It was 4:37 AM.

I was awake not because I wanted to be, but because our metrics were flatlining. 

We had just poured thousands of dollars into ads for our new health and wellness platform. The value proposition was clear, and we earned a standing ovation at every pitch. 

Yet, for some reason, our users weren't sticky.

The truth hit me: we had built a funnel, but loop..

“You don’t need one million users. You need 1,000 users to bring you ten more.”

That night, I drew a circle on my whiteboard,  and wrote three questions:

1. What would make someone invite a friend?
2. What would keep them coming back?
3. Lastly, what would make them brag about it?

That’s where the loop began.

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TL;DR: Why Growth Loops Beat Funnels

• Funnels are linear. Growth loops are exponential.
• The companies that scale design self-sustaining systems where every action feeds back into the growth of the product.
• Growth loops asks: What’s the next step this user can take to bring in another?
• Growth loops drive engagement by triggering habits, surfacing progress, and fostering collaboration.
• Lastly, growth loops isn't just viral growth, it's also systemic growth. Growth loops make product experience the main driver of acquisition, engagement, and referrals.

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Why Growth Loops Beat Funnels

Most early-stage product managers start with funnels. Acquisition leads to activation, which ideally leads to retention, revenue, and referrals. But funnels have a major limitation. They're linear, whereas growth loops are exponential (when done correctly).

Growth loops are systems that build upon themselves. The output of one stage becomes the input for the next. For instance, every Airbnb guest becomes a potential host. Similarly, every Calendly invite automatically activates new users to the product.

"It's not just about viral growth..."

It's also about systemic growth, where the product experience itself drives scale.

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Acquisition Strategy: Turning Signups Into Loops

Let's be honest, most acquisition strategies are expensive and unsustainable. Google Ads, influencer campaigns, and SEO all drive spikes but not sustainable growth. 

The magic happens when acquisition becomes the start of a loop, rather than just a gate. The goal is to allow every action to create a condition for the next user.

Take Notion as an example. It doesn’t just let you sign up and explore a doc. It allows you to create something worth sharing. Whether it’s  a resume template, habit tracker, or team wiki. The moment you share it, the recipient has to sign up to view or use it. Then each new creation becomes an acquisition channel.

Consider Webflow, where every site built on the platform becomes an SEO goldmine. Their template libraries and portfolios rank highly for thousands of search terms, ranging from "portfolio website" to "SAAS landing page." As users create content, it attracts even more users.

The takeaway is clear. Identify what makes your product inherently shareable, then design acquisition flows around it.

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Engagement Tactics: Building Habits and Collaboration

Once you get users through the door, the question becomes what makes them stay, and what makes them return? Engagement is the oxygen for loops as  it keeps the system alive.

Duolingo is a prime example of this. By using streaks, badges, and reminders that evoke guilt, it has successfully gamified language learning. Each streak strengthens users' emotional investment. 

This type of engagement, which is based on behavior, even has an indirect positive impact on SEO by increasing dwell time and reducing bounce rates. As a result, users are more likely to share content organically and less likely to stop using the platform.

Figma is another great example. It creates collaborative network effects by going beyond serving individual designers. Instead, it relies on collaboration. 

Designers invite developers, who then invite product managers. Product managers bring in marketers, and each role naturally invites the next, resulting in the product being embedded across teams. This turns engagement into a collaborative cycle, rather than a solo activity.

"When thinking about growth, ask yourself who else needs to be involved for users to achieve success?"

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Case Study: LinkedIn The Master of Identity and Status 

LinkedIn is the ultimate platform for identity-based growth loops. Before LinkedIn, professionals lacked a public-facing online profile.

Identity Loop (Acquisition Strategy): Each LinkedIn profile essentially became a Google-indexed landing page. When recruiters searched for "Marketing Manager San Francisco", they would inevitably end up on LinkedIn, driving new signups as each profile acted as a landing page.

Connection Loop (Engagement Tactic): LinkedIn prompted users to import their contacts and connect, fostering professional FOMO. Each invitation drew more users into the system, increasing the product's value with every connection.

