| name | growth-loops |
| description | Identifies and designs growth loops (flywheels) for sustainable traction โ evaluating 5 loop types: Viral, Usage, Collaboration, User-Generated, and Referral. Use when designing growth mechanisms or reducing reliance on paid acquisition. Triggers on: growth loop, flywheel, viral loop, referral program, product-led growth, PLG, user acquisition, growth strategy, retention loop, compounding growth. |
Growth Loops
Core Philosophy
Paid acquisition is a leaky bucket. Growth loops are a flywheel. The difference: in a paid model, growth stops when spending stops. In a loop model, each user or action generates the next one โ the system compounds.
The goal is not to have the most impressive loop โ it's to identify the one loop that is most natural to your product and build it first. One well-executed loop beats three half-built ones.
When to Use
- When designing the product growth model for a new product
- When paid acquisition costs are too high relative to LTV
- When defining how a new feature drives retention or acquisition
- When analyzing why a competitor is growing faster than their ad spend explains
The 5 Loop Types
1. Viral Loop
Users create content or output in-product, share it externally, and new users arrive.
- Mechanism: User creates โ shares on external platform โ new users discover and sign up
- Examples: Figma design links, Loom video shares, Canva published posts
- Strength: Exponential if content is naturally shareable
- Required: Shareable output that makes sense to share (not just a dashboard screenshot)
2. Usage Loop
Using the product more generates more value, which increases engagement and referrals.
- Mechanism: More usage โ more personalized/valuable output โ more engagement โ more sharing
