Scout
The venture-backed startup Zack founded solo before Coconote.
- 1Build Scout and CrewVenture-backed, built as a product person
- 2Users don't come"If you build it, they will not come"
- 3Plan distribution earlyDecide it from the start
- 4Go where customers arePick where they already spend time
- 5Use short-form videoCrew's TikTok and Reels drove sign-ups
From Zack on building Scout and Coconote
What was said about Scout
Building a great product did not bring Scout users; distribution has to be planned. Zack raised venture money and built Scout and its Crew music app, then concluded that a product background breeds the false belief that good products find their own users. Crew used UGC-style TikTok and Reels to drive hundreds of thousands of sign-ups.
Scout had no pressure to monetize. Zack's takeaway was to plan distribution from the start and pick the place where customers already spend time, which for Coconote was short-form video. In his words: "if you build it, they will not come."
COPY this ai app's $6.7m/yr marketing strategy
It had no pressure to monetize, and its Crew music app used UGC-style TikTok and Reels to drive hundreds of thousands of sign-ups. It taught the founder that if you build it, they will not come.
Building a great product did not bring Scout users; distribution has to be planned. Zack raised venture money and built Scout and its Crew music app, then concluded that a product background breeds the false belief that good products find their own users. Crew used UGC-style TikTok and Reels to drive hundreds of thousands of sign-ups.
Scout had no pressure to monetize. Zack's takeaway was to plan distribution from the start and pick the place where customers already spend time, which for Coconote was short-form video. In his words: "if you build it, they will not come."
More in Other
OtherApple
A consumer technology company that makes the Mac, iPod, iPhone and software.
74 sources · 200 tips
OtherGoogle's web search product, now including AI Overviews, AI Mode and Lens.
47 sources · 97 tips
OtherGoogle Play
Google's app store for Android, with its own listing rules and search ranking.
18 sources · 49 tipsStandard Oil
John D. Rockefeller's oil refining company that came to dominate American kerosene and oil distribution.
5 sources · 48 tips
OtherTSMC
The world's leading contract chip maker, a pure-play foundry that manufactures chips for fabless designers.
6 sources · 32 tips
OtherTesla
An electric car maker that builds its own key components and factories.
13 sources · 23 tips
OtherIntel
A semiconductor company that made memory chips and the first microprocessor.
10 sources · 20 tips
OtherSpaceX
A private aerospace company building reusable rockets, the Dragon capsule, Starship and the Starlink satellite network.
4 sources · 27 tips