By Teresa Torres · producttalk.org · @ttorres on X · LinkedIn
Teresa Torres argues that once a product's success funnel converts well, the next step is growth, but only after that funnel is healthy; otherwise acquiring users just wastes time, energy and money. She introduces two growth models to frame where to invest: Dave McClure's Pirate Metrics (AARRR: acquisition, activation, retention, referral, revenue) and Eric Ries' Engines of Growth (sticky, viral, paid). Both models help teams identify their biggest point of leverage. The core message is to find that lever through experimentation and then focus on it relentlessly.
01Key takeaways
- Fix your success funnel before pursuing growth, or you will waste resources acquiring users who never succeed.
- Treat the Pirate Metrics as a funnel and identify the stage offering the greatest leverage.
- Retention and activation gains can unlock referrals, so design deliberately for viral sharing.
- Ensure lifetime value of a user exceeds the cost to acquire that user before scaling paid growth.
- Play with the numbers, find your biggest lever, and focus on it relentlessly.
02Key sections
- Celebrate the success funnel first
- Healthy conversion throughout the success funnel is a rare achievement worth celebrating. Growth work should wait until that funnel is working.
- Pirate Metrics (AARRR)
- McClure's five metrics cover the user journey from acquisition through revenue. Teams should treat them as a new funnel and find the stage with the most leverage.
- Engines of Growth
- Ries' model groups growth into sticky, virality and paid engines. Priorities among them shift as a company moves through different growth stages.
- Growth hacking defined
- Growth hacking is described simply as applying an experimenter's mindset to relentlessly pursue growth. Lean Analytics is recommended for deeper study.
03From the post
“In Monday’s post, we outlined our success funnel, identified our points of leverage, and explored a few ways you can set and hit aggressive goals. Some of you, the lucky ones, might be asking yourself, what do you do when your success funnel is converting well? What types of”
04Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.