How To Grab Attention (inc. some cool YC-founder templates)
I wrote last week about how we’re building Ting on two axes: one to get attention, the other to build the product.
On attention, we’re doing pretty well in 3-weeks:
1k on the waitlist.
200 people have joined meetings booked by Ting already.
375 invites sent out so far...
On the product: still a work in progress. User feedback is lovely (like, makes me emotional, lovely) but reliability swings between 25-95%. We’ve diagnosed most of the issues now, though there’s always a new edge case waiting. Fun fact: since launch, a bunch of founders from previous calendar and scheduling apps have reached out to share their stories and learnings. Listening to how they tackled the problem pre-AI has honestly been one of my favourite experiences as a founder so far.
But this post isn’t about bugs. It’s about grabbing attention.
What we did at Ting
We invested heavily in a story:
Problem: scheduling still sucks.
Future vision: Meet-Ting as your email assistant powered by LLMs - handling the messy, fluid, human reality of scheduling, while learning to understand your time through the context of your inbox.
Then we made a video around one simple question: How much momentum has the world lost because of scheduling (and the legacy tools that get in the way)?
Would Google still have started in a garage?
Would Oasis have ever got back together? (Had to).
Here’s the
(it’s still slowly picking up cross-platform).
My background is head of social at ByteDance (TikTok, etc.), so I’m an obsessive for a viral loop. You don’t always need glossy videos to win attention, although it definitely helps in a video-driven-feed-world. High production doesn't always need to be the bar, just highly engineered to to platform algo is the key.
Two YC teams that nailed it recently
Wonda (AI agent for content creation)
Posted a slick video (would be weird if they didn't, based on product).
On LinkedIn, asked people to comment “Wonda” to get $100 credits + skip the waitlist.
Why it works: drives comments, boosts algo reach, and the reward ties straight back to the product.
See the post.
Stormy AI (AI-based influencer marketing platform)
Posted a more humble video (product demo).
Founder offered to do free mini influencer sweeps for your company's niche.
Why it works: gives real value, sparks conversation online with the founder, and gets customer into the product.
See the post.
Takeaway
Social feeds are overcrowded + too many posts sound the same + brands are bottom of the pile of what we care to see.
When you launch - whether it’s stealth exit, PH day, or just your first LinkedIn drop - you’ve GOT to stand out.
Don’t be beige. Don’t be safe.
Come out in technicolour and Dolby surround.
Replies
Love this, Dan 🙌 I’m still pretty new to all this and just piecing together our first marketing framework, so I’m not 100% sure how to think about viral loops that you mentioned yet.
Super cool seeing how you’re approaching it though, definitely learning a lot 👀🚀
Meet-Ting
@azvyae It looks like you’re launching soon, that’s awesome. I would just be thinking how to tell your story in the most impactful way that encourages more sharing outside of the product utility - it could be really illuminating the customer problem to drive more relevance, picking the enemy you’re making this against (competitor, boredom) or telling the most unique part of your story (building for first time, any challenges you overcame) - seems like at least you’re thinking about it which is already a good sign. Looking forward to see what you cook!
@dbul Yes! I’m launching soon, Dan. Experimenting with how people can fill surveys in a ‘This or That’ tiktok trend style but still with the same depth and capabilities as Typeform
🙌 Thanks a lot for the insights, Dan. Also, curious about the video you shared in the article, did you work with a creator/editor on that, or use an AI platform? If it’s the latter, I’d love to know which one 👀
Meet-Ting
@azvyae That's great, keep me posted, feedback collection is key for Meet-Ting and we just implemented Typeform links a few days ago - if there's more engaging ways to collect feedback, always down for it! No, it was with a friendly agency, but check out that other company in the post, called Wonda, not sure how ready the product is, but might get you a bit closer to a high production video at less cost!
@dbul Love that, Dan 🙌 and exactly, Typeform’s solid, but what we’re chasing with PingPolls is just… different. Instead of the usual survey flow, we’re experimenting with a 'This or That' style that feels social-first, yet still delivers the kind of depth founders need for real insights.
We’ve got a live demo (only for filling surveys) up on our landing page if you’re curious to try it.
Or, if you’d rather wait, we’re launching tomorrow on Product Hunt with a full free month to play around 🚀 for early access program.
And thanks for the Wonda tip, I’ll definitely check them out, could be a great shortcut for some video experiments 👀. I’ll also check Meet-Ting out, sounds super interesting, and I think it could be a perfect tool for our micro startup team!
Love how you framed the two axes. As Ting grows, do you see the attention side staying just as important, or gradually giving way to product-led traction?
Meet-Ting
Love this breakdown, it's actually refreshing to see someone actually spell out both sides (attention vs product) without just pointlessly flexing numbers. The “story first, product second” angle really hits, especially with how crowded feeds feel right now.
I’m early with my own app and it already feels like grabbing attention is harder than building, so I like seeing how you engineered Ting’s story + momentum and how it kinda makes me rethink how I frame mine.
Meet-Ting
@dheerajdotexe Really appreciate the kind feedback and YES - it's so competitive out there, even in Ting's space, I saw three similar launches last week. I imagine we're all going to use the same models and get to the same technical conclusion so then it will come down to who managed to get seen + seen the most + delightful UX + maybe a breakout feature.