DAU is Dead

In 2022, Charlie Javice sold her startup Frank to JPMorgan Chase for $175 million by claiming it had over 4 million users. There was just one problem: those users didn't exist. When JPMorgan tried to email Frank's supposed customer base, the messages bounced. The company had been built on fake data.

This scandal exposed a deeper truth about our current moment: In a world of AI agents and automated engagement, proving your users are human will soon be worth more than having millions of unverified ones.

📉 The Death of DAU

For years, tech has been fixated on Daily Active Users (DAU) as the primary metric of success. The unicorn era taught us that more users equals more value, and companies raced to prove their growth at all costs. But this metric is increasingly meaningless in an AI-powered world. AI agents are hyperactive, processing information faster and generating more content than any human could. When an AI agent can make 25 code changes while a human makes 5, "activity" stops being a useful measure of value. We're entering an era where the quality of engagement matters more than the quantity.

The next generation of great companies won't be measured by how many users they have, but by how many authentic humans are genuinely obsessed with their product. This is why we need to start thinking about Daily Authentic Users (DAuthU) – real humans who consistently engage with and advocate for your product. These aren't just numbers in a database; they're people who spend real money, create real content, build real relationships, and drive genuine word-of-mouth growth.

👥 Understanding User Intimacy

The value of human connection exists on a spectrum, which we can visualize as the DAuthU Hierarchy:

True Fans/Brand Advocates – These superfans live and breathe your brand. They don't just use your product; they get your logo tattooed on themselves and make it part of their identity. They're the "1,000 true fans" Kevin Kelly wrote about – the people who will buy anything you create and evangelize your brand without being asked.

Evangelists – Passionate influencers who are both users and word-of-mouth spreaders. They show up to your events, wear your merch proudly, and actively bring new users into your ecosystem.

Power Users – Daily users who deeply engage with your product but stay relatively low-key about it. They provide valuable feedback and are the backbone of your user base.

Community Followers – People who engage with your content across platforms but may not commit or buy as frequently. Even within this group, there's a hierarchy of value: podcast/YouTube subscribers > email subscribers > Instagram followers > TikTok followers.

Passive Browsers – Occasional visitors with minimal engagement. These might even be bots or AI agents in today's landscape.

This hierarchy isn't just theoretical – it's becoming a key driver of company value. Take Beehiiv (this platform that we host our essays on), for example. By the time they raised their Series A, Ninety percent of their growth came from organic community building. Their users aren't numbers in a dashboard; they're real creators building real businesses on their platform. When those creators succeed, they naturally evangelize the product to others in their network, creating a flywheel of authentic growth that no amount of paid acquisition could match.

In previous essays, we've explored various ways to engage your community – through thoughtful merch, rewarding superfans, launching community rounds, and more. But the fundamental question remains: how do you distinguish between a DAU (Daily Active User) and a DAuthU (Daily Authentic User)?

🌱 How to Acquire Real, Authentic Users 

The path to authentic engagement starts with understanding the natural rhythms and limitations of human behavior. Humans can't run a thousand marathons a year, but they might do ten. They can't meaningfully engage with thousands of community members, but they can build deep relationships with a few dozen. These constraints aren't limitations – they're features that help distinguish genuine engagement from artificial activity.

If you're building a business, consider these authenticity safeguards:

• Host IRL events where your community can gather in person

• Create opportunities for users to contribute meaningfully to your product

• Design for realistic human usage patterns rather than hyperactive AI behavior

• Reward depth of engagement rather than just frequency

• Allow your most authentic users to literally own a piece of your company through community rounds

• Most of all, create something that works for YOUR company

🤖 The AI Inflection Point

The explosion of AI tools means anyone can create B+ content, farm engagement, and simulate activity. 

But you can't fake a thousand people showing up to in-person events. You can't simulate customers proudly wearing your brand's merch. And you can't automate the kind of organic community growth that comes from genuine human connection.

This is why the most valuable companies won't be the ones with the most users – they'll be the ones with the most obsessive daily authentic users! 

The elephant companies that understand this shift – that focus on cultivating authentic human connection rather than chasing engagement at all costs – will be the ones that thrive in the decades to come.

At Park Rangers Capital, we partner with founders building elephant companies – startups that turn customers into members and companies into communities. If you're building something with authenticity at its core, we'd love to connect at [email protected].