App Masters · Should You Make a Wordle Clone? (And How One Wordle App is Making $50K a Month)
Lenny's Podcast · Nov 13An inside look at how the New York Times builds product | Alex Hardiman (CPO, the New York Times)
Builds software around its journalism and bundles news, games, cooking, sports, audio and Wirecutter into one subscription, aiming for 15 million subscribers by 2027 from just over 9 million. It sized about 135 million people worldwide as willing to pay, went direct-to-consumer in 2011 despite consultants predicting 1 million subscribers at best, and made key COVID coverage free in March 2020 when half the country came to the Times. The Times closed the acquisition in weeks, faster than any other deal Hardiman has seen. It rewrote the no-back-end web game on the Times tech stack and linked it to free accounts so streaks carry over, leaving the board and core loop unchanged. A mid-migration answer of 'fetus' on the Roe v. Wade leak day could not be changed for all users, so the Times explained it publicly. It is one of the Times' six destinations, and Lenny suggested a design-led version that picks products that are both good and good-looking. Hardiman thinks there is a market and will take the idea to the team.
Tips
- Anchor a subscription bundle on one core product, then add satellites▶ 20:45The Times sized the market at about 135 million people willing to pay for these categories, and aims for 15 million subscribers by 2027 from just over 9 million today.
- Size the addressable market before choosing which categories to invest in▶ 19:56The exercise found about 135 million people worldwide willing to pay for these journalism-based products.
- Organize teams on two axes: functions for craft, missions for shipping▶ 22:58Shared platform and monetization missions scale across every product in the bundle, so a subscription or ad system built once works in games, cooking and news.
- Embed domain experts in cross-functional product teams, not just advisors▶ 24:32
- Turn expert judgment into ranking signals instead of training only on engagement▶ 56:26The Times has 2,000 plus journalists whose expertise is structured into algorithmic decisioning.
- Let embedded teams run one-off experiments, then scale what works into formats▶ 29:45The majority of the Times' immersive stories now run on shared platforms rather than one-off builds.
- In a crisis, blow up roadmaps and reset the mandate with shared context▶ 43:57In March 2020, half of the country came to the New York Times.
- Put public-safety content outside the paywall▶ 44:45At the pandemic's height, half the country visited the Times in March 2020.
- Cut work and say what you will stop doing to reduce burnout▶ 47:45
- Set business goals in service of a mission, not the reverse▶ 58:07
- Own content, distribution and product together to build the best products▶ 55:20
- Build a direct customer relationship before a subscription business can thrive▶ 18:24The Times is now just over 9 million subscribers, versus consultants' forecast of maybe 1 million over its history.
- Separate editorial selection from product teams to protect independence▶ 33:07
- Add accounts when acquiring a local-state game, but keep the core loop unchanged▶ 37:00The acquisition itself took only weeks, much faster than any other acquisition Hardiman had been part of.
- Check you are ready to integrate before acquiring a product people love▶ 36:20A day-after-leak Wordle answer coincided with the Roe v. Wade draft news and could be changed only for some users mid-migration.
- Explain product mishaps publicly and plainly, even if some people won't believe you▶ 39:52
