SUMMARY

Hunter Isaacson, a 25-year-old app designer, discusses building NGL, an anonymous Q&A app with 250 million organic downloads, and his new crypto trading app Bags, emphasizing viral design, intuition, and product focus.

STATEMENTS

• Hunter Isaacson started as an app designer and became a co-founder of major Gen Z social media apps.
• NGL is an anonymous Q&A app integrated with Instagram, achieving over 250 million downloads since 2022.
• NGL reached number one in over 150 countries without any paid marketing, purely through organic growth.
• Isaacson's companies have generated over $50 million in revenue in recent years.
• His first app, Leader, was a Gen Z version of Foursquare but failed due to overengineering and COVID restrictions.
• Zoom University, built during the 2020 pandemic, was a college double-dating app that went viral with hundreds of thousands of downloads.
• Wink, a make-new-friends app for Snapchat, achieved 60-70 million downloads by leveraging swipe mechanics.
• NGL was inspired by Instagram's 2021 link-sharing feature update, allowing broader access for posting links.
• Initial launch of NGL saw no traction for six months until a paid influencer post in New Zealand sparked virality.
• The Android app version was crucial for NGL's global scaling, addressing the Android-heavy user base in many regions.
• NGL's viral loop relies on users seeing friends post links on stories, sending anonymous messages, and then creating their own links.
• Onboarding for NGL was minimal: just entering an Instagram username, no login or authentication required.
• Monetization for NGL uses subscriptions with pricing adjusted by country GDP, ranging from $1 to $8 weekly.
• Premium features in NGL include hints about senders' locations and devices, helping users guess identities.
• Rapid virality caused scaling issues for NGL, including high API costs and delayed Apple payouts, requiring loans.
• The App Store operates as a meritocracy, with no unfair advantages, emphasizing product readiness before submission.
• Isaacson builds apps based on intuition for virality, focusing on frictionless onboarding and social sharing mechanics.
• Team composition for apps typically includes a technical lead, product designer, and growth specialist.
• Equity is split more evenly than usual to motivate team members, especially for on-call crisis response.
• Design principles include one central action per screen to reduce user distraction and confusion.
• Buttons in apps are made obvious with pulsing or wiggling animations to encourage taps.
• NGL's red, orange, and yellow colors were chosen to complement Instagram's icon and evoke appeal.
• The name NGL stands for "not gonna lie," resonating culturally with Gen Z for instant understanding.
• Isaacson handles full product design, including branding, color theory, interfaces, and copy.
• Bags is a consumer crypto trading app on Solana, allowing quick sign-up, Apple Pay funding, and social trading visibility.
• Bags features public trade feeds, leaderboards, and group chats to make crypto more social and accessible.
• Over 300,000 registered profiles on Bags, with focus on high retention when users fund accounts.
• Fees on Bags are 1% on trades, with most passed back to active traders to incentivize sharing.
• Isaacson bootstrapped Bags using revenue from NGL, viewing it as a long-term bet on mobile crypto.
• Early inspiration came from Steve Jobs, Brian Chesky, and Evan Spiegel, emphasizing product-focused leadership.

IDEAS

• Viral apps succeed by exploiting friend graphs, where one user's adoption spreads rapidly through overlapping social connections.
• Minimal onboarding, like just entering a username, removes barriers and accelerates user entry into the viral loop.
• Adjusting subscription prices by GDP ensures global accessibility, boosting adoption in lower-income regions like Asia and Africa.
• Anonymous messaging thrives because it provides social proof via friends' stories, making it feel safe and trendy.
• Proving product-market fit at a small scale, like one school, predicts global virality if the loop is strong.
• Android development is often overlooked in iOS bubbles but critical for markets outside the US and Europe.
• Intuition over validation works for viral products if prior successes inform the potential for organic growth.
• Pulsing buttons and animations add that final 5% polish, turning confusion into instinctive user actions.
• Crypto apps need social elements like visible trades to onboard newcomers who fear the technical complexity.
• Bootstrapping from a successful app allows focused bets on high-potential markets without dilution.
• Even equity splits motivate engineers for high-stakes scenarios like 3 AM crash fixes.
• Color choices should harmonize with platform icons to encourage seamless integration and taps.
• Naming apps with cultural slang like "NGL" instantly conveys value, reducing explanation needs.
• Rapid prototyping in Figma enables quick iteration from idea to launch in 3-4 weeks for simple apps.
• Scaling virality requires hitting a critical mass threshold, like 1,000 daily users, to permeate networks.
• Premium hints in anonymous apps cleverly balance privacy with engagement without backlash.
• Autopilot revenue from mature apps funds ambitious pivots into emerging fields like consumer crypto.
• Friend graphs extend beyond direct connections, leveraging mutual overlaps for exponential spread.
• Designing for human perception over logic ensures intuitive experiences that delight users.
• Embedded wallets in apps simplify crypto entry, bypassing traditional exchange hurdles for retail users.
• UGC marketing on CPM basis scales content creation efficiently for bootstrapped products.
• Studios test multiple ideas but should pivot to all-in focus on winners for maximum impact.
• Public trade visibility in crypto apps turns trading into a social game, copying successful friends.
• Localization, including translations and pricing, drives virality in non-English speaking regions.
• Anticipation loaders and confetti build delight during delays, priming positive user emotions.

