Growth.

The framework

1. 01

   Map your current growth mechanism honestly.

   Before designing a loop, describe what's actually driving growth today. Most companies at seed and Series A are growing through founder-led sales, direct spending, or referrals — not a compound loop. That's fine. It just means the loop hasn't been built yet, and the question is which one to build.

2. 02

   Identify the loop input that compounds.

   Every compound loop has one element that accumulates over time: content, data, users, reviews, network density, proprietary distribution. Find the input in your business that is both (a) valuable and (b) grows as a byproduct of normal customer activity. That input is the seed of the loop. Build the mechanism that harvests and reinvests it.

3. 03

   Close the loop before scaling it.

   The failure mode is to design a loop on paper and scale before it closes. A loop closes when output from one cycle measurably improves input to the next. Test this at small scale: run the loop manually, measure whether each cycle produces more than the last, then automate. A loop that hasn't been closed will scale your inputs without scaling your output.

4. 04

   Layer a second loop only after the first is closed.

   Companies with durable growth often have two or three interlocking loops — a content loop that feeds a product loop that feeds a network loop. But each was built and closed in sequence, not simultaneously. Adding a second loop before the first closes creates complexity without compounding.