In this article, we'll talk about a problem many B2C startups face — the "chicken-and-egg problem."
Introduction
Alex is a startup founder, and he's got a brilliant idea: an on-demand personal hype squad to boost your self-esteem in real life. You can order 1–3 "hypers" who will meet you outside your office with applause; discreetly follow you on a date and whisper "you're amazing"; shout your name when you walk into a bar; or give you warm hugs at a bus stop after a painful breakup.
Obviously, everyone needs this, right?
Alex built an [MVP (minimum viable product)], but now he faces the same issue many such startups do: the chicken-and-egg dilemma. Who should he bring onto the platform first: the "hypers" or the clients who pay for them? How does he keep the balance so nobody leaves disappointed?
The Common-Sense Trap
Let's be honest. The first thought that comes to Alex (and to anyone in his place) is laughably simple: "Just launch ads for both segments. One for potential hypers, one for clients. They'll show up, see each other, and the magic will happen."
Alex sets aside a small budget, runs two social campaigns, and waits. Here's what happens in reality:
- 1. Clients come first. They download the app, excited to get their taste of fame. They open the map and… nothing. Not a single hyper available. First client disappointed. Second client too. Third one leaves an angry review and deletes the app. Those precious first users, acquired at a cost, are lost.
- 2. Then the hypers arrive. Theater students and fun extroverts sign up. They sit online for a day, two, three. No orders. They get bored, realize it's a dead end, and never come back.
In the end, Alex spends money, burns early excitement, and is left with an empty app that disappointed both sides. The trap has snapped shut.
A Party, Not a Business
Alex's problem is that at the start, his platform isn't a tech business — it's a party. And the golden rule of a good party is: never invite guests into an empty house. You have to create atmosphere first, even if artificially.
At this stage, the founder's job isn't to be CEO. It's to be host, DJ, and bartender all at once. His job is to manually hack reality and make the first users feel like the party is already happening.
Here are three strategies to do that.
Strategy 1: The "Fake Guest" — Be the Performer Yourself
The most obvious — and the hardest for a founder's ego — is to become the first hyper.
- How it works: Alex asks a friend to order a "meet outside the office." Then Alex and a couple of buddies show up and clap for him. They film it, post it online. Next order from a real client? Alex gathers friends and does it again.
- The benefit: Three birds with one stone. First clients get the service and are thrilled. The startup gets live content for socials. And the founder experiences every detail first-hand — how long travel takes, what to say, how to organize it better. Scalable? Not at all. But at the start you don't need scale, you need your first dozen happy clients.
Strategy 2: The "Paid Friends" — Subsidize One Side
Alex knows he can't handle all the orders himself. He needs real hypers. But how do you keep them around when there are no clients yet? Answer: pay them to wait.
- How it works: Alex finds 10 charismatic students. He doesn't promise them some "future revenue share." He gives them a simple deal: "Be online in the app from 6–8pm weekdays. For each hour online, I'll pay you $5, even if no orders come. If you do get an order, you get a bonus."
- The benefit: For the first clients, this guarantees that when they open the app at peak time, they see available performers. Expensive? Yes. But far more effective than burning the same money on ads that only drive people into an empty app. Alex isn't buying installs, he's buying liquidity — paying to make sure his market exists.
Strategy 3: The "One-Room Party" — Hyper-Concentration
Launching across an entire city is suicide. User density will be zero. Alex's job is to shrink his world to the size of one block.
- How it works: Alex picks one big office hub (say, in Manhattan). He spends a week visiting every café and smoking area around. He finds 5–7 hypers among students living nearby. Then he focuses all marketing (flyers, local Facebook groups, word of mouth) only on employees of that hub.
- The benefit: He creates a micro-world where supply and demand actually meet. Logistics are simple, orders happen instantly. Once he conquers one hub and sets a precedent, he moves on to the next.
How to Repeat This for Your Startup
The hype squad story is a model you can apply to almost any B2C startup with a chicken-and-egg problem.
Step 1. Define your sides: who's the chicken and who's the egg?
Spell out the two groups without which your platform is just dead code.
- Side A (Consumers): those who come to solve their problem and are ready to pay.
- Side B (Providers): those who deliver the solution/content/service.
Step 2. Find the "heavy" side: who matters more at the start?
The sides are never equal. One is always more valuable and harder to attract. That side creates the core value. In 99% of cases, it's Side B (Providers). Focus all your effort there.
Step 3. Pick a strategy to hack reality.
Now that you know your heavy side, pick one of three methods to artificially create its presence:
- 1. Fake Guest (works where you can imitate the service).
- 2. Paid Friends (works for on-demand services needing instant availability).
- 3. One-Room Party (works for community and geo-based services).
Choose one that best fits your model. Don't try to do all at once.
Step 4. Define your first success metric.
Forget downloads, registrations, and other vanity metrics. Investors don't care. They want a story about working [unit economics], even in micro-scale. Your key metric now is: number of successful transactions.
A "transaction" is the core value exchange between the two sides.
- For Alex — one hype squad order fulfilled.
- For a dating app — one match that turns into a chat.
- For an edtech platform — one lesson delivered.
Set a goal: complete 50 successful transactions. Not "attract 1,000 users," but manually push 50 interactions to completion. That's the traction you won't be ashamed to show an investor.
Conclusion
The chicken-and-egg problem isn't about who came first. It's about who will glue the sides together. And the answer is always the same: the founder.
At the early stage, a B2C founder's job is part matchmaker, part party host. Run around the "room," introduce "guests," and make sure nobody gets bored until the real party starts on its own.
Those 50 "manual" transactions are proof you've grasped the very essence of your business. You haven't just built an empty stage — you've put on the first real show.
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Author: Andrei Terehin, Founder & CEO. Andy helps tech projects go from idea to first customers and investments, acting as a strategic partner and "technical co-founder." Founder of Terekhin Digital Crew, specializing in MVP development and R&D in AI, AR/VR.