. Our referral program was pouring water in, but it was flowing right out the bottom. We were so focused on the "viral" part that we forgot about the "loop" part. A true viral loop isn’t just about getting new users; it’s about getting new users who then become engaged users who then invite more users.
We had to go back to the drawing board. We stopped obsessing over the referral program and started obsessing over our product. We talked to our users. We figured out what they actually wanted. And then we built it. It wasn’t as sexy as a viral loop, but it worked. Our retention numbers went up, and our growth became sustainable.
2. SEO is the Unsexy, High-Leverage Growth Channel
Everyone wants to be a growth hacker. They want to find that one weird trick that will get them a million users overnight. But the truth is, most growth is a slow, steady grind. And one of the most powerful, yet unsexy, growth channels is SEO.
When we were building RemoteTeam, we were competing against some of the biggest names in the industry. We didn’t have their marketing budgets. We couldn’t afford to sponsor a Super Bowl ad. But we could afford to write a lot of content.
We started a blog and wrote about everything we knew about remote work. We wrote about how to hire remote employees, how to manage a distributed team, and how to build a strong remote culture. We didn’t just write fluff pieces. We went deep. We shared our own experiences, our own data, and our own mistakes.
And it worked. Our blog posts started ranking on the first page of Google for some of our target keywords. We started getting a steady stream of organic traffic. And these weren’t just any visitors; they were people who were actively looking for a solution to their problems. They were the perfect customers for our product.
SEO isn’t a quick fix. It takes time to see results. But it’s one of the most sustainable and high-leverage growth channels out there. If you’re serious about growth, you need to be serious about SEO.
3. Your First 1,000 Users are the Hardest and Most Important
I’ve been fortunate enough to be an angel investor in over 200 companies, including some of the biggest names in tech like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Scale AI. And I’ve seen the same pattern over and over again: the first 1,000 users are the hardest to get. But they’re also the most important.
Your first 1,000 users are the ones who will give you the feedback you need to build a great product. They’re the ones who will tell you what’s working and what’s not. They’re the ones who will become your biggest evangelists.
When we were first starting out with MovieLaLa, we did things that didn’t scale. We went to movie theaters and handed out flyers. We posted on forums. We even went to college campuses and gave away free pizza to anyone who would download our app.
It was a grind. But it was worth it. We got to know our first users on a personal level. We listened to their feedback. And we built a product that they loved. Those first 1,000 users became the foundation of our community. They were the ones who helped us get to our first million users.
4. The "Messy Middle" is Where Companies are Made or Broken
Everyone talks about the beginning and the end of the startup journey. They talk about the "aha" moment when you come up with the idea. They talk about the glorious exit when you sell your company for a boatload of money. But they don’t talk about the messy middle.
The messy middle is that long, grueling period between the initial excitement and the final outcome. It’s when you’re running out of money. It’s when your co-founder quits. It’s when your product isn’t working. It’s when you’re on the verge of giving up.
I’ve been through the messy middle with both of my companies. And I can tell you that it’s not fun. But it’s also where companies are made or broken. It’s where you learn what you’re really made of.
If you can survive the messy middle, you can survive anything. You’ll come out the other side stronger, smarter, and more resilient. And you’ll have a hell of a story to tell.
So if you’re in the messy middle right now, don’t give up. Keep fighting. Keep pushing. And remember that you’re not alone. Every successful entrepreneur has been where you are right now. The only difference is that they didn’t quit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which item on this list has the highest impact?
It depends on your stage and context, but in my experience, the items near the top of the list tend to have the broadest applicability. That said, sometimes the less obvious items create the biggest breakthroughs for specific situations.
Can I implement all of these at once?
I'd strongly recommend against it. Pick the 2-3 items that resonate most with your current situation and focus there. Trying to do everything simultaneously is a recipe for doing nothing well.
How do I know which items apply to my situation?
Start by honestly assessing where your biggest bottleneck is right now. The items that address that specific constraint will give you the highest return on your time and energy.
How were these items selected?
Each item on this list comes from direct experience, either from building my own companies or from patterns I've observed across the 200+ startups I've invested in. I prioritize practical, actionable items over theoretical concepts.