How Pinterest, a Company that has Inspired the World for the Last 13 Years, Got its First Users

Morning Innovators 👋 This week (in less than 5 minutes!) we’ll explore…

🚕 How Pinterest, a company that has inspired the world for the last 13 years, got its first users
📰 All the biggest news stories in the start-up world
👀 Our 3 favourite start-ups to keep an eye on this week
🥣 How Tinder was able to pick up customers with ease by knowing their target audience to perfection
🥳 All the best job opportunities and events in the start-up world
📱A tool that enables you to manage every element of your freelancing business with ease

👆 The most clicked link in the last week’s newsletter was this job as Go To Market Operations and Strategy Manager at Monzo.

🚨🚨 HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT & OPPORTUNITY 🚨🚨

This week we opened applications for the very first annual ‘Innovators Uncensored Disruptors 100’, in which we award the 100 most disruptive Start-Ups for 2024 🚀

Applications close on January 15th 2024, open to all sectors and industries, apply here 🏆

Happy hustling,
Rich & Gary

How they got their early users? Pinterest, a platform designed to inspire users to explore their offline passions through images, has a unique growth story marked by strategic grassroots tactics and community engagement. Initially, the company struggled, stagnating at 3,000 users. Pinterest’s founder, Ben Silbermann, recognised the need to connect with users personally, so he targeted "power users" who shared his passion for the platform. This approach led to organising local meetups at boutiques, where attendees became key promoters, leveraging their community influence to spread the word.

The initial user base, largely craft enthusiasts, already belonged to well-connected communities, making it easier for word-of-mouth to propagate. Pinterest capitalised on this by launching the "Pin-It-Forward" campaign, which engaged influential bloggers to create themed boards and share Pinterest invites. This not only broadened Pinterest’s reach but also entrenched it in the DIY and handicraft community, transforming these bloggers from users into advocates.

Pinterest users take immense pride in their boards, which are reflections of their taste, creativity, and personality. This sense of ownership encouraged users to share their boards, organically promoting the platform and growing it to over 460m users!

Here's some ideas for how you can apply Pinterest's early growth strategies to your own start-up:

Identify and Engage with Power Users: Pinterest’s growth was fuelled by finding and engaging with users who were as passionate about the platform as the founder. For your business, identify these power users. They are often early adopters of your product or service and can provide valuable feedback. Engage with them through personalised communication, seek their input, and make them feel like a part of your company’s journey. They can become your most influential advocates.

Leverage Community Events for Grassroots Marketing: Silbermann’s strategy of organising local meetups can be emulated. Host or participate in community events relevant to your product. This not only helps in gaining direct feedback but also builds a loyal customer base that can spread the word organically.

Capitalise on Niche Communities: Pinterest tapped into crafts and DIY communities where users were already interconnected. Identify niche communities related to your business and focus your initial marketing efforts there. These groups often have a strong sense of community and high engagement rates, making them ideal for word-of-mouth marketing.

Collaborate with Influencers and Community Leaders: The “Pin-It-Forward” campaign showed the power of leveraging influencers. Partner with bloggers, social media influencers, or community leaders who resonate with your target audience. This can significantly amplify your reach and provide credibility.

Foster User Pride and Ownership: Encourage your users to take pride in using your product. For a tech product, this could mean customisable features or for a service, highlighting customer success stories. When users are proud of their association with your brand, they become natural advocates.

Utilise User-Generated Content: Pinterest users’ boards were a form of user-generated content that fuelled further sharing and engagement. Find ways for your customers to contribute content, whether it’s through reviews, testimonials, or creative uses of your product. This not only provides you with authentic marketing material but also boosts customer engagement.

Build Strategic Brand Partnerships: Just as Pinterest benefitted from brands using its platform for marketing, seek partnerships with established brands. These partnerships can provide exposure to a wider audience and can be a win-win for both parties.

Understand Your Unique Value Proposition: Pinterest stood out because it wasn’t just another social media platform; it was a source of inspiration. Clearly define what sets your product or service apart and make this your core message in all communications.

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🧠 Google’s AI chatbot Bard gets a big upgrade with Gemini, Google’s next-gen AI model
TechCrunch
Google Bard, the company’s generative AI chatbot and ChatGPT rival, is getting an update today that the company claims will significantly enhance its capabilities.

🖼️ Meta launches a standalone AI-powered image generator
TechCrunch
Not to be outdone by Google’s Gemini launch, Meta’s rolling out a new, standalone generative AI experience on the web, Imagine with Meta, that allows users to create images by describing them in natural language.

👰 Octopus ties knot with divorce start-up Amicable
UKTN
Octopus Money, the financial advice subsidiary of Octopus Group, has acquired a majority stake in divorce services start-up Amicable.

🧑‍💻 Science Creates to open third deep tech incubator in Bristol
UKTN
Deep tech incubator Science Creates has secured £8.5m to open a third facility in Bristol for spinouts operating in areas including quantum computing and bioengineering.

🏦 Revolut overtakes N26 and Klarna in spawning alumni founders
Sifted
Revolut has seen more former employees go on to found new start-ups of their own than any other private European tech unicorn.

