5 PHASES OF STARTUP GROWTH

THE STARTUP GROWTH GRIND

*YMMV

5 STAGES OF STARTUP GROWTH

GET LEAN

1. GET PRODUCT

• Get to problem/solution fit

• Build your MVP

• Don’t be too minimum, or it’s probably not viable

http://www.meeteor.com/blog/lean-startup/

STAGE TO-DO LIST

• Study the Lean Startup framework and apply it to your discovery process.

• Conduct problem/solution fit interviews like crazy.

• Run demand tests with landing pages/ads or crowdfunding campaign.

• Use learnings to define/refine your MVP.

• Iterate as new information flows in.

NOT TOO ‘M’

2. MVP

• Learn what people want

• Prove demand/need

• Keep risk/burn low

http://www.meeteor.com/blog/lean-startup/

STAGE TO-DO LIST

• Build your MVP

• Instrument product for visibility into usage

• Conduct ongoing user feedback

• Iterate to improve retention

• Invest in growth to prove retention and initial flow of users, not looking to scale

IT’S A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION

3. HEAD FOR PMF

• Must Have Score > 40%

• Pass the Sam Altman test

• Measure Net Promoter Score (NPS) – benchmark it

• Stable, sustainable retention rates

Sean Ellis Startup Pyramid

EVERYONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GROWTH

ASSEMBLE YOUR TEAM

• PM Growth

• Analyst / Data Scientist

• Growth Engineer

• Digital Marketers

• Specialist(s)

Zuckerberg poses with some of his deputies at Antonio’s Nut House in Palo Alto, a popular staff hangout:Chamath Palihapitya, vice president for growth, mobile and international; Zuckerberg; Mike Schroepfer, vice president of engineering; Jonathan Heiliger, vice president of technical operations; Chris Cox,vice president of product.

RAPID EXPERIMENTATION DRIVES GROWTH

GROWTH PROCESS

• Ideate: Unbridled idea generation

• Prioritize: Focus on Impact

• Test: Rapid experimentation

• Analysis: Applicable learning

Ideate

Prioritize

Test

Analyze

WORDS ARE EVERYTHING

FIND LANGUAGE/MARKET FIT

What do your users think you’ve built for them?

Store Your Photos Share Your Photos

Find a Date Help Friends Find a Date

Source: James Currier

LEAKY BUCKETS ARE GROWTH KRYPTONITE

OPTIMIZE FLOWS

• Build Desire, Reduce Friction

• Maximize % of users who get to must-have experience

• Understand motivators and hurdles to improve

BATTLESHIP - MARKETING EDITION

CHANNEL/PRODUCT FIT

• Identify where your customers are (and where your competition isn’t)

• Ask “How does what I offer map to channel experience?”

• Do things that don’t scale

• Test for signal, double down on what works

• Keep searching

http://leanentrepreneur.co

IT’S GO TIME

4. SCALE

• Hire channel specialists to ramp growth

• Increase experimentation velocity

• Seek out high impact opportunities

• Keep close eye on core metrics

GROWTH IS NEVER DONE

5. MATURITY

• Horizontal and vertical expansion opportunities

• Identifying new channels that require scale or specialization

• M&A

• Incremental and high-impact wins

globevector.com

*YMMV

5 STAGES OF STARTUP GROWTH

TAKEAWAYS

FOCUS IS KEY

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR A GREAT PRODUCT

SPEED IS YOUR SECRET WEAPON

GROWTH IS NEVER DONE

KEEP LEARNING

GET IN TOUCH

@morganb @morganb180 morganbrown.co /in/morganb