How to Build a Waitlist to 100k+

MrBeast’s Strategy: "How I Grew the Fastest TikTok on Earth" ft. Rohan Kumar

In this episode, we sit down with Rohan Kumar, the strategist who led MrBeast’s TikTok to become the fastest-growing account three years in a row. He’s now advising brands and startups on how to break through the noise with moments that actually stick. Rohan walks us through how he went from a COVID-era college grad pestering Colin & Samir weekly to running content strategy for one of the biggest creators on the planet, what he learned posting hundreds of videos before finding a playbook, and why most brands are still approaching TikTok completely wrong. We get into the real mechanics of virality: the single image you want stuck in people’s brains, why manufactured moments beat creative briefs, how he pulled off a live 8-hour Kevin from The Office stunt for Ramp, and why giving creators “creative control” is mostly a cop-out. If you’re a CMO, founder, or marketer trying to figure out what actually works in 2025, this is the playbook. Subscribe to stay in the know with consumer trends and marketing. Timestamps: ]6:09 — How Rohan got started in the creator economy post-COVID 07:28 — Annoying his way into Colin & Samir (and why it worked) 08:30 — Getting introduced to Jimmy and joining MrBeast 10:17 — Learning TikTok from scratch: 100 videos, run the data, iterate 11:24 — Making Jimmy feel like a TikToker + why brands still aren’t trying right 16:49 — Why brands need to be inside the community, not above it 17:39 — Breaking down the Ramp x Kevin from The Office live activation 22:03 — The “image in the brain” theory: designing content to get clipped 26:37 — Streaming, clipping, UGC: Innovator’s Dilemma for creators 30:00 — Why influencer marketing needs moments, not just creative briefs 33:03 — CMO advice: post daily, nail your hooks, budget reality check This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playkit.substack.com [https://playkit.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Organic v Influencer: How This Founder Grew to $100k ARR in 3 days, ft. Andrew Monreal

In this episode, we sit down with Andrew Monreal, founder of Arrow and Scratch AI, to break down how he grew multiple consumer apps using organic TikTok, product-led virality, and influencer distribution. Andrew walks through exactly how Arrow hit 100K users with slideshow content, why most founders focus on trends instead of building marketable products, and how Scratch AI scaled quickly using influencer-owned distribution. They dive into the real differences between organic vs influencer growth, how to design app UI that doubles as marketing, and why “posting first, building later” can save months of wasted work. If you’re building a consumer app (or thinking about it) this episode is a tactical breakdown of what actually works in 2026. Timestamps 00:00 — Why you should post before you build 10:42 — Discovering TikTok slideshows 14:26 — Why faceless content is dying 22:11 — Designing UI for virality 26:01 — Validating ideas with content 27:50 — Surviving organic highs + lows 32:09 — Pros & cons of organic growth 34:29 — Scratch AI + influencer strategy 43:22 — Creators building products This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playkit.substack.com [https://playkit.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The System Behind 10M+ Views/Week

How to Build & Scale a UGC Program (Without Burning Out) UGC doesn’t fail because creators are bad. It fails because the operating system behind it is broken. In this webinar, Julia Pintar (Co-Founder of PlayKit) breaks down exactly how to go from zero → one with an in-house UGC program and how to scale it into a sustainable growth channel that actually drives downloads. This session is less about “viral hooks” and more about the systems that allow virality to happen consistently. What You’ll Learn How to source high-quality UGC creators (without marketplaces or cold spam) Why most UGC programs break after week two — and how to prevent it The exact pay structure PlayKit uses to incentivize performance (flat rate + CPM + tiers) How to train creators so content improves every week Why reviewing videos before they go live saves thousands How to use the comment section as a conversion engine What realistic performance looks like in weeks 1–6 When (and how) to scale from a few creators to a full UGC machine The internal systems PlayKit uses to manage 150+ creators without chaos Key Takeaways UGC is an operations problem, not a creativity problem Clear briefs, feedback loops, and incentives outperform “letting creators run wild” Sustainable growth beats random viral spikes Community, accountability, and systems compound over time Who This Is For Founders running (or thinking about running) UGC for their app Growth marketers tired of manual creator management Teams trying to bring UGC in-house without losing their sanity Anyone who’s tried UGC and thought: “Why is this so messy?” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playkit.substack.com [https://playkit.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

