Cameo doing things that don't scale

In the competitive landscape of startup growth, there’s a well-known philosophy championed by Y Combinator’s Paul Graham: “Do things that don’t scale.” This counterintuitive approach suggests that in the earliest days of building a company, founders should embrace labor-intensive, manual processes that have no hope of working as the company grows larger. For Cameo, the platform that allows fans to purchase personalized video messages from celebrities, this philosophy was embodied in their early growth strategy of hiring college interns to send direct messages to potential talent on social media platforms.

The Vision Behind Cameo

Before diving into Cameo’s growth strategy, it’s important to understand the vision that drove its creation. Founded in 2017 by Steven Galanis, Devon Townsend, and Martin Blencowe, Cameo set out to create a platform that would connect fans directly with their favorite celebrities, athletes, and influencers. The concept was simple yet revolutionary: fans could pay for personalized video messages from celebrities for birthdays, anniversaries, or just to surprise a friend.

However, like many marketplace businesses, Cameo faced the classic chicken-and-egg problem. To attract users willing to pay for personalized videos, they needed a roster of recognizable talent. But to attract talent to the platform, they needed to demonstrate that there was a user base willing to pay for these videos. Without either side in place, the platform couldn’t function.

This challenge was particularly acute for Cameo because their target talent pool—celebrities and influencers—was notoriously difficult to reach. These individuals typically have layers of management and representation that filter incoming opportunities, making it challenging for a new, unproven platform to get their attention.

The Unscalable Solution: $10/Month Interns and Direct Messages

Faced with this challenge, the Cameo team devised a strategy that was labor-intensive and completely unscalable, but brilliantly effective for their specific needs. As one source described it:

“The founders hired $10/month interns to DM talent on Instagram and Twitter. The bet was that they could bring on celebrities and influencers who would message to their audience that they could be booked on Cameo, driving user growth.”

In the summer of 2017, Cameo hired 15 college interns and had them send direct messages to potential talent on Instagram and Twitter all day. This approach was ingenious for several reasons:

1. Direct Access: By reaching out through social media DMs, they bypassed the traditional gatekeepers (agents, managers, publicists) who might have immediately rejected an unproven platform.
2. Volume Approach: By employing multiple interns sending messages throughout the day, they could reach a large number of potential talent, knowing that the response rate would likely be low.
3. Cost-Effective: At just $10 per month per intern, this was an incredibly cost-effective approach for a cash-strapped startup.
4. Demographic Alignment: College students were not only affordable but also had an intuitive understanding of social media platforms and culture that made them effective at crafting messages that would resonate with potential talent.

As Arthur Leopold, an early Cameo employee, explained: “We hired college interns because they are the best in the world at understanding Instagram. And Steve and I came from different backgrounds. We weren’t as familiar with the platform.”

This recognition of their own limitations and the strategic decision to leverage the expertise of digital natives was a key component of Cameo’s early success. The founders understood that college students had grown up with social media and had an intuitive grasp of its nuances, etiquette, and culture that they themselves lacked.

The Execution: Persistence and Personalization

The execution of this strategy wasn’t just about sending mass messages to any celebrity with a social media account. The Cameo team was strategic about who they targeted and how they approached them.

Initially, they focused on talent who might be more receptive to a new platform—those who were perhaps past the peak of their fame but still had dedicated fan bases, or rising influencers looking for new ways to monetize their following. These individuals were more likely to be open to experimental platforms and less likely to have restrictive management agreements that would prevent their participation.

The interns were instructed to craft personalized messages that explained the concept of Cameo and highlighted the potential benefits for the talent. These weren’t generic copy-paste messages but tailored outreach that demonstrated an understanding of the individual’s career, fan base, and potential fit with the platform.

The approach required persistence. Many messages went unanswered, and many responses were negative. But the team understood that this was a numbers game—they needed to reach out to a large number of potential talent to secure even a small number of participants.

This persistence paid off. As one source noted, “The interns ended up punching above their weight.” They managed to secure commitments from enough talent to begin building a roster that could attract users to the platform.

The Results: Building the Supply Side of the Marketplace

The results of this strategy were transformative for Cameo. By focusing intensely on building the supply side of their marketplace—the talent roster—they were able to overcome the initial chicken-and-egg problem that plagues many marketplace businesses.

Once they had secured a critical mass of talent, the second part of their strategy kicked in: these celebrities and influencers would promote their availability on Cameo to their own audiences, driving user growth for the platform. This created a virtuous cycle where more talent led to more users, which in turn made the platform more attractive to additional talent.

This approach allowed Cameo to build both sides of their marketplace simultaneously. The direct outreach to talent secured the supply side, while the talent’s promotion to their followers helped build the demand side.

The strategy also had several additional benefits:

1. Validation: Each celebrity who joined the platform provided social proof that legitimized Cameo in the eyes of other potential talent.
2. Market Research: The interactions with talent provided valuable insights into what would motivate them to join and remain active on the platform.
3. Relationship Building: The direct outreach established personal connections with talent that could be leveraged for future engagement and retention efforts.
4. Media Coverage: As recognizable names joined the platform, Cameo began to attract media attention, providing free marketing and further legitimizing the business.

