BranchOut
A professional networking app built on top of Facebook's user base.
Where BranchOut comes up1 book
BranchOut raised $49 million and hit about 14 million users by spring 2012, but engagement was thin. Growth relied on spammy Facebook wall posts, and usage collapsed once Facebook banned them. Hearst bought the assets in September 2014. Lesson: track engagement and churn, not signups, and don't assume a large social base will carry into a different context like work.
- 1Spam Facebook wallsGrowth leaned on a channel Facebook controlled
- 2Hit 14M usersPeak in spring 2012, few engaged
- 3Facebook bans methodThe wall post channel was cut
- 4Usage collapsesChurn outran new users
- 5Hearst buys assetsSeptember 2014
From BranchOut page notes
What was said about BranchOut
BranchOut's growth leaned on a channel Facebook controlled, and Facebook cut it. BranchOut launched in 2010 to catch LinkedIn's 70M members, raised $49 million and peaked near 14 million users in spring 2012, but few of those users were engaged. When Facebook banned its spammy wall post method, usage collapsed.
Hearst bought the assets in September 2014. The lesson drawn is to track engagement and churn, not signups, because tactic-driven growth on someone else's platform can hide low engagement. Once the channel closed, churn outran new users.
A huge Facebook user base did not carry over into professional networking. BranchOut bet that Facebook's base, almost 10x LinkedIn's 70M members, would spill over into professional networking. It did not.
Facebook and LinkedIn both thrive because people keep personal and work life apart, and Facebook at Work also failed. The takeaway is to confirm users want a boundary crossed before building on another platform's graph: "The boundaries of the network effects determine the boundaries of the business."
7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy
Launched in 2010 to catch LinkedIn's 70M members, it raised $49 million and peaked near 14 million users in spring 2012 with thin engagement. Usage collapsed after Facebook banned its spammy wall posts, and Hearst bought the assets in September 2014.
BranchOut's growth leaned on a channel Facebook controlled, and Facebook cut it. BranchOut launched in 2010 to catch LinkedIn's 70M members, raised $49 million and peaked near 14 million users in spring 2012, but few of those users were engaged. When Facebook banned its spammy wall post method, usage collapsed.
Hearst bought the assets in September 2014. The lesson drawn is to track engagement and churn, not signups, because tactic-driven growth on someone else's platform can hide low engagement. Once the channel closed, churn outran new users.
A huge Facebook user base did not carry over into professional networking. BranchOut bet that Facebook's base, almost 10x LinkedIn's 70M members, would spill over into professional networking. It did not.
Facebook and LinkedIn both thrive because people keep personal and work life apart, and Facebook at Work also failed. The takeaway is to confirm users want a boundary crossed before building on another platform's graph: "The boundaries of the network effects determine the boundaries of the business."
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