Introduction

The Objective of this Article

As we finalize the development of the Koloka platform, a new challenge emerges: attracting users to our site once it launches. This article was conceived with that in mind. My goal is to explore various strategies to engage users, while seeking to understand the reasons why they might choose to use Koloka or not. As we approach the launch of our first version, it is crucial to understand the philosophy of Y Combinator: “Make something people want.”

Writing this article represents an opportunity for me to synthesize reflections, theoretical research, and hypotheses on which our development strategy is based. I am about to address key topics for launching a project: the classic chicken-and-egg problem in matchmaking platforms, growth hacking, strategic planning, and the vital role of recruitment. I hope this article will be a source of information for those who read it, just as it has been a personal enrichment for me in writing it. This document is an open window into our journey with Koloka, reflecting both the challenges faced and the strategies planned to overcome them.

As I write this article

We are nearing completion with Koloka; the project is entering its final phase of development. Three junior developers are working on it. The backend is about to be finished, with approximately 1 to 2 weeks of work remaining. Then, we will tackle the integration of the frontend design, a process we estimate will take 2 to 3 weeks. After that, a testing phase and fixing of last-minute errors will take another 1 to 2 weeks. At this point, our much-anticipated MVP will finally be ready.

To provide some context, our developers have invested approximately 650 cumulative hours into this project. In theory, if all three could work simultaneously and at a rate of 42 hours per week, this would represent about 5 weeks of non-stop work. There are still about 120 hours of work left, which brings us to a total of 770 hours, or the equivalent of 6 full weeks of labor. This is a perfectly reasonable timeframe for developing an MVP. However, it’s important to note that our developers are also in training and that Koloka is not their only project, which explains why the development has taken close to 9 months.

While this may seem long for a platform MVP, the duration is relative. If we had focused solely on Koloka, as in a classic startup, the launch could have been much earlier. But I am satisfied with the timing: this delay has allowed us to build strong bonds among ourselves, forge real friendships, and establish satisfactory project management. For more information on our approach to project management, especially on SCRUM, I invite you to read another article I have written here.

Regarding customer acquisition, we haven’t gone all out yet, but I will return in more detail to the actions already undertaken later in this article.

2. The First 100 Users

Why the First 100 Users?

The question of the first 100 users seems to be a kind of rite of passage in the startup universe. Why 100 and not 50, 287, or even 9000? The answer isn’t set in stone, but it’s a widely recognized milestone for which plenty of theoretical resources are available. Michael Seibel from Y Combinator, in “YC’s Essential Startup Advice,” emphasizes the importance of quality over quantity in a startup’s early days. He advocates for having a handful of well-targeted customers – those who are truly affected by the problem your product seeks to solve – rather than thousands of passive users (Seibel, 2017). This approach highlights the importance of the lessons learned from the first users, which is crucial for Koloka.

We aim to attract our first 100 users from people genuinely facing the challenge of finding a suitable roommate or accommodation. This approach aims not only to validate our value proposition but also to gather essential learnings. Reaching this first milestone of 100 users will also have a significant psychological impact on the team and on future users’ perception of the platform by providing social proof of its viability. It will mean that Koloka has started to create traction and therefore deserves 100% of our attention and efforts.

How This Initial Goal Shapes the Development and Marketing Strategy The goal of the first 100 users influences our approach to development and marketing for Koloka. By adopting a strategy that reflects the principles of Eric Ries’s “Lean Startup,” we focus on an iterative, user-centered approach (Ries, 2011). This involves continuously adjusting the platform’s development based on user feedback. Our plan is to actively collect feedback as soon as users interact with the platform, primarily through direct calls. This method provides direct and valuable contact with customers, allowing not only a deep understanding of their experiences but also the building of more personal and meaningful relationships.

From a marketing perspective, this specific objective guides our strategies towards more targeted and personalized actions. Building an audience and, subsequently, an engaged community around Koloka will be at the heart of our efforts. This gradual progression, aligning with the philosophy of growth marketing, is essential for establishing a loyal supporter base and fostering organic growth.

In summary, aiming for these first 100 users is much more than just a number; it’s a strategic milestone that guides our development and marketing. It’s about creating authentic relationships with our users and building a solid community from the start, all while following an agile and responsive approach inspired by the teachings of the “Lean Startup.”

3. Challenges

The Chicken and Egg Problem

When we started planning the launch of Koloka, a crucial question arose during discussions with my partners: in a marketplace platform like ours, who should we attract first? Those offering a place to live or those seeking one? In a bilateral platform like ours, supply and demand must coexist for the system to work. This doubles our challenge: it’s not just about attracting users, but two distinct types of users.

In deepening my research, I discovered that this challenge was well known and even named: the chicken and egg problem. I use the American term “Chicken and Egg problem” because I think it sounds cooler, and the majority of resources are in English. This problem, encountered and overcome by many startups that became successful companies, has been widely analyzed. The solutions adopted by these companies are accessible and can serve as a guide.

My goal now is to study how these companies solved this problem and to see how we can adapt these strategies to Koloka.

