Treat the paywall as the only honest product-market-fit test

Downloading proves curiosity, paying proves the promise was worth acting on - a weak paywall conversion doesn't automatically mean redesign the paywall, since the lie may have started in the ad, the store page, or the onboarding; the paywall is just where the user finally tells the truth.

5 Sept · Jake Castillo · Paywall & Onboarding · 2 min

Pick The Battlefield · 1 issue. Before building anything, choose a niche where creators outnumber brands, the format goes viral on its own, and the audience actually trusts who they follow.

Run your niche through four conditions before you build anything

A niche only supports influencer-led growth if it clears cheap creator supply, native content fit, viral-by-default formats, and audiences with real parasocial trust - three or four checks means build, zero or one means walk away.

15 Aug · 2 min