Ask HN: Solving chicken and egg problem

[pascalchristian]

How do you solve chicken-and-egg problem especially for web 2.0 apps requiring hard traction (and many users) to function (e.g. date site, marketplace, etc)?

I have an idea for a collaborative/shared marketplace for a niche product (think airbnb, but for other niche) and is currently building a prototype, but is confused on how to get the very early user for the site to function. I know how user #1 experience is crucial and how del.ico.us was started as a personal bookmarking site, but how does airbnb, craiglist, and many social site gain traction?

Many thanks for the help.

[jacquesm]

One way to get past this (it worked for 'reddit') is to fake a bunch of accounts and stop sleeping for the first three months or so, until you have enough real 'eggs' and chickens to keep real ones interested.

The way I got past it on ww.com is to launch the site from a mailing list that was already 'on topic' so a large number of people decided to try it out at once and found each other.

[pascalchristian]

that has not crossed my mind.. still it's unbelievably difficult though..

[mixmax]

Check out Strategy Letter II: Chicken and Egg Problems by Joel Spolsky. It has some good thoughts on the problem.

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000054.html

[pascalchristian]

wow thanks. I'm reading it now.

edit: i've done reading it and it seems that the solution is to provide some sort of backward compatibility so you would have a user base or (software base) on day 1. so essentially if i want to start a date site, i should flirt with random girls on the street on behalf on requests from the internet as a backward compatibility?

[maxdemarzi]

You need to either:

1. Tap into existing communities that would be a good fit for your product that are already using other processes for transactions...

2. Provide some utility to the eggs (or the chickens) that doesn't require the other party.

3. Spend money on advertising to both sides.