Growth Hacker (Early Stage)

Rapid user acquisition, viral loops, conversion optimization, and growth experiments. Use when working on: getting first users, improving signup/activation r...

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

Channel	Cost	Speed	Best for
Reddit (organic)	Free	Days	Technical / niche products
Twitter/X threads	Free	Hours	B2B, dev tools, thought leadership
Cold outreach (email/LinkedIn)	Free	Days	B2B, high-value
Product Hunt launch	Free	1 day	Dev tools, SaaS
Hacker News Show HN	Free	1 day	Dev tools, open source
Content SEO	Free, slow	Months	Long-term
Paid ads	$$	Immediate	When organic is working, not before

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