ID8GROWTH - Growth Engine
Purpose
Scale your launched product through systematic experimentation. Growth is not magic—it's methodology.
Philosophy: Retention beats acquisition. One channel mastered beats five attempted. Data over intuition.
When to Use
- •Product is launched and has initial users
- •User needs to grow user base
- •User asks "how do I get more users?"
- •User wants to improve retention
- •User needs help with analytics
- •User wants to optimize conversion
- •Project is in LAUNCHING or GROWING state
Commands
/growth <project-slug>
Run full growth analysis and planning.
Process:
- •BASELINE - Understand current metrics
- •MODEL - Map growth mechanics
- •DIAGNOSE - Find bottlenecks
- •HYPOTHESIZE - Generate experiments
- •PRIORITIZE - ICE scoring
- •EXECUTE - Run experiments
- •LEARN - Analyze and iterate
/growth metrics
Audit current analytics and define key metrics.
/growth funnel
Analyze conversion funnel and identify drop-offs.
/growth experiment <hypothesis>
Design a specific growth experiment.
/growth retention
Deep dive on retention and engagement.
Growth Philosophy
Solo Builder Reality
| What Works | What Doesn't |
|---|---|
| Focused effort on one channel | Spray-and-pray multi-channel |
| Retention optimization | Endless acquisition |
| Organic/content marketing | Expensive paid acquisition |
| Personal touch | Automated spam |
| Slow compounding | Viral hacks |
Growth Priorities
Stage 1: Pre-PMF (< 100 users)
- •Focus: Finding users who love it
- •Metric: Qualitative feedback, NPS
- •Don't worry about: Scale
Stage 2: Early Traction (100-1000 users)
- •Focus: Retention and activation
- •Metric: Day 1/7/30 retention
- •Don't worry about: Growth rate
Stage 3: Growth (1000+ users)
- •Focus: Scalable acquisition
- •Metric: CAC, LTV, growth rate
- •Now optimize: Everything
Process Detail
Phase 1: BASELINE
Establish current state:
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total users | {N} | Database |
| Active users (DAU/WAU/MAU) | {N} | Analytics |
| Activation rate | {%} | Funnel |
| Retention (D1/D7/D30) | {%} | Cohort |
| Conversion (free→paid) | {%} | Funnel |
| Revenue (MRR/ARR) | ${X} | Payments |
| NPS | {score} | Survey |
If no tracking:
- •Set up analytics first
- •Use
analytics-trackingskill - •Minimum: Sign-ups, activation, retention
Phase 2: MODEL
Map your growth mechanics:
ACQUISITION How do users find you? ├── Organic search ├── Social/content ├── Referrals ├── Paid (if any) └── Direct ACTIVATION What's the "aha moment"? ├── First action completed ├── Value received └── Setup finished RETENTION Why do they come back? ├── Core value loop ├── Notifications ├── Habit formation └── New content/features REVENUE How do you monetize? ├── Subscription ├── Usage-based ├── One-time └── Freemium conversion REFERRAL How do they spread it? ├── Word of mouth ├── Built-in sharing ├── Incentivized referral └── Social proof
Phase 3: DIAGNOSE
Find the bottleneck:
| Stage | Benchmark | Your Rate | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visitor → Sign-up | 2-5% | {%} | {OK/LOW} |
| Sign-up → Activated | 20-40% | {%} | {OK/LOW} |
| Activated → Day 7 | 20-30% | {%} | {OK/LOW} |
| Day 7 → Day 30 | 50-70% | {%} | {OK/LOW} |
| Free → Paid | 2-5% | {%} | {OK/LOW} |
Diagnosis framework:
- •Compare to benchmarks
- •Identify biggest drop-off
- •That's your focus
Phase 4: HYPOTHESIZE
Generate experiment ideas:
For each bottleneck, generate 3-5 hypotheses:
If we [change] Then [metric] will [improve/increase/decrease] Because [reasoning]
Example:
If we add an onboarding checklist Then activation rate will increase by 20% Because users will know what to do next
Phase 5: PRIORITIZE
ICE Scoring:
| Experiment | Impact | Confidence | Ease | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| {exp 1} | {1-10} | {1-10} | {1-10} | {avg} |
| {exp 2} | {1-10} | {1-10} | {1-10} | {avg} |
Definitions:
- •Impact: How much will this move the metric?