Tinder and the First 15,000 Users

The launch of Tinder, now famous for its millions of users, started with a clever tactic by Whitney Wolfe, its co-founder. She undertook a strategic trip across the United States, first targeting women in various sororities to encourage them to join the app. By explaining the benefits and appeal of Tinder, she succeeded in sparking their interest and converting them into users.

The second step in her strategy was to address the male fraternities, presenting them with an app already popular among young women in sororities around them. This approach effectively balanced the user base from the start. The result? Upon her return, Tinder had attracted 15,000 initial users.

Uber

Uber’s recruitment strategy begins with direct calls to black car drivers, and to attract the first passengers, they offer free rides in San Francisco. Word of mouth, which is their main sales driver, plays a key role in their initial growth.

Uber then targets markets where the demand for taxis exceeds the supply. They launch the app during periods of high activity, such as parties or major events, thus attracting a large number of customers quickly. This strategic launch, combined with a positive user experience, creates a virtuous circle of growth through word of mouth, allowing Uber to effectively establish itself in new markets.

Airbnb

In 2008, Airbnb started with a simple idea: beds and breakfasts for strangers. Facing the classic marketplace problem where owners wouldn’t sign up without visitors and vice versa, Airbnb innovated. They created a script to retrieve the emails of property owners on Craigslist and send them automated invitations to join Airbnb. This trick quickly allowed them to acquire 60,000 initial property owners, thus solving their initial problem.

Conclusion

By analyzing these three examples, as well as others not mentioned here, I observed several key points.

First, each of these companies started by targeting a specific type of users. Tinder focused on women, Uber on drivers, and Airbnb on apartment owners. Koloka, having similarities with Airbnb in the sector, leads us to a logical conclusion: it’s essential to initially focus on one side of the users – in our case, the service providers or the owners of shared accommodations. The idea is that by having a solid offer, it will be much easier to attract demand, thus creating a virtuous circle. James Reinhart, co-founder of thredUp, also emphasizes in a podcast the importance of focusing on supply when starting a marketplace (Reinhart, 2021)

Following this logic, it seems more strategic and impactful to address those seeking a shared accommodation by presenting them with a platform where 50, 100, or even 200 apartments are already listed.

Finally, the last point to take away from these success stories is the use of ingenious and innovative methods to gain notoriety. This naturally leads us to the next topic: Growth Hacking.

Growth Hacking

My goal in this article is not to delve deeply into the subject, as it would deserve an entire article of its own. But to quickly go over it and think about some ideas that could be implemented for Koloka.

What is Growth Hacking?

Growth Hacking is a marketing strategy focused on rapid and low-cost growth. It is particularly popular in startups, where resources are limited but innovation is paramount. Sean Ellis, who popularized the term, defines growth hacking as “a process of rapid experimentation across marketing channels and product development to identify the most effective, efficient ways to grow a business” (Ellis, 2010). The goal is to find creative methods to quickly increase the user base or revenues.

An example of growth hacking is Dropbox, which offered extra storage space for each referred user. This strategy significantly increased their user base without traditional advertising (Davies, 2018).

For Koloka

To attract shared accommodation offers on Koloka, I was inspired by Airbnb’s strategy. My plan is to directly contact people offering shared accommodations on other platforms, such as anibis or Facebook Marketplace. Following Airbnb’s approach, using a female profile could potentially increase the response rate by 50%. Additionally, I plan to use scraping techniques to automate the collection of contacts and sending of messages, thus increasing our efficiency. Finally, to further encourage owners to use Koloka, we are considering offering benefits, such as free access to the first 100 registrants to our future features.

These strategies will be integrated into strategic planning, which I will detail in the next chapter.

4. Strategy and Action Plan:

Now that we have explored various strategic avenues and deeply reflected on the purpose of our project, it is time to turn our vision into a concrete action plan. This plan is divided into several essential phases.

The first phase is dedicated to audience creation. We have already taken the first steps in this direction for Koloka. Antoine, a first-year student with skills in advertising and lead generation, has joined our team. Recruiting Antoine is part of our acquisition strategy, recognizing the need for an expert to propel Koloka forward. His first mission is ambitious but essential: to increase our Instagram account from 60 to 500 followers by the end of February. With an initial budget of 60 CHF, Antoine has already made significant progress, increasing the account from 60 to 205 followers without spending a dime. The goal behind this rapid growth is to forge a strong and impactful communication channel, with the aim of converting a large portion of our audience into potential users.

Antoine will also play a central role in managing our social media and online advertising campaigns. To measure the effectiveness of his actions, we will closely monitor key performance indicators: the number of new users coming from social media and ads, the number of views and clicks, the number of followers on Instagram, and the engagement percentage.

The second phase concerns the launch of Koloka. As soon as the platform goes live, and for the following two months, a series of targeted actions will be implemented to reach our goal of 100 active users as quickly as possible. These actions include presenting the platform to as many student associations as possible, collaborating with real estate agencies such as Immobilier 2000, actively searching for people posting shared accommodation ads, and infiltrating Facebook groups dedicated to shared accommodations.

