Blitzscaling 12: Nirav Tolia on Growing Nextdoor and the Path to Monetization | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Nextdoor is a social networking platform that connects neighbors and fosters a sense of community in neighborhoods.

Key Insights

• 💪 Nextdoor's growth has been driven by a focus on quality and establishing strong foundations in each neighborhood.
• 🥳 The platform has achieved high levels of engagement, with 40% of members using the service every other day.
• 👻 Nextdoor's unique value proposition of connecting neighbors fills a gap in the market and has allowed for significant growth.

Transcript

• [John] Welcome to Thursday's class, we have Nirav Tolia who I've known for about a billion years, I'm really tickled to be able to spend time with him. - You were an undergrad together here. - We were, and one of the things that -- - 20 years ago - 25 years ago, yeah. - Please, don't. - I'm internalizing it, yeah, I'm the old one. - That's right.... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: How did Nirav Tolia and his team start Nextdoor?

Nextdoor began as a pivot from a failed startup called Fanbase. They realized their original vision was not feasible and decided to create a platform for connecting neighbors instead.

Q: What challenges did Nextdoor face in the initial stages?

One of the main challenges was getting enough neighbors to join each neighborhood to establish critical mass. Additionally, with a focus on quality, Nextdoor had to manually verify addresses and implement verification processes.

Q: How does Nextdoor differentiate itself from other social networks?

Nextdoor caters to the specific needs of neighbors and focuses on building local communities. The platform fosters engagement and connections within neighborhoods, creating a unique experience for users.

Q: How does Nextdoor plan to grow its user base in the future?

Nextdoor is currently focusing on expanding its presence in major cities and increasing its penetration in neighborhoods. They also plan on improving the product to provide even more value to users.

Summary

In this video, Nirav Tolia, the CEO of Nextdoor, talks about the company's beginnings and its growth. Nextdoor is a private social network for neighborhoods, allowing neighbors to connect and communicate with each other. Tolia explains that Nextdoor started as a pivot from a previous company called Fanbase, which was not going as planned. Tolia and his team decided to return the money to investors and started exploring new ideas. They eventually came up with the concept of Nextdoor, which has now become a widely-used platform in over 80,000 neighborhoods across America. Tolia also discusses the importance of quality and community engagement, as well as the challenges and opportunities in scaling a company.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did Nextdoor get started?

Nextdoor started as a pivot from a previous company called Fanbase. After realizing that their original vision for Fanbase was not going to work, the team decided to return the money to investors and start exploring new ideas. They eventually came up with the concept of Nextdoor, a private social network for neighborhoods.

Q: How did Tolia's relationship with Benchmark Capital influence the decision to pivot?

Tolia had a strong relationship with Bill Gurley, a partner at Benchmark Capital, as they had worked together since 1999. When Tolia decided to pivot from Fanbase, he felt like he had let Gurley and Benchmark down. However, Gurley challenged Tolia's decision to quit and gave him a poem that essentially questioned his resolve. This challenge inspired Tolia to give it another try and eventually led to the creation of Nextdoor.

Q: How did Nextdoor overcome the initial challenges of building a user base?

Nextdoor initially focused on quality and community engagement rather than rapid growth. Starting with just 176 neighborhoods in their first year, they manually verified addresses, boundaries, and neighborhood names to ensure a high level of engagement and meaningful connections. This allowed them to build a strong foundation and a proof of concept before scaling up.

Q: How has Nextdoor grown since its early days?

Nextdoor has experienced significant growth and now has over 80,000 neighborhoods using the platform, which represents around 50% of American neighborhoods. They have also achieved high levels of engagement, with 41% of registered members using the service every other day. Nextdoor has successfully expanded into major cities across the United States and has become a mass-market phenomenon.

Q: How has Nextdoor maintained the quality of the user experience while scaling up?

Nextdoor has focused on maintaining the quality of the user experience by carefully scaling. They have implemented automated processes for verification, neighborhood boundaries, and reminders. By simulating the manual processes that were used in the early days, Nextdoor ensures that the user experience remains consistent and engaging.

Q: What are some lessons learned from Nextdoor's growth journey?

Tolia emphasizes the importance of starting with quality and community engagement before focusing on rapid growth. He also highlights the need to differentiate between a cash flow business and a venture-funded business when considering the use of venture funding. Tolia believes that maintaining a long-term strategy, constantly re-evaluating assumptions, and operating in a way that makes every team member valuable are key principles for success in both boom and bust cycles.

Q: How does Nextdoor compare to other social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter?

Nextdoor is different from platforms like Facebook and Twitter because it focuses on connecting neighbors within a specific geographic area. While Facebook connects friends and family, and Twitter connects people based on shared interests, Nextdoor connects people who live in the same neighborhood. It seeks to recreate and enhance the sense of community that often exists within neighborhoods.

Q: What challenges and opportunities does Nextdoor face in its expansion into major cities?

Nextdoor aims to achieve high penetration in major cities to establish a competitive advantage. However, Tolia acknowledges that every neighborhood has its own dynamics and challenges when it comes to adoption. They have to find ways to adapt the platform to various neighborhood cultures and ensure that it remains useful and valuable for the specific needs of each community.

Q: How does Nextdoor ensure the privacy and security of its users?

Nextdoor places a strong emphasis on privacy and security. Users are required to verify their addresses to join the platform, and conversations within Nextdoor neighborhoods are private and only accessible to verified members. By implementing these measures, Nextdoor aims to create a safe and trusted environment for neighbors to connect and communicate.

Q: How does Nextdoor continue to innovate and introduce new features?

Nextdoor continues to innovate by listening to its users' feedback and needs. They regularly gather feedback from the community and prioritize new features based on user demands. One example mentioned in the video is the introduction of an on-demand babysitting feature, which was piloted and refined based on the input of both users and the team members themselves.

Takeaways

Nextdoor's journey from a failed pivot to becoming a widely-used social network for neighborhoods showcases the importance of quality, community engagement, and adaptability. The company's focus on carefully scaling and maintaining the user experience has contributed to its success. Tolia's experience also highlights the significance of aligning long-term strategies with venture funding and the potential risks of expansion during boom cycles. Nextdoor's growth and retention strategies, such as the toothbrush test of regular usage and personalized community engagement, provide valuable insights for companies venturing into the social media landscape.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Nextdoor started as a pivot from a failed startup and has now become a private social network for neighborhoods.

• The company focused on quality rather than rapid growth in the initial stages, ensuring that each neighborhood had a strong foundation.

• Nextdoor has achieved significant growth, with over 80,000 neighborhoods using the platform and high levels of engagement from users.