Cold Start Problem

---
name: cold-start-problem
description: 'Start and scale networked products using Andrew Chen''s "The Cold Start Problem" framework for network effects. Use when the user mentions "network effects", "chicken and egg", "cold start", "two-sided marketplace", "atomic network", "hard side", "liquidity", "critical mass", "invite-only launch", "how do I get my first users", or "the marketplace has no buyers or sellers". Also trigger when launching a marketplace, social, or collaboration product that is worthless without other users, deciding launch sequencing and seeding tactics, or diagnosing stalled network growth at scale. Covers the five stages: cold start, tipping point, escape velocity, hitting the ceiling, and the moat. For word-of-mouth virality, see contagious. For habit-driven retention, see hooked-ux.'
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: wondelai
  version: "1.2.0"
---

# The Cold Start Problem

A framework for starting and scaling products that live or die by network effects — marketplaces, social apps, messaging, and collaboration tools — distilled from Andrew Chen's *The Cold Start Problem*. Use it to launch products that are worthless until other users show up, to sequence growth network by network, and to navigate the five stages: the cold start, the tipping point, escape velocity, hitting the ceiling, and the moat.

## Core Principle

**Network effects start as a liability, not an asset.** Value lives in connections between users, and on day one there are none — the same force that makes a dense network unstoppable makes an empty one useless. You don't escape by launching to a market; you escape by building one tiny, complete, self-sustaining network at a time, solving its hard side first, then tipping adjacent networks with a repeatable playbook until the market follows.

## Scoring

**Goal: 10/10.** Rate launch plans and growth strategies for networked products 0-10 against the principles below. Report the current score and the specific changes needed to reach 10/10.

- **9-10:** Named atomic network with an instrumented magic moment, hard side solved first, repeatable tipping playbook, density/liquidity metrics, explicit ceiling and moat plan
- **7-8:** Clear atomic network and hard-side focus, but tipping tactics are ad hoc or metrics still track totals over density
- **5-6:** Network effects acknowledged, but the launch targets a broad market and both sides are treated equally
- **3-4:** Generic user-acquisition plan; network thinking limited to "add invites and hope it spreads"… load the full skill through Skill Me