How to consistently go viral: Nikita Bier’s playbook for winning at consumer apps (co-founder of TBH, Gas, advisor, investor)

In this episode, Nikita Bier shares his experiences leading up to his significant successes in the consumer app space. He discusses his initial venture, Politify, which aimed to help voters understand financial impacts of political decisions. Although it went viral with 4 million users, Nikita realized his passion was in creating viral consumer products rather than selling to governments. This realization led to his pivot toward mobile consumer apps and the creation of Midnight Labs, where he experimented with various app concepts.

Nikita recounts the origin story of TBH, which involved recognizing a gap in the market by observing existing trends and user interests. Notably, the app capitalized on latent demand identified through an Arabic messaging app Saraha that went viral in the U.S. Despite the chaos of rapid growth, including server crashes, TBH successfully achieved a remarkable milestone by reaching number one in the app store in a few days and was eventually acquired by Facebook for over $30 million.

Following TBH, Nikita launched Gas, a new polling app aimed at teens, leveraging lessons learned from his previous ventures. He discusses how Gas quickly scaled, achieving $10 million in sales and 10 million downloads. He elaborates on the impact of design choices and market strategies in rebranding the app to foster a strong connection with its intended audience. Nikita also highlights the turmoil faced regarding a fraudulent human trafficking hoax aimed at Gas, which threatened the app's integrity but ultimately led to solidifying community support.

Nikita shares insights from his tenure at Facebook where he experienced the dichotomy of product management in a large company. He highlights how product management can often become detached from direct product influence and emphasizes the importance of designers taking charge of the product vision. His thoughts encapsulate a broader critique of the traditional PM role, identifying necessary organizational changes to instill creativity and innovation.

Throughout the podcast, Nikita offers practical advice for entrepreneurs on successfully launching consumer apps. Key strategies include focusing on creating immediate value for users (the 'aha moment'), understanding the unique dynamics of teen audiences, and utilizing innovative marketing strategies such as tailored social media campaigns to drive user acquisition. He stresses the importance of testing app features rigorously to ascertain what resonates with users while maintaining ethical considerations.