An 'atomic network', as described by Chen, is a small, initial network where businesses start to overcome the Cold Start Problem. These networks often start in a single city, college campus, or small beta tests at individual companies. They are smaller than entrepreneurs often think. For example, Uber's early atomic networks were not entire cities like San Francisco, but specific locations and times like '5pm at the Caltrain Station at 5th and King Street'. Once they succeed in these smaller networks, they gradually expand to conquer larger markets.
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When a networked product launches, it faces a chicken-and-egg problem: people need to use it for it to be worth anything. So how do you start the very...
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To overcome the Cold Start Problem, businesses tend to start with a single network—what Chen calls an 'atomic network'. This is perhaps the most crucial idea in the book. Networked products tend to start small, in a single city, college campus, or in small beta tests at individual companies—like when Facebook launched at Harvard University. "Only once they nail it in a smaller network do they build up over time to eventually conquer the world," Chen writes. Moreover, appropriate atomic networks are often smaller than entrepreneurs think. Uber's early atomic networks were not cities like San Francisco; '5pm at the Caltrain Station at 5th and King Street' is more accurate.
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