Beyond the Initial Outreach: Scaling the Approach

As Cameo began to gain traction, they evolved their talent acquisition strategy while maintaining the core principles that had made their initial approach successful.

They formalized their talent outreach team, moving beyond interns to full-time employees dedicated to identifying, contacting, and onboarding new talent. They developed more sophisticated targeting criteria to identify talent who would be most successful on the platform and most valuable to their user base.

They also began to leverage the network effects that emerged as more talent joined the platform. Existing talent would refer colleagues, friends, and co-stars, creating organic growth in their roster. As one celebrity from a particular show or sports team joined, it became easier to recruit others from the same context.

The company also began to work more formally with talent agencies and management companies as they established credibility in the industry. What had started as a strategy to bypass these gatekeepers evolved into collaborative relationships that could bring entire rosters of talent onto the platform.

Throughout this evolution, however, the company maintained the personalized, high-touch approach that had characterized their initial outreach. They understood that each talent was unique, with different motivations, concerns, and expectations, and they tailored their approach accordingly.

The Psychological Insight: Understanding Both Sides of the Marketplace

Underlying Cameo’s approach was a profound psychological insight: understanding the motivations and behaviors of both sides of their marketplace.

For talent, they recognized several key motivations:

1. Financial Opportunity: Many celebrities, particularly those past the peak of their fame, were attracted by the opportunity to monetize their existing fan base with minimal effort.
2. Fan Connection: Some talent genuinely valued the opportunity to connect more directly with their most dedicated fans.
3. Relevance: For others, being on a cutting-edge platform provided a way to stay relevant in a rapidly changing media landscape.
4. Control: Cameo offered talent control over their pricing, availability, and which requests they accepted, providing a level of autonomy not always available in traditional media opportunities.

For users, they understood that the value proposition was equally compelling:

1. Personal Connection: Fans valued the opportunity to receive a personalized message from someone they admired.
2. Uniqueness: A Cameo video offered a unique gift option that couldn’t be replicated through traditional channels.
3. Social Currency: Receiving or giving a Cameo video provided social currency—something to share on social media and discuss with friends.
4. Accessibility: The platform made celebrities who might otherwise seem unreachable suddenly accessible for a relatively modest fee.

By understanding these motivations, Cameo was able to craft messaging and features that resonated with both sides of their marketplace, facilitating growth and engagement.

Lessons for Entrepreneurs: The Power of Unscalable Beginnings

Cameo’s growth strategy offers several valuable lessons for entrepreneurs facing their own marketplace challenges:

1. Focus on One Side First: Rather than trying to build both sides of the marketplace simultaneously, Cameo focused intensely on building their talent roster, knowing that this would help drive user acquisition.
2. Leverage Existing Platforms: By reaching out through Instagram and Twitter, Cameo met potential talent where they already were, rather than trying to draw them to a new platform immediately.
3. Embrace Unscalable Solutions: The manual process of having interns send direct messages could never scale to thousands of talent, but it was perfect for building the initial roster needed to gain traction.
4. Recognize Your Limitations: By acknowledging their own lack of expertise with Instagram and hiring interns who intuitively understood the platform, the founders made a strategic decision that compensated for their blind spots.
5. Persistence Pays Off: The volume approach to outreach, knowing that many messages would go unanswered, demonstrated an understanding that persistence is often key in early-stage growth efforts.
6. Strategic Targeting: By focusing initially on talent who might be more receptive to a new platform, Cameo increased their chances of success and built momentum that could attract bigger names later.
7. Leverage Network Effects: As they gained traction, Cameo was able to leverage the network effects of talent referring other talent, creating organic growth in their roster.

Perhaps the most important lesson from Cameo’s experience is that sometimes the most valuable work entrepreneurs can do is the manual, unscalable labor that no one else is willing to do. As the saying goes, “Do things that don’t scale until you’re ready to scale.”

The Legacy: A Platform Built on Direct Outreach

Today, Cameo hosts thousands of celebrities, athletes, and influencers on its platform, offering personalized video messages to fans around the world. The company has raised over $165 million in funding and was valued at over $1 billion in 2021, achieving “unicorn” status.

This success can be traced back to those early days when college interns were sending direct messages to potential talent on Instagram and Twitter. What began as an unscalable, manual process laid the foundation for a platform that has transformed how fans interact with celebrities in the digital age.

What makes this story particularly powerful is that Cameo’s growth strategy wasn’t just a clever hack; it was an expression of the company’s core mission to connect fans and talent in a more personal way. The direct outreach to talent through social media was a manifestation of the same direct connection they were trying to create between talent and fans through their platform.

In a world where many startups focus on automated growth hacks and algorithmic solutions, Cameo’s story reminds us of the power of personal outreach, manual effort, and genuine connection. Sometimes, the most effective way to build something that scales is to start by doing things that don’t scale at all.

As Steven Galanis reflected on the company’s journey, the willingness to do this unscalable work wasn’t just a growth strategy—it was a competitive advantage. While others might have been looking for shortcuts and automation, Cameo was willing to put in the manual effort to create something of lasting value. That willingness to do what others wouldn’t became the foundation for a platform that has changed how fans and celebrities connect in the digital age.