Viral Playbook

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.

TBH was a viral polling app that allowed teens to give each other anonymous positive feedback. After 15 failed app launches over 4-5 years, Nikita Beer's team finally hit product-market fit with TBH, which reached 360,000 installs per day at its peak and was the #1 app in the United States within 9 weeks. The app was acquired by Facebook for over $30 million.

This is not a startup pitch but rather an interview with Ray Cao, Global Head of Monetization Product Strategy and Operations at TikTok, discussing how TikTok operates as a company, its culture, and strategies for success on the platform. TikTok is valued at over $80 billion with parent company ByteDance valued at over $200 billion, generating nearly $10 billion in advertising revenue. The conversation covers TikTok's unique culture principles like "context no control," their global product development approach, and insights on creating successful content and ad campaigns.

Rightly was a groundbreaking web-based word processor founded in 2005 by Sam Schalache and co-founders that pioneered real-time collaborative document editing in the browser. The product gained rapid traction after advertising on Google and being featured on TechCrunch, becoming one of the first points on the curve that demonstrated viable web-based office applications. Google acquired Rightly, and it became the foundation for Google Docs, which now has over 1 billion active monthly users.

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.

Pop Mart is a Chinese collectibles marketplace founded by Wang Ning in 2010 that grew from a single Beijing store to a $44 billion public company by 2024. The company monetizes designer toy blind boxes, with the LaBoubou character becoming a viral phenomenon after celebrity endorsements from Rihanna, BLACKPINK's Lisa, and other A-list figures, driving the stock from $7 billion to $44 billion in valuation within a year.

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.

GeoGuessr is a game where players guess random locations based on Google Street View imagery. Launched in 2013 by a Swedish software engineer as a side project, it grew slowly until the pandemic hit in 2020, when a paywall was introduced after Google increased API costs 14x. Revenue exploded from $467k in 2019 to $21M in 2023 with $11M EBITDA, driven by viral TikTok and YouTube creators, and now has 50M registered users and 50 employees.

Mad Realities is a media company founded by young creators (including a former NYU student) that produces original TikTok shows. In their first month, they launched multiple shows including "Buying Time" (14M views, 2M likes on one show with a $2,100 budget) and "Keep the Meter Running" (2.4M likes). The company demonstrates viral growth potential through organic TikTok engagement, though monetization strategy remains unclear.

Nikita Bier, who previously sold his viral high school app TBH to Facebook for $40-100 million, launched a new app called Crush designed to replicate that success with a monetization twist. The app uses a $6.99 weekly subscription ($28/month) model to reveal who voted for you in anonymous polls, and was geofenced to specific high schools in Georgia and Alabama. The app went viral within its targeted high school networks but faced controversy with rumors of misuse, leading to app store takedowns and rebranding efforts.

Tabs Chocolate is a DTC chocolate brand founded by young entrepreneurs (including Oliver and Jake, a University of Michigan freshman) that went viral on TikTok through a brilliantly executed ad campaign. The ad featured a college-age woman using suggestive copywriting and implications to market the product without explicitly stating its benefits, achieving 650,000 likes and generating approximately $500,000 in sales within a couple of weeks.

Miss Excel is a creator who went viral on TikTok teaching Microsoft Excel tips and tricks through entertaining short-form videos. After getting featured in major publications, she created a course business that now generates six figures per month with minimal overhead (just a $97/month Thinkific subscription and a virtual assistant). She's expanding into the full Microsoft suite and using paid ads to amplify already-viral content, with a goal to reach $1M/month in revenue.

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.

Bitcloud is an invite-only, blockchain-based social network that lets users buy and sell 'creator coins' tied to people's reputation and popularity. Pre-loaded accounts for the top 15,000 Twitter influencers with founder rewards (ranging up to $50k+) have driven viral adoption among early adopters, who report 5-10x returns in days. However, the platform currently has no withdrawal mechanism, causing skepticism about whether it's a long-term protocol or speculative bubble.

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.

Clubhouse is an audio-based social app in beta that exploded in popularity among Silicon Valley tech executives and VCs in early 2021. The app allows users to join audio rooms and either speak on stage or listen as audience members, creating a real-time conversation experience. Despite rapid viral adoption among tech elites, the founders expressed skepticism about its long-term viability as a business, comparing it to similar failed apps like Blab and HQ Trivia.

Bebo was a social networking platform launched by Michael Birch in January 2005 that achieved viral growth with a 3.5 viral coefficient, reaching 1 million users in just 9 days. Birch built Bebo by reapplying lessons from his previous viral success with Birthday Alarm, focusing on inherent virality through address book imports and photo sharing. The company raised $15 million and was ultimately sold to AOL for $850 million in 2008, though it faced challenges competing with Facebook's real identity focus and superior funding.

Hot or Not launched in 2000 as a simple photo-rating site and became one of the first viral web products, reaching 30,000+ IP addresses on day one and becoming a top-20 most trafficked website within two months. The founders stumbled into a sustainable freemium business model (converting 5-20% of users to paid dating features) that generated $10,000-$20,000+ daily revenue by the early 2000s, ultimately scaling to $6M in annual earnings before selling around 2008.

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.

VidHug is a one-time payment B2C platform that lets users create and share group video compilations for special occasions. After years of slow growth as a side project ($600-$1,000/month from 2018-2020), the COVID-19 pandemic triggered exponential viral growth as people couldn't celebrate in person. Revenue went from $1,000/month in February 2020 to six figures in April 2020, with daily active users growing from 250 to 80,000. The company was acquired by Punchbowl Networks in 2021 for an undisclosed amount.