Why 7 million people follow Caleb Simpson's apartment tours

Over seven million people follow Caleb Simpson into strangers' apartments. He walks up to people on the street in New York, asks what they pay in rent, and then asks if he can see the place. Most say no. Some say yes.

That's basically the whole video: an apartment tour, the same thing a realtor posts. But nobody lives in a listing. In Caleb's videos somebody does, and they just told a stranger their rent. One woman pays $650 a month in Manhattan for eighty square feet, and she lives there with her dog.

Most of his followers probably will never rent in New York, and they watch anyway. Most founders post the listing: here's the features, here's the walkthrough. Great, if somebody's already shopping. Make the thing people would watch when they're not.

Be the obvious choice, not another copy.