Locket Founder: I built this app for my girlfriend and it took off! | Matt Moss | EP 363

Key Concepts

• Locket App: A social media application designed for sharing instant, private photos on a home screen, fostering connection with close friends and family.
• Viral Growth: The rapid and widespread adoption of an app, often driven by social media platforms like TikTok.
• Authenticity: A core value of Locket, emphasizing genuine connection and personal sharing over broad, performative content.
• User Retention: The ability of an app to keep users engaged and actively using the product over time.
• Monetization Strategies: Methods used by an app to generate revenue, including subscriptions and advertising.
• Gen Z/Gen Alpha Culture: Understanding the behaviors and preferences of younger generations in their social interactions and technology use.
• Locket Celebrity: A feature allowing select celebrities to share authentic photos with their superfans.
• Product-Market Fit: The degree to which a product satisfies strong market demand.
• Value Creation: The principle that commercial success stems from providing genuine value to users.

Locket: From Personal Project to Global Phenomenon

This summary details the journey of Locket, an app initially created as a personal gift that evolved into a global sensation, with a particularly strong resonance in Vietnam. The discussion features Matt Moss, the founder, who shares insights into the app's unexpected growth, its core values, and its future vision.

Genesis and Unexpected Global Reach

• Origin Story: Locket was not conceived as a startup. Matt Moss built the first version as a side project and a present for his girlfriend. The app's core functionality is a "tiny window on your home screen where a photo from someone you love appears instantly and quietly."
• Initial Launch (2022): The app was launched on New Year's Day 2022, with an initial focus on the US market.
• Viral Moment: Within the first month, Locket experienced explosive growth, going from a small beta test group to over two million sign-ups, largely driven by a viral moment on TikTok. This initial surge was global, not specific to any single region.
• Vietnam's Exceptional Embrace: While the initial growth was global, Vietnam emerged as a standout market. Over time, the app observed significantly higher user retention, faster user-to-user spread, and more frequent photo sharing from Vietnam compared to other regions. This trend became apparent about a year after launch, prompting the team to recognize something "special happening here."
• Personal Experience in Vietnam: Moss describes his first visit to Vietnam as an immersive experience, observing people using Locket in everyday life and gaining a deeper understanding of local culture and user behavior through interactions with his growing Vietnamese team. He notes surprising similarities in everyday life, such as enjoying coffee shops and clothing stores, despite the geographical distance.

Scaling and Strategic Development

• Stage 1: Rapid Scaling and Infrastructure: The initial phase involved managing a massive influx of users. Moss highlights how modern cloud technology has democratized scaling, allowing a small team to handle millions of active users with readily available tools, a stark contrast to the traditional need for large engineering teams.
• Stage 2: Recognizing Opportunity and Building Sustainability: This stage focused on solidifying Locket's unique position. Moss contrasts Locket with other social media platforms that have increasingly become entertainment products. Locket's focus remains on deepening relationships with a small circle of close friends (typically 10-30). The priority was to prove long-term user retention and build a sustainable product, rather than chasing fleeting hype. This validation was crucial before seeking significant funding and expanding the team.
• Stage 3: Long-Term Growth and Product Development: After forming the company and raising capital, the focus shifted to expanding the product and scaling for the long run, aiming to build the "best product for close friends and family."

Building Connections and Securing Investment

• Networking in Tech: Moss emphasizes the unique networking culture in the tech industry. He recounts how, as a young builder (16-18 years old), he was able to connect with prominent figures in the San Francisco tech scene through platforms like Twitter by actively building and sharing his projects.
• "Pay It Back" Mentality: A strong "pay it back" mentality exists among established tech leaders, who are often willing to mentor and advise passionate young individuals. The key is to demonstrate genuine passion and build something "genuinely new and interesting."
• Leveraging Early Connections: These early connections proved invaluable when Locket experienced its growth spurt. Having pre-existing relationships facilitated fundraising, with investors like Sam Altman initially connecting through a Twitter DM. This highlights the power of consistent effort and building a track record.
• TikTok as a Megaphone: TikTok is identified as a powerful tool for organic growth, surpassing Twitter in its ability to reach a broad audience without requiring a pre-existing follower base. The algorithm can effectively identify and distribute content that resonates with users, as demonstrated by Locket's initial video growth from 10 views to millions.

