Growth Levers and How to Find Them

Customer value is what your NSM tracks.

JTBD says we don’t actually “buy” products or services, we instead hire them to help us make progress in a particular situation—the way we might hire a contractor to achieve a goal.

Struggle Unaware: Most of the time, people are unaware of most of their problems. We either ignore them or get by with painful workarounds. In our weight loss example, many prospects don’t even realize they’ve gradually become overweight.

False door test: Instead of adding a product feature, add a button for the feature and see if anybody clicks it. If they do, apologize and let them know the feature is not yet available. Maybe ask them what the feature would enable them to do?

Deliberation, execution, hiring, and delegation are all critical; no business succeeds without a healthy blend of those. However, in early-stage startups, these strategies consistently fail for one important reason: missing information.

A good way to isolate your RLS is to ask: “If we double our performance in this area, will we double the business?” When you find a rate-limiting step, make it your top priority and allocate the right people against it, regardless of their job title.

When hiring for early growth roles, I’m looking for ability, not experience. I worry less about what a candidate has done and more about what they can learn how to do. I want to know whether they’re open, curious, and non-defensive.

Key Driver: If it works, which of your key drivers will it most directly impact? Traffic? Conversion? Retention? Referrals? Activation?

Once you’ve agreed on your North Star Metric, key drivers and rate-limiting step, share the model with your leadership team. Ask each leader to use it to set their goals and prioritize their team’s work.