During our weekly Community Hours, makers often ask us about what they can do to keep up the pace post-launch day. One option? Momentum campaigns. Check out how VEED.IO drove upwards of 3K new trials and a 15% increase in traffic by partnering with Product Hunt. š
Onto todayās Digest:
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Fizz, a new social network for college students that requires a .edu address (is thisā¦ The Facebook?) is joining the legion of teen and Gen Z-focused apps generating big buzz and getting mad funding.
Like other youth-targeted apps such as Saturn, SLAY, and Gas (acquired by Discord), Fizz is attracting notable investment, including ā according to a source for TechCrunch āĀ a recent injection of $25 million in Series B funding (at a valuation Fizz CEO Rakesh Mathur has declined to make public).
Why are investors so keen on social networks for teens and students, despite the lack of early revenue, or challenges like regulation, content moderation, and child safety?
Virality drives cheaper growth: āFor every social app Iāve ever built, [the] number of invitations sent per user drops 20% for every additional year of ageāfrom 13 years old to 18,ā says Nikita Bier, the founder of Gas and advisor to the team at Saturn. āSo if you build for adults, expect to pay to acquire every user with ads.ā
Anonymity puts content over authorship: Sunny Xun Liu, Associate Director of Stanfordās Social Media Lab, believes a lot of Fizzās appeal is owed to its Reddit-esque anonymous posting format, which āpermits open discussions on a wide range of topics, from āsex to drinks to drugs to which classes to come toā on campus.ā
Localization for IRL experiences: Co-founded by Stanford dropouts Teddy Solomon and Ashton Cofer, Fizz was originally only available to Stanford students. Today, itās on 80 campuses across the US and āaims to expand to 250 schools by yearās end.ā Liu reckons Fizzās sustained connection to the activities taking place IRL on physical campuses also adds to its allure.
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