It was March 26, 2012, and Brian Armstrong was desperate.
YC apps were due in 3 days. Despite some close calls, he had no co-founder for his "PayPal for BTC" idea.
5 months later, Brian was still solo. But he did have a product, growing at 20%...per day!
How did he do it?🧵
YC apps were due in 3 days. Despite some close calls, he had no co-founder for his "PayPal for BTC" idea.
5 months later, Brian was still solo. But he did have a product, growing at 20%...per day!
How did he do it?🧵
The company, of course, became Coinbase. And Brian did find a co-founder later in 2012 (on Reddit!).
In the meantime, he pulled off an incredible debut - reaching thousands of users & $65K in transaction volume in 5 weeks.
Three lessons from the Coinbase launch👇
In the meantime, he pulled off an incredible debut - reaching thousands of users & $65K in transaction volume in 5 weeks.
Three lessons from the Coinbase launch👇
1⃣You aren't launching in a vacuum.
In summer 2012, interest in BTC was rising - but hacks/thefts were rampant.
Coinbase messaging played up the company's YC backing (which brought major cred) & Brian's fraud prevention background - which made it a more trusted alternative.
In summer 2012, interest in BTC was rising - but hacks/thefts were rampant.
Coinbase messaging played up the company's YC backing (which brought major cred) & Brian's fraud prevention background - which made it a more trusted alternative.
2⃣Find your people - and go where they "live."
Coinbase didn't debut with a TechCrunch feature or tweetstorm, but on Reddit, Tumblr, & direct to inboxes of crypto fans.
@garrytan recalled an early email offering him 0.05 in BTC - he had to create a Coinbase account to claim it!
Coinbase didn't debut with a TechCrunch feature or tweetstorm, but on Reddit, Tumblr, & direct to inboxes of crypto fans.
@garrytan recalled an early email offering him 0.05 in BTC - he had to create a Coinbase account to claim it!
3⃣Get users to do your marketing.
Coinbase's early promo? Refer a friend, and you both get 0.1 BTC. Users with big followings basically advertised for Coinbase, at a ~$2 CAC.
Claiming it required wallet creation, so users were unlikely to churn - they had experienced the magic!
Coinbase's early promo? Refer a friend, and you both get 0.1 BTC. Users with big followings basically advertised for Coinbase, at a ~$2 CAC.
Claiming it required wallet creation, so users were unlikely to churn - they had experienced the magic!
.@paulg's reaction to Brian's summer 2012 YC practice pitch says it all:
"Holy shit, is this the first time I've seen your presentation? That was really good." 😂
"Holy shit, is this the first time I've seen your presentation? That was really good." 😂
Read more in the first issue of my newsletter, Launched, which explores how consumer companies broke through the noise and found their early users!
I'd love to hear which company you'd like me to dig into next 🧐
readlaunched.substack.com
I'd love to hear which company you'd like me to dig into next 🧐
readlaunched.substack.com
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