INSIGHTS

• True virality emerges from designed loops that leverage social proof, turning one user's curiosity into network-wide adoption without marketing spend.
• Simplicity in onboarding isn't just user-friendly; it's a viral accelerator, as frictionless entry exposes users to the sharing mechanic immediately.
• Global success demands localization beyond language—tailored pricing ensures inclusivity, preventing exclusion in diverse economies.
• Intuition honed by failures outperforms rigid validation for social products, where unpredictable human behavior reigns.
• Android's dominance in emerging markets reveals iOS-centric biases, underscoring the need for cross-platform thinking in true scale.
• Even equity fosters loyalty in high-pressure tech teams, aligning incentives for sustainability during chaos.
• Psychological cues like pulsing buttons exploit distraction-prone attention, guiding users without overt instruction.
• Cultural naming resonates deeply with demographics, embedding the app's purpose in everyday slang for instant relatability.
• Social transparency in crypto demystifies complexity, making abstract tech feel like a communal activity.
• Bootstrapping enables bold, undiluted bets, preserving vision in nascent industries like mobile-first blockchain.
• Product readiness before App Store submission honors the meritocratic ecosystem, minimizing delays in momentum.
• Human expectation alignment trumps perfect logic; intuitive flows create perceived excellence over engineered precision.
• Embedded social features in finance apps bridge isolation, fostering learning through observable peer behaviors.
• Autopilot maturity in one venture funds exploratory risks, balancing stability with innovation.
• Small-scale proofs, like school activations, scale predictably if friend graph dynamics are mastered.
• Premium anonymity tools enhance engagement subtly, revealing just enough to spark curiosity without eroding trust.
• Design CEOs prioritize experience over code, elevating products through holistic, user-obsessed iteration.

QUOTES

• "And we did all 250 million downloads with no marketing, zero dollars, 100% organic."
• "My companies have done over $50 million in revenue over the last few years."
• "NGL is an anonymous Q&A app. So it allows you to essentially post a link on your Instagram story... people will tap the link, open up a web page, they can send you messages anonymously."
• "This was my eighth app actually."
• "We had a 7 to 1 girl to guy ratio on a dating game."
• "Wink... did probably 60 or 70 million downloads."
• "For 6 months nobody used it... until it went viral."
• "We never paid for marketing again."
• "It's a really really good viral loop."
• "The app store is a pure meritocracy."
• "I'm probably one of the best people at Figma in the world."
• "I like to keep every page with like one central action because I think that people are easily distracted especially young people."
• "People want things to work the way they assume that they should work."
• "You have to be obsessed."
• "Reality trans surfing is probably one of the most impactful... that actually changed my life three years ago."
• "I've been in crypto for a long time since 2017."

HABITS

• Start building apps young to gain experience through repeated failures and iterations.
• Prototype ideas quickly in Figma, focusing on viral loops before engineering begins.
• Validate virality by targeting small groups like schools to observe organic spread.
• Maintain minimal onboarding, requiring only essential inputs like usernames.
• Design one central action per screen with obvious, animated buttons to guide users.
• Adjust pricing and features for global audiences based on economic and cultural contexts.
• Bootstrap new projects using revenue from successful prior ventures.
• Surround yourself with a small team of technical, design, and growth experts.
• Split equity evenly to ensure team motivation during crises.
• Study successful apps by reverse-engineering screens and flows collaboratively.
• Seek unique knowledge from ancient philosophy and mindfulness for creative mindset.
• Iterate on performance intensively before marketing, especially for data-heavy apps.
• Use intuition from past successes to select ideas with high viral potential.
• Localize apps fully, including translations, to penetrate international markets.
• Read biographies of product-focused CEOs like Steve Jobs for inspiration.
• Practice manifestation through books on law of attraction to fuel entrepreneurial vision.
• Build cross-platform from the start to avoid limiting growth in Android-dominant regions.
• Focus on user psychology, aligning designs with intuitive expectations.

