Acquisition Project | GrowthX
π§ Let's Understand
About the Product
GrowthX is an exclusive invite only community for top 1% builders and operators. The community is designed to be a power source and drive impact - revenue growth for product companies in India, through its members.
Member Benefits
The club provides a structured learning experience, peer-community support, and various resources to help members scale their business outcomes and **advance their careers.
Products within GrowthX
- Immersion Program
- CRAFTs
- Outcomes
- Limited Experience
- Community Access
*Invite only - as GrowthX club does a deliberate curation of its prospect leads, and evaluate who can make it to the club. (this is a step before acquisition, to only add members who are relevant for the community)
Sub-products | Features | Functionality | Problem it solves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immersion Program | learn to design an end to end business strategy to drive impact and revenue growth | interactive session, apply to your real biz - hands on project | provides strategic approach to real business challenges |
| CRAFTs | specialized programs designed to give you an edge, structured approach to solving specific problems | expert led workshop, actionable framework for each biz function | enhances problem solving skills within each function, gives an exposure to unrelated functions to explore other crafts |
| Outcomes | career advancement - seek or hire for a compounding and rewarding career | career coaching, access to exclusive job boards, job interview practises and access to resources | helps members find their next big career leap |
| Limited Experience | a powerhouse of growth frameworks to execrise your brain | a powerhouse of growth frameworks to exercise your brain | helps understand fundamentals and growth jargons in a strcutured manner, enables critical thinking |
| Slack Community Access + Events (on-line and offline) | a slack channel access to connect with 3000+ community members + Offline City Chapters | continous engagement, knowledge exchange and transfer, also memes π | enables collaboration, idea brainstorming or simple know-hows |
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About the User
GrowthX is an invite only community that helps people in business (and non-business) functions, πͺπΌ build the brain muscle, develop the ability to think with clarity and approach any problem -solution with the right approach. It is targeted towards ambitious working professionals, founders, operators, growth leaders, people in product and marketing roles.
The member could be from businesses across both B2B and B2B verticals, across any industry or category.
The ideal persona has 3 primary common yet distinguishing traits:
- Ambition - have the drive and ambition, want to up-skill and move up the career trajectory.
- Curiosity - have the innate hunger to know more, always in learning - unlearning mode (Always want more π )
- Empathy - Ability to resonate with others and help solve problems collaboratively, find a "safe space - sense of belonging"
About the Market
The current market landscape consists of several ed-tech companies, or institutional verticals for Learning & Development around learning Growth as subject. However, GrowthX is designed differently. It deliberately selects who makes it to the INSIDER of the community + gives you a space you actually apply your learnings in REALITY. It is unlike any other ed-tech platform that βjust only teaches and share certificatesβ. Beyond that. It is circled around the power of learning from folks who have implemented in real businesses, and getting community support and access, ALWAYS!
| Competitors | Features/Products | Strengths | Weakness | Pricing | Customer Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Growth School | - short and long duration programs in - marketing - product - design - tech and data - for founders | - learn from the top 1% - 300K+ members - 60+ programs - founders as mentors - short duration certificates do the job of filling up CVs - quick, short wins | - no real sense of belonging | - $500 + taxes for 8 week immersion other programs begin at Rs.99 | - both good and bad - quick, short courses helped me learn and get a job in Growth - hardly any personal interaction - canβt make use of community much really |
Reforge | - learn & work with an expert by your side - community driven workshops + programs - single + enterprise solutions on Growth/Product/Marketing | - global community access - to the top CXO and operators globally - best and wide range of content on every aspect of growth due to its reach | - community not quickly accessible for help with Indian Product companies - not very oriented towards Indian biz case studies - canβt meet community members offline (in India) | - $2K for single person | - the best community of growth - the OG - you have every nuance of a business found here due to wide range of perspectives. |
Upgrad | - short duration certifications on every core function and subject expertise - online, pre recorded format | - helps with fundamental theory | - no application of theoretical learning sometimes - attracts a lot of freshers and students wanting certificates - pre recorded videos and study materials | - $10 avg per certification program | - OK if you just want to know-hows - basic fundamental, theoretical knowledge available |
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It is in the early scaling stage.
