Acharya: Poke operates via iMessage and forces users to negotiate price
Anish Acharya · Why Creativity Will Matter More Than Code | Kevin Rose and Anish Acharya · Oct 22, 2025 · at 19:14
Anish Acharya, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), explains the unconventional user onboarding flow of the AI email productivity app Poke.
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“One interesting thing they've done is actually the interface is iMessage. So you're texting with it. So, you know, of course, iMessage, you're typically only texting with people. So right away, that's subliminally sort of setting you up to expect to have a human-like interaction. Then the Poke products is really well done. First, it refuses to allow you to sign up for the product. So you've got to convince it That you deserve to actually use the product. Then you engage in this negotiation on price. Where it starts at 200 a month.”
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