I’m a simple guy. When Jordan Singer launches a new product, I try it out. And since one of my 2025 resolutions was to start writing more, I figured I’d get an early start.

When deciding what to write, I kept coming back to the question I get asked most—by founders, builders, creators, and marketers: How do you go viral?

Whether you know my work from HQ Trivia, as a founder who followed Party Round, or from the trenches of Crypto: The Game, I’ve “gone viral” a few times. What surprises most people is how much of that virality is manufactured. Here’s the secret.

Make Something People Want to Share

My North Star when building products is creating something people genuinely want to share—not something they feel like they have to share. A big trend in consumer right now is making users invite others just to experience the product. That approach will never work. There's too much friction, and nobody wants to text their friends about a new consumer app in the year of our Lord 2024. It’s also inorganic. People aren’t in it (sharing) for the right reasons.

Instead, I always focus on making sharing effortless and meaningful. Every Party Round drop had a button with a pre-populated tweet. In Crypto: The Game, players could tweet to find their tribemates, flex after making the merge, or celebrate reaching the finale—all with a single tap. This frictionless sharing not only enhanced the user experience but also took advantage of the Twitter algorithm. During live events like CTG, just a few hundred people tweeting simultaneously would make us trend.

I also always make sure that sharing adds real value. At HQ, referrals rewarded players with extra lives. In Crypto: The Game, referrals granted individual immunity. These viral loops weren’t forced. They enhanced the sharer’s experience and made the product even more enjoyable.

Build Like It’s Something Else

I started my career in TV as a Page at Saturday Night Live during Season 38 (which, in my biased opinion, was the best season—I still remember Tim Robinson, as a cast member, unsuccessfully pitching sketches that would later appear on I Think You Should Leave). I was obsessed with becoming a live TV producer, which eventually led me to tech via HQ Trivia and its vision for the future of live TV.

This mindset carried over to Crypto: The Game, which we treated more like a reality TV show than a crypto game. It had drama, twists, and suspense baked into every design decision. The music intensified during voting periods, waves turned dark and choppy during challenges, and calm waves and sunlight followed eliminations. Every detail made players feel like they were on an island, living through a reality TV-worthy storyline.

Party Round, on the other hand, was a B2B SaaS product, but we treated it like a consumer brand. B2B marketing is famously boring, so we drew inspiration from MSCHF’s Drops to drive buzz before the fintech product even launched.

At the end of the day, early-stage founders are just consumers, and no one else was using consumer-style marketing to reach them. Each Drop—from Helpful VCs, a Punk-inspired NFT project featuring top VCs, to Startup Supreme, a pop-up shop of Silicon Valley collectibles—generated organic, cult-like growth for Party Round without ever relying on typical sales channels.

Build for Yourself

The brainstorming sessions for Party Round drops were some of the most fun moments of my career. Anyone on the team could join, and the only rule was to come with an idea. If it made us laugh, we ran with it. As heavy tech Twitter doomscrollers ourselves, we knew our audience because we were our audience. If we loved an idea, we knew they would too.

And Crypto: The Game was the game I always wanted to play. As a lifelong Survivor fan, I dreamed of playing a version online with my friends. I’ve never operated with so much conviction in my career because, again, I was the target consumer. As a player, I knew exactly what challenges would excite me, what twists would shock me, and what hidden immunity idols would be the most fun to find.

Not to sound too Rick Rubin, but the best ideas come from building for yourself.

That’s it. If you enjoyed this, let me know on Twitter (@dylanabruscato). Maybe I’ll keep writing in the New Year.