Growth loops skill

Identify growth loops (flywheels) for sustainable traction.

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Growth Loops

Overview

Identify and design growth loops (flywheels) that create sustainable traction. This skill evaluates five proven growth loop mechanisms to reduce reliance on paid acquisition and build product-led growth.

When to Use

Designing growth mechanisms for a product
Building sustainable viral or referral traction
Reducing reliance on paid acquisition
Analyzing competitor growth strategies
Optimizing product for product-led growth

The 5 Growth Loop Types

1. Viral Loop

Product content created by users gets shared on external platforms, bringing new users back to the product.

Mechanism: Users create content in-product → Share on social/external platforms → New users discover and signup
Example: Figma designs shared as links, Loom videos shared in emails
Strength: Exponential user acquisition if content is inherently shareable
Challenge: Requires highly shareable output and strong incentive to share

2. Usage Loop

Users create content or value within the product, then share it, which invites new users or drives re-engagement.

Mechanism: User creates → Shares creation → Others consume → Become engaged users
Example: Twitter threads, Medium articles, Notion templates shared publicly
Strength: Growth tied directly to product usage and network effects
Challenge: Requires content creation friction to be very low

3. Collaboration Loop

Users invite colleagues to co-create or collaborate within the product, expanding the user base within organizations.

Mechanism: User creates → Invites colleagues for collaboration → Colleagues discover product value
Example: Google Docs invitations, Figma team projects, Slack channels
Strength: Deep organizational penetration and high retention
Challenge: Works best for collaborative/team-based products

4. User-Generated Loop

Users discover new content or features through other users' creations, then create and share their own content.

Mechanism: User discovers content → Creates similar content → Shares creation → Others discover
Example: TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube trends driving creator participation
Strength: Creates content flywheel and network effects
Challenge: Requires critical mass of quality content to sustain

5. Referral Loop

Users invite other potential users in exchange for rewards, incentives, or social recognition.

Mechanism: User refers → Referred user joins → Referrer gets reward → Shares more referrals
Example: Dropbox referral bonus, Uber rider referrals, PayPal signup bonuses
Strength: Directly incentivizes acquisition; easy to measure ROI
Challenge: Requires valuable incentive without eroding unit economics

How It Works

Step 1: Define Product Value

Clarify the core value users experience:

Primary action users take in your product
Value created per user action
Network effects present (if any)
Friction points in the experience

Step 2: Evaluate Loop Fit

Assess which growth loops align with your product:

Product type (collaborative, content-based, utility, etc.)
Target user behavior and sharing habits
Network effects already present
Existing user base and engagement

Step 3: Design Loop Mechanics

Create specific loop implementation:

Trigger that initiates sharing or invitations
Incentive for participation (intrinsic or extrinsic)
Ease of sharing mechanism
Conversion rate from invite to activation
Frequency of loop repetition per user

Step 4: Calculate Loop Coefficient

Estimate growth velocity:

Invites/shares per user per cycle
Conversion rate of invites to new users
Net new users per cycle
Time per cycle iteration

Step 5: Build the Loop

Implement the highest-leverage loop first:

Start with the most natural loop for your product
Optimize messaging and friction
Measure loop metrics and conversion rates
Compound results over time

Input Format

Use $ARGUMENTS to pass:

Product description and primary user action
Target user demographics and behavior
Existing sharing/collaboration features
Current growth channels and metrics
Constraints or opportunities

Output

A growth loops analysis including:

Ranked evaluation of all 5 loop types for your product
Recommended primary growth loop with implementation plan
Secondary loops to layer over time
Key metrics and measurement framework
30-60-90 day implementation roadmap
Potential loop coefficient and growth projections

Framework

Based on growth loops research by Ognjen Bošković. Focuses on compounding user acquisition through built-in, product-native sharing and collaboration mechanisms.

Tips

Start with one loop and master it before adding complexity
Viral loops compound fastest but take time to build
Collaboration loops create strongest retention and LTV
Measure loop health weekly during optimization phase
Combine loops for multiplicative effect once operating at scale

