Piggybacking Customer Acquisition
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A method for getting initial customers by leveraging existing platforms with high traffic, particularly demonstrated through Sam Parr's experience with Craigslist.
Core Strategy
- Find platforms where your target customers already exist
- Create compelling listings that stand out
- Convert platform traffic into your own customers
Implementation Example (Bunk - Roommate Matching)
- Posted individual room listings on Craigslist
- Created visually appealing HTML ads (when allowed)
- Listed 1-bedroom options within 4-bedroom apartments
- Hosted in-person events to facilitate roommate matching
- Charged both landlords and tenants for successful matches
Key Success Factors
- Transparency in advertising
- Clear about the shared living situation
- Upfront about the matching process
- Event-based conversion
- Hosted meetups at actual apartments
- Created natural environment for roommates to meet
- Monetization from both sides
- Collected fees from landlords
- Collected fees from tenants
- Volume approach
- Generated ~10,000 weekly website visitors
- Leveraged high-density areas (San Francisco)
Why It Works
- Taps into existing search volume
- No need for SEO or paid advertising
- Natural alignment with user intent
- Creates value for all parties involved
- Landlords get qualified tenants
- Tenants find compatible roommates
- Platform makes money from successful matches
Modern Applications
- Similar to how Airbnb initially grew
- Can be adapted to other marketplace platforms
- Works best when platform users already have high intent
- Most effective when adding value to existing behavior
Note: The method's effectiveness may vary based on platform rules and restrictions, as demonstrated by Craigslist's eventual changes to their system.
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.