30 Best Startup Growth Hacks of all Time [With examples + Action Steps]

Last Updated: Jan 22, 2026 @ 9:39 am

Here are the 30 best startup growth hacks of all time, carefully picked after studying 100s of unicorn startups over the past 30 years.

I have been an entrepreneur for 11+ years. Throughout this time, I have carefully studied the best startups worldwide to understand what makes them tick and become the giants they are today.

Certainly, not every startup began as a giant or with multi-million-dollar venture capital funds at its disposal. Sure enough, what I found corroborated this.

Some of the world’s biggest companies started as simple startups, with bootstrapped budgets and a simple pre-fame version of their products.

What made them stand out from others was their obsessive focus on solving a specific problem, coupled with innovative ways to communicate this solution to their target market.

Taking a leaf from this, I have collected all the best startup growth hacking strategies of all time so you can implement them in your business and get instant results.

These are the exact startup growth hacks that made the biggest companies of the world today first explode in the market. You will

You will find a lot of “aha” moments with these strategies due to the sheer ingenuity and unorthodox marketing ideas they contain.

The criteria for selecting these startup growth hacks were the following:

1) They are easy to execute.

2) They are cheap to implement.

3) They are repeatable. Once applied, you can double down on it based on data and implement it again.

But first, let’s tackle some basics.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is growth hacking?

In marketing terms, growth hacking means implementing non-traditional marketing strategies that are driven by creativity and data to get massive results fast, all the while spending little to no money on getting these results.

Growth hacking is often used by early-stage startups that are bootstrapped for funds.

What is the goal of a growth hacking strategy?

Now that we are clear on what exactly growth hacking is and its goal, let’s dive right into some actionable strategies to grow your startup.

Read on to get a point-by-point breakdown of famous startup growth hacks along with the software and resources you need to execute the strategy yourself.

1. Product integration growth hack: Used by Airbnb

Why build a user base from scratch when you can leverage the product in front of a beloved platform with tens of millions of highly engaged and active users?

This growth hack is called the platform integration hack and has been made famous by Airbnb‘s use of Craigslist‘s platform to grow their user base substantially.

Though Airbnb was a much more sophisticated and verifiable platform than Craigslist, it lacked the Craigslist user base.

So in order to build its own user base, Airbnb implemented a platform integration hack by listing all the listings in their platform simultaneously on Craigslist.

Any user searching for vacation rentals ran into a barrage of professional listings with Airbnb’s name inviting clients to click on it.

Side by side, Airbnb also used an email campaign to inform people who posted on Craigslist about how much more easy and convenient it was to post on Airbnb too.

Example of a rental posting on AirBnB being simultaneously posted on Craigslist.

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

You can implement this startup growth hack by first figuring out the platforms that have a large amount of your user base.

Think about the sites and places your target customer frequents and then create tie-ups with these companies and properties to promote your product.

The tie-up can be monetary, where you offer them a certain amount of money in exchange for the placement.

Alternatively, you can offer to make them your affiliate where you pay them a certain percentage per sale made through their platform.

If you are a SaaS startup, you can tie up with a site like AppSumo to get the initial sales and user base for your product.

AppSumo is a SaaS marketplace with almost a million subscribers. They run lifetime deals on software and effectively market new SaaS startups to generate sizeable revenue.

As a startup, you can tie up with them and offer your product on their platform.

2. Built-in virality: Used by WhatsApp

Once a product has virality built into its functionality, the user base can skyrocket fairly quickly.

Take the case of WhatsApp. Once you started to use the product, you felt encouraged to invite your friends and family on to the platform so they can interact with you via free calls, messages, etc.

As they came on board and started using it, they felt the same encouragement to invite people in their own network so they can use the product to its full potential.

Thus virality was built into the very functionality of WhatsApp thus led to its massive popularity. Most platform based products have virality built into them.

Some other examples of platforms with viral factors are Facebook, Craigslist, and LinkedIn.

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

To implement this startup growth hack, you need to provide a certain value (with WhatsApp it was free calls on the internet) which is exclusive to your platform and can be availed when other users get on the platform with you.

3. Minimal homepage startup growth hack: Used by Quora, X, and Dropbox.

Having a very simple homepage helps to make a decision-making process much simpler as it removes confusion or over thinking amongst the minds of potentials users/customers.

Some companies which have had great success implementing this are Quora, Twitter, and Dropbox.

Quora’s simple homepage

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

To implement this startup growth hack include one headline highlighting the value proposition of your startup along with a simple and clear CTA.

This makes the users understand what you and your startup are all about in a very quick, simple, no-frills way.

Clear and concise information allows them to take action fast.

4. Implement gamification growth hack: Used by LinkedIn

Implementing gamification (point scoring, giving ranks, creating competition with other users, having rules of play) is a much-overlooked marketing technique which can instantly hack growth of a product.

Human beings by nature are competitive and by creating the atmosphere of game playing with rewards for better performance can lead to instantly high graphs of engagement in the product.

The company which has mastered this the best is LinkedIn.

LinkedIn users are prompted to fill their profile, unlocking various levels of achievement, based on how much information they upload on their profiles.

The levels of achievement are marked with names such as All Star, expert, advanced, etc., which act as great social proofs in a user’s professional network.

Another employment of gamification is the endorsement feature where LinkedIn users can be endorsed by each other for particular skillsets.

