The document discusses the importance of startups initially focusing on growth over profitability. It recommends rapidly gaining market share and building customer loyalty to drive growth. Specifically, it suggests focusing on customer quality, making customers evangelists, and maintaining high team energy while acting swiftly to manage losses. Examples provided emphasize prioritizing growth, including examples of companies focusing on growth before figuring out monetization. It also provides recommendations for ensuring healthy growth through viral user acquisition and high retention rates.

2. Startups should focus on….

3. Group Exercise: What are you focusing on? Why?

4. It is worthwhile to initially focus on growth.
Gain market share first, rapidly = Grow customer base
Build lasting customer loyalty
Focus on the quality
Make customers your evangelists
Maintain high team energy levels
Act swiftly to manage losses

5. Growth Examples
Growth over
profitability?
Growth or hyper-
growth?
Profitability?

6. Focus on Growth First.
Investors understand companies
benefit from economies of scale
as they grow so it's fine to put
off optimizing for profit and
focusing on growth.

8. User Growth Examples
Relentless focus
on growth before
figuring out
monetization
model

9. New vs Existing Customer Ratio
A good growth is anywhere between 5 – 7% a week/
Key Ways to Ensure Healthy Growth
1
Create a Viral Factor
Current users recruiting new users
With X initial users and viral factor Y less than 1, you can acquire users at a
decreasing rate until you have X/(1-Y) users
2
Higher Retention Rate
Harder to switch to a competitor
Reflexive habit to use your product
Emotional attachment to your product
3

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