
## The big idea

In the early days of building a product, focus on building strong connections with small group of people to solicit meaningful feedback and drive network effect growth.

## Your product's success relies on trust

When building something new, it's natural to set your sights on hitting massive growth numbers.

[Dunbar's Number](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar%27s_number) suggests that sustainable growth starts smaller than you might think - with a close-knit, trusted network. This social theory, from British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, suggests that we can maintain stable social relationships with around 150 people at most.

But within that 150, there's almost always a much smaller core audience that truly drive connection, influence, and impact.

In the early stages of building a product or service, these core people are your foundation. They're the first to test, trust, and tell others about what you're doing. Nurturing this group can create a network effect that sets you up for growth.

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## What it means for your product

Most people talk about Dunbar's number in terms of 150, but the power lies in close-knit groups of 50. These 50 people are your advocates, your early adopters, your most vocal supporters. For product builders, focusing here first creates a foundation that grows beyond one-time use or sporadic engagement.

<Image
  publicId="newsletters/dunbars-number-and-network-effect/dunbar-illustrated"
  alt="Dunbar's number"
/>

1. **Quality over quantity**: Building a strong network starts with a core group of advocates. These 50 people are your most engaged users, the ones who will spread the word and bring others in.
2. **Network effect**: When you focus on building a strong core group, you create a network effect that drives growth. These advocates bring in others who trust their recommendations, creating a ripple effect.
3. **Sustainable growth**: By nurturing your core 50, you create a foundation for sustainable growth. These advocates will stick with you through changes and challenges, helping you build a strong, resilient network.

My advice is to _build with your core 50 in mind_. Focus on creating a product that meets their needs, listens to their feedback, and adapts to their preferences. By doing so, you'll create a network that grows naturally, sustainably, and with trust at its core.

This is why many startups begin with a _friends and family_ launch. It's a great way to get blunt feedback from people who _care_ about you and your success, and who can be trusted to give you honest feedback.

---

### Applied science of Dunbar's Number: Gore Industries

Gore, the company that makes of GORE-TEX, applies Dunbar's number by limiting the size of its factories. When a team hits 150 people, they spin off a new group. Each group operates independently with its own R&D, production, and sales teams. This approach keeps teams close-knit, engaged, and highly collaborative—key to their success.


### Building on the Network Effect
Nurture Your Core 50: Focus on building meaningful relationships with your first 50 users. They are the heart of your network, and their enthusiasm will drive momentum. Treat their feedback like gold, and respond to their needs directly.
Create a Product of Substance: Deliver on your promises to these early adopters, listen actively, and adapt. A strong, attentive foundation encourages your core group to bring others in naturally.

---

## Now, go do the thing

**For your product:** Build with compassion and responsiveness. Turn your initial 50 users into advocates so they bring their own circle along.


**It's Election Day:** Influence your Dunbar network. Encourage the people you know best to vote today - your voice has power, especially in small circles.

---




Dunbar's number: focusing on your core supporters for network effect growth

Applied science of Dunbar's Number: Gore Industries


At the beginning of my career, I worked in Microsoft's consulting organization. Every week, I would travel to a customer's office somewhere in North America to help them solve their technical problems. Apart from _knowing a little javascript and css,_ I had no real business being there.

I was fresh out of college, and facing the challenge of being _Microsoft's Expert on [whatever]_ in front of the CIO of a Fortune 500 company.

No joke: my first project was rebuilding Dell dotcom from scratch, and I was the _lead_ frontend developer because I was the only one in the room who had heard of jQuery.

So -- I was the expert, and they were paying for my expertise. Which was a problem, really, because I didn't have any.

Nonetheless, any time I had a problem I couldn't solve on my own, I had the _entirety_ of Microsoft's 100k+ employees at my disposal, and I definitely used them. I would send out emails to internal mailing lists, getting advice from brilliant devs in charge of building windows. The responses I got were always helpful, and I learned a ton.

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Fast forward 7 years, and I was leaving Microsoft to work as technical director at a code [Gymnasium](https://thegymnasium.com), the best damn online code school for creatives looking to dip their toes in the cool waters of web development.

I would be using completely new tools - going from .net and C# to Django and Python - and from a _massive_ network of people to a crack squad of just 5, where I was the only developer.