Each week we’ll be spotlighting some of the most exciting start-ups you haven't heard of yet. This week we decided to look at some exciting marketplace businesses.

Publicist, founded in May 2020 by Lara Vandenberg, is a premium platform connecting brands and agencies with top-tier talent in communications, marketing, and creative industries. Offering a network of expert, vetted professionals, Publicist facilitates on-demand hiring for a range of projects – from short-term tasks to long-term engagements. Catering to a diverse clientele, including Fortune 100 companies, Publicist enables efficient, quality-driven collaboration and talent sourcing. It stands as a hub for both organisations seeking specialised skills and professionals showcasing their expertise, streamlining processes from hiring to project completion within its comprehensive service ecosystem.

Boomerang offers a cutting-edge lost and found service, utilising advanced technology to reconnect people with their lost items. Through a simple three-step process, users can submit detailed claims of their lost items, allowing Boomerang's continuous search technology to locate potential matches. The platform keeps users updated on the search progress and, upon finding a match, assists in streamlining the return process with its partners. Boomerang is dedicated to its mission of using innovative technology to solve the age-old problem of lost belongings.

Blayze offers an innovative coaching platform, providing personalized mentorship and training plans from professional athletes and coaches. Founded in 2019 by Dion, a former race car driver inspired by his childhood friend and two-time champion Ricky Taylor, Blayze's mission is to make high-level coaching accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or economic status. The platform dramatically reduces the cost of top-tier coaching, making it 99% more affordable and accommodating to the user's schedule. Initially focusing on motorsport athletes, Blayze has expanded its services to a wide range of sports and activities, including traditional sports and arts like music and dance, proving the effectiveness of personalised coaching in enhancing performance.

Want to see how incredibly efficient it is to truly understand your customers wants and needs? Look no further than Tinder. The people at Tinder knew how many singles there were out there looking for love, they also knew where these singles were hanging out, and that these singles will more often than not be looking at the most attractive person in the room.

So, knowing this, Tinder paid a bunch of attractive people to wear T-Shirts that read ‘Find me on Tinder’ and go out to the busiest bars. The people wearing the T-shirts would just go about their night normally, but if a single approached them to chat, they’d simply just point to the T-Shirt and say “You can talk to me on Tinder”.

This was brilliant, and incredibly efficient, because it enabled them to get in front of so many target customers without paying for wasted ads. Even of other singles didn’t approach the individual out of nerves or concern, they could just take a look for them on whatever this ‘Tinder’ platform was. They simply paid a few dollars for the T-Shirt and gave the single individual a few dollars and were able to acquire thousands of new customers from it - it was entirely scalable too!

How well do you know your audience? Could you utilise your audience in order to grow your audience and customer base?

As start-up founders ourselves, one of the areas we’re really passionate about is raising awareness of opportunities. If you’re not mixing in the right circles, it can be really easy to miss a pitch event, or job opportunity that could be game-changing for you. We’ve included a few upcoming events and opportunities below, but this is where we really want to leverage our community of innovators. Please reply to this email with any tips and opportunities you think we should be featuring.

💼 Job opportunities

💐 Digital Media Manager, Aura
🩹 Product Manager, Little Journey
💼 Full-Stack Developer, Inside

🎤 Events/Opportunities

If you missed it at the start of the email, here’s a huge opportunity…

This week we opened applications for the very first annual ‘Innovators Uncensored Disruptors 100’, in which we award the 100 most disruptive Start-Ups for 2024 🚀

Applications close on January 15th 2024, open to all sectors and industries, apply here 🏆

Our recent Christmas Gift Guide got over 14,000 views and sent 100s of customers to different Start-Ups, so you won’t want to miss this opportunity!

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The NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator are currently recruiting for their next cohort. The programme supports and empowers UK entrepreneurs to scale their businesses to the next level.

Their free Accelerator programme specialising in wrap around support and provides:
- one-to-one coaching with their experienced Acceleration Managers
- a programme of thought leadership and events
- access to a network of like-minded peers, supported by their Ecosystem Managers
- focused support with access to experts from across your specialism
- use of their modern co-working spaces in one of their nationwide hubs.

Each week we’ll be highlighting our favourite tools - either something we’ve been using in our businesses, or tools that our innovator community have recommended.

This week we’re highlighting Bonsai (no not the miniature trees). Bonsai streamlines business management by integrating various essential functions into one platform. It combines customer relationship management (CRM), invoicing, bookkeeping, and banking, catering to businesses of all sizes. Key features include contract management, scheduling, project collaboration, and time tracking, aimed at reducing administrative workload and enhancing professionalism. Users can manage clients effectively with a CRM system, organise projects with necessary documents and tasks, and collaborate easily with teammates and contractors. Their holistic approach to business management makes it an efficient solution for consultants and small businesses seeking to streamline their operations.

Next week we’ll be looking at how the world’s most famous video sharing platform started off as a failed dating app, how one company is able to get tens of thousands of eyes on their product by posting funny customer conversations, along with highlighting more great tools and start-up news.

P.S. Connect with us on LinkedIn…