Ah, another tech solution to a social cold start problem.
LinkedIn's value is that everyone is on it. Even super secretive Apple employees - Apple couldn't force them to delete their stuff. Talk about a powerful network effect. Just start browsing, see for yourself: https://www.linkedin.com/company/apple/people/
LI's value is not in the UI, not in the features. Just like FB, YT, WhatsApp, etc - they took off while no one else did, not because better tech, but by hitting a virality inflection point.
This is a hard problem to solve, people like Nikita Bier are the equivalent to rocket scientists in that area. And while they can launch a viral app for teenagers, the "easiest" early adopter group, repeatedly and flip it for cash - they can't figure out how to crack LinkedIn.
Think of it as a virus/pandemic problem. Who are the super spreaders that pull in the rest of the normies? What is the initial value for THEM to join in the first place? I can tell you that a special social network for Doctors, publicly listed now, had to give their initial cohort of docs STOCK in the company to be on the platform. Talk about dilution...
So, sorry, forget about the shiny UI. How do you infect and take over the LinkedIn host? They fight scraping left and right.
Personally I am so happy to work in enterprise SaaS...so much easier than the above :)
Couldn’t agree more — this is definitely a cold start + network effects problem at its core. We’re under no illusion that we can out-network LinkedIn by being shinier or faster.
You nailed it: their true moat isn’t tech, it’s scale and inertia. Everyone’s on it, even if they hate it. That’s what makes it both frustrating and interesting to challenge — not because it's easy, but because it’s overdue.
We’re not trying to beat LinkedIn at their own game (at least not yet) — we’re focused on solving one painful wedge: helping people actually stand out and get discovered without shouting into a noisy feed or spraying cold applications into the void.
If we can win on that one slice of user need (especially among early-career folks, designers, PMs, indie hackers, etc.), we believe there’s room to build up a meaningful alternative, piece by piece. Small, high-signal networks that grow from the edge rather than trying to eat the core from day one.
Appreciate the thoughtful challenge — these are exactly the conversations that keep us grounded and ambitious at the same time.
LinkedIn's value is that everyone is on it. Even super secretive Apple employees - Apple couldn't force them to delete their stuff. Talk about a powerful network effect. Just start browsing, see for yourself: https://www.linkedin.com/company/apple/people/
LI's value is not in the UI, not in the features. Just like FB, YT, WhatsApp, etc - they took off while no one else did, not because better tech, but by hitting a virality inflection point.
This is a hard problem to solve, people like Nikita Bier are the equivalent to rocket scientists in that area. And while they can launch a viral app for teenagers, the "easiest" early adopter group, repeatedly and flip it for cash - they can't figure out how to crack LinkedIn.
Think of it as a virus/pandemic problem. Who are the super spreaders that pull in the rest of the normies? What is the initial value for THEM to join in the first place? I can tell you that a special social network for Doctors, publicly listed now, had to give their initial cohort of docs STOCK in the company to be on the platform. Talk about dilution...
So, sorry, forget about the shiny UI. How do you infect and take over the LinkedIn host? They fight scraping left and right.
Personally I am so happy to work in enterprise SaaS...so much easier than the above :)