Suddenly I was an astronaut in a space station, cut off from the world. I had no one to ask for help, no one to bounce ideas off of, no one to tell me when I was doing something stupid.

I was on my own.

It didn't take long for me to realize that **developers have a unique advantage:** most of our peers are _chronically online_. The most knowledgeable people **in the world** are at your fingertips, as long as you know where to look.

From forums and blog posts to open-source projects, there is no shortage of places to find answers and learn. For me, the key to truly benefiting from this wealth of information came from active participation and engagement with the developer community.

It can do the same for you -- but you're gonna need to put yourself out there.

Here's 3 things you can do _right now_ to get started:

### Join a community

Whether it's a local meetup, a Slack channel, or a forum, find a community of people that you can engage with. This is a great way to meet like-minded people, share knowledge, and get advice.

### Give helpful feedback

When you're starting out, it can be intimidating to contribute to open-source projects or forums. But remember, you don't have to be an expert to provide valuable feedback. By giving constructive criticism and suggestions, you can help others improve their work and learn in the process.

### Keep an eye on trends

The tech industry moves fast, and it's important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies. This doesn't mean you have to _use_ every new tool or framework that comes out, but having a general understanding of what's happening in the industry can help you make informed decisions about your own work.

## The Pavlovian Power of constructive engagement

Someo of the best career advice I ever received is from pal Thomas: give and receive feedback in good faith, and you'll find yourself surrounded by people who are willing to help you grow.

This means being honest, respectful, and open to new ideas. It means being willing to admit when you're wrong, and to learn from your mistakes. It means being generous with your time and knowledge, and being willing to help others when they need it.

The inverse of this is all too common online - I'd wager to say that the vast majority of reddit, twitter, and youtube comments are people who are _not_ engaging in good faith. They're there to tear down, to belittle, to make themselves feel better by making others feel worse.

I'm sure you've seen and felt that, and it _sucks_ -- but it also means that when you come correct, you will really stand out.

It's a simple concept, but it's incredibly powerful. By engaging with your community with constructive, meaningful, and thoughtful feedback, you'll build a powerful reputation for yourself. You'll find yourself learning along the way, too.

Before long, you'll be the one people come to for advice.

---

## Helpful links from around the web

- I published the second in a series of videos on [Using Posthog to solve my conversion rate problem](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaX8NeEhowU&t=1s) - and I'm stoked to say that after seeing the first video, Posthog is sponsoring Tiny Improvements and the next few videos I'm putting together. Give it a watch and let me know what you think!

- Over at APIs You Won't Hate, we published a great little tutorial on [pagination basics for APIs](https://apisyouwonthate.com/blog/api-design-basics-pagination/). It's a great primer on how to structure your API responses to make them easier to work with.

- My pal Andrew Peacock has been doing a great job of building his product for woodworkers in public. You can follow along on his journey on YouTube. his latest video talks about an important milestone: he [finally launched his MVP](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0ryiXiSvVg)


How to source and use expert knowledge for your work

The Pavlovian Power of constructive engagement


Learning is an infinite game. You can't win or lose, you can only keep playing. As a founder and a builder, you will regularly find yourself needing to quickly and efficiently learn new skills.

I graduated from UConn in 2009 with dual engineering degrees: one in Computer Science, and one in Mechanical Engineering. The first field of study was a no-brainer: since my first days of high school, I loved writing code and building software. Studying Mechanical Engineering was more of a misguided whimsy - my dad had a long career as a mechanical engineer, and thanks to him I developed a love for classic american cars. I studied mechanical engineering thinking I might want to get a job in the automotive industry.

Fast forward 14 years (my god!), and I've never worked a day as a mechanical engineer... until last week.

At [Craftwork](https://craftwork.com), we recently signed on to a project that has us painting the same type of door many, many times. The doors are made of metal, and we'll be painting them with a spray gun. However, we can't get paint the latch mechanism, so we need to mask it off. We could do this by hand, but it would take a long time.

We have... hundreds of these doors to paint. Maybe thousands. Each with the same latch mechanism that needs to be masked off, and then unmasked after painting.

Enter 3D Printing.

It's the _perfect_ tool for this job. We can design a simple mask in CAD, and then print it out. We can print as many as we need, and adjust the design as needed.

