Sparsh Narware

Founder at Stealth Startup

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

@Jason I'm in

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

@jasveer10 I think the tone of the conversation is also a problem, there are no words like please or request, that makes it look like an entitlement rather than a request.

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

Whenever I tell people I’m building a social product, the advice is:
“Get a celebrity on board.”
“Plan a big launch to get users.”

The problem: top-down adoption doesn’t work in social networks.

Twitter barely had any celebrities in its first year. It didn’t onboard the US President first. It built a base of regular users, celebrities followed later.
Facebook didn’t have anyone except students in the beginning.

On the other hand, big launches like Google+ or Threads drove massive signups but struggled to sustain engagement.

Do you remember reading headlines about the “launch” of any truly successful social network?

Interpreting ideas from: The Cold Start Problem by @andrewchen

Your thoughts?

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

@tkexpress11 Hi Troy, we are building a GenZ focussed social network, would love to chat. Throwing my hat in the ring here in your comment section.

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

@orkutbrasil @Orkut_Com @orkut

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

Orkut was launched just 2 weeks before Facebook in Jan 2004.
Yet, for many Indians born in the 1990s, Orkut feels like it came way before Facebook.

What happened to Orkut?
Orkut initially gained traction in the US. But by late 2004, it was rapidly adopted in Brazil. A grassroots push helped Brazilians outnumber US users. The platform soon became heavily Brazilian/Portuguese in identity.

As that shift happened, American users started dropping off.
By 2010, more than 50% of users were Brazilian, and around 20% were from India.

Insight:
In social networks, the product isn’t just the software — it’s also the people on it.

Orkut’s user base shifted → its identity changed → early users left.
Facebook did the opposite, it tightly controlled early access (Harvard → Ivy League → select colleges), making it aspirational and sticky.

Orkut had bigger early numbers than Facebook. But numbers alone don’t tell the full story; it also matters where those users come from.

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

@thetanmay Hey, what happened to the debating show?

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

@coldemailchris Cold

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

Unpopular opinion — my journey from being a fanboy to a skeptic.

https://t.co/UElDGmIaI3

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

Poor election results reflect the political party's failure, but if the consultancy is clueless about the outcome, it indicates a deeper problem.
#AndhraPradeshElections #TDP #YCP #JSP

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

The key purpose of a third-party political consultancy is to provide an accurate and unbiased picture to its clients. If the consultancy succumbs to an internal "yes-man culture" similar to that of political parties, it is destined to fail. #AndhraPradeshElections

[Hockey India @TheHockeyIndia]

🇮🇳 IND vs ESP 🇪🇸

The #MenInBlue 💙 will face the #RedSticks ❤️ in their first pool D match. Here's a look at the lineup!

#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #HWC2023 #StarsBecomeLegends @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI @rfe_hockey

[Parushya @parushya]

What does a temporary expansion in food entitlements tell us about urban vulnerability? Our new paper (https://t.co/Sk5Pob89JM) in @epw_in (w/ @bijoyhrid and @guatambhan80) highlights gaps in urban social protection with Delhi Govt's COVID-19 PDS E-coupon data. A 🧵1/n

[Gita Gopinath @GitaGopinath]

Breaking the trend 👊💥…I joined the wall of former Chief Economists of the IMF 😀

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

I just completed Data for Better Lives: A New Social Contract with @edXOnline! https://t.co/fQG48mzlTk

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

Check out #MyYearInBooks @goodreads to see the 17 books I read in 2020! https://t.co/olWu1HBeKz

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

Thank You All @smartcityagra @Naveen_k_Jain @N_Funde @MLAYogendraBJP @OfficeOfDMAgra @PrabhuNs_ @UPGovt
#SwachhBharatMission

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

घनी आबादी के बीच कलाकुंज-विनय नगर चौराहे पर रखा ये कचड़ा गृह एक खुला निमंत्रण है अन्य महामारियों का। महोदय इसे यहाँ से हटवाने की कृपा करे। @smartcityagra @Naveen_k_Jain @N_Funde @MLAYogendraBJP @OfficeOfDMAgra @PrabhuNs_ @UPGovt
#SwachhBharatMission #CoronavirusPandemic

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

घनी आबादी के बीच कलाकुंज-विनय नगर चौराहे पर रखा ये कचड़ा गृह एक खुला निमंत्रण है अन्य महामारियों का। महोदय इसे यहाँ से हटवाने की कृपा करे। @smartcityagra @Naveen_k_Jain @N_Funde @MLAYogendraBJP @OfficeOfDMAgra @PrabhuNs_ @UPGovt
#SwachhBharatMission #CoronavirusPandemic

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

Sir, this Waste Container at crowded KALAKUNJ-VINAY NAGAR crossing made our life difficult. Many veg/fruit-sellers, eateries nearby+pungent smell is open invitation to diseases. Request you to please get this removed @smartcityagra @Naveen_k_Jain @MLAYogendraBJP @N_Funde

[Sparsh Narware @SparshNarware]

I stopped watching cricket since 2008 when he was dropped from the ODI side. After 11 years, my childhood hero is back. Dada as the next BCCI President. @SGanguly99 You will always be my leadership idol
#SouravGanguly #BCCI #Cricket