Core Values and Product Philosophy

• Authenticity and Close Connections: Locket's "bread and butter" is its emphasis on authenticity and connecting with close friends. This differentiates it from platforms focused on broadcasting to a wide audience.
• Value Creation: Moss echoes the sentiment that "in order to make money, you have to create value." He believes that commercial success is a byproduct of delivering genuine value to users, not the other way around.
• Product Simplicity: A key to Locket's success is its simplicity. The app focuses on doing one thing exceptionally well: facilitating intimate photo sharing. The future vision involves adding features that genuinely enhance connection without cluttering the user experience.

Monetization Strategies

• Active Monetization Decision: Locket made a conscious decision to monetize early, contrasting with a strategy of delaying revenue generation. This approach allows for greater control and strategic investment in growth.
• Lean Team and Scalable Technology: The company operates with a small team (10-15 people) by leveraging cloud technology and off-the-shelf monetization tools, enabling them to scale to over 20 million active users.
• Dual Revenue Streams:
  • Locket Gold (Subscription): A premium subscription service that Moss views as a "power user product," aiming for around 5% of users to subscribe. He notes a growing willingness among users to pay for such products.
  • Advertising: An ad business serves the remaining 95%+ of users who utilize the app for free. The development of a decent ad product has been achievable with a small team due to advancements in ad technology.
• Regional Monetization Differences:
  • US: Strong potential for scaling the ad business, with subscriptions remaining relatively stable.
  • Vietnam: A notable difference is the higher willingness of users to pay for subscriptions compared to other markets, even with potentially lower CPMs for ads. This creates a healthier revenue mix driven by subscriptions.

Cultural Insights and New Features

• Gen Z Behavior (Vietnam): Moss touches upon a perceived Gen Z behavior in Vietnam where users might capture chaotic but harmless moments (e.g., spilling a drink, a minor fall) and immediately share them on Locket before addressing the situation. This is attributed to the app's ability to create lighthearted, shareable moments that bring joy.
• Inner Circle Mentality in Vietnam: In Vietnam, users tend to accept friend requests only from their closest friends, treating Locket as an "inner circle" app. This is linked to a culture that emphasizes strong family ties and close-knit friendships, potentially more so than in some Western cultures where social circles might be more dispersed.
• Locket Celebrity Feature: Launched about six months prior, this feature allows select celebrities to share authentic photos with their superfans. The rationale is that the Locket experience of receiving an authentic, personal photo resonates with superfans, offering a more intimate connection than traditional social media. It's likened to a "digital meet and greet" or having a poster of an artist on your wall, providing a direct and personal line to fans. This feature is also seen as a safer space for celebrities to share content without the pressure of widespread commentary or hate comments.

Future Vision and Growth

• Definitive App for Close Connections: Moss envisions Locket becoming the definitive app for connecting with "best friends and family" as other platforms increasingly lean into entertainment and AI-generated content. The core human desire for closeness will drive this opportunity.
• Product Expansion: Future product development will focus on features that genuinely enhance connections with friends and family, ensuring each addition is meaningful and not just a tacked-on feature. New features are planned for launch in Vietnam in the coming months.
• Hiring and Collaboration: Locket actively seeks talented individuals, particularly young people with a passion for building. They encourage potential candidates to showcase their work rather than sending generic applications. The team is open to messages, emails, and calls from aspiring individuals.

Personal Impact and Lessons Learned

• Girlfriend's Usage as a Key Indicator: Moss's girlfriend, Ava, remains a crucial litmus test for new features. Her daily use of the initial app was a key indicator of its potential. Even now, her feedback and usage patterns are vital in determining the success of new developments.
• Staying True to Users: The lesson learned is to remain true to the core users and their needs, as they are the best indicators of what will work. The app still feels like building for one person at its heart.
• Fascination with Net New Products: Moss expresses a continued fascination with individuals who create "net new" products that users genuinely love, emphasizing the rare spark that makes such creations successful.

Call to Action

• Potential collaborators, employees, or those interested in Locket are encouraged to reach out to Matt's team with compelling work to showcase.
• Listeners are invited to download the Locket app and share their own Locket moments.
• Anyone with insights into creating "net new" products that resonate with users is encouraged to share their experiences in the comments.