Startup Corner #13: Startups that only need you once
What happens when the entire business of a startup depends on showing up at the exact right moment
Hey friends,
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a type of startup that doesn’t really get talked about — or at least, not with the same energy as your classic SaaS play.
These aren’t sticky, daily-use products.
They don’t live or die by retention curves.
They’re not trying to become your homepage or your dashboard or your everything.
Instead, they exist for a single, high-intent moment — and then they disappear.
You don’t build a home every month.
You don’t move across the world every quarter.
You don’t refinance your student loans on a loop.
But when you do need to do one of those things?
You really need help.
And that’s where these kinds of companies step in.
I’ve started calling them “decisive moment” startups — mostly just in my head — because that’s what they’re built around: one big decision, one stressful scenario, one personal or professional pivot point.
They don’t want to keep you forever. They just want to be there exactly when the need hits.
Take Canopy for example — they help parents find and enroll in summer camps, extracurriculars, enrichment programs. It’s not something you think about in July or October or February. But when spring hits and you’re scrambling to line up activities before school ends, suddenly that problem becomes very real, very urgent. Canopy wins by being top of mind at that exact time. That’s it. That’s the play.
Or consider Backpack — they’re building tools for global workers to manage visas, work authorizations, and cross-border logistics. That’s not an every-week kind of problem. But when someone gets a job abroad or decides to relocate, it becomes a logistical nightmare that desperately needs simplification. That’s the entry point. That’s the decisive moment.
Same thing with Truebill (before they were acquired by Rocket). Most people don’t care about their forgotten subscriptions until they get a random charge on their credit card. Then — all of a sudden — it’s time to clean house. And Truebill swoops in with a clean interface and one-click cancel buttons. Perfect timing, perfect problem.
These kinds of startups don’t win because they have the best retention.
Honestly, they often don’t have great retention — and they’re not supposed to.
They win because they solve a very specific problem, at the exact right time, in a way that feels immediate and obvious.
They help people act — not over time, but right now.
That changes how you build, and especially how you think about growth.
You’re not trying to maximize “engagement per user per month.” You’re trying to win the discovery window — the few days or weeks when someone realizes: “I need to figure this out.”
That’s why these companies often invest heavily in SEO, referral loops, and embedded distribution. Not because they want you to stay forever — but because they want to be there when the intent spikes.
And yeah, this also shifts the monetization model.
Since you’re not monetizing over years, you often have to earn more value inside a shorter relationship. That’s why you’ll see models like:
Layered upsells
Service bundles
Affiliate plays
Or just a single, clean transaction with a healthy margin
A great example of this is Zencare, which helps people find and book a therapist. That’s not something you search for regularly. But when you are ready to start therapy, Zencare’s job is to reduce friction — fast. That means helpful filters, clean profiles, transparent pricing, and direct booking. Then you’re off. They’ve done their job. No constant pings. No engagement push. Just clarity, confidence, done.
I think what makes these startups so interesting is that they kind of break the rules we’ve come to expect.
They’re not trying to be addictive.
They’re not gamifying anything.
They’re not building an ecosystem.
They’re just solving a stressful problem better than anyone else — once.
And honestly? That’s enough.
It reminds me that not every company needs to become a habit. Not every product needs daily active users to be successful. Some just need to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right answer.
That’s it.
So if you’re working on something that solves a problem people only notice when it’s urgent — that’s not a weakness. That might actually be your biggest strength.
You don’t need to be sticky.
You just need to be unforgettable at the exact right moment.
More soon,
— RB
Startup Corner