How to Build a Waitlist to 100k+

In this episode, we sit down with Zehra Naqvi, founder of Lore, the internet’s home for obsession. Before launching a single feature, Zehra and her team built a waitlist of over 100,000 users, generated 215M+ organic views, and grew a 14,000-person Discord community, all by rallying Gen Z around one shared frustration: the internet is broken for fandom. We get into everything from why TikTok’s algorithm has a “short memory,” the exact strategies behind Lore’s viral TikTok and Twitter moments, why leading with the problem (not the solution) built insane trust, and how their Discord quietly became a cult-like community that now powers the product itself. If you’re a consumer founder, marketer, or anyone thinking deeply about the future of social media, fandom, and community-led growth, this episode is a masterclass in building something people feel emotionally invested in before it even exists. Subscribe for more episodes delivered straight to your inbox 00:00 — Going Viral Before Launch How Lore went viral on Twitter in its first week and what happens when you move fast on shared frustration. 00:11:49 — The Power of Starting With the Problem Why Lore’s earliest content focused only on frustration, not features or product demos. 00:13:38 — “We Are You” as a Brand Strategy How shared pain points create trust, camaraderie, and community faster than any feature launch. 00:15:00 — Why Most Founders Market Too Early The mistake of pushing solutions before trust, and why Lore avoided it. 00:18:42 — The Waitlist Strategy (100K+ Signups) How Lore tested fandoms, rode cultural moments, and scaled organically. 00:21:26 — 215M Views Without Hard CTAs Why curiosity beat conversion tactics, and how to subtlety drive massive signups. 00:25:58 — UGC Over Influencers Why Lore chose everyday fans over big creators, and why that mattered. 00:30:46 — The Discord Flywheel Adding a Discord button to the waitlist → 14,000 members → organic fandom governance. 00:31:36 — Letting Users Build the Community Fandom requests, voting systems, mods, and self-sustaining culture. 00:38:19 — The Future of Social Media Lore as the antithesis to curated personas and infinite feeds, and what comes next. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playkit.substack.com [https://playkit.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

2026 IRL Playbook: How Apps REALLY Win On Campus

In this episode, we sit down with Lillie, co-founder of Ditto, the app often described as “Pinterest meets your Notes app.” After scaling major skincare brands as a marketer, Lillie pivoted into building consumer social: raising capital, launching Ditto, and now running one of the most ambitious campus ambassador programs in tech. We get into everything from how Ditto is reinventing social media and why Gen Z needs a new way to share online, to the exact playbook behind Ditto’s IRL college launches. Lillie breaks down their three-school pilot, what they learned from literally living on campus for a week, how to build a campus “cult,” and why most brands fail at college marketing. If you’re a consumer founder, a marketer, or anyone building for Gen Z, this episode is a masterclass in IRL activations, student psychology, and modern distribution for consumer apps. 00:01:18 — Who Lillie Is & Ditto’s Mission From scaling brands → raising money → building a more authentic social app. 00:06:20 — What Ditto Actually Is How a breakup + a Notes app list led to a viral moment and the idea behind Ditto. 00:10:02 — Why They Chose TikTok as the First Channel The “single-player to multi-player” insight and how TikTok unlocked Ditto’s early users. 00:11:39 — Why Campus? Why Now? Identifying Ditto as a “best-used-in-groups” product and the strategy behind going IRL. 00:13:15 — Ditto’s Pyramid Strategy Top: TikTok & reach Bottom: campus evangelists & tight friend groups How the two meet in the middle. 00:14:30 — How Ditto Designs Events That Actually Convert The 4 pillars of campus strategy: events, ambassadors, guerilla marketing, content. The North Star: create a cult. 00:16:15 — Why Most College Events Don’t Work The trap of “pretty but useless” activations (free coffee, beer pong, merch) that don’t drive retention. 00:17:04 — Product Education: The Secret Ingredient How Ditto used a giant LED screen to display live user lists and create “magic moments.” People competing to get on the screen. Viral content moments. Actual retention. 00:19:02 — What Actually Drives Retained Users Why small group talks and genuine connection outperform high-budget parties and stunts. 00:20:19 — How to Test Campus Events the Right Way Pick 3 experiments. Do each one exceptionally well. Then evaluate. 00:21:53 — Becoming an Insider: The Ditto House Why Ditto lived on campus for a week: classes, libraries, coffee shops, observing behavior, throwing house parties. Not scalable, but priceless insights. 00:24:12 — Lessons From Going All-In How being physically present built trust, loyalty, and brand obsession — and why other apps failed when they “tried campus.” 00:29:42 — Why Most Apps Say “We Tried Campus, It Didn’t Work” Debunking what “trying” actually means — and why most companies quit too early. 00:31:04 — If You’re a Founder Starting an Ambassador Program… The 3 steps: * Define your hypothesis * Pick acquisition channels * Run tiny but high-quality experiments 00:33:38 — The #1 KPI for Ditto: Build a Cult How they measure brand desire, DMs, applications, referrals, merch-wearing, and UGC. 00:34:06 — What’s Changing for Semester Two Scaling from 40 to 300+ ambassadors, shifting from hand-picked to flexible open applications. 00:36:01 — The Many Types of Ambassadors Why guys are joining, how students spread the app through clubs, Greek life, and fantasy leagues. 00:37:38 — Building an Ambassador Engine Referral links, flexible tasks, payouts, and turning ambassadors into community. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playkit.substack.com [https://playkit.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]