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![Reasoning from First Principles
“I think it’s important to reason from first principles rather than by
analogy. [With analogy] we are doing a thing because it’s like
something else that was done by other people. [With first principles]
you boil things down to the most fundamental truths and then reason
up from there.” — Elon Musk](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/growthhackingisdead-151106092225-lva1-app6891/75/Growth-Hacking-is-Dead-Long-Live-Growth-11-2048.jpg)
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Growth Hacking is Dead. Long Live Growth.
The document discusses growth strategies at LinkedIn over time. It summarizes that in early 2011, LinkedIn had 10 people on its growth team and 100 million members, but now has 110 people and 380 million members focusing on acquisition, onboarding, connections, retention and communications. It then critiques common "growth hacking" tactics as unreliable and advocates using a scientific approach focusing first on product, retention, identifying the top metric and growth channels, prioritizing strategies based on their impact and testing them. The key is continuous prioritization and feedback to drive sustainable growth.
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Similar to Growth Hacking is Dead. Long Live Growth.
Growth Hacking is Dead. Long Live Growth.
- 1. Aatif Awan Growth @ LinkedIn Growth Hacking is Dead. Long live Growth.
- 2. Early 2011 Growth atLinkedIn • 10 people on Growth team • 100 Million LinkedIn members • Acquisition Today 110 people 380 Million Acquisition, Onboarding, Connections, Retention & Resurrection, Comms
- 3. Popular Growth Tactics + “Getyour free email at Hotmail” at the bottom of each email. 12 Million users in 18 months. Jumpstarted growth by cross-posting to Craigslist without an available API.
- 4. Why not usethese tactics to grow your product?
- 5. Using these examplesto drive growth for a startup is like using Penicillin’s accidental discovery to develop the next antibiotic.
- 6. Growth Hacking A hyped-upcollection of anecdotes, tactics and theories.
- 7. Pixie Dust Theory Youcan sprinkle growth tactics on your product and make it grow.
- 8. Wizard of OzTheory You can hire a growth hacker who will make your product grow.
- 9. Jack and theBeanstalk Theory Just do something. You never know what might magically grow your product.
- 10. Growth A scientific approachto growing a product’s usage.
- 11. Reasoning from FirstPrinciples “I think it’s important to reason from first principles rather than by analogy. [With analogy] we are doing a thing because it’s like something else that was done by other people. [With first principles] you boil things down to the most fundamental truths and then reason up from there.” — Elon Musk
- 12. Startup success =Product + Growth + Revenue Product Make something people want Growth Get lots of people to use the product Revenue Get someone to pay for the product or for access to its users
- 13. Good Product ComesFirst, Growth Second • Investing in growth before you have a good product is a waste of resources. • It might seem to work initially, but reality catches up eventually. DAUs for Viddy
- 14. Good Product Leadsto Good Retention • Retention curve for good products flattens out after a few months. • If your retention isn’t good, nothing else matters. Good retention Bad retention
- 15. You can ImproveRetention by… • Getting feedback from existing users to understand what’s working and what’s not. • Finding a segment of users for whom your product has good retention. • Getting users to experience core value (A-ha moment) sooner.
- 16. Once you havegood retention, it’s time to grow.
- 17. Picking Your TopMetric • Define one primary metric that • is aligned with the success of your business • measures value for users • is summable
- 18. User Behavior Identifying GrowthChannels • Do existing users share your product via word of mouth? • Are people using search to find a solution? • Do users have a high LTV? Channels to explore Virality, referrals SEO, SEM Paid acquisition • Does having more users improve the experience? Virality • Are your target users already on another platform? Partnership, Integration
- 19. Prioritize channels and levers Brainstorm hypotheses and ideas Assess impacton primary metric Prioritize based on impact, likelihood and effort Build, A/B test and measure Growth Requires Continuous Prioritization and Feedback
- 20. Hiring for Growth • Analytical • Get shit done • Curious – Ask why? • Find new ways to do things – Ask why not? • Prior growth experience is optional
- 21. LinkedIn Growth Team SEONetwork Growth þ Onboarding Comms SEO, Conversion optimization, Public profile PYMK, Virality, Connections Onboarding, Activation, Intent discovery Engagement through Email/Push, Resurrection
- 22. Culture • Set ambitiousgoals • Move fast • Data trumps opinions • Continuously learn • Celebrate wins
- 23.