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.