The only problem? It's been, uh, 14 years since I've done any 3D modeling, and I've never done _any_ 3D printing.

In the span of about 10 days, I went from knowing nothing about 3D printing to having a working prototype of a mask that we can use to paint these doors. I quickly researched a number of critical topics, including:

- which 3D printer to buy
- the latest in 3D modeling software
- how to design for 3D printing
- the difference between various 3D printing materials

...all while working on a number of other projects, and in addition to the complexity of the actual problem we're trying to solve (painting these doors).

<Image
  publicId="newsletters/learning-is-an-infinite-game/onshape"
  alt="Screenshot from CAD software Onshape"
  caption="I used a tool called OnShape to design the mask. It's a fully browser-based tool. Insane!"
/>

This is not to say that I'm a particularly gifted engineer, or a brilliant 3D-print...ist. Instead, I think the important nugget here is something that I've learned over the years: **learning is a skill**, and as a founder, you need to be good at it.

Here are some tips that I've picked up over the years that have helped me learn new skills quickly and efficiently:

## 1. Learn from the best resources you have access to

You don't need to reinvent the wheel. There are people out there who have already done what you're trying to do, and they've probably written about it.

When I was learning about 3D printing, I found a number of great resources that helped me get up to speed quickly. From previous passing interests in 3D printing, I knew of a few youtube channels that ended up being super helpful. Thanks to my schooling, I also have a cadre of _actual_ mechanical engineers who I can rely on for advice (shout out to Sean, James, Andy, & Mike - y'all are the true MVPs here). I consulted my dad, who spent 40+ years doing CAD and mechanical engineering. I read tech reviews, and I read the documentation for [the 3D printer I ended up buying](https://us.store.bambulab.com/products/x1-carbon-combo).

My point is this: you don't need to go it alone. Find the best resources you have access to, and learn from them.

## 2. Learn by doing, and act quickly

I'm a big believer in learning by doing. I've found that I learn best when I'm working on a project that I care about, and I'm learning the skills I need to complete that project.

While researching for my project, there were many opportunities along the way to take what I was learning and _use_ it to make progress on my project. I could have spent more time researching, but time spent researching is time not spent building.

## 3. Learn from your mistakes

You're going to make a lot of mistonks -- and every one you learn from makes your understanding of the world around you that much more accurate.

I iterated on the design for our painting mask 5 times before I got it right. In 3D Printing, that means I'd spend some time modeling the mask, and then wait a few hours for it to print out. I'd then test it, and see what worked and what didn't. I'd then go back to the drawing board, and make changes to the design.

<Image
  publicId="newsletters/learning-is-an-infinite-game/prototypes"
  alt="A series of 5 prototypes for the mask on my desk"
  caption="I iterated on the design for our painting mask 5 times before I got it right."
/>

One thing that struck me during this process is how similar modeling & printing are to debugging software. The main difference is that debugging software is virtually _instant_ gratification - you can make a change, and see the results immediately. With 3D printing, I'd have to wait hours to see the results of my changes. It requires more patience, and a deliberate approach to getting things right.

In the end, it's looking like this project is going to be a success. These 3D printed masks will do the trick for this project, and the skills and techniques I've learned will be useful for future projects, whether directly or indirectly.

Perhaps most importantly, this was another mega-deep dive into something new, and I'm better for it. I'm also deeply grateful to my wife, who saw me disappear into my office for hours at a time, and put up with me staring into the middle distance as I thought through the next steps in the process. She's a saint.

tl;dr: learning is a skill, and as a founder, you need to be good at it. Part of building something new is taking decisive action quickly, and learning _quickly_ from experts in the field. Take what you learn, turn it into applied science, and iterate quickly. You'll be amazed at what you can accomplish.

**Now, it's your turn** - have you found yourself going down the rabbit hole for something new recently? I wanna hear about it! Hit reply and let me know what you're learning about, and how it's going.

---

## More filament extruded from my brain

(It's a 3D printing joke. I'll stop.)