Each skill shows the number of times it has been endorsed by other users with their profile pic showing next to the skillset.

Profiles with endorsements are 13x more viewed according to LinkedIn.

The LinkedIn homepage

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

To implement this growth hack for your startup business, use a tool like Blitz Rocket (previously known as Vyper) to implement gamification, and get your users engaged with your content.

Use their gamification widget tool to give points to your users when they complete an action (for example, submit their email to access a product).

Next, as they get the access link via their email. You can offer more rewards that the user can unlock when they gain more points.

These points can be gained by doing other actions like subscribe to your YouTube channel, follow you on Twitter, etc.

Blitz Rocket software homepage

5. The Branding growth hack: Used by Hotmail

It basically means getting your brand and its USP featured within the operations of the product as a free advertisement.

This hack was best used by Hotmail in 1996 when it had around 20,000 subscribers.

It opted to market its service directly to the friends, family, and colleagues of its users by adopting a fairly simple strategy – Put a clickable tagline at the end of every mail sent from its platform saying, “Get your free email from Hotmail”.

When the recipient of the email clicked on this tagline, he or she got directed to the signup page of Hotmail.

This growth hack alone skyrocketed the company user base to 1 million users within 6 months of its implementation. 

Implement it by featuring heavy to light branding within a freemium business model.

Your branding is featured when the user uses the free plan of your product.

Hotmail branded every email with its brand promotion.

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

To implement this growth hack for your startup business, create a coming soon landing page with some exciting copy that incentivizes the user to sign up for launch updates.

Once they sign up, make them re-direct to a viral waiting list page. You can use Vyper to get this done. On the waiting list page, show them their position on the waiting list.

Next, incentivize them to climb higher on the waiting list by offering rewards for people who will be on top 10 or top 20 of the list on the product launch date.

These points can be awarded when the user does an action like your page, share your blog post, or follow you on Twitter.

Also, make sure that the rewards on offer connect with the problem that your main soon-to-be-launched product solves.

It can be giving upgrades in personalization, swifter delivery, or complementary products to make the original product more impactful.

All this will make your channels grow while making your users highly engaged and excited about your product launch.

6. The viral waiting list growth hack: Used by Mailbox

Make access to your product a competitive pursuit with a viral waiting list. In this hack, when someone applies for access, they will be taken to a landing page where their application number will be shown in a queue.

​This strategy positions your product as a prize or award, adding a sense of hype and exclusivity to it. This results in seeding curiosity loops as users have a mental itch to check the list to see where they stand.

​Mailbox executed this successfully by launching with a live in-app waiting list, which showed how many applicants were ahead or behind a particular user, with the list updating as more users applied or were accepted.

​Though it was just the waiting list counter moving, users found themselves checking their application frequently to see their current position on the waiting list. This counter ticking added a sense of gamification as the position progress added excitement and buzz, ultimately leading to a lot of buzz and curiosity around the product.

​This is a great way to generate buzz and excitement for your product as it mixes FOMO (fear of missing out) with gamification and exclusivity. It also adds social proof, as it shows the number of people waiting to get access.

Mailbox’s waitlist list growth hack in action.

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

The idea is to turn your landing page into a viral waiting list.

To implement this growth hack for your startup, you can use a tool like ReferralHero.

What it does is it places your subscribers into a queue, which enables you to create a rewards-based program.

So suppose a user gets enticed by your offering and signs up for your launch updates, he/she will be displayed the position they are on in the waiting list.

Here, you can create a rewards program and announce whoever is on the top 10 of the waiting list, will get a special reward (the reward can be a webinar, an exclusive ebook, exclusive add-on, whatever corresponds and resonates best with your product).

The rules for climbing the waiting ladder will be to share the page on Facebook, tweet about the product, etc.

This will create virality and popularize your product message, thus increase its hype and curiosity before the launch.

The end result will be higher customer/user acquisition even before launch.

The app will turn them into your brand ambassadors.

With the ReferralHero tool, you can gamify your waiting list.

7. The YouTube growth hack: Used by GoPro and RedBull

One of the no.1 growth hacking strategies for new startups is to grow a brand on YouTube.

YouTube is one of the biggest channels for content consumption. A long term strategy to grow your brand here can give you a far bigger ROI than buying ad space on television or billboards.

When you consistently post valuable content, it builds trust, reputation, and makes your brand trigger specific associations that can benefit your product greatly.

One of the best examples of a famous startup using YouTube to growth hack its brand is the camera company, GoPro.

GoPro used YouTube effectively to showcase its overall product experience by posting videos captured through the device.

After demonstrating its high-definition video experience and building a fanbase, it doubled down on brand building by asking its users to post their videos and tagging GoPro.

GoPro would then go on to post the best fan-made videos on its official channel, thus giving acknowledgment and exposure towards its fanbase.

This led to massive relationship building and brand loyalty for GoPro among its fans.

All of this led to increased views on YouTube, and ultimately more loyal customers for the brand. GoPro is currently at more than 11 million subscribers and counting.

Imagine how much it would have cost the company to reach out to such a massive audience with paid ads?

GoPro homepage

Another great example of YouTube growth hacking is Red Bull.

Being an energy drink, Red Bull has its brand revolving around an active, high adrenaline lifestyle.

