Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 7, 2008

I think its helpful to think about two kinds of competition for distribution: acquisition competition and retention competition. For example, if any of the mobile ad networks gets major traction, they may become a dominant way that people discover new apps. Retention competition is how you get people to come back to your app.

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Lean Retention SEM 68

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 22, 2009

Ive spoken in some detail about a specific pivot that we went through at IMVU , when we decided to abandon the instant messaging add-on concept, and switch to a standalone instant messaging network. We went through another pivot when we switched again from instant messaging to social networking. June 23, 2009 9:55 AM LKsaid.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Agile 167

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 16, 2008

Facebook , LinkedIn , and other successful social networks have elevated this technique to a high art. I wrote about this challenge for iPhone developers, in an essay on retention competition : the battle over what icon the user will click when they go to the home screen. Have you struggled with engagement and retention?

Viral 140

Viral San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 140