| name | growth-hacking |
| description | Growth strategies, viral loops, acquisition funnels, AARRR framework, and rapid experimentation. |
| allowed-tools | Read, Glob, Grep |
Growth Hacking
Systematic approaches to rapid, scalable growth.
1. AARRR Pirate Metrics Framework
| Stage | Focus | Key Metric |
|---|
| Acquisition | Get users | CAC, traffic sources |
| Activation | First value | Activation rate |
| Retention | Keep users | Churn, DAU/MAU |
| Revenue | Make money | ARPU, LTV |
| Referral | Spread word | Viral coefficient |
2. Acquisition Strategies
Channel Categories
| Channel | Type | Speed | Cost |
|---|
| SEO | Organic | Slow | Low |
| Content | Organic | Medium | Medium |
| Social | Organic/Paid | Fast | Variable |
| Paid ads | Paid | Fast | High |
| Referral | Viral | Medium | Low |
| Partnerships | Leverage | Medium | Medium |
Channel Prioritization (ICE Score)
| Factor | Score 1-10 |
|---|
| Impact | Potential effect |
| Confidence | Likelihood of success |
| Ease | Resources needed |
3. Activation Tactics
Onboarding Best Practices
| Tactic | Purpose |
|---|
| Progress bar | Show completion % |
| Quick wins | Early success |
| Personalization | Relevance |
| Tooltips | Guidance |
| Checklist | Clear next steps |
Activation Metrics
| Metric | Calculation |
|---|
| Activation rate | Users who complete key action / Total signups |
| Time to value | Time from signup to first value |
| Setup completion | % completing onboarding |
4. Retention Strategies
Retention Types
| Type | Timeframe | Focus |
|---|
| Day 1 | 24 hours | First impression |
| Week 1 | 7 days | Habit formation |
| Month 1 | 30 days | Core value |
| Long-term | 90+ days | Loyalty |
Retention Tactics
| Tactic | How |
|---|
| Email sequences | Drip campaigns |
| Push notifications | Timely reminders |
| In-app messages | Contextual help |
| Feature education | Show unused features |
| Rewards | Gamification |
| Community | Build connections |
Retention Metrics
| Metric | Formula |
|---|
| Day N retention | Active on day N / Total signups day 0 |
| Cohort retention | Users still active / Users in cohort |
| Churn rate | Lost customers / Total customers |
| DAU/MAU | Daily active / Monthly active |
5. Viral Loops
Types of Viral Loops
| Type | Example | K-factor potential |
|---|
| Inherent | Invite to collaborate | High |
| Word of mouth | Product so good | Medium |
| Incentivized | Referral rewards | High |
| Social sharing | Share content | Medium |
| Embedded | "Made with X" | Low-Medium |
Viral Coefficient (K-factor)
K = i × c
Where:
i = invites sent per user
c = conversion rate of invites
| K-factor | Result |
|---|
| K > 1 | Exponential growth |
| K = 1 | Linear growth |
| K < 1 | Declining growth |
Referral Program Structure
| Element | Best Practice |
|---|
| Incentive | Two-sided rewards |
| Friction | One-click sharing |
| Visibility | In-product placement |
| Tracking | Unique referral codes |
6. Growth Experiments
Hypothesis Template
If we [make this change]
Then [this metric] will [increase/decrease]
Because [reasoning]
Experiment Process
| Phase | Activities |
|---|
| Ideation | Brainstorm, prioritize (ICE) |
| Design | Hypothesis, success metrics |
| Build | MVP implementation |
| Measure | Track results |
| Learn | Document, iterate |
Sample Size Calculator
| Baseline | Lift | Sample needed |
|---|
| 2% | 10% | ~78,000 per variant |
| 2% | 25% | ~12,500 per variant |
| 5% | 10% | ~31,000 per variant |
| 5% | 25% | ~5,000 per variant |
7. Product-Led Growth (PLG)
PLG Principles
| Principle | Implementation |
|---|
| Free tier | Generous freemium |
| Self-serve | No sales needed |
| Bottom-up | Individual users first |
| Virality | Built-in sharing |
| Data-driven | Usage triggers upgrade |
PLG Metrics
| Metric | Target |
|---|
| Free to paid | 2-5% |
| Time to paid | < 30 days |
| PQL conversion | 10-20% |
| Expansion revenue | > 30% of new revenue |
8. Growth Levers
North Star Metric
| Business Type | North Star |
|---|
| SaaS | Weekly active users |
| E-commerce | Weekly purchases |
| Marketplace | Weekly transactions |
| Media | Daily active readers |
| Consumer app | DAU/MAU ratio |
Input Metrics
| North Star | Input Metrics |
|---|
| Active users | Signups, activation, retention |
| Revenue | Customers, ARPU, frequency |
| Engagement | Sessions, actions, time spent |
9. Growth Stack
Analytics Tools
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|
| Mixpanel/Amplitude | Product analytics |
| Google Analytics | Web traffic |
| Heap | Auto-tracked events |
| Segment | Data pipeline |
Experimentation Tools
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|
| Optimizely | A/B testing |
| LaunchDarkly | Feature flags |
| Statsig | Experimentation |
Engagement Tools
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|
| Intercom | In-app messaging |
| Customer.io | Email automation |
| Appcues | User onboarding |
10. Growth Team Structure
Roles
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|
| Growth Lead | Strategy, prioritization |
| Growth PM | Experiments, roadmap |
| Growth Engineer | Implementation |
| Data Analyst | Insights, measurement |
| Growth Marketer | Acquisition, content |
Process
| Cadence | Activity |
|---|
| Weekly | Experiment review |
| Bi-weekly | Sprint planning |
| Monthly | Metric deep-dive |
| Quarterly | Strategy review |
Remember: Growth is about finding leverage points through rapid experimentation. Test fast, learn faster, scale what works.