Content & Job Loop (Referral Program): Recruiter job postings, user-written blog articles, and professional sharing created natural referral mechanics, extending the platform's reach. Every like, comment, or application introduced the product to new people

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Tactical Takeaways from LinkedIn’s Growth Loops

1. Identity Loop (Acquisition through Profiles)

How you can replicate it:

• By default, make every user's profile and output public-facing and SEO-optimized, with privacy controls in place.
• Use clean URL structures, such as yourapp.com/username or yourapp.com/category/name.
• Encourage users to complete detailed profiles by displaying their "search hits" and using gamification.
• Design shareable profile cards, badges, and widgets users can embed elsewhere.
  

2. Connection Loop (Engagement through Invitations)

How you can replicate it:

• Integrate contact imports:  recommend email, Slack, and phonebook integration, to build FOMO.
  
• Smart recommendations: use shared interests, location, and companies to nudge connections.
  
• Social pressure mechanics: create badges like “Your colleague just joined” or “10 people from your company are here”.
  
• Invitation CTA:  keep invitations persistent but lightweight (e.g., “Add teammates” button in dashboards).
  

3. Content and  Job Loop (Referral via Utility)

How you can replicate it:

• Design utility-driven loops: Let items such as content, jobs, and  projects,act as magnets that constantly pull in new users.
• Micro-dopamine triggers: Add notifications like “5 people viewed your profile” or “Your project was bookmarked” to keep users engaged.
• SEO-indexable content:  Leverage items such as job boards, public articles, or templates to drive new traffic.
  
• Commenting and sharing: Encourage users to engage by showing how their contributions increase their search visibility within the network.

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Uber: Engineering Growth Loops at Scale

It was 2010.

San Francisco’s startup scene was buzzing, but getting a taxi at 2AM? Impossible.

Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick had a simple idea: tap a button, get a black car.

It started as a luxury perk for tech execs.

But  Uber wasn’t just a transportation company, it was quietly constructing one of the most powerful growth loop engines of the modern era.

“The best growth loop is when your product solves the problem so well… people feel obligated to share it.”

Let's break down their Growth Playbook….

Case Study: Uber Growth Loops

Uber scaled not through traditional ads but by engineering loops.

Double-Sided Referral Program: Riders earned credits for inviting friends, meanwhile drivers earned cash for onboarding peers. Each referral grew on both sides of the marketplace.

Geo-Flywheel Loop: Uber expanded city by city, seeding drivers before riders. Local SEO landing pages (“Uber in Chicago”) created long-term discoverability.

Engagement Tactics: Push notifications during commute hours and surge pricing created habitual use.

Delight Loop: Cashless payments and ratings turned awkward taxi rides into Uber experiences worth sharing.

Finally, Uber removed friction. No cash, no awkward tips, and instant ratings created delight. Their referral messaging said it all.  “Get $15 off your first ride. Because friends don’t let friends take taxis.” They also  studied routines of users, for instance when do  people leave work, go out at night, and travel to airports Then used them as a re-engagement hooks.Every delightful moment was worth sharing, and every share pulled in new users.

Tactical Takeaways for Product Builders

Here’s how you can replicate Uber’s growth loops in your own product:‍

1. Double-Sided Value

• Don’t just reward users. Reward the person they invite too.
• Great for marketplaces, communities, or SaaS tools with collaborators.‍

2. Hyperlocal Strategy

• If your product has a physical or geo component, treat each area as its own growth loop.
• Create SEO content around local intent.‍

‍3. Behavior-Driven Retention

• Reuse data to time re-engagement.
• Build product habits around life habits ( commute, weekend, travel, etc.).‍

4. Experience Worth Talking About

• Make one aspect of your User Experience 10x better than the norm.
• Add a touch of “delight” that people naturally share.
  
  

Substack: Turning Writers into Growth Engines

In 2017, Substack launched with a counterintuitive thesis:

Don’t chase clicks.
Chase trust.

No algorithm. No ads. Just writers. And their audience.

“Great writing attracts an audience. Great tools keep them growing.”

While media giants were fighting over attention on Twitter and Facebook, Substack was quietly building a platform.

Let's break down the Growth Playbook of what worked…..

Substack redefined publishing by prioritizing authenticity over algorithms.

