App Masters · Avoid These App Launch Mistakes (Part 4) - App Startup Series
Lenny's Podcast · Nov 26Billion dollar failures, and billion dollar success | Tom Conrad (Quibi, Pandora, Pets.com, Zero)
Raised over $2 billion and shut down less than a year after launch. It made 70 shows in 18 months, but the content bet was too small, the plan needed a top 10 app ranking from day one, and about $1 billion a year in content spend left no time to iterate.
Tips
- Check that the foundational business math works before iterating on product▶ 25:06Quibi made 70 shows in 18 months, yet the library still had to be far bigger to get people to subscribe and retain.
- Show leadership the data on the riskiest assumption in the plan▶ 30:26Even Uber, with unlimited money for paid acquisition, is not consistently a top 10 app.
- Do not assume you can iterate your way out when costs are huge▶ 33:32Retention was a good industry starting point but set no records, and that was not enough.
