Coconote · B2C · AI note-taker for students
Keep a small team of 10-12 part-time creators, led by a proven one
Lead creator drove hundreds of millions of views; founders say it worked
Workedcreator-opsugc-creators
What they did
'Navy SEALs, not the Navy': at most 10-12 content creators, all part-time contractors with freedom over what they make. A creator with hundreds of millions of views (Alison) leads a group of contractors, so the lead has the team's respect. The founder interviews every creator (decision within 15-30 minutes). Content coaches (1 per 12 creators) review content and walk creators through metrics. Screening pyramid: wants to win (engaged in Slack, on time, camera on) -> can study other content and predict which videos went viral with view counts hidden -> can create original scripts and trends. Creators split roles by strength (on-camera vs editing) and sit in Slack with engineering.
What happened
Lead creator Alison did hundreds of millions of views; the team produced the brand's viral videos
In their words
The Superwall Podcast · Brett Bauman & Zack Hargett - COPY this ai app's $6.7m/yr marketing strategy“we wanted to build, you know, the equivalent of the Navy SEALs, not the Navy, and so we've always kept the content team quite small.”
“make sure that whoever's leading your content team has the respect and kind of admiration of the team overall.”
“Could I start to show you videos, and hide the view count and the likes and everything, and you start to identify whether or not you think that video went viral, and why?”
“At this point, I interview every person, every creator that we work with”
Related topics
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More from Coconote
All 31 Coconote tactics- When people cancel, offer 7 more free days instead of a discountSaved 25% of cancellers; beat a 30% discount and a 3-month pause
- Double onboarding to ~15 screens with more questions and social proof+16% trial starts
- Ask people to log in after the paywall, not on the first screenBiggest onboarding win; removed ~10% drop-off
- Charge students $99/year and push the annual plan~80% chose annual
- Launch a viral 'PDF to brain rot video' side site to funnel users~41M views on one video, but no paying users; shut down
- Raise the annual price from $99 to $129More users and more revenue at the same time
More from this episode
- Coconote: Build a novelty free tool (text to brainrot video) and push it on TikTok100-200M views and 3,000 trials in days, but only ~$25K revenue
- Coconote: Post short videos that show the app solving a real student problemSeveral ~20M-view videos, ~99% organic, converting far better than viral novelty content
- Coconote: Mix a known game (2048) with studying and promote a catchy URL in videosOne video reached ~2M views; no conversion numbers
- Coconote: Build hidden app screens only creators use, made to look good on cameraUsed in the 18M-view video; no separate numbers
- Coconote: Recruit creators who aren't influencers via Handshake, DMs, email and referralsA Spanish tutor with no content experience became a top creator in 9 months
- Coconote: Double onboarding from 5 to about 13 screens in one big changeTrial conversion up 16%; one-or-two-screen tests had only given small wins
- Coconote: Let people pay before creating an account; move login after the paywallFounder calls it significant; no separate number
- Coconote: Let users record a whole lecture before asking them to payCalled a big win; no number given
- Coconote: Put a little ad money behind organic videos that already went viralNot much success; ~99% of views stayed organic
- Coconote: Pitch the app as great for ADHD in videos and the first App Store screenshotUsers say it helps their ADHD; no numbers
- Coconote: When trial users cancel, offer them 7 more free daysKeeps 27% of cancellers in their trial; a smaller share later pay
- Coconote: Hire an investment bank to run the sale so you keep buildingSold to Quizlet ~18 months after launch; bank ran it end to end
- Coconote: Hire engineers who can also do backend or a second platformSmall engineering team ships a lot; with 50%+ EBITDA margins
- Crew: Post creator-style TikToks and Reels to drive app signupsHundreds of thousands of signups for an earlier app
- Coconote: Track each creator's results with a dedicated tool (viral.app)Only one of 5-6 tools tried that worked for them