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Word of Mouth Referral β β β β β β
Retention β β β β β β
Willingness to pay β β β β β
Awareness β β ββ
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π¨ Acquisition is one of the core growth levers for its growth.
Where GrowthX fits in?
- Founders, Co-founders
- Builders and Operators in business function roles - Growth, Product, Marketing
- Or someone who wants to transition to such career roles
They needed their tribe, a safe space - are passionate about their work, want to up-skill get to know more from like minded folks aim to be a part of GrowthX club. They seek constant learning, peer-engagement, live and personalised learning + mainly to FEEL INCLUSIVE, ΰ€Ήΰ₯ ΰ€¨ΰ€Ύ FAM? π
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ππ»ββοΈ ICP - Ideal Customer Profiles
ICP 1 - The Founder π§ββοΈ Ankit
He is from the business function, worked with marketing agencies for over 9 years as a graphic desginer and digital marketeer. Then decided to venture out for his own B2B services start up. He is looking to find the right way to approach frameworks to help his business grow. Has the appetite and willingness to pay.
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ICP 2: The Explorer π΅π»ββοΈ Supreet
A recently promoted managerial role is suggested by her Leadership to look for program to up-skill and find the right away. She works as a Program Manager at a corporate insurance broker. Has the appetite to pay, but not the willingness to pay. Is looking for company sponsorship to up-skill was suggested by her Company.
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ICP 3: The Job Seeker π Vedant
An MBA from Tier 1, quit his consulting job at Deloitte in pursuit of find his next big leap to work with start ups to drive and measure real IMPACT. Has the appetite to pay and time to spend and learn a new skill.
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π¨ ICP Prioritisation
ICPs are ranked or chosen based on the following criteria:
- Motivation - What specific goals, outcomes are they seeking?
- Personality - What are key traits that influence their decision making?
- Appetite to Pay - Do they even have the money in pockets to pay for the value?
- Total Addressable Market - TAM should be size able to be targeted
- Adoption Curve - How quickly they are to use a product?
- Distribution Potential - How quickly and sustainably can we reach to these set of group?
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β | ICP 1 - The Founder | βICP 2: The Explorer | βICP 3: The Job Seeker |
|---|---|---|---|
Motivation | Introvert, Curious, Loves 1:1 | ο»ΏCurious, gets easily overwhelemed, | Risk taker, outgoing, always excited |
Personality | Upskill and help build and scale businessesο»Ώ | | Learn Growth and get direction to solve problems, | Upskill to transition into a Growth/PM |
Appetite to Pay | βοΈο»ΏβοΈβοΈβοΈ High | ππ (prefers company sponsorship)) Low | πππππ High |
TAM | Medium | βHigh | βHigh |
Adoption Curve | High | βMedium | Highβ |
Distribution Potential | Medium | Highβ | Highβ |
For this project, we have prioritised ICP 2 and 3 as :
ICP 3 has high TAM, appetite to pay and seeking to switch to new Growth/PM roles.
ICP 2 has high TAM as well, money is a concern, but given company sponsorship, they can highly share the WoM in their markets.
User - NEED such a PRODUCT
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Influencers β Community - leaders and like minded people | Learning | Outcomes
Blockers β Intensity of the immersion program | Money $1000 (expensive, is it worth it?)
JTBD for GrowthX
Members hire GrowthX to learn, Up-skill and get rewarding career opportunities.
MARKET
π₯ TAM | SAM | SOM
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Details of calculation :
Approach: Top Down
Total Addressable Market (TAM)
Factors considered: demographic, market size, growth potential
Demography:
- Founders and entrepreneurs
- Senior managers and executives in tech and startup companies
- Professionals in product management, marketing, and growth roles
Target Market:
- Start Up Ecosystem: 84,012 starts ups in India as of 2022-23. ([Economic Survey](https://inc42.com/buzz/economic-survey-2022-23-48-indian-startups-tier-ii-iii-cities/#:~:text=It%20must%20be%20noted%20that,startups%20as%20of%202022%2Dend))
- Tech Industry: has about 4.36 M professionals in India, assumign 10% of this is senior leadership and executives, i.e. 436,000. ([NASSCOM](https://www.nasscom.in/))
- PM and Marketing Professionals ~10M roles, assuming 5% relevant roles, 500,000.