They effectively promote this lifestyle by posting videos about daredevil stunts and athletic feats, thus living the values of a high energy brand.

The channel has over 27 million subscribers and has done wonders for Red Bull’s brand association.

RedBull homepage

How to apply this growth hack for your product?

To implement this for your brand, you need to start a YouTube channel and start posting consistent content around a topic.

The best idea for content creators right now will be to post consistent content on a specific niche and create videos giving solutions to all the problems in that niche.

You can use a growth hacking tool like TubeBuddy to grow your YouTube channel in a fast and strategic way.

It will give you critical insights, like search volume, ranking difficulty, related keywords, and tags.

All of this can help you optimize your YouTube SEO and help you strike YouTube gold by making your videos rank high in your niche.

The nifty tool also comes with other creator-focused tools like thumbnail generator, end screen templates, and canned responses.

A must-have tool for all YouTube creators.

TubeBuddy software interface.

8. The Referral hack: Used by Dropbox

This is a highly effective hack and though Dropbox did not invent this method they surely are one of the most famous examples of this hack, as they successfully increased their sign ups by 60% by using this simple hack.

Anyone who signed up for Dropbox got an option to increase their storage space by inviting their friends to try the product.

The minute the referred friend signed up for Dropbox, the original user received more storage.

But what were the incentives for the referred friend to sign up?

Dropbox offered extra cloud storage to the referred friend too if they signed up using the link given by the original user.

As mentioned, this increased the sign ups dramatically and generated viral demand for the links among friend circles.

Dropbox’s referral incentive growth hack in action.

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

This hack is perfect for SaaS companies which work on some sort of credit per month basis and can be implemented by using a tool like EarlyParrot. One key point to Dropbox’s success is the deep integration of their referral program within their SaaS.

EarlyParrot referral marketing platform

9. The Data fuelled startup growth hack: Used by Twitter

Ask any growth hacker and they will say data analytics is by far one of the best resources they can have at their disposal.

This is because seeing the correct data can tell you a lot about what is working in a business, what is not, and what needs to be done. 

Twitter (now known as X) used data to solve an onboarding problem it faced early on in its life.

Twitter found out that a new sign up will likely become a core user if it follows 30 or more people.

Following this, Twitter started to focus on suggesting new users an option to import contacts to hit this number.

Twitter homepage

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

To implement this growth hacking strategy, start by studying your analytics and data.

Use the freely available Google Analytics to study how your users are interacting with your website and what pages are most popular.

Next, you can go pro by using a freemium heatmap tool like Hotjar to study the aspects of your site where users are most engaged and also the areas where they are dropping off.

Also, you can use Hotjar to create user feedback surveys, asking people to rate various features and aspects of your site, and inviting them for suggestions.

All of this will give you enough ideas to optimize your product for growth.

Hotjar homepage

10. Initial content seeding: Used by Reddit

A lot of famous companies and products used this technique to generate Initial user interest and eventual traction.

Create as much content as possible internally and put it out there on your website.

This method is especially useful for platform based websites which rely on user generated content.

The founders of Reddit used this tactic to fill their UGC based site with the initial content which acted as an incentive for other users to start creating their own content on the site.

Reddit’s initial content pieces were created by its founders.

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup ?

You can implement this growth hack if you are mainly a content-based company.

For example, if you have a blog, you can start by publishing a bunch of articles initially and promote them through cheap FB and Twitter ads.

Below the article, you can have Call-To-Action inviting readers to write for your blog with a link taking them to your “write for us” page.

On the “write for us” page, you can list down all the requirements and invite the user to submit their content piece for your site.

11. Product exclusivity growth hack: Used by Gmail

People seek exclusiveness and rewards.

Hence, one way to make your product sought-after by many people is by restricting its access and not giving it to them too easily.

If you can make prospective users perform a certain task or work in order to “earn” your product, then they start seeing your product as a reward and thus position it as such.

Another way is to restrict access and create an ambiance of “inner circle” built around your product so that one can get access to it only through an invitation. 

Gmail used this approach by letting only invited individuals to sign up and use its product.

This ‘entry by invitation only’ approach created a huge curiosity and demand for the product as it was not accessible to all.

Gmail sign-up page

Another famous startup which skyrocketed through this growth hack was Pinterest.

Exclusivity fuelled desire and led to explosive growth for the social media platform.  More on Pinterest, later. 

Pinterest sign-up page

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

To implement this strategic growth hack for your startup, think of aspects of your product that you can make gated with VIP access.

Think of a secret plan, or a higher than premium plan, which is only available for access once a year.

This kind of exclusivity will create intense demand for your product.

12. The right word-of-mouth hack: Used by Tinder

This is a very interesting hack which involves first targeting the right network (most preferred users who will drive other users) and then installing an incentive tactic as a method to get these preferred users involved with the product.

After this is done successfully, the presence of the preferred users will drive more highly engaged users into the product who will now see the product at a higher value.

Tinder used this interesting tactic to grow its initial base of most preferred users.

They organized exclusive frat parties at colleges and allowed entrance to only those students who downloaded the application. 

In other words, Tinder became the passport to entry to these hip events.

Once these hip and influential frat users were onboard and started using the app, it attracted other users towards the platform to interact with them for the hopes of finding a match, and so on it spread across the United States.

