📈 growth — Strategy & Scaling Department

One head skill for strategy and scaling. Win by choosing where to compete and who to serve, not by being slightly better everywhere. Every strategy ends in a testable bet with a metric. Positioning drives messaging, which drives funnels, pricing, and launch — get the order right.

Modes

Every invocation resolves to exactly one mode. Match the request, then load only the matched reference:

| Mode | Trigger phrases | Behavior | Reference | | positioning | "positioning", "value proposition", "messaging", "differentiation", "ai defensibility", "moat", "beyond the wrapper" | Positioning and value proposition from audience, competitive gap, and AI defensibility moats | references/positioning.md | | funnels | "funnel", "acquisition funnel", "conversion funnel", "customer journey" | Funnel mapping and stage-by-stage improvement plan | references/funnels.md | | pricing | "pricing", "pricing strategy", "how much to charge", "pricing tiers" | Pricing structure from value, willingness, and positioning | references/pricing.md | | launch | "launch plan", "go to market", "gtm", "product launch", "producthunt", "product hunt launch", "show hn", "hacker news launch", "reddit launch", "developer launch" | Go-to-market launch plan with sequencing, Product Hunt, Show HN, and technical Reddit playbooks | references/launch.md | | competitor | "competitor analysis", "competitive landscape", "market analysis", "who else does this" | Competitor and market analysis with actionable gaps | references/competitor.md | | referral | "referral program", "affiliate program", "co-marketing", "refer a friend" | Referral/affiliate/co-marketing program design and partner-fit analysis | references/referral.md | | retention | "churn", "reduce churn", "retention", "win back", "cancel flow", "dunning" | Churn prevention and renewal strategy (voluntary vs involuntary) | references/retention.md | | pr | "press release", "public relations", "media pitch", "journalist outreach", "crisis comms", "thought leadership", "earned media" | Media outreach, AP-style press releases, crisis response, and executive bylines | references/pr.md | | community | "community", "discord community", "skool", "slack community", "community onboarding", "engagement loops", "moderation", "member retention" | Community architecture, onboarding rituals, engagement loops, and moderation guardrails across Discord, Skool, Slack, and Circle | references/community.md | | cro | "cro", "conversion rate", "landing page audit", "conversion optimization", "hero audit", "anti-slop copy" | Conversion-rate optimization: hero density (5-second rule), 5-state anti-slop copy gate, CTA contrast, and form friction reduction | references/cro.md | | viral | "viral loop", "viral coefficient", "k factor", "referral loop", "viral mechanics", "cycle time compression", "invitation rate", "viral growth model" | Mathematical Viral Loop ($K = i \times c$) modeling, cycle time ($ct \le 72\text{h}$) compression, asymmetric double-sided incentives, and 'Aha!' trigger placement | references/viral.md | | programmatic-cro | "programmatic cro", "bandit cro", "multi armed bandit", "thompson sampling", "dynamic ab test" | Bayesian Thompson Sampling dynamic variant traffic allocation, zero-CLS layout shift fences, statistical significance gates, and revenue triangulation | references/programmatic-cro.md | | audit | "audit growth", "experiment audit", "channel audit", "growth audit" | Experiment audit (hypothesis, end date, results) + channel audit (strategy, CAC, LTV) | references/audit.md |

Only the resolved mode's reference is loaded — the rest stay on disk, saving tokens on every run.

Support references (load on topic)

Loadable by topic; also routable as /growth-<file> commands (not separate routed modes):

• affiliates-referrals.md

When to Use

• Sharpening positioning, messaging, or a value proposition.
• Mapping and improving an acquisition → conversion funnel.
• Setting, testing, or restructuring pricing.
• Planning a product, feature, or market launch.
• Analyzing competitors and the competitive landscape.
• Auditing and optimizing landing page conversion rates (CRO) and hero value proposition density.

Anti-Triggers

• Running ads, SEO, or social channels → paidads / seo / smm.
• Measuring and reporting results → analytics.
• Producing the launch asset copy → content.
• Visual brand identity → design.

Quick Reference

Strategy ladder (decide before any mode)

Order: competitor → positioning → cro → funnels → pricing → launch → referral → retention → community. Know the landscape, choose the position, optimize conversion, build the path, then protect and compound what you earn.

Verification gate (every mode)

• The recommendation names a specific audience and a testable bet.
• Every claim about the market or competitors is sourced and dated.
• The plan has a metric and a review point.
• Positioning is stated in the customer's words, not internal jargon.

Suite contracts

• Executing the chosen channels → paidads / seo / smm / content.
• Measuring the bet → analytics.
• Launch assets → content + design.

Procedure

1. Intake. establish the market, the buyer, and the current standing before recommending anything — strategy without a chosen audience is a wish.
2. Resolve the mode. Match the request against the mode table; exactly one mode. Ambiguous → ask one question, then proceed.
3. Execute the mode playbook. Load references/<mode>.md and follow its Intake → Deliverable → Procedure → Quality gate in order.
4. Gate and deliver. Pass this file's Verification checklist plus the mode's quality gate, then deliver the artifact where the client expects it.

Pitfalls

• Positioning that tries to appeal to everyone — resonates with no one.
• Copying competitor messaging instead of finding the gap.
• Strategy with no metric or review point — untestable.
• Skipping the funnel and going straight to campaigns.
• Pricing set by gut, cost-plus, or competitor-matching alone.
• Launch with no audience warmed beforehand.
• Competitor analysis that lists features without insight.
• Unsourced market claims presented as fact.

Verification

• A specific audience is named (not 'everyone').
• Positioning stated in the customer's language.
• Market/competitor claims sourced and dated.
• The plan is a testable bet with a metric and review point.
• Pricing reflects perceived value, not cost alone.
• Launch sequences audience warming before the ask.