First 1000

First 1000 is a Substack focused on exploring strategies that founders have employed to acquire their first 1000 customers, discussing various aspects of startup growth tactics, including design, pricing, user experience, marketing strategies, and the power of storytelling in building customer bases.

Startup Growth Strategies User Experience Design Pricing Strategies Marketing and Conversion Tactics User Engagement Storytelling in Business Product Design and Testing Social Proof and Influence

The hottest Substack posts of First 1000

And their main takeaways

8 naming strategies ✍️

1592 implied HN points • 16 Jan 24
💼 Business
  1. Mashups can create new names by merging two words together.
  2. Play on words involves creatively using spelled terms to describe a product.
  3. Paying tribute by naming a company after someone or something significant adds meaning.

🧪 Positive friction

943 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
🕹 Technology User Experience Onboarding
  1. Positive friction adds value and effort to user experience simultaneously.
  2. Positive friction can improve retention in various aspects like streaks and onboarding.
  3. Introducing positive friction strategically can benefit users and businesses in areas like registration, purchasing, and core app functions.

Gamification Product Manager @ Duolingo

432 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
💼 Business Product Management Mobile Gaming
  1. The job at Duolingo for a Gamification Product Manager requires experience in mobile gaming and a proven track record.
  2. Candidates should have a strong background in In-App Purchasing (IAP) and/or subscription growth.
  3. The ideal candidate should display qualities of being candidate and kind.

📷 Ring: boring can be good

1631 implied HN points • 22 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Design
  1. Boring designs can be effective in getting people to take action.
  2. Sometimes immersive or flashy designs can actually be distracting.
  3. In certain situations, simplicity or 'boring' designs can work better than elaborate ones.
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Headway

943 implied HN points • 05 Oct 23
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Testing simple things can be valuable.
  2. Utilizing social proof on landing pages can be effective.
  3. It's not always necessary to go against the grain.

💻 Zoom

1513 implied HN points • 13 Jul 23
🕹 Technology UX UI Product Management
  1. In UX design, smart defaults can be very powerful.
  2. Sometimes, a design that looks slick and communicates well may not perform as well as another in tests.
  3. Don't underestimate the impact of smart defaults in design choices.

🚗 Uber One: Information Hierarchy

805 implied HN points • 07 Sep 23
💼 Business Product Design
  1. Uber recently tested two designs for their subscription page, and design A performed better than design B.
  2. Information hierarchy is crucial on a page; our eyes move from the most important information to lesser details when making decisions.
  3. Design differences in information hierarchy can impact user engagement and decision-making.

📰 Techcrunch

452 implied HN points • 19 Oct 23
💼 Business Media Startup Tech industry Acquisition Entrepreneurship
  1. TechCrunch's journey started with a personal blog and grew into a media giant through credibility and breaking big tech news stories.
  2. TechCrunch rode the wave of the Web 2.0 era, evolving from a research tool into a significant news outlet.
  3. The pivotal moment for TechCrunch was breaking the accurate story of Google acquiring YouTube, leading to a surge in subscribers and solidifying its position in the tech media industry.

🚗 Waze

1041 implied HN points • 28 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Community Data Mobile Apps Acquisition
  1. Let the 1% help you build, they're probably more willing than you think
  2. Reward the 9% for their efforts, they just want to know they'll be recognized
  3. Make the 90% feel something, sometimes emotion is more powerful than utility