make it go viral
Solving your own problem is a fundamental organization that leads to winning products. Scale is when the optimization also woks for many others. Virality is when the market itself is optimized for the product. -@asemota.
I might just want to start each post with a quote from Big Chief. He’s one of THE people to follow on twitter if you want any sensible commentary around venture capital and entrepreneurship on the continent.
On the subject of “virality”, the book Viral Loops came to mind. I’ve read a summary on it before, and the book itself is part of my next 1000 books to read.
Quick summary and notes on the book from Soumitra Sengupta:
Viral loops have never been as significant for developing businesses in our entire evolution as they are currently due to the social nature of internet today. Read this book to understand how consumer interns businesses can achieve exponential growth piggybacking on these non-apparent but all so important viral undercurrents.
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What else you’d learn- viral coefficient (the yardstick of virality):
When it comes to analyzing if a product has the potential to become viral, the best way is to calculate the viral co-efficient of the product.
Viral Coefficient < 1, slow rate of growth, not leading to virality
Viral Coefficient = 1, linear rate of growth, eventually topping out
Viral Coefficient > 1, exponential/viral growth
Once a viral loop takes hold, one can accurately predict the user growth because a viral loop expands according to something called the ‘Power Law Curve’.
A ‘Power law curve’ was conceptualized by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. This law came from his study of wealth distribution in Italy where ‘20% of the population held 80% of the wealth’. Popularly known as the 80/20 rule, this law describes a wide array of natural phenomenon like ranking the sizes of planets, Newtonian physics to unnatural phenomenon like blog traffic.
When it comes to social networks, the power law curve illustrates how 20% users contribute to 80% of usage. The rest 80% is distributed over the ‘long tail’ which keep on bringing smaller number of users perpetually even without doing anything.
Hence the skyrocketing valuation of companies like Facebook, Twitter etc. which have followed the power law curve to reach millions of years in few years. Because once you have reached the masses, someone somewhere will pay to reach them
Successful viral expansion loop businesses contain the following properties :
Web-based
Free
Organizational technology
Simple concept
Built-in virality
Extremely fast adoption
Exponential growth
Virality index>1
Predictable growth rates
Network effects
Stackability
Point of non-displacement
Ultimate Saturation
Think about these when you’re building your next consumer internet product.
Article List— What I’m reading
How to Practice Long-Term Thinking in a Distracted World: You think through an outcome you want to happen, like to have an excellent dinner party, or get a contract you really wanted. And then you also think of negative outcomes. But then you work back from that, imagining that the scenario—the outcome—already happened. And you ask yourself, what are the reasons why it happened? What's not important to that outcome?
Libra’s likely volatility may limit scope to raise financial inclusion: Follow up to yesterday’s post from Ebenezer on what Libra means for Africa. He rightly pointed out that this crypto’s main target is Africa and India. But how would adoption play out? Good idea in theory but in practice? Hm.
54gene is developing the World’s First and Largest Pan-African DNA Biobank: African solutions to African problems. I love it.
Crude Prices Soar After Attack on Saudi Facilities, Threatening Global Growth: Like clockwork 😂.
Diaspora tourists heed the call of Ghana’s ‘Year of Return’: Long story short, Christmas boutta be mad.
How to get people to open your emails: I needed this.
Six important highlights from WEF Africa: if you didn’t get the chance to go, this is your chance to learn.
Podcast— What I’m listening to
How I Built This with Guy Raz: Listened to the Stonyfield Yogurt episode. That’s where you learn failure comes at you in many forms but staying headstrong and persistent will get you far.
Book—What I’m reading x2. My book list is nearing 1000 books. Send help 🌚
Elon said vacations are pointless because they make him sick. I’m with you bro. Still reading Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future.
Remember folks: “Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter.”
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