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Good morning to all new and old readers! Here is your Saturday edition of Faster Than Normal, exploring the stories, ideas, and frameworks of the world’s most prolific people and companies—and how you can apply them to build businesses, wealth, and the most important asset of all: yourself. 

Today, we’re covering Roblox and their journey to transforming from a small, niche platform into a global gaming and social phenomenon.

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What you’ll learn:

• How Roblox survived growing pains and became a safe platform for kids

• Lessons on embracing the long game, not be afraid to be misunderstood, and not be afraid of the kids' table

Cheers,

Alex

P.S. Send me feedback on how we can improve. We want to be worthy of your time. I respond to every email.

Roblox

From Blocks to Billions: The Roblox Story

In 2004, David Baszucki and Erik Cassel were tinkering with an idea. Not in a garage, but in a small office in Menlo Park. They called it DynaBlocks. It was clunky. Ugly, even. But it had potential.

"We wanted to create a platform where kids could build and play together," Baszucki recalls. "But we had no idea if anyone would actually use it."

They were right to be uncertain. The early days were tough. Funding was scarce. Users were few. The platform, renamed Roblox in 2005, was a hard sell to investors.

"Everyone thought we were crazy," says Baszucki. "A virtual world where kids make games? It seemed far-fetched."

But they persisted. Slowly, kids started to trickle in. They built. They played. They told their friends.

The turning point came in 2007. Roblox introduced the ability for users to create their own games. Suddenly, the platform exploded with creativity. Kids weren't just playing - they were designing, coding, collaborating.

Growth was steady, but not spectacular. Until 2016. That's when Roblox hit mobile devices. Downloads skyrocketed. User numbers doubled, then tripled.

"We went from a niche platform to something much bigger," Baszucki notes. "It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time."

But with growth came challenges. Server crashes. Content moderation issues. The platform struggled to keep up with its own success.

Baszucki and his team worked round the clock. They upgraded servers, improved moderation tools, hired more staff. It was a race against time.

Their efforts paid off. By 2020, Roblox was hosting over 18 million games. Daily active users hit 31.1 million. The pandemic accelerated growth even further.

"We never expected this level of success," Baszucki admits. "It's humbling."

But success brought scrutiny. Critics raised concerns about child safety and labor practices. Roblox responded by beefing up its safety features and improving its developer ecosystem.

"Our priority has always been creating a safe and fair platform," Baszucki insists. "We're constantly working to improve."

Today, Roblox is a behemoth. The company went public in 2021, with a market cap that briefly touched $45 billion. From a small office in Menlo Park to a global phenomenon - it's been quite a journey.

But Baszucki remains focused on the future. "We're just getting started," he says. "Our goal is to connect billions of people through shared experiences."

Lessons

Lesson 1: Embrace the long game. Roblox took years to gain traction. David Baszucki, the founder, says he was on "version 87 of his business model" before things really took off. Most startups fail because they give up too soon. Roblox didn't. They kept iterating, improving, and believing in their vision. "We wanted to create a platform where kids could build and play together," Baszucki recalls. "But we had no idea if anyone would actually use it." Patience paid off. It took over a decade for Roblox to become an overnight success.

Lesson 2: Don't be afraid to be misunderstood. For years, investors and adults didn't get Roblox. It looked clunky and simplistic. But kids loved it. Baszucki says, "Everyone thought we were crazy. A virtual world where kids make games? It seemed far-fetched." Being misunderstood is often a sign you're onto something new. If everyone gets your idea immediately, it might not be innovative enough.

Lesson 3: Don't be afraid of the kids' table. Roblox focused on a demographic that many tech companies overlook: children. They saw potential where others saw limitations. And it paid off. Big time. By 2020, one-third of all Americans under 16 were on Roblox. That's not just a user base. It's a generation.

Lesson 4: Leverage network effects. Roblox's growth is driven by powerful network effects. Each new user makes the platform more valuable for existing users. Each new developer creates more content for players. This self-reinforcing cycle has been key to Roblox's explosive growth.

Lesson 5: Use constraints as a catalyst for creativity. Roblox's simple graphics and basic tools might seem limiting. But they've spurred incredible creativity. Users have built complex games and experiences within these constraints. Limitations can breed innovation. Don't always aim for the most advanced technology. Sometimes, simplicity is more powerful.

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That’s all for today, folks. As always, please give me your feedback. Which section is your favourite? What do you want to see more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know.

Have a wonderful rest of week, all.

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