Tinder targeted sorority girls as its early adopters. They would go to sorority chapters, give a presentation and have all the girls in the meeting install the app.

After that, they would go to the corresponding brother’s fraternity and make them open the app to see a platform filled with cute girls, which got them interested in using the app.

Tinder homepage

Tinder promotional event where the Tinder app was a pre-requisite for entry,

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

You can implement this growth hack by targeting your most preferred users (users whose onboarding will increase the value of the app and bring more users which in a dating application’s case are female users) at places where they are likely to be and incentivize them in some way to come onboard.

This event will trigger the network effect to take shape and bring in more users who will now see the platform having a higher value and thus engage more with it.

Another way to apply this growth hack can be to distribute your product to influencers in exchange for an honest review or shoutout.

The influencers will then post on social media about your product or be seen using it by their large fan base, thus leading to mass promotion and reach for your product.

13. Buzzworthy UX growth hack – Used by Duolingo

Execute a harmless online prank or stunt that captures attention and generates media coverage. To implement this, brainstorm a playful concept that you can inculcate in your product UX.

Think of something that aligns with your brand’s personality and appeals to your target audience. Ensure the prank or stunt is lighthearted and doesn’t offend or inconvenience anyone.

In short, focus on creating something that is both buzzworthy and shareable but also harmless.

Coordinate with influencers or brand ambassadors to amplify the reach of your campaign. Use social media platforms to build anticipation beforehand with teaser posts and hints.

During the campaign, encourage user participation by creating a unique hashtag and inviting followers to share their reactions or similar experiences.

Monitor the campaign’s performance through analytics to gauge its effectiveness and engagement levels. After the stunt, follow up with a debrief or behind-the-scenes content to keep the conversation going and reinforce the positive brand association created by the campaign.

Duolingo ran a humorous campaign where they personified their push notifications as a stern owl, reminding users to practice their language lessons. 

Just notice the tone of the owl:  it was strict, sarcastic, and even angry at the user’s lack of practice.

It stood out coz it was against the grain and unlike any other competitor brands out there. It was catchy.

Plus, the push notifications added a mode of omnipresence for the Owl character, making it all the more funny and humorous. This quirky approach went viral on social media.

Duolingo’s funny and quirky push notifications established a personality for the brand.

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

This hack is perfect for startups that have the liberty to play with their communications and have a friendly, non-serious vibe.

You can apply such quirky communication styles to your UX, sign-up/pop-up forms, CTAs, and newsletter emails.

Think of something that goes against the grain in your industry but also brings a smile to your users’ faces. This will generate buzz as no one else would be doing this,  making your brand look hip and quirky, and building a relationship with your user.

This hack can work even more if you have a brand mascot. For example, Duolingo has an owl. Think of an interesting mascot for your brand and apply it with this quirky communication style.

14. The association with competition growth hack: Used by Bumble

Mention your new startup with major existing players in the market and create attention for your brand.

Bumble did this perfectly. They created signs that said “NO Facebook, NO Instagram, NO Snapchat, No Bumble.”

This was very early in Bumble’s startup days.

Now, any university student would on other social media apps and would typically do things that they are told not to do. They knew the other famous apps, but didn’t know Bumble and got curious enough to try it. This led to some of Bumble’s early adopters, who in turn influenced others to join in.

Bumble’s homepage

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

The easiest way you can use it for your startup is by creating listicles in your niche and including your brand as one of the options.

For example, let’s say you run a blog about healthy eating. You can create a listicle about the top blogs on healthy eating and include your blog as one of the options.

Good practice would be to mention that it is your own blog, but also go into detail as to why your blog stands out and the unique aspects of your blog.

This way, you associate your brand and go neck to neck with the big names in the industry.

15. The leaderboard startup growth hack: Used by Zomato

This hack is similar to the gamification hack with the additional factor of social following. Here, the user is encouraged to participate in the app by incentivizing them with a tier of ranks that increase with their participation.

Zomato started as a food review app in 2008. Apart from hacks like posting “review us on Zomato” stickers at every restaurant, they had a leaderboard for reviewers.

As a user of the app, you could review different restaurants and give them stars. With each review, your ranking in the Zomato community would climb, with tiers being foodie, big foodie, super foodie, and connoisseur. Other users could follow you and get updated when you posted a new review. Top reviewers got featured in the leaderboard of the city. Perks like invites from restaurants, sponsorship deals, etc., naturally followed. 

This incentivised both the restaurant and the user to add more reviews.

From the restaurant side, more reviews meant better sales, and for the user, it added social currency.

For anyone trying to get into the world of food vlogging or blogging, the Zomato rank acted as social proof. All this led to higher traffic and activity on the app, and the Zomato review being the final word of authority in the restaurant rating scene.

Zomato’s foodie leaderboard, with its ranking tiers based on user engagement, is the perfect example of engagement hacking.

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup ?

One easy way you can implement this growth hack is by asking your users to share the content you post on social media. For example, you can ask your users to go to X.com and share the latest tweet you posted about the product.

The top 3 users with the maximum engagement on their re-tweet would get some brand swag or a free product. This way, you are making your engagement into a leaderboard contest.

16. The pre-product relationship-building growth hack: Used by Product Hunt

You need to start building relationships in your industry long before your MVP (minimum viable product) is out.

