Blog

Writing about growth diagnostics.

Specific, evidence-based writing on how growth systems work, how they break, and how to find out where. Definitions, benchmarks, and the reasoning behind them. No listicles, no hype.

01 · Growth as a system

The discipline itself: what growth management is, how a growth system is measured, and how it fails.

What is growth management?

The discipline of building the system that connects a product's value to the people who need it. Definition, history, and what the role owns.

4 min read
What is a growth audit?

A structured evaluation of a company's growth system. What it measures, what it is not, when to run one, and what a good one produces.

4 min read
The 8 dimensions of a growth system

Growth runs on a system with 8 measurable dimensions, from product-market fit to team. What each one covers and the signs of weakness.

3 min read
Growth loops vs funnels

Funnels convert what you feed them; loops feed themselves. The difference, the four loop types, and how to find the loop your company can power.

3 min read
Why most growth efforts fail

Growth efforts fail in recognizable, repeating patterns: scaling before fit, tactics without diagnosis, vanity metrics, channel monoculture. The list of ten.

3 min read
How often should you audit your growth?

Quarterly. One growth audit is a snapshot; four a year make a trendline. Why the quarter is the right cadence, and what to do between audits.

2 min read
When to hire your first growth person

Hire growth after product-market fit is evidenced and instrumentation exists, not before. The prerequisites, the first role, and the 90-day expectation.

3 min read
02 · Demand, leads, and acquisition

How buyer demand is created, captured, qualified, and paid for.

What is demand generation?

The work of creating and capturing buyer demand. The 95-5 rule, demand creation vs capture, and the metrics that show it is working.

3 min read
What is lead generation?

Converting existing demand into identified, contactable buyers. The mechanisms, the lead lifecycle, the metrics that matter, and the failure modes.

3 min read
Demand generation vs lead generation

Demand generation creates and captures demand; lead generation converts it into identified contacts. The differences in a table, and the order that works.

3 min read
MQL vs SQL vs PQL explained

MQLs show marketing-detected interest, SQLs pass sales acceptance, PQLs show real product usage. Definitions, a comparison table, and how to set thresholds.

3 min read
CAC payback period

The months of gross profit needed to recover the cost of acquiring a customer. The formula, benchmarks of 12 to 24 months, and how to shorten it.

3 min read
03 · Fit, retention, and revenue

Whether customers stay, return, and grow in value over time.

How to measure product-market fit

Product-market fit is measurable: the Sean Ellis 40 percent survey and cohort retention curves. How to run both tests and what to do below the threshold.

3 min read
What is a good retention rate?

Good retention depends on business model: 25 percent for consumer social at 6 months, 60 to 80 percent annual logo retention for SMB SaaS. The benchmark tables.

2 min read
What is net revenue retention?

NRR measures revenue kept and grown from existing customers. The formula, a worked example, benchmarks by segment, and how to improve it.

3 min read