- 🎙️ In the latest APIs You Won't Hate podcast, I [caught up with Danny Sheridan from Fern](https://apisyouwonthate.com/podcast/catching-up-with-danny-sheridan-from-fern/) to talk about the incredible tooling they're building for generating API clients and documentation from OpenAPI specs.
- 📰 [Craftwork was featured by Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucerogers/2023/11/17/craftwork-out-to-modernize-home-services-market-scores-6-million-seed-round/), and I still can't believe it. I'm so proud of the team we've built, and the work we're doing to make home services better for everyone. What a journey so far - and we're just getting started.




Learning is an infinite game

1. Learn from the best resources you have access to


Last week, I went to VidCon - the annual summit for video creators, which was in in Anaheim, California. It was my first time as a creator at the event. Though most of my published work is in written format rather than video these days, it was an exceptional experience.

As part of the creator track, I attended a number of panels and workshops. I also had the opportunity to meet with a number of creators and industry professionals.

Here are my top takeaways from the conference:

## Everybody's people, and people are amazing

I was _shocked_ at how many YouTubers / TikTok...ers, and other creators I met who were just... hanging out in the convention center in Anaheim and happy to talk shop. In particular, my wife Natalie and I had a wonderful conversation with Nick Cho, who you may know better as [Your Korean Dad](https://www.youtube.com/@yourkoreandad). Not only was he happy to be approached, but he was also incredibly kind and generous with his time.

He gave some great advice about building a fanbase. He starts every video with "I'm your Korean Dad!", which is an unexpected and memorable way to introduce himself. His videos are also very personal, and he's not afraid to be vulnerable.

He also has a very clear mission: to be a father figure to his audience.

Nick was kind enough to spend 5 or so minutes giving Natalie feedback on her channel [Primary Focus](https://youtube.com/@primaryfocus), and bid us farewell with an unexpected "please keep in touch!" -- an absolute class act.

## Stop plastering your logo on everything

I also went to a talk by [John Green](https://www.youtube.com/@vlogbrothers) and his DFTBA colleagues Brandi Jessup, Sierra Schultzzie, Fraize, and Brandi Jessup, where they talked about the intention and strategy they put into designing and selling physical merchandise for their fanbases. The top nugget here: the best things they sell to their fans are high quality products that don't _scream_ "I'm a fan of this thing". They rarely have a brand name or logo on them, and they're often subtle references to the in-jokes or memes that their fans love.

Stop designing t-shirts with your logo on them, and start designing _things_ that your fans will love because they make them feel like they're part of a community.

---

## Tools and feature launches for creators and community builders

Many of the sessions I attended at VidCon were focused on how to build and foster community, both tactically and technically. Here are a few of my notes that I wanted to share:

### Patreon support for digital goods and free membership tiers

[Patreon launched free membership tiers](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/21/23763815/patreon-free-tier-shopping-digital-goods-subscription) -- which sounds like something that should have _always_ existed. It's a great way to offer your community members an inside look at your process, and to upsell them to a paid tier when they're ready.

They also added support for selling digital goods - like ebooks or exclusive downloads - which makes it even easier to offer your community members something of value.

### An acronym as a tool for marketing

[The AIDA Model](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDA_(marketing)>) is a helpful tool for brainstorming and structuring a marketing strategy. The acronym stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action: these are the steps which people tend to go through when deciding to make a purchase.

### The indexifembedded keyword

Here's a quick and hyper-specific SEO tip for my all my fellow web-building dudes: the [indexifembedded](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots-meta-tag#indexifembedded) keyword can be used to tell Google to index a page if it's embedded in another page in an iframe. This is particularly useful if you want to mark a YouTube video as unlisted on your channel, but still have it show up in search results when embedded on your website.

---

This all has me thinking quite a bit about the role video plays in my life - I would love to find more time to share stories and learnings from my startup journey in video format. I'm not sure what that looks like yet, but I'm excited to explore it.

If you want to follow along, you can subscribe to my YouTube channel [@mikebifulco](https://www.youtube.com/@mikebifulco).

<br />


Takeaways from VidCon's creator track

Everybody's people, and people are amazing

Tools and feature launches for creators and community builders

Patreon support for digital goods and free membership tiers

#community: 4 posts tagged

Dunbar's number: focusing on your core supporters for network effect growth

How to source and use expert knowledge for your work

Learning is an infinite game

Takeaways from VidCon's creator track