TAM =. 84,012 + 436,000 + 500,000 = 1,020,012 (approximately 1 Million professionals)
(*there could be overlap of professionals, like a marketing manager could also be an agency founder)
Serviceable Available Market (SAM)
based on factors such as geographical constraints, the specific needs of the target market, and the Gx's capacity to serve these need,
- Target cities would be Tier 1, where start up ecosystem is robust - Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune. (~60% of TAM) (+participation likely in offline city chapters)
- Professionals who are actively seeking growth opportunities, involved in tech, startups, or related fields, and are willing to invest in personal and professional development. (~50% professionals)
SAM =
- 60% of TAM: 0.60 * 1,020,012 = 612,007
- 50% Interested in Professional Growth: 0.50 * 612,007 = 306,000
So, the SAM for GrowthX is approximately 306,000 professionals.
Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM)
How much can we really capture, considering market landscape, compeition, marketing effectiveness. (*Assuming a 10% conversion rate to become a member)
10% of SAM, SOM = 0.10** 306,000 = 30,600 profressionals.
*please note, data is calculate with certain assumptions and relevant only for Indian profressional in start ups, tech, marketing or product roles and ecosystem. With change in growth rate YoY, this number is subject to change.
(resources - economic survey, nasscom report, linkedin jobs for marketing, product roles)
Elevator Pitch
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A community for founders, operators, product, marketing professionals who want to build, grow and scale products β delivering high revenue impact.
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For non business function:
GrowthX is a community, that helps you learn and apply business skills and accelerate your business. π
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π£ Acquisition Channel Strategy
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Channel Framework:
| Channel | Cost | Flexibility | Effort | Lead Time | Scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founders Personal Brand (Li + Newsletter) | Low | Low | Low | Low | High π |
| Referral / WoM | Low | Low | Low | Medium | High π |
| Google Ads | High | Medium | High | Medium | Medium |
| Meta Ads | High | Medium | High | High | High |
| SEO - Organic | Low | Medium | Low | Medium | High |
| Social Media - Organi Content | Lowβ | Low | Low | High | High π |
| Partnerships | Medium | Low | High | Low | High π |
| Events | High | Low | Medium | Low | High π |
UGC Content Loops | βLow | βLow | Mediumβ | Mediumβ | βMedium π |
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GrowthX Newsletter (via Substack, Email, Linkedin) - Founder Brand πππππ
WoM + Referral ππππ
Discovery on YT (Shorts + Podcast) ππ
SEM (Courses on PM, Digital Marketing) π
For this project, I have chosen 2 channels i.e.
- Partnerships / Referrals
- UGC Content Loops
*Since the immersion program as a product has a user limitation i.e. avg 170 members per cohort. Each cohort is for a period of 70 days, each annual year, Gx can maximum accommodate 5 cohorts with its current product and tech developments. (Given Paid Ads are cost inclusive, and will give high leads, may or may not be of high intent, we will eliminate those channels for this project)
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π User Journey
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π Acquisition Experiments
CHANNEL 1 - βοΈ CONTENT LOOPS
βEXPERIMENT 3 - CONTENT LOOPS (Acquire more members like ICP 3)
(Pre-context) - India is developing economy, and as we need more members to become self employed/ micro entrepreneurs. GrowthX can experiment with a creative liberty to explore consultants cohorts in India who are seeking to create bigger impacts. While a fancy BIG 4 job satisfies the pocket, it doesn't challenge every individual.
Some indivudals with a consulting role maybe seeking a career swirth and UGC content loop coming from like minded folks from similar industry can be a good influence to explore GrowthX community.
π Campaign Goals:
Attract new members of young profressionals seeking career growth and direction through UGC (user generated content) and strategic content distribution.
Objective: Attract and convert strategic consultants on a career break, like ICP 3 - Vedant, into GrowthX members.
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Hook - "Transition into your dream role with GrowthX - Join the top 1% of builders and operators and make a REAL IMPACT"
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Content Creator - Existing GX members who have successfully transition their careers, GX mentors, industry experts in career development.
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Distributor - Linkedin, Youtube, Twitter X, GX blogs.
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Where do users spend time?
Platforms: LinkedIn, Twitter, Slack, Industry Blogs, Professional Forums, and YouTube.