FACTS

• NGL achieved 250 million downloads organically since 2022, topping charts in 150+ countries.
• Isaacson's apps generated $50 million in revenue by age 25.
• Zoom University hit top 10 in social networking with a 7:1 female-to-male ratio.
• Wink app reached 60-70 million downloads via Snapchat integration.
• Instagram's 2021 link feature change enabled NGL's concept, previously limited to 10,000-follower accounts.
• Initial NGL marketing cost $5,000-$10,000, leading to 1.5 million daily downloads at peak.
• Android app launch unlocked NGL's growth in Android-heavy regions like New Zealand and Australia.
• NGL subscriptions vary from $1/week in low-GDP countries to $8/week in the US.
• Bags app launched in November 2023, now with 300,000+ registered profiles on Solana.
• Crypto market: Bitcoin rose from $1,000 in 2017 to $20,000, then crashed to $5,000.
• App Store payouts delay revenue by 60 days, causing cash flow issues during virality.
• Isaacson built his first app at 18, now on his eighth by 25.
• NGL translates to every language, driving massive adoption in Asia, Middle East, and Africa.
• Bags enables memecoin buys in 60 seconds via Apple Pay.
• Phantom wallet bridged crypto to normie users, influencing Bags' social approach.
• Isaacson held Bitcoin through 2017-2022 cycles without selling.

REFERENCES

• NGL app (anonymous Q&A for Instagram).
• Leader app (Gen Z Foursquare-like location game).
• Zoom University app (college double-dating during COVID).
• Wink app (make-new-friends via Snapchat swipes).
• Ask FM (early anonymous Q&A platform).
• Yik Yak (school-based anonymous social app).
• Musicly (acquired by ByteDance for $1 billion).
• Bags app (consumer crypto trading on Solana).
• Figma (design tool for prototyping interfaces).
• Firebase (backend for app data and analytics).
• AWS (alternative cloud backend).
• Xcode (Apple's iOS development environment).
• TestFlight (Apple's beta testing tool).
• App Store Connect (Apple's app submission platform).
• Mixpanel or Amplitude (user analytics tools).
• Cursor (AI coding environment).
• Swift (iOS native programming language).
• React Native (cross-platform app framework).
• Shopify (sponsor for e-commerce tools).
• Netsuite (sponsor for ERP and AI guide).
• Reality Transurfing (spirituality book by Vadim Zeland).
• The Elon Musk Biography (by Ashlee Vance).
• The Secret (manifestation book by Rhonda Byrne).
• Steve Jobs keynotes and philosophy.
• Brian Chesky (Airbnb CEO, Stanford podcast).
• Evan Spiegel (Snapchat CEO).
• Nikita Bier (app builder strategy).
• Blake Anderson (portfolio app holder).

HOW TO APPLY

• Identify a platform change, like Instagram's link feature, that opens new viral channels for social apps.
• Brainstorm ideas leveraging friend graphs, ensuring the core mechanic encourages sharing within networks.
• Mock up the entire flow in Figma within a week, prioritizing the viral loop and minimal onboarding.
• Assemble a small team: designer (you), technical lead for engineering, and growth person for outreach.
• Build the iOS version first for quick testing, then rapidly develop Android to cover broader markets.
• Launch MVP in 3-4 weeks by scoping tasks modularly and iterating via builds and QA lists.
• Test virality at small scale: pay micro-influencers ($50) to activate one school or group.
• Monitor Firebase graphs for geographic spread; pivot if thresholds like 1,000 daily users aren't hit.
• Implement simple onboarding: one input field, no logins, to get users sharing links immediately.
• Add pulsing buttons and one-action screens to guide distracted young users intuitively.
• Localize pricing by GDP and translate to all languages for global penetration.
• Introduce subscription premiums like sender hints, testing without alienating free users.
• Handle scaling fires: secure loans if needed, negotiate API bills during payout delays.
• For crypto apps, embed wallets with Apple Pay for 60-second onboarding to memecoins.
• Create social feeds showing friends' trades, leaderboards, and group chats for communal learning.
• Bootstrap from prior revenue, focusing on performance before UGC marketing ramps up.
• Split equity evenly to motivate 24/7 commitment from engineers.
• Reverse-engineer competitors' screens on whiteboards to refine your flows.
• Use intuition from past apps to bet on organic growth over paid validation.
• Read inspirational books like Reality Transurfing to manifest vision amid doubts.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Master viral loops through intuitive design and social proof to build globally scaling apps organically.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Prioritize frictionless onboarding to hook users instantly and fuel organic sharing.
• Target Android early if aiming for international markets beyond affluent iOS regions.
• Use cultural slang for app names to achieve immediate demographic resonance.
• Design with one clear action per screen, enhanced by animations, to combat user distraction.
• Localize everything—pricing, languages—to unlock adoption in emerging economies.
• Bootstrap ambitious projects from passive revenue streams for undiluted focus.
• Build teams with balanced skills and even equity to weather high-stakes launches.
• Test small-scale virality in contained networks before global pushes.
• Align designs with user expectations for intuitive delight over complex logic.
• Embed social transparency in finance apps to educate and engage newcomers.
• Iterate prototypes rapidly in tools like Figma for quick market validation.
• Study product-focused leaders like Jobs for holistic experience emphasis.
• Implement adjustable premiums that enhance core value without user backlash.
• Monitor friend graphs closely to predict and amplify spread thresholds.
• Read manifestation literature to sustain entrepreneurial tenacity through failures.
• Focus on performance metrics before marketing to ensure reliable scaling.
• Create affiliate links for users to monetize referrals naturally.
• Reverse-engineer successful apps collaboratively to innovate flows.
• Embrace meritocracy in app stores by submitting polished products.
• Bet on mobile-first innovations in evolving sectors like consumer crypto.

