Growth Loops
Map viral, usage, collaboration, UGC, and referral flywheels so a solo builder can grow without depending only on paid ads.
Overview
Growth Loops is an agent skill most often used in Grow (also Validate, Launch) that helps you identify and design five types of product-led flywheels for sustainable traction.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills --skill growth-loopsWhat is this skill?
- Evaluates five loop types: Viral, Usage, Collaboration, User-Generated, and Referral
- Explains mechanism, examples (e.g. Figma, Loom), strength, and challenges per loop type
- Supports reducing paid acquisition and designing product-led growth
- Useful when analyzing competitor growth strategies and optimizing for PLG
- Frames shareable in-product output as the engine for external discovery
- 5 growth loop types evaluated (Viral, Usage, Collaboration, User-Generated, Referral)
Adoption & trust: 1k installs on skills.sh; 12.3k GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You are shipping features but user growth still depends on ads or one-off launches with no repeatable mechanism that turns usage into new users.
Who is it for?
SaaS or content products where users create something shareable, invite teammates, or publish output that strangers can discover.
Skip if: Pre-product idea exploration with no users yet, or pure SEO/content sites where in-product loops never touch acquisition.
When should I use this skill?
Designing growth mechanisms, building product-led traction, understanding how growth loops work, reducing paid acquisition, or analyzing competitor growth strategies.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You leave with a prioritized view of which viral, usage, collaboration, UGC, or referral loop could work for your product and what product behaviors must exist for the flywheel to turn.
- Loop-type assessment with mechanism fit
- Hypothesis for which flywheel to implement first
- Product implications for shareable output or collaboration
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Canonical shelf is Grow because the skill’s job is sustainable traction and product-led mechanisms after you have something to ship. Lifecycle fits best: loops describe how users acquire, activate, invite, and re-engage—not one-off campaigns.
Where it fits
Decide whether the MVP needs invite flows or shareable exports before you build the wrong growth surface.
Align launch channels with a loop that turns every new user’s artifact into external visibility.
Tune onboarding and re-engagement so usage loops bring collaborators back without paid retargeting.
Evaluate UGC loops where customer-created content feeds both retention and top-of-funnel discovery.
How it compares
Use for loop design and PLG mechanics—not for keyword SEO audits or generic marketing copy generation.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is growth-loops for?
Solo and indie builders shipping SaaS, agents, or creator tools who own growth and need a structured way to choose viral, referral, or usage-based flywheels instead of guessing.
When should I use growth-loops?
Use it in Grow when designing lifecycle and referral mechanics, in Validate when scoping whether the product can grow product-led, and in Launch when planning distribution that amplifies in-product sharing.
Is growth-loops safe to install?
It is documentation-style PM guidance with no shell or network requirements by default; review the Security Audits panel on this page before enabling any bundled repo scripts.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Growth Loops
# Growth Loops ## Overview Identify and design growth loops (flywheels) that create sustainable traction. This skill evaluates five proven growth loop mechanisms to reduce reliance on paid acquisition and build product-led growth. ## When to Use - Designing growth mechanisms for a product - Building sustainable viral or referral traction - Reducing reliance on paid acquisition - Analyzing competitor growth strategies - Optimizing product for product-led growth ## The 5 Growth Loop Types ### 1. Viral Loop Product content created by users gets shared on external platforms, bringing new users back to the product. - **Mechanism**: Users create content in-product → Share on social/external platforms → New users discover and signup - **Example**: Figma designs shared as links, Loom videos shared in emails - **Strength**: Exponential user acquisition if content is inherently shareable - **Challenge**: Requires highly shareable output and strong incentive to share ### 2. Usage Loop Users create content or value within the product, then share it, which invites new users or drives re-engagement. - **Mechanism**: User creates → Shares creation → Others consume → Become engaged users - **Example**: Twitter threads, Medium articles, Notion templates shared publicly - **Strength**: Growth tied directly to product usage and network effects - **Challenge**: Requires content creation friction to be very low ### 3. Collaboration Loop Users invite colleagues to co-create or collaborate within the product, expanding the user base within organizations. - **Mechanism**: User creates → Invites colleagues for collaboration → Colleagues discover product value - **Example**: Google Docs invitations, Figma team projects, Slack channels - **Strength**: Deep organizational penetration and high retention - **Challenge**: Works best for collaborative/team-based products ### 4. User-Generated Loop Users discover new content or features through other users' creations, then create and share their own content. - **Mechanism**: User discovers content → Creates similar content → Shares creation → Others discover - **Example**: TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube trends driving creator participation - **Strength**: Creates content flywheel and network effects - **Challenge**: Requires critical mass of quality content to sustain ### 5. Referral Loop Users invite other potential users in exchange for rewards, incentives, or social recognition. - **Mechanism**: User refers → Referred user joins → Referrer gets reward → Shares more referrals - **Example**: Dropbox referral bonus, Uber rider referrals, PayPal signup bonuses - **Strength**: Directly incentivizes acquisition; easy to measure ROI - **Challenge**: Requires valuable incentive without eroding unit economics ## How It Works ### Step 1: Define Product Value Clarify the core value users experience: - Primary action users take in your product - Value created per user action - Network effects present (if any) - Friction points in the experience ### Step 2: Evaluate Loop Fit Assess which growth loops align with your product: - Product type (collaborative, content-based, utility, etc.) - Target user behavior and sharing habits - Network effects already present - Existing user base and engagement ### Step 3: Design Loop Mechanics Create specific loop implementation: - Trigger that initiates sharing or invitations - Incentive for participation (intrinsic or extrinsic) - Ease of sharing mechanism - Conversion rate from invite to activation - Frequency of loop repetition per user ### Step 4: Calculate Loop Coefficient Estimate growth velocity: - Invites/shares per user per cycle - Conversion rate of invites to new users - Net