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74 articles in Growth & Experimentation
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Do Things That Don't Scale
Paul Graham's influential essay on how the most successful startups get off the ground by doing things that don't scale. Recruit users manually, give insanely great customer service, do things by hand before automating. The initial effort to get a startup going is fundamentally different from what it takes to sustain one. Required reading at Y Combinator and startup courses worldwide.
Paul Graham·10 min read·Jul 1, 2013
Full ArticleGrowth & Experimentation
Do Things That Don't Scale
The most common unscalable thing founders have to do at the start is recruit users manually. You can't wait for users to come to you. You have to go out and get them.
Classic Articles·21 min read·Jun 1, 2013
Full ArticleGrowth & Experimentation
The Lean Startup Methodology
Steve Blank explains why the lean startup methodology has changed entrepreneurship education and practice. Build-Measure-Learn feedback loops, minimum viable products, and pivots replace elaborate business plans. Covers how this approach has been adopted by GE, Qualcomm, and Intuit, and is now taught at Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, and other top programs.
Harvard Business Review·12 min read·May 1, 2013
Full ArticleGrowth & Experimentation
Startup = Growth
Paul Graham defines what makes a startup a startup: growth. Not every new company is a startup. A startup is a company designed to grow fast. The constraint that defines startups is growth rate, not age or technology. Covers how to measure growth, what a good growth rate looks like (5-7% per week), and the economic forces that make rapid growth possible.
Paul Graham·12 min read·Sep 1, 2012
Full ArticleGrowth & Experimentation
How to Get Startup Ideas
The best startup ideas come from noticing problems you have yourself, not from trying to think of startup ideas. Live in the future, then build what's missing.
Classic Articles·36 min read·Jun 1, 2012
Full ArticleGrowth & Experimentation
Startup = Growth
A startup is a company designed to grow fast. The only essential thing is growth. Everything else follows from that.
Classic Articles·26 min read·Jun 1, 2012
Full ArticleGrowth & Experimentation
Product Metrics That Matter: Beyond Vanity Metrics
Eric Ries on the difference between vanity metrics (total signups, page views) and actionable metrics (activation rate, retention, revenue per user). Vanity metrics tell a flattering story but don't help you make decisions. Introduces the pirate metrics framework (AARRR): Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Revenue, Referral. Changed how startups measure success.
Harvard Business Review·8 min read·Feb 1, 2010
Full ArticleGrowth & Experimentation
Minimum Viable Product: a guide
The MVP is the version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.
Classic Articles·9 min read·Jun 1, 2009
Full ArticleGrowth & Experimentation
Product-Market Fit: The Only Metric That Matters Early On
Andreessen's influential essay argues that the single most important factor for startup success is finding product-market fit—being in a good market with a product that satisfies it. The essay reframes startup priorities, placing market selection above team quality or product elegance.
Classic Articles·10 min read·Jun 25, 2007
Full ArticleGrowth & Experimentation
Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers
Explores Geoffrey Moore's technology adoption lifecycle and the 'chasm' between early adopters and the early majority. Provides strategies for crossing this gap, including focusing on a beachhead market segment and developing a whole product solution.
Harvard Business Review·14 min read·Jul 1, 2006
Full ArticleGrowth & Experimentation
Blue Ocean Strategy
Kim and Mauborgne argue that lasting success comes not from battling competitors but from creating 'blue oceans' of uncontested market space. Through value innovation, companies can make the competition irrelevant. Features the Strategy Canvas tool and Four Actions Framework. A standard text in innovation and strategy courses.
Harvard Business Review·14 min read·Oct 1, 2004
Full ArticleGrowth & Experimentation
Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Technology Products
The technology adoption lifecycle: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. The 'chasm' is the gap between early adopters and the early majority that kills most technology products. To cross it, focus on a single niche beachhead market and dominate it completely before expanding. A core framework in technology marketing and product strategy courses.
Harvard Business Review·13 min read·Jan 1, 2004
Full ArticleGrowth & Experimentation
The Ultimate Question: How Net Promoter Score Drives Growth
Reichheld introduces the Net Promoter Score methodology, arguing that a single question about willingness to recommend predicts growth more accurately than complex satisfaction surveys. The article presents research linking NPS to revenue growth across industries and provides a framework for using the metric to drive customer-centric improvements.
Harvard Business Review·14 min read·Dec 1, 2003
Full ArticleGrowth & Experimentation
Cialdini's Six Principles of Persuasion: Ethical Applications in Business
Cialdini's research distills decades of influence research into six universal principles: reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity. Each principle operates as a mental shortcut that can be applied ethically to improve persuasion in sales, leadership, and negotiations. The article emphasizes that the most sustainable influence strategies align these principles with genuine value rather than manipulation.
Harvard Business Review·14 min read·Oct 1, 2001