You need to seed these relationships now and build a strong network so that when the time comes to launch your product, you have people you can reach out to for growth.

For this, you need to identify the active players and media in your industry and study how you can be of value to them. Then, once you figure that out, offer your help upfront and overwhelm them with tremendous value. This way, when the time comes when you need their help, they are more than willing to offer their help to you.

Ryan Hoover did this before creating the MVP for Product Hunt. He did a series of valuable guest posts for blogs such as PandoDaily and Fast Company, which were major publications in the tech-entrepreneurship niche. This built his social equity in the tech circle and a relationship with the reporters and editors.

Now, when the time came to launch his MVP, he reached out to the same reporters and editors of the publications and shared the story behind Product Hunt with a 20 min MVP to validate the product.

They undoubtedly liked his pitch and, knowing the quality he served before, willingly decided to cover the story.

This way, the word for Product Hunt went out to millions of readers in a single instance. How cool is that?

How the Product Hunt interface looked in 2013

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

You can implement this growth hack by targeting your most preferred users (users whose onboarding will increase the value of the app and bring more users which in a dating application’s case are female users) at places where they are likely to be and incentivize them in some way to come onboard.

This event will trigger the network effect to take shape and bring in more users who will now see the platform having a higher value and thus engage more with it.

Another way to apply this growth hack can be to distribute your product to influencers in exchange for an honest review or shoutout.

The influencers will then post on social media about your product or be seen using it by their large fan base, thus leading to mass promotion and reach for your product.

Once you decide what your product is going to be, start a blog solving problems in the niche your product will serve. Start writing long-form content pieces aimed at helping users. Then leverage those pieces as your social proof to pitch to major publications in your niche. Pitch them unique ideas around that niche that you know will be hit and get them traffic.

You can use a tool like Semrush to find what works in a niche and what the top topics are for a given keyword.

Then, once you are accepted, write awesome blog posts on that topic. This will help you get your name established in the publication and build a relationship with the editors and reporters.

Then, once you finish your product MVP, share the product story with these media publications. More often than not, your product will get featured as you have already built a relationship of value with them.

17. Exclusive beta access growth hack – Used by Clubhouse

Offering exclusive beta access to early adopters or VIP customers is a strategic way for early-stage startups to create excitement, build anticipation, and gather valuable feedback.

By providing a sneak peek into upcoming products or features, startups can generate buzz and cultivate a sense of exclusivity among their most loyal customers.

To maximise the benefits of exclusive beta access, it’s essential to clearly communicate the value proposition of the beta version and highlight the unique features available to participants.

To do this, you need to engage with beta users through surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews to collect detailed feedback on usability, functionality, and overall user experience.

Use this feedback to refine and improve the product before its official launch, ensuring a more polished and customer-centric offering.

Additionally, leverage the excitement surrounding the beta release to create pre-launch marketing campaigns, generate word-of-mouth referrals, and expand your customer base by attracting new users eager to join the exclusive beta program.

By strategically offering exclusive beta access, early-stage startups can strengthen customer relationships, drive product innovation, and ultimately increase their competitive edge in the market.

Clubhouse initially launched as an invite-only platform, creating exclusivity and driving demand among users eager to join the audio-based social network. This strategy not only fueled curiosity but also generated buzz and user engagement.

Clubhouse invitation-only growth hack in action

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

As an early-stage startup, you can apply this clever growth hack by first identifying a key or core feature in your product that is exciting and unique compared to other products.

Think of the feature and the value it would provide to the end user.

Next, create a pool of micro and mid-level influencers in your niche and approach them with an offer for exclusive access to your product.

Approaching micro and mid-level influencers will help in getting the word out about your product and make it spread faster in the industry. Focus on giving them access and incentivizing them to talk about it, whether via paying them for a shoutout or giving them VIP access. 

Seeing these influencers use your product will create a sense of buzz, excitement, and privilege around it.

Next, double down on the exclusive beta access by doing teaser campaigns, sneak peeks, and sending personalized invitations to select people. All this will create added excitement around your product and make it a matter of status in your industry to get an invite for the beta access.

18. The niche-based quiz growth hack: Used by BuzzFeed

Adding interactive elements like quizzes or polls can make your content more engaging and shareable.

These features encourage users to spend more time on your website, increasing the chances of them exploring other content.

Quizzes can be tailored to your audience’s interests, making the experience personalized and relevant.

Additionally, interactive content often prompts users to share their results on social media, which can drive organic traffic and expand your reach.

Employing tools like timed quizzes or leaderboards can also add a competitive edge, motivating users to participate more actively.

Finally, analyzing quiz results can provide valuable insights into user preferences and behavior, helping you refine your
content strategy.

BuzzFeed used interactive quizzes to engage users. These quizzes were super quirky (“What is your inner potato?”) and something that you could include your friends in (to see what their inner potato is – I know, but it was the early 2010s!).

This created virality among young high school and college-going audiences, and drove massive traffic to their site and increased user engagement.

An example of BuzzFeed’s many quizzes (Yes! They made quizzes on everything, as you can see here)

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

It is not necessary to be as quirky and weird as BuzzFeed to do a quiz for your early-stage startup. Think of a quiz that will align with your brand’s niche, values, and answer a pressing question that people in your niche would have.