- •Confidence: How sure are we it will work?
- •Ease: How easy is it to implement?
Rule: Do highest ICE score first.
Phase 6: EXECUTE
For each experiment:
- •Define hypothesis clearly
- •Define success metric
- •Define sample size needed
- •Implement change
- •Run for sufficient time
- •Analyze results
- •Document learnings
Minimum experiment duration:
- •High traffic: 1-2 weeks
- •Low traffic: 2-4 weeks
- •Statistical significance matters
Phase 7: LEARN
After each experiment:
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Did it work? | {Yes/No/Inconclusive} |
| What was the lift? | {X}% |
| Why did it work/fail? | {reasoning} |
| What did we learn? | {insight} |
| What's next? | {next experiment} |
Framework References
Growth Loops
frameworks/growth-loops.md - Viral, content, flywheel mechanics
Analytics
frameworks/analytics.md - Metrics, tracking, dashboards
Acquisition
frameworks/acquisition.md - Channels, CAC, scale
Retention
frameworks/retention.md - Engagement, churn, habit
Optimization
frameworks/optimization.md - A/B testing, CRO
Output Templates
Growth Model
templates/growth-model.md - Growth strategy document
Metrics Dashboard
templates/metrics-dashboard.md - KPI tracking structure
Tool Integration
MCPs
Supabase:
- •Query user data for analysis
- •Cohort analysis
- •Funnel tracking
Perplexity:
- •Research growth tactics
- •Find benchmarks
- •Competitor analysis
Skills
analytics-tracking:
- •Set up tracking
- •Define events
- •Create dashboards
Handoff
After completing growth analysis:
- •
Save outputs:
- •Growth model →
docs/GROWTH_MODEL.md - •Metrics →
docs/METRICS.md
- •Growth model →
- •
Log to tracker:
code/tracker log {project-slug} "GROWTH: Analysis complete. Focus: {bottleneck}. Top experiment: {experiment}." - •
Update state:
code/tracker update {project-slug} GROWING - •
Next steps:
- •Execute top-priority experiments
- •Review results weekly
- •When stable, transition to ops
Key Metrics Cheat Sheet
AARRR Funnel
| Stage | What to Track |
|---|---|
| Acquisition | Traffic, channels, CAC |
| Activation | Sign-up rate, onboarding completion |
| Retention | DAU/MAU, D1/D7/D30, churn |
| Revenue | MRR, ARPU, LTV |
| Referral | K-factor, invite rate |
Benchmarks
| Metric | Poor | OK | Good | Great |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 retention | <10% | 10-20% | 20-30% | >30% |
| D7 retention | <5% | 5-10% | 10-20% | >20% |
| D30 retention | <2% | 2-5% | 5-10% | >10% |
| Free→Paid | <1% | 1-2% | 2-5% | >5% |
| NPS | <0 | 0-30 | 30-50 | >50 |
Anti-Patterns
| Anti-Pattern | Why Bad | Do Instead |
|---|---|---|
| Vanity metrics | Don't drive business | Focus on actionable metrics |
| Too many experiments | No learnings | One experiment at a time |
| No hypothesis | Can't learn | Always have clear hypothesis |
| Short experiments | Inconclusive | Run to significance |
| Ignoring retention | Leaky bucket | Fix retention first |
| Copying others | Context matters | Adapt to your situation |
Quality Checks
Before finalizing growth plan:
- • Baseline metrics established
- • Biggest bottleneck identified
- • Hypotheses are testable
- • Experiments are prioritized
- • Success metrics defined
- • Realistic timeline set
- • Learning process planned