1	---
2	name: growth-loops
3	description: "Identify growth loops (flywheels) for sustainable traction. Evaluates 5 loop types: Viral, Usage, Collaboration, User-Generated, and Referral. Use when designing growth mechanisms, building product-led traction, or understanding how growth loops work."
4	---
5	# Growth Loops
6
7	## Overview
8	Identify and design growth loops (flywheels) that create sustainable traction. This skill evaluates five proven growth loop mechanisms to reduce reliance on paid acquisition and build product-led growth.
9
10	## When to Use
11	- Designing growth mechanisms for a product
12	- Building sustainable viral or referral traction
13	- Reducing reliance on paid acquisition
14	- Analyzing competitor growth strategies
15	- Optimizing product for product-led growth
16
17	## The 5 Growth Loop Types
18
19	### 1. Viral Loop
20	Product content created by users gets shared on external platforms, bringing new users back to the product.
21	- Mechanism: Users create content in-product → Share on social/external platforms → New users discover and signup
22	- Example: Figma designs shared as links, Loom videos shared in emails
23	- Strength: Exponential user acquisition if content is inherently shareable
24	- Challenge: Requires highly shareable output and strong incentive to share
25
26	### 2. Usage Loop
27	Users create content or value within the product, then share it, which invites new users or drives re-engagement.
28	- Mechanism: User creates → Shares creation → Others consume → Become engaged users
29	- Example: Twitter threads, Medium articles, Notion templates shared publicly
30	- Strength: Growth tied directly to product usage and network effects
31	- Challenge: Requires content creation friction to be very low
32
33	### 3. Collaboration Loop
34	Users invite colleagues to co-create or collaborate within the product, expanding the user base within organizations.
35	- Mechanism: User creates → Invites colleagues for collaboration → Colleagues discover product value
36	- Example: Google Docs invitations, Figma team projects, Slack channels
37	- Strength: Deep organizational penetration and high retention
38	- Challenge: Works best for collaborative/team-based products
39
40	### 4. User-Generated Loop
41	Users discover new content or features through other users' creations, then create and share their own content.
42	- Mechanism: User discovers content → Creates similar content → Shares creation → Others discover
43	- Example: TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube trends driving creator participation
44	- Strength: Creates content flywheel and network effects
45	- Challenge: Requires critical mass of quality content to sustain
46
47	### 5. Referral Loop
48	Users invite other potential users in exchange for rewards, incentives, or social recognition.
49	- Mechanism: User refers → Referred user joins → Referrer gets reward → Shares more referrals
50	- Example: Dropbox referral bonus, Uber rider referrals, PayPal signup bonuses
51	- Strength: Directly incentivizes acquisition; easy to measure ROI
52	- Challenge: Requires valuable incentive without eroding unit economics
53
54	## How It Works
55
56	### Step 1: Define Product Value
57	Clarify the core value users experience:
58	- Primary action users take in your product
59	- Value created per user action
60	- Network effects present (if any)
61	- Friction points in the experience
62
63	### Step 2: Evaluate Loop Fit
64	Assess which growth loops align with your product:
65	- Product type (collaborative, content-based, utility, etc.)
66	- Target user behavior and sharing habits
67	- Network effects already present
68	- Existing user base and engagement
69
70	### Step 3: Design Loop Mechanics
71	Create specific loop implementation:
72	- Trigger that initiates sharing or invitations
73	- Incentive for participation (intrinsic or extrinsic)
74	- Ease of sharing mechanism
75	- Conversion rate from invite to activation
76	- Frequency of loop repetition per user
77
78	### Step 4: Calculate Loop Coefficient
79	Estimate growth velocity:
80	- Invites/shares per user per cycle
81	- Conversion rate of invites to new users
82	- Net new users per cycle
83	- Time per cycle iteration
84
85	### Step 5: Build the Loop
86	Implement the highest-leverage loop first:
87	- Start with the most natural loop for your product
88	- Optimize messaging and friction
89	- Measure loop metrics and conversion rates
90	- Compound results over time
91
92	## Input Format
93	Use $ARGUMENTS to pass:
94	- Product description and primary user action
95	- Target user demographics and behavior
96	- Existing sharing/collaboration features
97	- Current growth channels and metrics
98	- Constraints or opportunities
99
100	## Output
101	A growth loops analysis including:
102	- Ranked evaluation of all 5 loop types for your product
103	- Recommended primary growth loop with implementation plan
104	- Secondary loops to layer over time
105	- Key metrics and measurement framework
106	- 30-60-90 day implementation roadmap
107	- Potential loop coefficient and growth projections
108
109	## Framework
110	Based on growth loops research by Ognjen Bošković. Focuses on compounding user acquisition through built-in, product-native sharing and collaboration mechanisms.
111
112	## Tips
113	- Start with one loop and master it before adding complexity
114	- Viral loops compound fastest but take time to build
115	- Collaboration loops create strongest retention and LTV
116	- Measure loop health weekly during optimization phase
117	- Combine loops for multiplicative effect once operating at scale
118
119	---
120
121	### Further Reading
122
123	- [Product-Led Growth 101, Part 1/2](https://www.productcompass.pm/p/product-led-growth-101-12)
124	- [OpenAI’s Product Leader Shares 3-Layer Distribution Framework To Win Mind & Market Share in the AI World](https://www.productcompass.pm/p/distribution-framework-ai-products)
125	- [How to Design a Value Proposition Customers Can't Resist?](https://www.productcompass.pm/p/how-to-design-value-proposition-template)
126