Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share How to Build a Waitlist to 100k+
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
How to Build a Waitlist to 100k+
In this episode, we sit down with Zehra Naqvi, founder of Lore, the internet’s home for obsession. Before launching a single feature, Zehra and her team built a waitlist of over 100,000 users, generated 215M+ organic views, and grew a 14,000-person Discord community, all by rallying Gen Z around one shared frustration: the internet is broken for fandom.
We get into everything from why TikTok’s algorithm has a “short memory,” the exact strategies behind Lore’s viral TikTok and Twitter moments, why leading with the problem (not the solution) built insane trust, and how their Discord quietly became a cult-like community that now powers the product itself.
If you’re a consumer founder, marketer, or anyone thinking deeply about the future of social media, fandom, and community-led growth, this episode is a masterclass in building something people feel emotionally invested in before it even exists.
Subscribe for more episodes delivered straight to your inbox
00:00 — Going Viral Before Launch
How Lore went viral on Twitter in its first week and what happens when you move fast on shared frustration.
00:11:49 — The Power of Starting With the Problem
Why Lore’s earliest content focused only on frustration, not features or product demos.
00:13:38 — “We Are You” as a Brand Strategy
How shared pain points create trust, camaraderie, and community faster than any feature launch.
00:15:00 — Why Most Founders Market Too Early
The mistake of pushing solutions before trust, and why Lore avoided it.
00:18:42 — The Waitlist Strategy (100K+ Signups)
How Lore tested fandoms, rode cultural moments, and scaled organically.
00:21:26 — 215M Views Without Hard CTAs
Why curiosity beat conversion tactics, and how to subtlety drive massive signups.
00:25:58 — UGC Over Influencers
Why Lore chose everyday fans over big creators, and why that mattered.
00:30:46 — The Discord Flywheel
Adding a Discord button to the waitlist → 14,000 members → organic fandom governance.
00:31:36 — Letting Users Build the Community
Fandom requests, voting systems, mods, and self-sustaining culture.
00:38:19 — The Future of Social Media
Lore as the antithesis to curated personas and infinite feeds, and what comes next.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playkit.substack.com
View all episodes
By Hosted by PlaykitIn this episode, we sit down with Zehra Naqvi, founder of Lore, the internet’s home for obsession. Before launching a single feature, Zehra and her team built a waitlist of over 100,000 users, generated 215M+ organic views, and grew a 14,000-person Discord community, all by rallying Gen Z around one shared frustration: the internet is broken for fandom.
We get into everything from why TikTok’s algorithm has a “short memory,” the exact strategies behind Lore’s viral TikTok and Twitter moments, why leading with the problem (not the solution) built insane trust, and how their Discord quietly became a cult-like community that now powers the product itself.
If you’re a consumer founder, marketer, or anyone thinking deeply about the future of social media, fandom, and community-led growth, this episode is a masterclass in building something people feel emotionally invested in before it even exists.
Subscribe for more episodes delivered straight to your inbox
00:00 — Going Viral Before Launch
How Lore went viral on Twitter in its first week and what happens when you move fast on shared frustration.
00:11:49 — The Power of Starting With the Problem
Why Lore’s earliest content focused only on frustration, not features or product demos.
00:13:38 — “We Are You” as a Brand Strategy
How shared pain points create trust, camaraderie, and community faster than any feature launch.
00:15:00 — Why Most Founders Market Too Early
The mistake of pushing solutions before trust, and why Lore avoided it.
00:18:42 — The Waitlist Strategy (100K+ Signups)
How Lore tested fandoms, rode cultural moments, and scaled organically.
00:21:26 — 215M Views Without Hard CTAs
Why curiosity beat conversion tactics, and how to subtlety drive massive signups.
00:25:58 — UGC Over Influencers
Why Lore chose everyday fans over big creators, and why that mattered.
00:30:46 — The Discord Flywheel
Adding a Discord button to the waitlist → 14,000 members → organic fandom governance.
00:31:36 — Letting Users Build the Community
Fandom requests, voting systems, mods, and self-sustaining culture.
00:38:19 — The Future of Social Media
Lore as the antithesis to curated personas and infinite feeds, and what comes next.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playkit.substack.com