Chrys Bader - A masterclass on the art of building viral consumer apps for the Internet!

👉🏼 About the Guest:

Chrys is the co-founder at Rosebud, an AI-powered personal growth journal. He is a 6-time founder, founding Curio NFT Intelligence, Ikaria (social wellness), and Secret (social media). Prior to Secret, Chrys was a Product Manager at Google where he launched the photo-sharing community Photovine and contributed to Google+ and YouTube. He has built and launched several mobile social products such as Fliggo, TwitVid, Vidly and Treehouse. Chrys was born and raised near Boston and is a Y Combinator alumni.

👉🏼 About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Chrys discuss building in a saturated market, using AI as a thought partner, designing original apps, and more!

👉🏼 Timestamps:

• 00:00: Episode Highlight
• 00:45: Shoutout to Acquire.com
• 03:11: Intro to Chrys Bader - co-founder at Rosebud, an AI-powered personal growth journal
• 07:07: The experience of building a consumer app in mental health
• 11:14: How is Rosebud different from other AI companionship apps?
• 15:43: Where Chrys' love for mobile apps comes from
• 21:45: Why Chrys prefers building for consumers
• 25:43: Chrys' design inspiration for Rosebud
• 30:16: Building Rosebud as a designer and as a founder
• 33:10: How Chrys refuels himself after hard times in startup world
• 47:43: Chrys' advice for founders building consumer ideas and consumer apps
• 56:12: Fundraising vs bootstrapping in 2024
• 1:01:49: How Y Combinator changed Chrys as a founder and why he didn't go back
• 1:05:45: How Chrys went from social wellness to photo sharing to mental health apps as a founder
• 1:08:12: Rosebud's AI origin story
• 1:10:35: Where Rosebud is going next
• 1:14:42: Outro and closing thoughts

👉🏼 Resources:

• Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/
• Tyson Rosage: https://teamtreehouse.com/library/how-to-make-design-decisions-tyson-rosage

👉🏼 Where to find Chrys:

• Rosebud: https://help.rosebud.app/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrysb
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrysb
• Website: https://chrysbader.com/

👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
• Website: https://5harath.com/
• Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/
• Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/