Growth Loops

Growth loops are the self-reinforcing cycles where your product's outputs become its inputs: new users bring more users, content attracts more creators, usage data sharpens the product which drives more usage. Viral loops, referral loops, and content loops all follow the same compounding logic, but they break in different places and need different conditions to work. Reading the structure of a loop is how you figure out which one to build and whether yours is actually compounding or just running in place.

This collection breaks down how specific companies designed and sustained their growth loops: where the referral mechanics sat in the product, how content loops got instrumented, and what made loops stall as the product scaled. Use these pieces to audit your own loops, find where the cycle is leaking, and understand what it really takes to turn a growth tactic into a durable compounding engine.