For example, if you have a Fintech startup, a great quiz can be
“How financially anxious are you?” or “How financially intelligent are you?” and then ask them questions on their investing habits, their relationship with cash flow and savings, etc.

You can use a tool like Youengage to set up a quiz for your brand.

Next, share the quiz on your website, blog, social media channels, and email newsletters to reach a wider audience.

At the end of the quiz, have a call-to-action to encourage users to share their quiz results on social media platforms to drive virality. 

19. Offline action-based curiosity growth hack: Used by Shazam

Build a feature in your app that needs the user to commit a specific, unique action that can bring attention and generate buzz.

When Shazam first came out, discovering songs by simply pointing your phone at a speaker was something very novel and unique.

People at parties and clubs were pointing their phones at the speaker to get the song name from the music and lyrics. This feature created a lot of buzz due to its uniqueness and involved a specific action by the user, thus resulting in Shazam going viral.

Shazam app homepage

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup ?

Think of building a unique feature in your app that needs a unique offline/physical action by the user.

For example, you can think of something like a voice-lock. So, a certain feature or level in your app would be locked and can only be opened with a specific voice command. 

You can make the phrase funny or something like a magical word (think Abracadabra), and by saying the phrase, the users can unlock a feature in your app.

When others notice your user saying the phrase, they will be curious about your app, and it will be something that people can have fun doing together.

20. The free tool growth hack: Used by HubSpot

A great and sure-shot way to get a lot of traffic to your startup website is by offering a free product related to your main product and one that solves a specific micro problem in your niche.

To do this right, see the audience that your product serves and what solution you provide to them. Next, think of a specific micro problem that they have based on their daily tasks and jobs. Finally, see what feature in your product can solve this micro problem and then offer it for free. If your product does not have features like that, build a custom solution for them.

HubSpot did this way back in 2007 with the Website Grader, a simple tool where, in exchange for your email,  you could submit your website and your competitor’s and see what grades each site gets for SEO performance.

This was a boon for online-based businesses who were using this free new service, at the same time leading HubSpot to build a list of website owners who might require their inbound marketing product in future.

HubSpot Website Grader with HubSpot branding

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

To implement this for your startup, follow these steps:

1) See who your product serves, who is its ideal customer?

2) Study their daily jobs, tasks, and problems

3) See which micro job or micro problem you solve with a feature available in your product or that can be easily built.

4) Offer this feature for free.

If you are a non-techie, you can use cheap, no-code apps like ike Emergent, Replit, or Bubble to build a custom free tool for your customers.

21. Audience pivot growth hack: Used by Snapchat

A startup not taking off can be painful.  It especially hurts if you have invested a significant amount of time and effort in building the product.

You might wonder what the prime cause could be – is it the product, the messaging, or the presentation?

​But what if you targeted the wrong audience?

​The idea that you might be targeting the wrong audience does not come naturally to startup founders.

​This is due to customers becoming the bedrock, or a constant, in our process of building products.

​But what if the data we got while interviewing our customer profile was wrong?

What if we didn’t get honest answers from our test audience group and, as a result, built features that actually don’t sit well with them?

​That’s why, if your startup does not grow with the minimum viable segment, you need to keep an open mind about audience pivoting.

You need to keep all assumptions dynamic, even the audience you are targeting.

​Snapchat did the same thing.

In 2011, Evan Speigel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown launched Snapchat on the App Store as part of a class project for Stanford. Back then, it was called Picaboo.

​At first, they approached their immediate friends and the Stanford community to download the app. The result – crickets.

​Next, they went to shopping malls, handing out flyers to mall-goers that read something like, “Hey, would you like to send a disappearing picture?”

​They tried positioning the app as a romantic chat app that can be used by boyfriends and girlfriends to send disappearing intimate pictures. That did not work either.

​By the end of the summer of 2011, Snapchat had a grand total of 127 users.

​Then, a series of events changed its destiny forever.

​Evan’s mother had told his cousin, who was in school, about the app. The cousin loved the app and shared it with his friends. Word of mouth spread, and it became a hit among Gen Z.

​So much so that by early 2012, Snapchat had 30k daily active users.

​The founders now understood their user base and optimized the app for Gen Z users.

​This included features like friction-free creation tailored towards Gen Z teens, as they hated waiting for things. This meant that the camera immediately activated after launching the app.

​They also tailored the app for teen social and emotional cues, such as read receipts, so users can know if their message has been read or not by the receiver of their Snap.

​The disappearing photo added a safety layer, which was a concern for teens using social media.

​Also, the app added as a cool factor for users who did not want to be seen using the “traditional social media” like Facebook or Twitter (Yes! I feel old writing this now).

​This pivot towards the right audience made Snapchat a global hit and a billion-dollar app super fast.

Snapchat website homepage in 2012

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

You can apply this growth hack by first testing your product with the minimum viable segment you have in mind and seeing their responses.

If you are seeing a strong rejection of your product, then study the features of your app and revisit the audience segment it can most apply to.

Talk to different demographics, study their problems, and identify the gaps your app can fill in their life and work. Run multiple sub-group tests and see which one responds best to your offering.

Once you find a winner, double down on this audience, and optimize your product features based on their needs and aspirations.

22. Quick-value design growth hack: Used by Evernote

Design your product in a way that it has minimal friction in giving its user the “AHA” moment.

Optimize the product design so users get value in the fastest possible way.

