[SkyPuncher]

It’s also incredibly risky. You need a tipping point of people on the platform.

[andai]

If I recall correctly, the first version of reddit had an extra "username" field when admins submitted a post, to make it look as though the site had users.

[zerocrates]

Yes they famously did a fake-it-until-you-make-it strategy early on to present a false picture to early adopters of a more vibrant user base.