Making Tech Headlines · Page 8
Startup panel considers the radical prospect of customers returning
· New York time
Two founders and a venture capitalist discussed gaining an early following and keeping it at TechCrunch Disrupt, TechCrunch reports. Their subject was customer growth beyond the idea that a startup must go viral to succeed. The distinction is practical for young businesses. Attention can introduce a product to people; continued use is a different question. A large initial audience does not automatically provide a durable relationship with customers. The discussion puts a less glamorous measure next to the excitement of discovery: whether people have a reason to return. A launch can be celebrated in one afternoon. Retention has the discourteous habit of requiring another afternoon, and then another. That does not make publicity worthless or establish a single growth formula for every company. It does challenge the assumption that a brief surge of visibility is itself the business model. For founders facing a crowded American technology market, the appeal of a viral moment is understandable. It promises a shortcut through the expensive problem of being noticed. But a company still needs something on the other side of that notice. The panel's central topic is what happens after the welcome party, when the balloons settle and the product must become useful enough to earn a place in somebody's routine.
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