Behaviour: Engaging with industry news, sharing insights, networking, and seeking growth stragtiess.
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What do users speak about?
Topics: Business growth, marketing strategies, product management, career advancements, startup challenges, and success stories.
Common Themes: Seeking practical advice, networking opportunities, learning about new tools and frameworks.
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Content Loop - Hook > Creator > Distributor
Hook: "Unlock exclusive growth strategies and join the top 1% of builders and operators."
Content Creator: Existing GrowthX members, industry experts, and influencers.
Distributor: LinkedIn posts, Twitter, YouTube videos, guest blog posts, GrowthX's own social channels.
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Creating FOMO driven content
The content should be highlighting urgency, exclusivity, scarcity all backed with a social proof.
Flow of Content Loop for new GX member Acqusition:
- Content Creation: Members share success stories and insights -> Industry experts contribute webinars and interviews.
- Distribution: Content is posted on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and blogs -> Members and followers engage with and share the content.
- Engagement: Potential members discover the content through social media and search engines -> They visit the GrowthX website and apply for membership.
- Conversion: Applications are reviewed, and selected candidates receive invitations -> New members join and start contributing their own content.
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Example for ICP 3 - Campaign on Content Loop
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Campaign Steps
- Success Stories | Expert Insights | BTS (behind the scenes)
- Video Interview: Feature Vedant-like members who have transitioned into impactful roles through GrowthX. Share their journey, challnges, and how GrowthX facilitated their success.
- Blog Post: Detailed article on how a strategic consultant leveragedd GrowthX to upskill and land a PM role in a startup.
- Webinar Snippet: Share highlights from a webinar with a hiring expert (eg: Saurabh Jain / Jaimit Doshi) discussing strategies for transitioning careers. Include actionable tips and the role of GrowthX.
- LinkedIn Post: Expert advice on navigating career breaks and making impactful career shifts.
- YouTube Teaser: Sneak peek into GrowthXβs career transition programs and networking events.
- Instagram Stories: Live updates from GrowthX workshops and member interactions.
- Content Distribution:
Linkedin - Post 1: "Meet [Member], who transitioned from consulting to a PM role with GrowthX. Hereβs how they did it: [Link to Blog Post]."
- Post 2: "Exclusive insights from our latest webinar on career transitions. Join GrowthX to access the full session: [Link]."
- Post 3: "Sneak peek into our next workshop on career development. Limited slots available! [Link to Registration]."
Youtube
- Videoo Title: "From Consultant to Product Manager β [Member]'s GrowthX Journey."
- Description: "Watch how [Member] transitioned into a high-impact role with GrowthX. Join us to start your journey: [Link]."
Twitter
- Tweet 1: "Thinking about a career shift? See how [Member] made the leap with GrowthX.
- Tweet 2: "Join our next webinar and learn from the best. Limited spots! #CareerAdvice #GrowthX [Link]."
Blogs on GX - Article Title: "How [Member] Transitioned from Consulting to a Startup Role with GrowthX."
- Call to Action: "Inspired? Apply to GrowthX today and take the first step towards your dream role: [Link]."
- Call to Action: "Inspired? Apply to GrowthX today and take the first step towards your dream role: [Link]."
- FOMO-Driven Factors:
- Scarcity: "Limited slots available for the next GrowthX cohort β Apply now!"
- Urgency: "GX21 starts soon β Donβt miss out!"
- Social Proof: "Join a community of top professionals and see why 3000 members have made the leap with GrowthX."
- Gamification and Engagement: (can be explored along with UGC content loop)
- Leaderboard: Highlight top referrers and active participants on the GX dashboard.
- Achievement Badges: Award badges for milestones such as completing the application, attending workshops, and successful referrals. (keeping track of conversion)
CHANNEL 2 - π€ PARTNERSHIPS
EXPERIMENT 2 - LAUNCH "LIFT WITH GROWTHX"
This experiment leverages seemingly disconnected requirements of two different cohorts of users and makes something worthwhile at the intersection of the two.
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- First cohort is of Gx members who are on a career break or who are in marketing or product profiles and trying to break into growth roles.
- This cohort of users have gained the knowledge of growth concepts and have done certain assignments, but lack the real-life experience of solving growth problems at their current jobs. They need an opportunity to add growth experience to their resumes to make the career switch possible for them.
