Houseparty: Lessons in tech startup growth

TAMID at WashU, a student business organization that offers experiential learning through connecting students to business professionals in Israel, had the great pleasure of hearing from Kimberly Kalb, Director of Growth for the new trending app, Houseparty. Houseparty, a group videochatting app, quickly became one of the most popular apps among high school and college students alike.

Kalb said the motivation behind the app was to create “spontaneous togetherness” in the digital world, the feeling one experiences while fostering new relationships at a real house party. As opposed to other social networking applications, Houseparty stands out by allowing its users to see when their friends are “in the house,” so they can immediately jump in to a video chat with no request needed. The spontaneity of the app brings back a feeling of authenticity in a rather contrived digital social networking sphere. Houseparty is revolutionizing communication, giving users the ability to just be themselves on their social media.

Launching just a few months ago, the startup found early success and rapidly rose to the top of app store. The app is quickly gaining popularity at many college campuses, including here at WashU.

The app was created in Israel, and is one of the many great success stories coming out of the startup nation. Kalb spoke about the founders’ ambitions and faith in the company as key drivers of their success.

The Israeli founders fostered a responsive and creative business culture, reminiscent of typical Israeli management. This unique team structure has enabled the team to thrive under limited conditions and flourish throughout the US. With their team growing to 10 people, Houseparty is now based in both Israel and Silicon Valley.

Kalb contributes the app’s rapid growth to their dedication to user satisfaction. This dedication has paid off because users are integrating Houseparty into their everyday lives and spreading the word about it like wildfire—an important fact, since the startup has not invested any money into a marketing plan (their growth is entirely due to their users’ word of mouth).

Kalb gave students an inside scoop at the beginning phases of the next big thing to hit social media. TAMID members and other students alike were inspired by Kalb and Houseparty’s successes. Students now see an example of a feasible opportunity to become the next leaders in the start-up industry.

Guest blogger: Esther Douer is a Sophomore majoring in Marketing and Applied Math. Danielle Weisfeld is a Junior majoring in Psychology and Marketing.