YouProbablyNeedAHaircut.com

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Greg Eisenberg faced a common problem: he needed a haircut but salons were closed. His girlfriend, a data scientist, volunteered to cut his hair, but Greg was skeptical about her ability. His solution was simple but brilliant—why not have her get on the phone with his stylist Jabari in Brooklyn, who could guide her through the process in real-time? This personal need sparked an idea that would become one of the most viral projects of 2020.

Greg didn't just solve his personal problem; he recognized the opportunity and domain name potential immediately. When he discovered YouProbablyNeedAHaircut.com was available, he knew he had something special. As he told the interviewer: "I told my girlfriend, I was like, this will go viral." The service was straightforward: users visit the website, book a time slot, select their haircut type (men's or women's), and get paired with a professional stylist who coaches them through the process remotely. What made it work was understanding that viral success isn't pure luck—it's where "art and science meet."

Greg employed a dual-pronged strategy combining art and science. The art involved strong positioning, thoughtful design, and leveraging a TV personality and influencer with hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers to create promotional video content. The science was systematic distribution: he cold-messaged journalists via Twitter DMs, personally engaged with people on Twitter who were complaining about needing haircuts, and methodically worked media relations. He didn't shy away from the "trudge work" that most founders avoid. As he explained, he spent hours daily on Twitter identifying and reaching out to potential customers and media contacts, then measured what worked before scaling.

The platform experienced explosive growth, reaching millions of website visitors. It appeared on major media outlets including the Today Show, ABC, Fox News, and NPR. By the time the podcast aired, thousands of haircuts had been completed through the platform. What drove this success wasn't just the clever concept but Greg's willingness to invest in unsexy marketing work—cold outreach, relationship building, and consistent engagement. He treated marketing as R&D, testing channels and doubling down on what worked.

Greg moved on from YouProbablyNeedAHaircut.com to his next venture, Late Checkout, a community design studio. However, the lessons from this viral success shaped his philosophy: success requires understanding both the art of positioning and design alongside the science of systematic distribution. The project also led to unexpected partnerships, including one with Phillips Electronics after a Phillips executive discovered the service while in lockdown and began sharing it internally.