“utility is really what how you grow and that's like top of the funnel what people think about they don't think oh i want a fishing social network they think i want a tool to know where to go fishing”

Utility beats social as the top-of-funnel hook — even for social apps

Fishbrain started as a vertical social network but learned that 'join a fishing social network' doesn't drive app downloads — 'find out where the fish are biting' does. People search for tools, not communities. The community emerges once they're inside the utility. Positioning a social product around its utility value in acquisition, then revealing the community inside, consistently outperforms leading with the social angle.