In this episode of Off Topic, Marcelo Lebre interviews Nathan Sharp, the founder of Retro, a new type of social media app designed to bring users closer to friends and help them appreciate their lives without being overly time-consuming. Nathan explains that Retro functions as a weekly photo journal, encouraging users to share photos and videos of memorable moments with a close circle of friends. He details Retro's origins, drawing from his and his co-founder's experiences at Instagram, and differentiates Retro from other social media platforms by focusing on friends-only content, photo-centric updates, and a weekly cadence to reduce pressure to constantly post. Nathan also shares insights into Retro's user base, which includes creatives, young parents, and Gen Z, and discusses the company's growth in various markets, particularly in Asia and more recently in Canada and Europe. The conversation further explores Retro's business model, the potential for adjacent apps, and key learnings from Meta, emphasizing the importance of aligning incentives with product goals and balancing vision with data-driven research.
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