Herbie's Got Ears and We've Got Horns 🫎

Remember the popular Gen Z app - BeReal that wanted users to be completely real and unfiltered? 

Well, now we have the anti-BeReal in the market. Specifically, an app called BeFake. The app’s name, a clear reference to BeReal’s authentic photo sharing, is meant to suggest it does the opposite. But this is not a parody app. In fact BeFake has a very real business concept.

It’s a social networking app that combines concepts from BeReal along with AI technology to create an AI-augmented You. 

The idea is to let users express ‘not authenticity, but rather their authentic creativity’.

So instead of showing your followers what you’re up to in the moment, BeFake users snap photos with both the front and back cameras and then customize them by using either in-app templates or typing out their own prompt to create an AI image.

While BeFake’s mechanics are similar to apps like BeReal or its older precursor, Frontback, it doesn’t require users to upload dozens of selfies to get started. Plus, it applies its AI-powered changes in less than 30 seconds.

Do we need an app to be fake? 

The founders of the app come from gaming backgrounds. They worked for giants like Machine Zone, and popular mobile games including World War Rising and Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire. They wanted to create an app that lets gamers create their unique gaming images and interact with communities and friends online. So instead of using one of the in-build game avatars, players can make their online images look as close to their real-self as possible but with fantasy elements such as horns, snake surroundings, or thrones on Mount Everest.    

The app, created by Alias Technologies (founded in 2021), has already netted $3 million in seed funding. It launched on the App Store, and Google Play Store last month. 

The company believes its concept will make for a more interesting feed than on BeReal as every photo will look unique.

Startup launch platforms, like Product Hunt and BetaList, reap no customers. People on these platforms are there for self-promotion or just for curiosity. It’s hard to convert them into paying users.

Which is why creators and entrepreneurs now prefer launching products in niche communities where their target audience hangs out. Examples: Slack, Reddit, and the latest addition to the list - Discord.

Case in point: The 1000 Pound Club — a heavy-weight lifting app by Alexander Chen. 

According to his post of Indie Hackers, the entrepreneur increased his user base by 50% by launching the app in Discord communities.

The rise of Discord communities for product launches has long been coming. Founders have started moving away from platforms like Reddit or Hacker News, that are soaked in so many posts that information gets lost and forgotten quickly. They are forums with little two-sided interaction.

Discord, instead, is a chat system. You can interact with your target audience, ask them questions, help them get onboarded to the app, etc. Plus, it’s easy to find the right audience threads on Discord. There's a website called Disboard where you can search for a topic and it'll give you many Discord servers under that topic.

The platform doubles as a social-listening tool for brands like Chipotle, Hot Topic and Jack in the Box. Some other brands that have established a foothold on Discord include: 

• New Era Cap, the company that makes the official headwear for the NFL, NBA and MLB.
• Fashion retailer AllSaints that hosted a Q&A with its lead menswear designer and offered an inside look at how its styles had changed over the years.

Instacart is finally heading towards its much awaited debut in the public markets. The IPO will be targeting a valuation of $8.6 billion — a substantial markdown from the lofty valuation of $39bn pegged back in March 2021.

Two years ago, Instacart had much to be optimistic about. During the lockdown period, the company saw a surge in popularity, with daily app downloads skyrocketing by an astonishing 218% in March 2020. This made Instacart the second most valuable US-based unicorn, after SpaceX. 

But now we’re out of the social distancing era and the market euphoria of that time. VC funding has dwindled, and Instacart's once-illustrious $39 billion valuation now seems ludicrous.

Despite this, Instacart’s IPO is an important one. It is poised to serve as a major litmus test for the US market after an almost two-year freeze on IPOs. 

👎 Oh California - The Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strike has cost California’s economy $5B so far, affecting the entertainment industry, caterers, dry cleaners, transport companies, and more.