MEMO

At just 25, Hunter Isaacson has already reshaped Gen Z social dynamics with NGL, an anonymous Q&A app that exploded to 250 million downloads without a dime in marketing. Born from a simple pivot on Instagram's 2021 link-sharing update, NGL lets users post story links for anonymous messages, replies shared publicly to spark curiosity. Isaacson, who started designing apps at 18, learned through failures like his overengineered Foursquare clone, Leader, which fizzled amid COVID lockdowns. His breakthrough came with intuition-driven virality: a loop where friends' stories provide social proof, pulling users into sending messages and then posting their own links. This organic mechanism, proven in micro-tests like activating high schools, scaled globally once an Android version addressed overlooked markets, hitting 1.5 million daily downloads at peak.

Isaacson's path underscores a designer's edge in app-building. Self-taught via trial and error, he obsesses over psychology—pulsing red buttons evoke urgency, one-action screens banish confusion, and colors harmonize with Instagram for seamless taps. NGL's success, generating over $50 million in revenue through GDP-adjusted subscriptions ($1-$8 weekly for sender hints), wasn't luck but engineered: six months of dormancy ended with a $50 influencer post in New Zealand, igniting the friend graph. Scaling pains followed—API bills soared, Apple's 60-day payouts forced loans—but autopilot now funds his next bet. As a Figma virtuoso, Isaacson handles branding to copy, proving solo vision can outpace teams in early stages.

Pivoting to crypto, Isaacson launched Bags in 2023, a Solana-based trading app blending social media flair with finance. Users fund via Apple Pay, buy memecoins in 60 seconds, and follow friends' public trades on leaderboards and group chats—demystifying blockchain for newcomers. With 300,000 profiles, Bags emphasizes retention through visible peer wins, passing most 1% fees back to influencers. Bootstrapped from NGL, it counters traditional exchanges like Coinbase by prioritizing mobile ease over decentralization dogma. Isaacson sees crypto's future as social and app-store bound, especially post-regulatory shifts, positioning Bags as an accessible entry for the crypto-curious amid memecoin frenzies.

Yet Isaacson's philosophy transcends tactics: start young, fail fast, manifest boldly. Inspired by Steve Jobs' product obsession and books like Reality Transurfing, he advocates even equity splits for loyal teams and intuition over endless validation. Social apps like NGL thrive on seasonal re-engagement via ever-looping stories, while Bags layers community on trading to build lasting habits. In a meritocratic App Store sandbox, he warns against half-baked submissions, urging focus on human perception—designs that feel instinctively right delight more than flawless code.

This blend of grit and insight positions Isaacson as a Gen Z archetype: ambitious, user-obsessed, unafraid of big bets. As apps evolve toward AI-augmented interfaces, his Figma mastery hints at broader impacts. NGL's endurance—100 million annual downloads—shows viral designs age well if rooted in social truth, while Bags bets on crypto's retail renaissance. For aspiring builders, Isaacson's arc is a blueprint: harness networks, simplify ruthlessly, and let loops do the heavy lifting.