What Works for Startups Like Yours?

NotebookLM is an AI-powered tool incubated within Google Labs that lets users upload documents, PDFs, articles, and other content to generate interactive summaries, study guides, and notably, AI-hosted podcast episodes called 'Deep Dives.' Launched about a year before this interview, the product went viral on social media with its surprisingly engaging audio overviews, attracting educators, students, and professionals. Built by a tiny team (3 engineers, 1 PM, 1 designer initially) operating like a startup within Google, the product has achieved strong retention metrics, 60,000 Discord members, and has caught the attention of enterprise companies interested in using it at scale.

Yuga Labs, co-founded by Greg Solano and Wylie Aronow, launched the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection in spring 2021. The collection achieved explosive growth, attracting major celebrities like Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, and Madonna, and rapidly propelling the company to a $4 billion valuation within a year—making it one of the fastest companies to achieve unicorn status. The founders plan to expand their vision into the metaverse.

DeSo is a blockchain infrastructure built from 2019-2021 that powers decentralized social networks. BitClap was the first prototype app launched in March 2021 with a viral growth mechanism of pre-populated user profiles and creator coins, achieving $80M in invested capital across the network despite only ~10,000-50,000 daily active users. The project faced criticism for anonymity and lack of withdrawals initially, but shifted to transparency by revealing founder Nader Al-Naji and establishing the DeSo Foundation, with 100+ apps now built on the blockchain and creator monetization through NFTs and social tokens.

First customers: Pre-launch seeding of high-profile profiles (Naval, Chamath, Kim Kardashian) with initial coin allocations to attract early users

Rebase is an immigration-as-a-service platform that helps remote workers and digital nomads establish residency in Portugal. Founded by Peter Levels, it went viral on Twitter when he shared a casual photo of building the landing page, generating thousands of sign-ups. The platform now serves approximately 9% of all people moving to Portugal annually, processing around 400-500 sign-ups per month with $30-50k MRR.

First customers: Twitter viral tweet - Peter posted a photo of himself building the landing page with tweet 'POV building an immigration as a service startup' which went viral

Hoppin is a virtual event platform founded by Johnny Bafferat that achieved unicorn status (over $1 billion valuation) in approximately 10-12 months. Launched in February 2020 just as COVID-19 forced events online, the company scaled from 6 people to nearly 300 employees in 9 months by leveraging remote hiring, employee referrals, and a viral product with a 3-5% conversion rate from event attendees to event organizers. The company raised $180 million total and was valued at $32 million in January 2020.

First customers: Waitlist - companies contacted them requesting to move events online during COVID-19 in February 2020

Mr. Ballin Studios is a content media company founded by Navy SEAL veteran John Allen that creates mysterious and dark storytelling content. After a viral TikTok video about Dyatlov Pass garnered 5 million views in hours, Allen pivoted to content creation full-time, growing to 7 million TikTok subscribers and scaling to a 50+ person company with multiple shows, billions of views across platforms, and a podcast generating eight figures in monthly downloads.

First customers: Viral TikTok video about Dyatlov Pass mystery that reached 5 million views in a few hours

Connor (actor-turned-rapper) and Brianna (marketing strategist) built a viral music career on TikTok by combining creative skits with original hip-hop/rap songs. Starting from under $1,000/month, they hit a six-figure month after their "Spin the Globe" series went viral (72M views), and now average 60M Spotify streams monthly, generating approximately $240K MRR ($2.88M ARR) across streaming, YouTube, brand deals, syncs, and publishing. They operate independently, own 100% of their catalog, and have scaled to a family operation with multiple team members.

First customers: TikTok organic/viral content

YouProbablyNeedAHaircut.com is a viral pandemic-era service that pairs people needing haircuts with professional stylists who coach them through cutting their own or someone else's hair remotely. Launched by Greg Eisenberg during COVID lockdowns, the platform generated millions of website visits and extensive media coverage including appearances on the Today Show, ABC, Fox, and NPR. The success combined a clever domain name, strong brand positioning, influencer video content, and systematic outreach via Twitter and media relations.

First customers: Personal need - Greg's girlfriend cutting his hair with guidance from his stylist Jabari

Hero Cosmetics (Mighty Patch) launched in 2017 as a single acne patch product on Amazon, inspired by similar patches founder Ju Rhyu discovered while living in Korea. Built by Ju Rhyu and co-founders Dwight and Andy Lee, the company grew from a niche offering to a cosmetics sensation, with teens and young adults across social media proudly wearing the patches. The viral popularity and word-of-mouth momentum led to a $630 million acquisition in 2022, establishing Hero as the number one selling acne treatment brand in the United States.

First customers: Amazon

Foam Party Hats is a novelty merchandise company founded by Grace and Manuel Rojas that creates custom foam hats for events and sports occasions. The company gained massive viral traction when Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore wore a custom cheese grater hat (a play on Green Bay Packers' cheese heads) during a post-game celebration that went viral with 2.2 million views, resulting in 10,000 orders in a week (~$500k in revenue). The founders appeared on Shark Tank and secured $100k for 25% equity.

First customers: Event and party bookings