I’ve been thinking a lot about this line from Brian Chesky:
Growth isn’t a strategy. Everyone wants to grow. Build a product people love around a vision, and growth will follow.
I’ve felt this over and over. When you chase growth directly—A/B tests, discounts, growth hacks—you might see spikes, but they don’t last.
.
The companies that truly break out have a center of gravity:
A vision that’s bigger than the product today—a “why” that gets people excited to tell their friends.
A product people actually love—not tolerate, not use because they have to, but something that sparks delight, solves a real problem, or creates a habit they care about.
Growth then becomes a side effect. A reflection.