Start with a t-shirt to create buzz and guilt people into trying your product.

"Start with a t-shirt. I think I explained it as like, you know, we had the logo and the concept done first, and we used that t-shirt to send to people that we wanted to check out the beta."

Focus on quality control by inviting respected members of the community to join first.

"We really focused on like the quality of the community and the content right from the start. And that was one way to ensure that it didn't get out of control."

Timing is crucial in the success of a platform; take advantage of market gaps.

"Part of it was timing... When it started, there was Twitter and Flickr and Instagram wasn't really around at that point."

Monetize the platform by offering services that cater to those with more financial resources.

"People that are hiring, those are the people with money... It actually, it felt right to charge those people rather than the designers who are actually creating the community and they're creating the work that makes it all work."

Surround yourself with people you like and enjoy working with.

"Surrounding yourself with people that you like to be with, I think is a big one... If everything goes well, you're going to spend a lot of time with those people. And I love that advice because I think there's like this sort of constant battle between like the external validation... and the internal validation..."