Internet Pipes
Seth Smith noticed a recurring pattern in conversations: people constantly asked her how she found all the cool information and trends she shared. After running Trends.co and joining A16Z as a venture capitalist, she recognized a genuine market need—people wanted to understand her discovery process, not just hear the findings.
Internet Pipes launched as a Notion-based book with accompanying videos and text content. The core thesis was simple: teach people how to use existing tools (Amazon, Wikipedia, Google, Ahrefs) like "pipes" to surface hidden data and trends. The product showed users how to make sense of massive datasets that already existed but were largely undiscovered by mainstream audiences.
The product gained traction through organic interest and word-of-mouth. Seth leveraged her existing audience and credibility from her work at A16Z and Trends.co. The straightforward value proposition—learn how to find trends yourself rather than relying on her—resonated with entrepreneurs, builders, and creators looking for competitive advantages.
Internet Pipes evolved beyond the initial book format by building community features and specialized databases. The Digits database, featuring 100+ "generation-defining statistics" (like the 2.5 billion people expected to experience hearing loss by 2050), became a signature offering. Seth incorporated user feedback through surveys asking community members about their favorite tools, which surfaced hidden gems like AskNature—a biomimicry resource that inspired product ideas.
Internet Pipes has grown to eight-figure annual revenue and maintains an active community. The platform combines educational content, curated databases, and community insights. Seth continues to appear on podcasts and share trend analysis, using the platform as both a revenue driver and a mechanism to validate emerging opportunities across industries—from hearing aids to psychedelics to AI applications in nursing and accounting.
- •The founder solved a problem she experienced directly, giving her deep credibility and insider knowledge that early adopters trusted more than external trend analysis.
- •By teaching the discovery process rather than just sharing findings, she created a defensible product that gave customers the ability to compete independently rather than remain dependent on her.
- •Leveraging existing audience from prior ventures (Trends.co, A16Z) provided immediate distribution that turned organic word-of-mouth into scalable traction without paid acquisition.
- •Building community feedback loops directly into product development ensured the platform evolved based on actual user needs rather than assumed ones, creating stronger product-market fit.
- •Positioning the platform as both a monetizable product and a live laboratory for trend validation created multiple revenue and insight streams that reinforced each other.
- 1.Identify a recurring question or inefficiency you personally encounter in your work, then build a product that teaches others your discovery method rather than selling them the output.
- 2.Start with a simple, low-fidelity version (book, Notion doc, or video series) to test if the core insight resonates before investing in platform infrastructure.
- 3.Actively solicit user feedback through surveys targeting a specific dimension (favorite tools, hidden resources, common frustrations) and incorporate the most surprising findings into your core offering.
- 4.Leverage any existing credibility or audience from previous work to seed initial adoption, then measure which customer segments engage most to guide product decisions.
- 5.Create complementary products or databases (like Digits) that serve as signature assets, making your platform more valuable while also generating validation signals for adjacent business opportunities.
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