Episode Details

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Our latest podcast guest is one incredible founder: Michael Birch, co-founder of Bebo, who shares how he started and scaled the social network into one of the most popular sites of its time before selling it to AOL for $850 million in 2008, how he reinvented himself after Bebo, and what he’s building now that Bebo is closed for good after 21 years.

Watch now - Bebo Co-Founder: How to Build an $850 Million Social Network

During the episode, we learn about Michael’s first entrepreneurial attempt, Ringo.com (another social network), which landed 400,000 members in three months on a $6,000 database server; how Bebo grew to a million users in nine days before going quiet for six months, until a basic quiz feature cracked engagement; and how The Battery, a members’ club in San Francisco, became his next act after the acquisition.

We also explore an interesting question: what happens to a founder’s sense of identity when the company he and his wife, Xochi, spent years building is no longer theirs to run? Michael also shared that, although he’s technical at heart, he hasn’t written a line of code since January, building his latest venture almost entirely with AI, a glimpse of what building without a team could look like for the next generation of founders.

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Download the transcript 👇

Timestamps

(0:00) Meet Michael Birch(2:58) The Founding Story of Bebo(8:55) Why Bebo Went Viral(11:19) Bebo's First 12 Months(21:40) How Much Has Social Actually Changed?(23:58) Selling to AOL for $850M(29:50) Reinventing Your Identity Post-Acquisition(31:12) Starting The Battery(38:47) Technology or Hospitality?(39:54) Michael's Take on AI's Future(45:00) Is IRL Being Affected by AI?(47:55) Michael's Latest Venture: Bluebell(1:02:08) Building With Your Spouse

Our notes from this episode with Michael

1. Virality gets people in, engagement keeps them.

Bebo stalled after launch despite a working social graph. A single “how well do you know me” quiz, which required non-members to create an account to see th