- The second cohort is of Angel-investing platforms such as LetsVenture, Angellist, Venture Catalyst, Inflection Point Ventures etc who have invested in anywhere between 200-500 startups each. The Angel investing platforms are prime places for us to locate ICP-1.
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π¬ Opportunity: Seed and Series A startups face growth challenges and founders lack the frameworks to solve these challenges. The experiment we can run is where Gx develops Lift program in partnership with LetsVenture.
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Hereβs the program nuances:
- LetsVenture offers its cohort of startups to come up with growth problem statements, which will be offered as capstone projects to all Gx members who have completed the Immersion program.
- Gx members opting to solve the growth problem will pitch for the projects with their proposals. Startups can evaluate the pitch and select a member (or a team) for working on the project.
- The condition in the Lift program is that the startup founders will have to participate in developing the solution to their problem statement in collaboration with the Gx member(s).
- This is where the ICP-1 will experience core proposition of how a structured approach to solving growth problems is necessary for the success of their startups.
- However, what is does is that it give Gx members connections to the people (the right personas to become Gx members) whom they can then refer to the Gx program.
- Not only that. By adding more Proof of work to their profiles, the Gx members will grow their Champion score.
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Value for the Gx members:
- Bragworthy thing: The capstone projects will add to their Proof of Work.
- Platform Currency: Lift Program Champion score - The Gx members who will undertake these capstone projects will increase their Lift program Champion score. They could use this score while pitching for next capstone projects to other Lets Venture startups.
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HAPPY FLOW πππ
EXPERIMENT 3 - PARTNER WITH COMMUNITIES AND START UPS (Ex: Leap Club)
βοΈ Partnership Goals
- To increase brand awareness and visibility for both companies
- To create a new revenue stream for GrowthX
- To improve employee satisfaction and loyalty for both company and accrelate member community experience.
- To collaborate on new product development initiatives for the Company and drive impact and revenue growth.
*Pre-requisite - GX should not be offered as an LnD program to organisations in this stage. As I write this, I emphasise, they welcome members only after detailed curation on factors like curiosity, willingness to learn and make the most use of the forum. One should have the drive and motivation equally.
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βWhat kind of companies to go after?
- Start Ups - New age internet companies who are either PMF, early stage or mature companies looking to grow a new category product.
- Community / Clubs - The AI clubs, start ups clubs. women only professional community, The Product Folks, have people with a little interested in respective category associated with them. The idea of community is to engage and empower.
What would the program look like?
Currently, Gx has over 3K+ members, the members themselves can advocate for the product and build partnerships with their organisations. Alternatively, GX will also do a Linkedin post (as it has highest reach as per TG there).
Leap Club today entails short workshops for professional to upskill and find their space. GrowthX can do a partnership with them for a feature, and present a GX Growth Model Design MASTERCLASS.
π’ (Assumptions: To do some number around it, if 500 people sign up and at-least 75% attend, 375 are aware about GrowthX as a product and at-least take away some learnings in 1 hourβs growthX masterclass. At-least 10% convert to βBECOME A MEMBERβ i.e. 35 women professionals are now part of GX Women Circle π¦)
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Incentive and partnership designed -β
- Gx can have a partnership program designed where, leap club members will get a 10% discount on becoming a member.
- Benefit for the member - they can also avail an additional referral discount (if they know anyone from previous cohort, and were part of the lead funnel previously)
- Price of $1000 for membership remains the same, GX offers 20% discount (upto) + members now see a lot of value.
- Also, with the masterclass, you have now acquired 80% curious women to read GX newsletter. (this will again be part of the funnel π)
- Then the leads are part of the existing DRIP CAMPAIGNS. (for further optimisation)
- Leap Club is able to share 10% revenue per membership, in exchange of feature, new memberships and advocate their women are up-skilling with GX.
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π€ Similarly, professionals on The Product Folks, Upraised, MyCaptain, have members of strong intent wanting to either learn Growth, or up-skill their approach towards Growth. Frequent, yet not pushy via community can drive engagement and increase user based for GX.
(of-course, this is a funnel acquisition strategy, it is upto GX to invite the member upon selection and drive checklist)
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