Drawer 03 · 215 notes · 73 people · 2005–2026

Growth & retention

Acquisition loops, activation, onboarding, retention, and PLG

Q:
Answers from Growth & retention notes, cited
Product Talk · Teresa TorresJun 17, 2013

Read Lean Analytics

Jun 17, 2013 · 3 min

“If you haven't read Lean Analytics by Alistair Croll and Ben Yoskovitz, stop reading this blog post and go pick up a copy. No really. It's that good. For those of you who didn't stop reading to go buy the book, I'll work on convincing you.”

SVPG · Marty CaganNov 15, 2006

Help Prevent User Abuse

Nov 15, 2006 · 5 min

Cagan argues that 'user abuse' happens when product teams ship changes that users didn't ask for, didn't expect, or can't absorb, and that it is largely caused by the natural human resistance to change. He explains that…

Lenny’s Newsletter♥ 26

Evaluating a (marketplace) business idea

Jun 23, 2020 · 11 min
Subscriber post — summary only

Lenny Rachitsky shares how he evaluates marketplace business ideas after reviewing 100+ companies. He argues that founders and investors should first test the underlying business against seven core criteria…

Product Talk · Teresa TorresMar 14, 2013

How To Run an A/B Test

Mar 14, 2013 · 11 min

Teresa Torres argues that A/B testing should follow the scientific method rather than being used for trivial tweaks like button colors or wording. She recommends starting from a real insight about why recipients ignore…

Lenny’s Podcast119 min

Hot takes and techno-optimism from tech’s top power couple

Sriram and Aarthi · Mar 12, 2023
Key learnings
  • Meet peers across your org for coffee with no agenda, asking about their work and who else to meet; two coffees a week compounds…
  • Follow up after good first meetings and check in every six months or so; most people never follow through, which wastes the…
  • Put your work out publicly (threads, posts, talks, GitHub, video); it acts as a signal that attracts serendipitous opportunities…
Product Talk · Teresa TorresJun 7, 2012

Why the BranchOut Decline Isn't Surprising

Jun 7, 2012 · 3 min

Teresa Torres argues that the rapid user decline of BranchOut, a Facebook-based social recruiting app, was predictable because its core assumption failed. Her team had built a similar product and, through interviews…

Product Talk · Teresa TorresMar 6, 2013

Measuring The Success Of Product Emails

Mar 6, 2013 · 4 min

This post sets out what product teams should realistically expect from email metrics: open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and unsubscribes. It explains that open rates are an imperfect approximation…

Product Talk · Teresa TorresMar 1, 2013

Designing Product Emails That Convert

Mar 1, 2013 · 5 min

Teresa Torres argues that product emails only help if they are designed to convert, and recommends building a reusable email template rather than designing each message from scratch. A template lets teams user-test and…

Lenny’s Newsletter♥ 32

How marketplaces win

Aug 3, 2021 · 7 min
Subscriber post — summary only

The post argues that marketplaces succeed by choosing one of three routes: delivering far more convenience, offering a significantly lower price, or unlocking desirable supply that customers want. It also explains what…

SVPG · Marty CaganFeb 14, 2006

Gentle Deployment

Feb 14, 2006 · 3 min

Cagan argues that shipping updates to an established user community requires care, because users dislike change and today's connected internet lets them punish bad releases quickly. He calls the disciplined approach to…

Lenny’s Newsletter♥ 255

Best of Lenny’s Newsletter 2025

Jan 6, 2026 · 8 min
Subscriber post — summary only

Lenny Rachitsky's year-end roundup collects the most popular posts from his newsletter, grouped by theme such as AI, career, strategy, growth, and execution, plus a few all-time classics. He also reviews his 2025 goals…

SVPG · Marty CaganJan 19, 2015

The Power of Customer Misbehavior

Jan 19, 2015

Marty Cagan argues that product teams can find major opportunities by letting customers use their products for purposes the company never planned or officially supports. He describes this as a third path beyond…

SVPG · Marty CaganAug 2, 2011

Competition

Aug 2, 2011

Marty Cagan argues that competition is a constant in most markets, yet companies often waste energy reacting to rivals through feature-chasing and attacking competitors' weaknesses. He contends customers rarely leave…

@ttorres · Teresa Torres on X♥ 2
NHS clinicians get ten minutes with a generalist, if they can get an appointment at all—leaving little room for the specific, personal questions women's health actually requires. Hertility Health made a longer intake mandatory before purchase, and something unexpected happened: conversion went up…
Lenny’s Newsletter♥ 23

Choosing a take rate

Apr 6, 2021 · 8 min
Subscriber post — summary only

Lenny Rachitsky explains how marketplace and platform builders should choose a take rate, the fee charged on each transaction. He introduces a simple formula combining convenience and demand minus competition, walks…