Content Loop (Acquisition): Every published post became an email, SEO-indexed web article, and social preview. Each piece of content fed into acquisition.

Network Loop (Engagement): Writers recommended each other. Growth became compounding, fueled by creator referrals.

Monetization Loop (Referral Program): Writers kept ninety percent of revenue, motivating them to publish more and grow audiences. Paid subscriptions turned into flywheels.

Viral UX Loop: Teaser walls (“Subscribe to keep reading”) converted curiosity into subscribers.

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Bonus Loop: “Subscribe to Read” User Experience 

Substack’s Growth Hack:
When a reader clicks a shared article and lands mid-way
they’re blocked by: “Subscribe to keep reading.”

It’s not annoying. It triggers curiosity.

The article title and teaser already earned attention, now it fuels conversion.

The result:
Organic Twitter threads  equals viral Medium posts, which equals LinkedIn shares and all feed back to one CTA (Subscribe).

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The Art of Referrals

Referrals only work when they emerge naturally. Done poorly, they feel scammy. Done well, they become unstoppable.

Loom nails this by embedding subtle signals. Every video includes “Made with Loom.” It’s not a referral link, it's part of the product experience.

Dropbox did it with incentives. They offered extra storage when you referred a friend, but the genius was in the timing. They asked right when you were about to run out of space, making the referral feel urgent and valuable.

The lesson: don’t just offer rewards. Offer them when they make emotional sense.

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The Triple Flywheel Framework

Over the years, I've developed the Triple Flywheel Framework, which targets growth beyond funnels by creating, expressing, and expanding value.

The Triple Flywheel Framework illustrates how products transition from being used to being shared and eventually grown by their own community. 

Unlike funnels, which have an endpoint, flywheels loop back and build momentum. When executed well, this approach creates a system where users not only consume value but also amplify it.

1. Value Creation Flywheel: From First “A-Ha” to Habit

Definition: Find the smallest, fastest action that delivers an “a-ha” moment and make users come back for it.

• Why it matters: If users don’t experience value quickly, they churn. And if they don’t experience it repeatedly, they forget. Value creation is about compressing time-to-value and designing repeatable hooks.
  
• Core loop mechanics: Trigger → Action → Reward → Repeat.
  

• Examples:
  
  • Duolingo: Completing your first lesson = instant progress. The streak mechanic ensures repeat action.
    
  • Canva: The moment you create a design and see it look polished, you’re hooked. Templates reduce time-to-value.
    
  • Slack: Joining a workspace and sending your first message connects you instantly with teammates.
    

Tactical Playbook:

• Map your “aha moment” to be the smallest possible action.
  
• Surface that action in onboarding, but don’t bury it in menus.
  
• Reinforce it with streaks, badges, or dashboards to encourage repeat use.
  

“Think of this flywheel as oxygen: without repeat engagement, the rest of your loops can’t spin.”

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2. Value Expression Flywheel: Making Use Shareable

Definition: Enable users to showcase or share their outcomes in ways that expose the product to others.

• Why it matters: Marketing is expensive. But when users naturally broadcast their results, your product grows on autopilot. Expression transforms private value into public discovery.
  
• Core loop mechanics: Create→ Share → Discover → Adopt.
  
• Examples:
  
  • Notion: A single shared template can bring dozens of new users into the platform.
    
  • Spotify: Playlist sharing turns private listening into public promotion.
    
  • Figma: Collaboration links pull in teammates who otherwise wouldn’t sign up.
    

Tactical Playbook:

• Bake “public by default” into your product outputs (documents, videos, designs, reviews).
  
• Make shared assets SEO-friendly (URLs, metadata, preview cards).
  
• Lower the friction of sharing embed links, social previews, or “export as image/ PDF.”
  
• Add passive referral signals (e.g., “Made with Loom” watermarks, “Powered by Shopify” footers).
  
  

3. Value Expansion Flywheel: Advocacy as a Natural Byproduct

Definition: Reward advocacy by turning referrals into an organic part of usage.

• Why it matters: Most referral programs feel bolted on and transactional. Value expansion builds incentives that align with user motivation, making advocacy inevitable rather than forced.
  