We are also considering partnerships with higher education institutions, intensive use of advertising on Facebook and other platforms, SEO and SEA optimization, and engaging with professors to present Koloka during orientation days. Our strategy includes using mailing lists, leveraging all student association accounts, and resorting to paid advertisements on Google.

We will also explore direct methods such as sending targeted messages (cold emails and messages) to people who have posted ads on other platforms, and proactive interaction on social media, particularly Instagram and LinkedIn. The involvement of influencers and the creation of content for SEO through blogs are also under consideration.

In summary, our action plan for Koloka is dynamic and adaptive, aiming to build a solid and engaged user base, while establishing Koloka as a key platform for shared accommodations. Our success will depend on our ability to be innovative, responsive, and always focused on the needs of our users.

I requested Chat GPT to compile the list of actions I mentioned above with the associated timelines to make it easier to read. Here is the list below.

Immediate Actions (Ongoing until the end of February)

1. Audience growth on Instagram: Antoine increases followers from 60 to 500.
2. Social media and online advertising management: Antoine expands his role to other platforms.

Launch Actions (from the launch of Koloka and for the following two months)

1. Presentation to student associations: Maximize visibility among students.
2. Collaboration with Immobilier 2000: Establish a partnership with a key real estate agency.
3. Infiltration of Facebook shared accommodation groups: Actively interact to attract users.
4. Partnerships with educational institutions: Present Koloka in universities and high schools.
5. Intensive advertising on Facebook and other platforms: Launch targeted advertising campaigns.
6. SEO and SEA optimization: Improve Koloka’s online visibility.
7. Engagement at university events: Present Koloka to a young and connected audience.

Growth Hacking Actions (in parallel with the launch actions)

1. Direct contact on other platforms: Use a female profile to increase the response rate.
2. Automated scraping: Efficiently collect contacts and send messages.
3. Benefits for early users: Offer free access to upcoming features for the first 100 registrants.

Continuous Actions (after the launch phase)

1. Ongoing engagement on social media: Maintain and develop online presence.
2. Monitoring and adjusting advertising campaigns: Optimize campaigns based on performance.
3. Continuous partnerships and collaborations: Establish long-lasting relationships with key players.

These are the actions we will undertake to reach 100 users as quickly as possible. Of course, all our actions are directed and channeled by our initial vision: To become the reference platform for finding shared accommodations and roommates.

Conclusion

We have understood that the success of Koloka will rely on a mix of proven methods and growth hacking tactics. Antoine will expand our audience on Instagram, thus laying the foundations for an engaged community. Our future advertising campaigns, SEO refinement, and strategic partnerships will be the pillars of our platform.

Adopting growth hacking strategies, inspired by models like Airbnb, will be a turning point in Koloka’s growth. By actively contacting people on other platforms and automating this approach, we will maximize our opportunities to reach a broad and diverse audience. Offering benefits to early users will act as a lever, boosting interest and engagement.

However, beyond strategies and tactics, it is our ability to remain adaptable and maintain constant communication that will make us resilient in the market. The shared accommodation field is constantly evolving. Staying agile, responsive to user feedback, and open to changes will allow us to successfully navigate this changing environment.

Continuous communication is essential to link all our actions at Koloka. This communication, whether within our team or with our audience, reflects who we are and shows how much we care about our users. By keeping lines of communication open and effective, we will build a relationship of trust and loyalty with our users, which is very important for the success of an online community.

In conclusion, reaching the first 100 users of Koloka is not just a numerical goal for us; it’s a process where each step forward and every new lesson helps us improve our platform. We want Koloka to meet users’ needs, but also to anticipate these needs and respond to them effectively and attentively.

Koloka aims to be more than just an app. We are creating a community, a place where everyone can feel comfortable and heard. In developing Koloka, we are not just setting up a platform; we are creating a new way of living and sharing cohabitation.

References :

Bibliography :

• Seibel, M. (2017). YC’s Essential Startup Advice. Y Combinator. Récupéré de https://blog.ycombinator.com/ycs-essential-startup-advice/. • Ries, E. (2011). The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses. Crown Business. • Ellis, S. (2010). The Definitive Guide to Growth Hacking. Quicksprout. • Davies, J. (2018). Case Study: How Dropbox Achieved a 3900% Growth. GrowthRocks. Récupéré de https://growthrocks.com/blog/dropbox-growth-hack-case-study/.

Images :

• Images SquareSpace. (n.d.). Récupéré de https://images.squarespace- cdn.com/content/51355cb4e4b0e2ea417a7dc9/1366151535661- OS4Z72RWHNNPG56TY548/image_1.jpg?content-type=image/jpeg. • Knowband Blog. (2017). Récupéré de https://www.knowband.com/blog/wp- content/uploads/2017/08/Picture2.jpg.

YouTube :

• Stanford eCorner. (2021, 20 octobre). Solving the Chicken-and-Egg Problem [Vidéo YouTube]. Récupéré de https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_IH1nzMBhw&list=PL7Bvtgl7K5OXL8G4xQm8Y Hbl9P7HupKLs&index=9.

Tools :

• OpenAI. (n.d.). Chat GPT.