This will be your big differentiator in a market cluttered with heavy-duty apps that need a steep learning curve and multiple clicks and loads to deliver value.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, knowledge management as an industry was dominated by software such as Lotus.

These tools were enterprise-driven, meaning they were very formal in their look and UX, and were extremely technical, requiring IT provisioning, configuration, and large-scale managed installations.

The tools were cumbersome and came with a steep learning curve that was beyond the grasp of ordinary people.

Then, along came Evernote.

Evernote was designed not for enterprises but with the end user who will actually be using the product – A specific individual.

The tool was lightweight and optimized with features missing in legacy tools.

​Firstly, the tool’s UX was designed in such a way that the moment you open it, you can simply start using it. It was free of complicated setups and long-drawn expert configuration.

​Secondly, it had full background synchronization. So, whatever you wrote on one device, it automatically synced to any other device you used that is linked to that account.

This was a game-changer at that time. Before Evernote, users had to think of setting up synchronization via setting up FTP servers – A very tech-heavy process.

​Thirdly, with Evernote, you could actually search inside images.

It did so by using OCR (optical character recognition) technology. This helped users find words within images and scanned documents, making knowledge organization easier.

​So, while the legacy systems were geared towards the enterprise as a whole with heavy setup, Evernote was geared towards the end user – the actual individual who would be using the product.

This key differentiator led to its rapid growth as a startup.

​In an interview with EO, Phil Libin shared, “The product needs to be very clear about its point of view. Really excellent products are not neutral; they have a strong opinion on how you are supposed to use them, what kind of people should use them, and how you should structure things. If you try to make a product neutral, if you try to make a product that everyone can use, and it does not specify how it should be used, it’s hard to make something good. At Evernote, we tried to be very clear about what our philosophy was to being organized and also very clear about whose side we were on.”

​“Were we on the side of the employee or the company? You know the company usually paid us, but the actual human beings, the employees, used us. When those interests diverged, we needed to decide whose side we were on. And we were always very clear that we are always on the side of the people. We were always on the side of the users, of the humans, even if they are not the ones that are paying us.”

“We made productivity cool again,” quipped Phil.

​

Evernote’s auto-sync feature in action

Evernote’s text search feature, where you could search text within images

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

You can apply this growth hack to your startup by first evaluating the jobs-to-be-done by your end user that you can solve with your product.

Next, you need to design your product in a way that the user gets value from it with the least amount of friction from your product. In other words, he does not need any complicated configuration to use your product; instead gets value from it from the get-go.

23. Event targeting growth hack: Used by Uber

Attend and sponsor events that your target customer would frequent. This will help your startup’s value and USP be seen by the right people who can be your customers.

​Uber did the same with its product. Uber focused on growing locally in San Francisco and targeted the local tech community.

It made sense as techies are generally great early adopters and ardent evangelists of new tech products that make their lives easier. They adapt with less friction compared to other demographics.

​Once they like a product, they dont shy away from sharing it with their followers on social media, thus amplifying the product’s reach manifold.

​Uber took advantage of this and sponsored local tech events, providing free rides as part of its targeted marketing strategy.

​Being a disruptor in an industry that relied on long-standing habits (waiting for a cab, chasing taxis, etc.), and solving it with a few simple taps on your mobile screen had a wow factor to it, and clicked with the tech community.

This led to the product going viral and getting a huge amount of press.

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup ?

To apply this growth hack for your startup, you need to study the places and spaces where your target customer hangs out.

These can be conferences, events, podcasts, YouTube channels, and meetups. Once you identify them, reach out with a sponsorship offer.

Double it down by offering free subscriptions or a free trial to any user who gets connected with you from these spaces.

24. Live conference integration growth hack: Used by Twitter

Put your product into action and demonstrate its live use at influencer-heavy conferences in your industry.

Twitter (now known as X) applied this growth hack with a live strategic integration at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference. They installed large, unmissable plasma TVs at the conference registration desk and at the exit of the main conference room.

Next, they started displaying live tweets on the screen as the conference was in action. The strategic location of the screens ensured every conference attendee was bound to encounter the product. The live tweet chatter created curiosity and buzz, generating word-of-mouth.

SXSW attendees are generally tech-enthusiasts, so they have less friction in adopting new technology. As a result, the daily tweet volume increased from 20k tweets to 60k tweets.

The actual tweets from the SXSW conference in 2007

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

To apply this growth hack, first identify the main value and “AHA” moment of your product, and how to display its value live and quickly.

The value should be instant, visual, and not make people think or wait.

Then take this visual demonstration to conferences and events in your niche and display it repeatedly via live screens located at strategic positions at the conference.

25. Community infiltration growth hack: Used by Netflix

Study the communities that exist in your niche and become a valued contributor there.

Provide valuable information, be helpful, and then mention your product where it can be of help to the community.

This way, you come across as genuine and generate chatter around your brand, all without being salesy.

​One of Netflix’s earliest growth hacks was seeding content in niche communities frequented by DVD owners.

​Months before their actual launch, they scoured the internet for user groups, web forums, bulletin boards, and any other space frequented by DVD enthusiasts.

​Next, they would not announce themselves as representing Netflix but rather pose as cinephiles and home theater enthusiasts.

​They would participate in movie conversations and befriend the main contributors, moderators, niche website owners, and name-drop “a great new site called Netflix”.

