7. Product-led Growth
Product-Led Growth Flywheel
Scale what works. Design growth that compounds.
Table Of Content
Strategic Context Core Principles Section 1: Usage-Based Expansion Section 2: Power User Programs Section 3: Incentives for Expansion Section 4: Community → Product Feedback Loop Section 5: Organic Acquisition Engine Section 6: Growth Ops & Flywheel Infrastructure Metrics Guide: Tracking Referral Loop Health Final Flywheel Readiness Checklist
Strategic Context
Most products stall after launch because they run out of things to say. PLG products don’t. They grow because usage itself creates new users, new value, and new opportunities. That’s the flywheel: a system where activation drives retention, retention drives advocacy, and advocacy drives acquisition.
This module shows you how to build that flywheel, by reinforcing your strongest loops, amplifying your power users, and turning product usage into scalable, self-sustaining growth.
TL;DR:
You don’t scale in crypto with ads. You scale it with systems.
One power user program can outperform 10 paid influencers.
One integration can unlock 10x more usage than a paid campaign.
One shareable moment can spark a wave of organic adoption.
Build for use. Build to share. Build to repeat. That’s your flywheel.
Core Principles
1. Loops Reinforce, Funnels Exhaust
Funnels end. Loops spin. Your job is to identify which user actions naturally lead to more users, and double down.
2. Power Users Multiply Growth
Your best users aren’t just sticky, they’re catalysts. Builders, traders, stakers, explainers. If they win, you win.
3. Growth Should Be Native to the Product
The best growth doesn’t feel like a campaign. It feels like using the product as intended and seeing value worth sharing.
4. Community Is a Growth Channel
Your users are your distribution network. Build with them. Reward them. Let them shape the roadmap.
5. Scale Is a System
Scaling isn’t about shouting louder, it’s about setting up operations that run consistently: tracking, testing, amplifying, expanding.
Section 1: Usage-Based Expansion
More wallets. More transactions. More integrations. Same product.
What to Optimize:
Increase product touchpoints: integrate wallets, bots, SDKs, mobile
Enable repeat usage through incentives or rewards
Build pathways from light usage → deeper engagement
Example:
A Stellar-native wallet adds transaction batching and reward multipliers for daily use. Active wallets triple.
Section 2: Power User Programs
Give your best users superpowers and a reason to stick.
Who They Are:
Builders: integrate your product or compose on top
Traders: generate high-volume or high-frequency transactions
Advocates: run explainers, translate content, help others onboard
Validators / Stakers: secure the network and signal legitimacy
What to Build:
Tiered program with clear roles and perks
Recognition systems (badges, roles, XP, voting rights)
Early access and feature influence
Section 3: Incentives for Expansion
Referrals, rewards, XP, tokens—the right mechanic builds the right loop.
What Works:
Mutual incentives: both referrer and invitee benefit
Utility-based rewards: staking boosts, gas rebates, XP milestones
Public leaderboards or progression: competitive motivation
Integration rewards: bring your own users, get shared upside
Section 4: Community → Product Feedback Loop
Your users are telling you what to build next. Make it official.
Setup:
Dedicated roadmap board (Notion, Linear)
Discord threads, TG polls, and embedded product feedback
Biweekly internal review and community-facing updates
Why It Matters:
A product the community helps shape is a product the community will grow.
Section 5: Organic Acquisition Engine
When users win, make it visible and spreadable.
Channels to Activate:
Social share triggers (e.g. “I just swapped X on Stellar at 0.1% slippage”)
UGC flywheels (guides, videos, memes)
TikTok shorts, X spaces, Discord activations
SEO + educational content + ecosystem integrations
Example:
A Stellar AMM launches a shareable swap success screen. X users start posting yields. Inbound traffic spikes.
Section 6: Growth Ops & Flywheel Infrastructure
What’s working? What needs fuel? Where’s the friction?
Set Up:
Weekly KPI review (activation, retention, referrals, usage volume)
Single source of truth dashboard
Quarterly flywheel audit: What’s spinning? What’s stalled?
Clear loop and channel ownership across the team
Metrics Guide: Tracking Referral Loop Health
Referrals are powerful, but only if they bring in the right users. Here’s how to measure real loop performance:
Metric | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
K-Factor | Measures virality. K = invites × conversion rate. K > 1 = exponential growth. |
Activation Rate of Invitees | Are invited users actually using the product? |
Referral Retention | Do they stick, or churn after rewards? |
Cost per Referral | Especially for token incentives—track your CAC. |
Referral → Power User Conversion | Are invites becoming core community members or contributors? |
✶ Tip: K-factor is useful, but it’s a signal, not the goal. A high K with low retention is noise. A modest K with sticky, expanding users? That’s gold.
Final Flywheel Readiness Checklist
✓ Do you have at least one high-performing growth loop?
✓ Are your power users identified, recognized, and rewarded?
✓ Is your referral or incentive system driving real adoption?
✓ Are users influencing your roadmap and product direction?
✓ Is your growth tracked, reviewed, and operationalized weekly?
✓ Do new users discover the product through existing users or content?
