In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard to build what would become the tech powerhouse, Meta. In March of this year, Roy Lee was kicked out of Columbia, and is now building what’s ****become one of the most polarizing startups in recent times. Just over 20 years have passed, and the bar that startups need to meet to stand out has risen and risen. Is it due to AI leveling the playing field? Or, is it a product of digital overconsumption and desensitization?
Cluely uses the word “cheating” to somewhat harshly describe what they’re trying to accomplish, and their narrative aligns with this. Roy Lee (CEO of Cluely) was kicked out of Columbia because he publicly posted himself using Interview Coder — an AI coding tool he built — to pass big tech SWE interviews. Rather than focus just on landing internships with AI, he and his co-founder Neel Shanmugam sought to use AI to ‘cheat’ on everything: meetings, calls, homework, etc.
That’s the flowery story, but the actual product (in concept) is fairly simple. It’s a desktop software program that interfaces as a translucent textbox. For example, if you’re in a Zoom meeting it can provide you real-time feedback and notes as you’re calling. Many have criticized Cluely’s product for being a “GPT-wrapper”: a product that looks and feels like ChatGPT. And I’d have to agree, especially because ChatGPT’s desktop app can perform many of the same functionalities that Cluely can.
Recently, many startups like Cluely have forged strong social media narratives on how and why they started XX company. Many of these narratives involve giving up big tech offers, dropping out of prestigious universities, or …sperm racing? When you spend all your time and energy crafting a story, what happens to your actual product? That’s what ultimately matters, and it seems like it’s being neglected in favor of clicks and views.
An example of a UGC social media account and a viral UGC-Cluely post
Cluely’s widespread virality can be attributed to their emphasis on UGC (user-generated content) marketing. They recognized that if they could post 100 videos, at least one was bound to go viral. Their internal team churns out roughly 200 videos a day, and they’ve recruited external content creators to increase the volume, further boosting their odds.
Thus far, the UGC approach has proven successful for virality. Cluely-UGC videos reached millions of views within the first week. Bryan Kim, a partner at the VC firm that led Cluely’s $20M Series A funding, praised Cluely's viral-first marketing approach:
In consumer AI, momentum is a moat [a defense against competitors]… By establishing a “cult of diehards,” leading AI companies are dredging moats rooted in community and hands-on experimentation.