• Core loop mechanics: Engage → Advocate → Reward → Engage deeper.
  
• Examples:
  
  • Dropbox: Offers extra storage precisely when users run out, making referrals feel essential.
    
  • Uber: Riders earned credits and drivers earned bonuses, creating double-sided advocacy.
    
  • Substack: Writers kept 90% of revenue, motivating them to actively promote and cross-recommend newsletters.
    

Tactical Playbook:

• Reward both sides (inviter and invitee).
  
• Time the referral ask at moments of delight or need (unlock a feature, run out of capacity, achieve a milestone).
  
• Offer status-based incentives, not just monetary ones (badges, exclusive tiers, early access).
  
• Track and amplify advocacy moments (e.g., leaderboards, public recognition).
  

This flywheel turns advocacy from a growth hack into an embedded cultural behavior.

How the Three Flywheels Interconnect

Think of the three flywheels as gears in a machine:

• Value Creation fuels Value Expression: If people aren’t getting value, they won’t share it.
  
• Value Expression fuels Value Expansion: Once people share, advocacy emerges naturally.
  
• Value Expansion feeds back into Value Creation: New users arrive through referrals, experience value, and the cycle repeats.
  

The magic is in the compounding effect. Once all three are spinning, growth happens without ads users themselves power the engine.

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Example: An AI Journaling App

Let’s take an AI journaling app through the Triple-Flywheel lens for example.

• Value Creation: Users receive a daily motivational prompt, track their progress, and see how they're growing emotionally. These small achievements keep them engaged.
  
• Value Expression: Each user gets a beautifully designed "year-in-review" page to share with others, linking back to our product. This turns personal growth into a public achievement.
  
• Value Expansion: When users invite a friend, they unlock premium themes or insights. If their friend journals for a week, both users gain "Founders Club" status, getting early access to new features. This makes advocating for the product a badge of honor, not a chore.
  
  

The result: sustainable, compounding growth without a single paid ad.

Why the Triple-Flywheel Model Works

• Psychological hooks: People tend to repeat actions that provide small dopamine boosts from achieving progress. They share things that showcase them in a positive light, allowing for self-expression. They also advocate for products that offer social or material rewards, leading to expansion.
• SEO and discoverability: The content created through expression outputs gets indexed by search engines, driving passive user acquisition.
• Network effects: As users expand their reach, they bring in others, increasing engagement and reducing customer acquisition costs.
• Product-led growth alignment: This framework integrates growth directly into the product's mechanics, rather than relying on external marketing efforts.

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Final Takeaways

Growth loops are exponential and funnels are linear. Funnels guide users through a single journey that ends. In contrast, growth loops keep regenerating. They build momentum, where each user action sparks the next cycle.

Acquisition loops: Your product generates outputs that can be easily shared or indexed by search engines, such as templates, profiles, portfolios, and public links. These outputs create natural entry points that continue to produce benefits long after the initial launch.

Engagement loops: These tap into human psychology, including habits, collaboration, and visible progress. Examples include Duolingo streaks, Figma collaboration, and fitness dashboards. By leveraging these loops, you not only retain users but also increase their investment in your product.

Referral loops: Align with natural user moments of delight, urgency, or need. Dropbox mastered this by rewarding storage right when users were running out. Uber nailed it with double-sided rider and driver credits. True advocacy comes from moments when sharing feels obvious, and not forced.

The ultimate growth question is deceptively simple.

“What’s the next action a user can take that brings in another?”

If you're a product manager, founder, or growth leader, ditch the pursuit of vanity clicks, empty impressions, and shallow funnels. Focus on building loops that harness emotion, momentum, and mutual value. This is how you turn passive users into active advocates who grow alongside your product.

When users amplify value instead of just consuming it, you can break free from the cycle of ad budgets and cold outreach. You stop pushing the boulder uphill, and instead start spinning the flywheel.

And once the flywheel begins, growth stops being a campaign and instead becomes a system.

“Growth isn’t about being loud. It’s about creating products that are so good, so easy to share, and so rewarding to use that users can’t help but spread the word. Design loops that inspire people, and they’ll inspire the world to follow."

Here's a free template to get the ball rolling: The Triple Flywheel Framework

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