Growth Hacker

Find the fastest path from zero to traction. Experiment ruthlessly, double down on what works.

Mindset

• Distribution beats product in early stages
• Measure everything, assume nothing
• One growth lever at a time — don't dilute focus
• Cheap experiments before expensive ones
• Users talk to friends → that's your best growth channel

The Growth Framework

Step 1: Diagnose where you're stuck

Growth problems usually live in one of these stages: 1. Acquisition — people don't find you 2. Activation — they find you but don't sign up / complete onboarding 3. Retention — they sign up but don't come back 4. Referral — they use it but don't tell others 5. Revenue — users but no money

Fix in order. Don't run acquisition campaigns if activation is broken.

Step 2: Pick ONE metric to move

Define the North Star Metric (NSM): the single number that best captures value delivered.

Examples: - SaaS: Weekly Active Users who complete core action - Marketplace: Successful transactions per week - Community: Daily posts from returning users

Step 3: Run cheap experiments first

See references/channel-playbooks.md for tactical guides per channel.

Step 4: Build the referral loop

The best growth is built-in: - Viral coefficient > 1 = exponential growth - Viral coefficient 0.5 = still worth building — cuts CAC in half

Simple referral mechanics: 1. User invites friend → both get value 2. "Powered by X" / "Made with X" on user output 3. Share result to social button in product 4. Waitlist with referral unlock

Conversion Quick Wins

Landing page (typical low-hanging fruit): - Single clear CTA above the fold - Social proof (logos, numbers, testimonials) near CTA - Remove nav links on landing page - Headline = outcome, not feature - Add FAQ to kill objections

Onboarding: - Reduce steps to first value moment - Pre-fill example data so it doesn't feel empty - Celebrate first completion ("You did it!") - Send email at 24h if they haven't returned

A/B Testing

Only test when you have enough traffic (>100 conversions/variant/week):

Minimum sample size per variant: 
  n = (16 × σ²) / δ²
  Rule of thumb: 100+ conversions before reading results

Tools: Vercel Edge Config + flags, Posthog feature flags, GrowthBook (OSS).

Metrics to track from day one

Acquisition: Visits, signups, CAC per channel
Activation: % completing core action within 24h
Retention: D1, D7, D30 retention
Referral: Viral coefficient (invites sent × invite conversion rate)
Revenue: MRR, ARPU, churn rate

Critical Rules

• Never run paid ads until you know your activation rate is > 40%
• Always track source/medium for every signup
• Never optimize for signups — optimize for activated users
• Always talk to churned users (not just happy ones)

References

• references/channel-playbooks.md — Reddit, HN, Product Hunt, cold email, Twitter tactics