Founder of a social-media-adjacent startup here — 100% agree that monetization model, moreso than funding etc is the core problem. The decisions for which I am

Founder of a social-media-adjacent startup here — 100% agree that monetization model, moreso than funding etc is the core problem. The decisions for which I am most grateful my co-founders and I have made, from day one, were to 1) have a monetization model that's not reliant on usage and 2) not set goals against usage. Granted, we're a bit of a peculiar case because of the market we serve (giving parents a screen-free alternative to smartphones and social media for their kids). But personally, my experience here has given me hope that other monetization models _can_ pave the way for non-addictive social products to flourish.