Designing Growth Loops
Scope
Covers
- Turning a growth goal into a loop-based growth model (micro loops + macro loops)
- Designing and documenting loops: viral/referral, content/UGC, SEO, partner/integration, sales-assisted, and paid acquisition loops
- Choosing channels using a Customer × Business × Medium fit check
- Validating paid loops with unit economics (LTV, CAC, payback) gating
- Producing an actionable loop plan: loop map → scorecard → experiments → measurement
When to use
- “Design a growth loop / viral loop / referral loop”
- “Create a growth flywheel for ”
- “Map our micro + macro growth loops and prioritize which to build”
- “We need new growth loops (not just optimize ads/onboarding)”
- “Decide whether a paid acquisition loop is viable”
When NOT to use
- You haven’t clarified the ICP/problem or value proposition (use
problem-definition). - You’re still establishing PMF and need a PMF signal set (use
measuring-product-market-fit). - You only need an experiment list/prioritization, not loop design (use
prioritizing-roadmap). - You’re making a one-way-door launch decision (use
shipping-products/running-decision-processes).
Inputs
Minimum required
- Product + target user/ICP (and 1–2 key segments)
- Current stage (pre-PMF / early PMF / growth / mature) and current primary growth channel(s)
- The core value moment (what users do when they “get value”)
- A baseline snapshot of the growth system (best available): acquisition sources, conversion funnel, retention/engagement, referrals/sharing
- Constraints: budget, timebox, brand/safety, platform policy, legal/privacy, engineering capacity
- For paid loops: rough unit economics (LTV, gross margin, CAC/payback targets) or a proxy
Missing-info strategy
- Ask up to 5 questions from references/INTAKE.md, then proceed.
- If data is missing, proceed with explicit assumptions and label confidence.
- Do not request secrets or PII; prefer aggregated metrics or redacted excerpts.
Outputs (deliverables)
Produce a Growth Loop Design Pack (Markdown in-chat; or as files if requested) containing:
- Context snapshot (goal, ICP/segments, constraints, timebox)
- Loop inventory + baseline (current loops and where the system currently gets growth)
- Loop map (qualitative model) (micro loops + macro loop; how loops connect)
- Loop candidates + mechanism library (platform/channel mechanisms; ethical/policy-compliant)
- Loop scorecard + selection (top 1–2 loops to build/scale; optimize vs innovate recommendation)
- Measurement plan (loop KPIs, leading indicators, required instrumentation)
- Experiment backlog + 30/60/90 plan (tests, sequencing, dependencies, owners if known)
- Risks / Open questions / Next steps (always included)
Templates and checklists:
- references/TEMPLATES.md
- references/CHECKLISTS.md
- references/RUBRIC.md
- Expanded guidance: references/WORKFLOW.md
Workflow (7 steps)
1) Intake + growth goal framing
- Inputs: User context; references/INTAKE.md.
- Actions: Clarify the growth goal (what metric, by when), the target segment(s), and constraints (budget, brand, platform rules, capacity). Decide whether the priority is innovation (new loop) vs optimization (existing loop).
- Outputs: Context snapshot + “decision this work informs.”
- Checks: A stakeholder can answer: “Which metric changes by when, and what will we do differently if it doesn’t?”
2) Baseline the current growth system (loops + funnel)
- Inputs: Current acquisition sources, funnel, retention, referral/share, unit economics (if any).
- Actions: Inventory existing loops (even if weak). Identify the core value moment and the “loop output” that could feed back (invites, content, word-of-mouth, spend, integrations).
- Outputs: Loop inventory + baseline table.
- Checks: Baseline includes at least one number for each: acquisition volume, activation rate, retention/engagement proxy.
3) Generate loop candidates (micro + macro)
- Inputs: Baseline + constraints.
- Actions: Create 6–10 loop hypotheses across categories (viral/referral, content/UGC, SEO, partner/integration, sales, paid). For each, specify: input → action → output → feedback. Include at least one “bigger bet” loop if in a fast-moving category.
- Outputs: Loop candidates list + draft mechanism library.
- Checks: Each candidate has a plausible “self-reinforcing” feedback path and a likely cycle time.
4) Model loops qualitatively (shared understanding)
- Inputs: Loop candidates; stakeholder context.
- Actions: Produce a qualitative loop map: micro loops connected into a macro loop. Document assumptions, bottlenecks, and where you expect compounding.
- Outputs: Loop map (diagram or table) + bottleneck hypotheses.
- Checks: Someone unfamiliar with the product can explain “how we grow” in 60 seconds using the map.
5) Quantify + prioritize (scorecard + gates)
- Inputs: Qual loop map; best-available metrics.
- Actions: Estimate loop throughput with simple math (conversion × frequency × invites/content × acceptance). Score loops using a scorecard (impact, confidence, effort, cycle time). Apply gates:
- Paid loops: only proceed if LTV/margin supports CAC/payback targets. - Channel fit: ensure Customer × Business × Medium alignment.
- Outputs: Loop scorecard + top 1–2 loop picks + innovate/optimize split recommendation.
- Checks: Each chosen loop has (a) a measurable KPI, (b) a first experiment, and (c) a reason it wins vs alternatives.
6) Design the measurement plan (metrics + instrumentation)
- Inputs: Selected loop(s).
- Actions: Define loop KPIs and leading indicators; specify required events/properties and dashboards. Identify instrumentation gaps and the minimum tracking needed to learn.
- Outputs: Measurement + instrumentation plan.
- Checks: Every experiment metric is traceable to an event definition and a data source.
7) Build the experiment plan + quality gate
- Inputs: Draft pack; references/CHECKLISTS.md and references/RUBRIC.md.
- Actions: Create an experiment backlog and 30/60/90 plan (sequencing, dependencies, owners if known). Run the checklist and score with the rubric. Always include Risks / Open questions / Next steps.
- Outputs: Final Growth Loop Design Pack.
- Checks: Next 2 weeks of work are unblocked and measurable; risks include policy/ethics considerations.
Quality gate (required)
- Use references/CHECKLISTS.md and references/RUBRIC.md.
- Always include: Risks, Open questions, Next steps.
Examples
Example 1 (B2B SaaS, partner/integration loop): “Use designing-growth-loops. Product: AI onboarding assistant for mid-market HR teams. Goal: +30% WAU in 90 days. Channels today: outbound + partnerships. Output: a Growth Loop Design Pack with an integration/partner loop and a referral loop, including metrics and a 30/60/90 experiment plan.”
Example 2 (B2C, viral/content loop): “We’re building a mobile photo editor for creators. Goal: grow from 20k to 60k MAU in 8 weeks. Output a loop map, a mechanism library for Instagram/TikTok sharing, and a prioritized experiment backlog.”
Boundary example (not a loop problem): “Write copy for our landing page headline.” Response: this is primarily copywriting/positioning, not loop design; clarify the goal and use copywriting or a messaging skill instead.