cold-start-problem

# The Cold Start Problem A framework for starting and scaling products that live or die by network effects — marketplaces, social apps, messaging, and collaboration tools — distilled from Andrew Chen's *The Cold Start Problem*. Use it to launch products that are worthless until other users show up, to sequence growth network by network, and to navigate the five stages: the cold start, the tipping point, escape velocity, hitting the ceiling, and the moat. ## Core Principle **Network effects start as a liability, not an asset.** Value lives in connections between users, and on day one there are none — the same force that makes a dense network unstoppable makes an empty one useless. You don't escape by launching to a market; you escape by building one tiny, complete, self-sustaining network at a time, solving its hard side first, then tipping adjacent networks with a repeatable playbook until the market follows. ## Scoring **Goal: 10/10.** Rate launch plans and growth strategies for networked products 0-10 against the principles below. Report the current score and the specific changes needed to reach 10/10. - **9-10:** Named atomic network with an instrumented magic moment, hard side solved first, repeatable tipping playbook, density/liquidity metrics, explicit ceiling and moat plan - **7-8:** Clear atomic network and hard-side focus, but tipping tactics are ad hoc or metrics still track totals over density - **5-6:** Network effects acknowledged, but the launch targets a ...