Garry Tan on Product

This was me in 1995 — age 14. My parents were immigrants to the country. I remember at times we didn't have enough food to eat: Dinner was bread and milk. I learned to make web pages and got my first job cold calling the Yellow Pages. The craft (design/eng/PM) gave me my life.

170 likes4 repliesPosted Mar 31, 2021

Remix this post

Your note

Private to you, and used when you remix this post.

Viral score

Based on absolute engagement — the platform doesn’t expose follower counts here, so large accounts score higher.

From likes, comments.

Why it worked

Leads with a specific number, which is concrete enough to be worth a second of attention.
Follows a clear Hook → Context → Landing shape, so the reader always knows where they are.
Ends on a short line that is easy to quote and repeat.
Written from experience rather than as advice, which is harder to argue with.
Short enough to read in full without expanding, which removes a step before the point lands.
Short sentences keep the pace up, so the reader never has to re-read a line.

The mechanics

Hook: Leads with a number
Structure: Hook → Context → Landing
Style: Conversational paragraphs at a steady pace.
Tone: personal, punchy
Written for: Product teams

Analysis by ViralLoop — not written by the original author.

Topics

Post by Garry Tan on X