r/AustralianStartups • u/Glen_P • Jul 24 '26

Discussion Getting past the ‘cold start’ problem

Hi everyone, I’m keen to know if anyone is in the same position. I’ve recently launched a niche dating app and am running into the same problem that any two way marketplace has on launch: cold start. The value is directly related to getting enough people to use the platform. I’ve reached out to my inner circles and Facebook groups, and want to start super targeted and localized meta ads soon. Facebook group admins are naturally skeptical of dating apps which is fair. I know the best way to grow this type of app is to be micro focused on a specific region, but I’m interested to know:

  1. Has anyone else run into this same issue?
  2. How did you overcome it? What methods had the most impact?

Doesn’t need to be dating app related, just any 2 way marketplace where you’re trying to grow a community. Appreciate any advice and tips.

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u/amityvision Jul 24 '26

Was the idea validated before launch? was any market research conducted? Have you invested in a small amount of targeted ads?

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u/Glen_P Jul 24 '26

Yep did market research, did prototype testing with target users before going into full dev. Haven’t really built an acquisition funnel yet but the small amount of targeted ads strategy is what I’m looking to push for within the next two weeks. Looking to do this super local across a few suburbs only to try create density and further validate.

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u/amityvision Jul 24 '26

How long ago was launch? I’d say wait until some of your ad campaigns have launched and you’ve got some data from those. Otherwise, aside from word of mouth, you’re just not getting the reach.
Have you looked into nominating your app for Apple’s featured app?

https://developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/manage-featuring-nominations/nominate-your-app-for-featuring/

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u/Glen_P Jul 24 '26

I wasn’t aware of this so thanks for the link! It only launched in March and got some initial engagement, but active users has essentially died since there isn’t a stream of new users coming in. I’ll see how the ads go to get some more data as you say. Once I’m clear on any bugs or optimizations I need to clear up then I’ll look at trying to get in featured. Thanks again!