What makes an app go viral?

It’s a question every builder in the consumer space wrestles with. And few people understand the answer better than Nikita Bier, the creator of TBH and Gas — two viral social apps acquired by Facebook and Discord respectively.

In a recent interview with Lenny's podcast, Nikita broke down the tactics that helped him repeatedly build breakout hits. His approach blends ruthless product simplicity with a deep understanding of human motivation — especially among teens, who he sees as the most potent source of viral growth.

But here’s the thing: while his insights are razor-sharp, many builders struggle to apply them. Why? Because they’re blocked by resources. No team. No time. No engineering bandwidth.

This post breaks down Nikita’s viral strategies into actionable steps anyone can follow — whether you’re a solo founder, a designer, or just someone with a killer idea.

1. Build for Latent Demand — Without Writing Code

“The best products solve a need people already have — even if they can’t articulate it.” – Nikita Bier

When Nikita launched TBH, he didn’t invent anonymous messaging. He noticed a distortion: teens wanted anonymous interactions, but the tools they had were breeding negativity and bullying. The unmet need? Positive feedback from peers — safely and anonymously. That’s what TBH delivered through bite-sized polls. It felt new, but it was solving something people were already hungry for.

This is the essence of latent demand: there’s a job to be done, but current tools are clunky, fragmented, or toxic. Great products remove friction around the behavior that’s already happening.

The key isn’t inventing demand — it’s revealing it.

2. Fast Hypothesis Testing, One Prompt at a Time

“Every product is a bet. What matters is how fast and cheaply you can test it.” – Nikita Bier

Most startups fail because they burn months polishing something no one wants. Nikita avoids this by testing hypotheses in sequence — validating one risky assumption at a time, with minimal investment.

You don’t need a big team to do this. You need a fast loop. Imagine having an idea on Friday and putting a working version in users’ hands by Sunday. That’s how viral mechanics are uncovered — not in theory decks, but in the wild.

For example, say you think teens want a compliment-sharing app that feels like Snapchat stories. Can you build and test that in a weekend? If not, your process is too slow.

3. Optimize for Aha Moments in Seconds

“You have three seconds. If your app doesn’t deliver value instantly, it’s dead.” – Nikita Bier

Nikita calls this the “inverted time to value” — instead of waiting for users to dig in and discover your app’s worth, you deliver the payoff instantly. No complex signups. No tutorial screens. Just action.

For consumer products, this isn’t optional. It’s survival.

A great example is Dupe, one of the apps Nikita advises. It opens directly to the core experience — no delay, no friction. That first-second magic builds retention and word-of-mouth.

Your app should feel like flipping a switch — immediate reward, emotional hit.

4. Don’t Fear Big Tech — Move Faster

“Big companies are slow. That’s your advantage.” – Nikita Bier

One of the biggest myths in tech is that the giants will crush you. But Nikita argues the opposite: startups win because they move before the incumbents can even schedule the meeting.

Large orgs are hamstrung by internal politics, approvals, risk aversion. They might take 12–24 months to respond to a new product category. That’s a lifetime.

The opportunity isn’t just in your idea — it’s in your speed.

If you can launch, iterate, and validate faster than they can ship a spec doc, you win. It’s that simple.

H2: Want to Put These Lessons Into Practice?

Don’t worry if you can’t code — you don’t need to.

With Natively, you can build a real, cross-platform mobile app just by describing what you want in natural language. It’s like prompting ChatGPT — but instead of getting text, you get a working mobile app you can publish on iOS and Android.

No need to learn Swift or React Native. No need to hire developers. No need to spend months wiring screens together. Just type what you want your app to do — and Natively turns it into a polished, testable product that feels like something built by a full-stack team.

If you’ve been sitting on an idea — a simple social app, a viral poll mechanic, a private group chat — now’s the time to try it.

Build your own viral app this weekend → natively.dev

Join the Natively Community

We’re building more than a platform—we’re building a movement. Whether you’re dreaming up your first app or scaling your startup’s next big release, Natively is here to help you succeed. Here’s how you can get involved:

Try Natively Today: Visit our homepage to start building your app for free.
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For more information about Nikita Bier, please visit his X

For the full podcast, visit Lenny's podcast