Social media is now an integral part our lives. It has revolutionized the way we communicate through user-generated content. Millennials and Gen Z feel disconnected despite all the content they create and share. Zack Hargett saw both the abundance of digital content and the lack in connection people feel with the physical world. Hargett founded Scout, which is a startup that connects people via content through its platform. Scout recently raised $1.2million in a pre-seed round, led by Sarah Leary (cofounder and CEO of Nextdoor), which also included participation from Unusual Ventures founders Loom, as well as other angel investors. Scout is also available to over 150,000 people on the startup’s waitlist.
Leary is also a Venture Partner with Unusual Ventures. He says that Zack was chosen because of his product design expertise and passion for building community through content. Scout has seen over 150k signups in preview. Zack’s fresh approach to the Metaverse ecosystem, which he created from one personalized virtual room to infinitely more, has helped tap into the zeitgeist for Gen-Z creators.
Frederick Daso – Zack, thank you so much for taking time to talk with me today. Let’s get to it. First, while you think modern content is “shared vocabulary,” such as a meme or meme, people still feel disconnected as they share it. Is there something missing in sharing content that connects people, rather than is it for passive consumption?
Zack Hargett – Fred, thank you for having me. This is a great question, and we consider it the “billion-dollar question”.
It’s amazing to see what’s happening in content right now. Spotify adds 30 songs per minute to its library, YouTube uploads 500 hours of video, Instagram users share over 300,000 stories and so on. All this takes place every single minute. We feel lonely more than ever. 61% of American young adults report feeling lonely “often” to “nearly always”.
Modern content can be a powerful tool to bring people together, according to our opinion. Think back to the last time you shared a song, TikTok or meme with a friend. Since I moved to California five years ago, I have mainly kept in touch via memes. Today’s content is a shared language. We create products that use that language in unique ways.
