FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Clear answers about wallet credit, usage, subscriptions, and how Tycoon charges for work.
Do waitlists even work anymore, or is it a 2022 growth hack?
Waitlists work when (1) demand truly outstrips supply, (2) you honor the queue with real access, (3) the wait creates anticipation not resentment. They don't work when you use a fake waitlist for marketing theater (product's ready but you pretend it's gated) or when you silently stop inviting. Tycoon's workflow assumes real supply constraints — if your onboarding capacity is 100/week, the waitlist is a queue management tool. If you can onboard everyone, skip the waitlist and just launch.
What about waitlist ordering — is strict FIFO right, or should I invite strategic accounts first?
Priority-based is usually right. Strict FIFO seems fair but hurts you: you waste early access on people who'll never activate (tire kickers) while your ICP waits. Priority can be: tier (A/B/C from qualification), referral activity (people who referred signups get priority), engagement (people who opened the nurture emails), waitlist position. The workflow lets you mix these. Typical result: A-tier ICPs activate at 60%+ while C-tier consumers activate at 15% — so inviting A-tier first maximizes total activations from limited supply.
How do I handle when the product isn't actually ready yet? Waiting 6 months is too long.
Two options, both supported. Option 1: Don't start the waitlist yet — build a 'pre-waitlist' landing page that captures emails without making wait-time promises, and convert them to waitlist when you're closer. Option 2: Start the waitlist but over-communicate. Nurture sequence includes transparent build updates ('here's what we shipped this week'), demos of the in-progress product, behind-the-scenes content. Transparency preserves goodwill through long waits. Silent waitlists die; communicative waitlists grow.
What if my waitlist grows faster than I can onboard — people wait 4+ months and give up?
Signal for you to scale onboarding or open supply. AI CMO surfaces this: 'current wait time at priority C is 187 days — C-tier cancellations rising 3x'. Options: (1) scale onboarding (more Customer Success, better self-serve, remove manual steps), (2) open supply by tier (C-tier gets self-serve, A-tier gets white-glove), (3) accept that C-tier leaves — they weren't going to activate anyway. Most founders over-constrain and under-scale; the dashboard forces the conversation.
Can this handle referral-based waitlists like Dropbox or Robinhood did?
Yes. AI CMO supports referral programs layered on the waitlist: each signup gets a unique referral code, each successful referral (that person joins) moves you up the queue, leaderboard visible in the nurture emails. Typical dynamics: top 10% of referrers drive 60-70% of viral growth. Tracking is fully automated — referrer credited, referred person tagged as 'came via [name]', position adjusted. Adds 20-40% to waitlist size compared to non-referral programs, but only works if the product is genuinely desirable (referrals follow real want).