Ryan To

building software | creator (160k+)

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

150 days ago I dropped a six-figure agency and moved to SF to build my first startup.

Yesterday, we were accepted into @fdotinc.

@rexan_wong and I shipped what we thought was the ‘sexiest’ product imaginable and beta tested it with ~30 creators and brands.

They liked a lot of parts of it but didn’t LOVE one thing. That was the problem.

After working with brands like Shopify, Meta, and Adobe I saw firsthand how broken the creative workflow really is.

So we did the hard thing and killed it to rebuild around a real pain.

Over the holidays, we spent 2 weeks in Hong Kong working out of random coffee shops, coworking spaces figuring out what people actually needed.

We rebuilt everything and customer sentiment completely shifted:
An 8-figure consumer brand came onboard before the product was even finished.

I’m insanely grateful for Founders, Inc. for being our first believers.
Back to work.

[Rexan Wong @rexan_wong]

our startup just got accepted into @fdotinc's artifact program

2026 just got off to a great start

excited to build in sf w/ a goated community & space

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

@rexan_wong @fdotinc We’re in.

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

@wordisbonz @FarzaTV editor

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

@Jacobsklug @cursor_ai Design

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

@alecvxyz Willbot

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

@Davidjpark96 Inspiring love to see it

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

@alexolim_ VIRAL

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

@TheWalid breadwinner

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

@JosephKChoi saas

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

@xMaaarrk @benorchen Viral App

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

@alexolim_ Viral

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

@JMatthewMcGarry 10k

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

There’s an alarming change in the algorithm 🧪that nobody’s talking about….
“Viral” creators & brands are now flopping because of:

→ Not having a niche: know your exact audience
→ Low effort content: low quality vids don’t get shown to followers
→ Consistency: barely post

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

The raw reality of why your content sucks: you’re too selfish

Creators, founders, and marketers keep focusing on what they can GAIN:

- Followers, views, customers, etc.

And it translates in their marketing strategy

If you just genuinely care about your community you’ll win

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

I don’t care what anyone says

You need to treat your content like a business…

You can be a creator, brand, or founder.
It’s all the exact same principles:

→ Keep up with macro / micro trends
→ Learn by doing & testing
→ Put your customer (the viewer) first

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

you’re not posting quality content

to convert viewers to raving fans…

if you aren’t asking yourself 3 simple questions:

→ WHO am I creating for?

→ WHY am I making content?

→ HOW do I want to impact my viewer?

answer these first THEN you can identify content formats ✶

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

@JosephKChoi This is a beauty

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

@JosephKChoi @whop Absolutely crushing it

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

Over 39,000 creators on TikTok have
>1 million followers…

The value of followers is no longer as important as it was 4 years ago

It’s now about:
1. Building a “brand”
2. Community

THAT’S WHY advertising dollars are moving to smaller creators & UGC:

Engagement > Followers

[Ryan To @itsryanto]

@JosephKChoi Tiktok