Cluely’s Roy Lee has a message for startup founders: you need to be considering tougher about tips on how to go viral.

“Typically, in case you’re not in deep tech, then it’s good to low-key deep concentrate on distribution,” Lee informed the group at Disrupt 2025.

However he additionally made it clear that not everybody was reduce out for this sort of viral advertising and marketing.

“In case you’re any good at engineering, you’re in all probability not humorous and also you’re in all probability not going to be a content material creator since you don’t have it in your blood. Realistically, most of those individuals haven’t any likelihood of going viral.”

Cluely’s AI assistant grew well-known this April with a viral declare that its undetectable home windows might “show you how to cheat on something” — a declare that was rapidly disproven when a string of proctoring services confirmed they might, in reality, detect use of the AI assistant. However in a matter of months, the corporate had raised $15 million from Andressen Horowitz, changing into one of the seen merchandise within the crowded AI assistant area.

As Lee frames it, it’s a part of his expertise for going viral, which regularly means making a number of individuals very offended at him. “I feel I’m notably good at framing myself in a manner that’s controversial,” he mentioned onstage. “I do a number of issues which are totally different. And the whole lot I try this’s totally different, I body it by means of the filter of my voice. And my voice is of course simply very enraging to lots of people.”

For Lee, it’s a part of a broader idea of social media, by which consideration is the one foreign money.

“Fame is kind of a factor of the previous,” Lee mentioned. “You’ll be able to attempt to be the New York Occasions and guard your ironclad status, however realistically you’ve received Sam Altman on the timeline speaking about sizzling guys and also you’ve received Elon Musk going batshit loopy.”

“You simply have to appreciate that the world is trending to a unique place,” he continued, “the place you need to be excessive, you need to be genuine and you need to be private.”

It’s laborious to say how properly that technique is working, although. When requested for Cluely’s income numbers or person numbers, nevertheless, Lee demurred.

“What I’ve discovered is that it is best to by no means share income numbers as a result of in case you’re doing properly, no one will discuss how properly you’re doing. And in case you’re doing poorly, individuals will solely discuss how poorly you’re doing,” Lee mentioned.“I’ll say we’re doing higher than I anticipated, but it surely’s not the quickest rising firm of all time.”