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

Take a cue from Netflix’s marketing and search the internet for niche communities in your industry and join them. Ideally, aim to do this 6-7 months before launch, but do not fret, even if you have already launched. It’s still good to go.

​Next, start seeding content in these communities in the form of helpful posts, conversation starters, tips, and helpful responses. The idea is to be of value and contribute to the group.

​This way, you will be seen as a trusted member and someone who actually contributes value to the community,

​Finally, befriend the influential members and moderators of the group, and with time, mention your product as a helpful and cool resource for their needs. Do this subtly and contextually, and not in a salesy manner. In other words, only mention it when you feel it will actually help them.

​By following this method, your product will generate the necessary buzz and interest, without being salesy.

26. Chain reaction growth hack: Used by Pinterest

Create a program based on the specific niche interests of your users and encourage them to invite others with similar interests, all while integrating your product into the program.

​Pinterest did this by first identifying its user base.

​Ben Silbermann, the founder of Pinterest, found that his target audience wasn’t the East Coast “Avenue-type” or the stereotypical “techies of Silicon Valley.”

​He noticed that the people who were enjoying the product were similar to him, who were interested in normal things, such as “what’s my house going to look like?” and “what kind of food do I want to eat?”

​Ben started looking for the places and communities where these people were congregating and where these niche topics were discussed.

He ended up frequenting conferences where people were reading these kinds of things.

There, he befriended influential bloggers who were writing about such things and invited them to Pinterest’s marketing program.

​In the program, the bloggers were encouraged to share their work and create a bunch of pinboards on their topics, and also invite others to do the same.

This program, at its core, was what the value of Pinterest was all about – Share what you like and invite others to share their interests.

In one such event, Pinterest partnered with popular blogger Victoria Smith and created the “Pin It Forward” program, launched in May 2010.

​The exclusive invite-only access to Pinterest attracted bloggers who wanted to get in.

​Victoria set up a Google Doc sign-up sheet where 300 interested bloggers applied. From this, 10 bloggers were selected each week and assigned a particular theme to write about.

​Each blogger was asked to set up a Pinterest board called “Pin It Forward” and link their weekly themed article to the Pinterest board.

Moreover, they were asked to link to the bloggers who came before them and the ones who would blog after them.

​This led to a chain reaction – Each blogger brought in scores of people who wanted to read what their favorite blogger had written about.

So they landed up on the blogger’s site, where they encountered this interesting concept of a pinboard for the first time. This piqued their interest, and they went on checking what the blogger had pinned, thus bringing eyeballs and traffic to Pinterest.

​This was beneficial to the bloggers as well, as other bloggers linked to them in the pins, thus bringing a large number of eyeballs and traffic.

Victoria Smith’s blog post announcing the “pin it forward” campaign

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

Study what your user is interested in and make a list of 10-20 topics they are most passionate about. You can do this by using a tool like Semrush. Simply go to Semrush and enter your topic. It would give you similar topics related to your main topic keyword.

Semrush gives you keywords and phrases related to the main keyword

Next, make a list of 10-20 bloggers who blog about the topic. You can find them in Semrush by entering the topic and seeing the top blogs that rank for that topic.

Semrush gives you the top sites ranking for the topic

Next, contact all the top bloggers and create an event like “Pin it forward” for your brand, where they blog about a topic and mention your product use-case as a natural extension of solving the problem related to the topic.

Next, they challenge the next blogger in the series to come up with more ideas and strategies to solve the problem related to the topic.

The next blogger on their part does the same – gives a bunch of strategies where your product is the subtle hero in solving the problem, and then passes on the challenge to the next blogger in the series.

​For example, if you are a Fintech startup, you can contact bloggers who write about a topic like “financial management” and sponsor them to write about financial management strategies and there in, ask them to integrate your product into the content as a tool to manage finances better, and in the end link to the next blogger in the series who would write about the same topic and insert your product use-case and so on.

When 10-20 top bloggers in your niche start writing about your topic and insert your product use-case as part of solving the problem related to the topic, you will see a huge influx of traffic growth for your site.

27. Feature limit growth hack: Used by Slack

Focus on a key feature of your product that users are using for free, and put a limit on its full usage. This way, users get a taste of the feature and are incentivized to upgrade to the full version.

​Slack used this brilliantly via their feature limit growth hack.

​If a user needs to see a past conversation on Slack, they could do so for up to the past 10k messages. Beyond that, they would have to pay to unlock past chat history.

​Now, from outside, 10k messages look like a pretty generous limit, but if you consider companies with 50-100 employees each sending 50-60 messages a day, the total chat messages add up pretty fast.

As a result, a user couldn’t see chat logs beyond a few months.

​You might ask, Abhik, what is the need to see messages beyond a certain time? But think about it for a minute.

If your entire office conversations shifted to a single platform, there would be instances where valuable information or instructions could be shared in the chat that you might need to refer to in the future.

To do so, one would have to go for the paid plan.

​As a result, Slack’s paid users increased significantly.

Slack’s feature limit growth hack in action

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup ?.

Study the features of your product and think about which feature would be indispensable for your users.

Based on that, make the feature available for free but with a limit on its full use.

This way, users would get a taste of the product’s value and usefulness, but be limited in utilizing it fully, incentivizing them to buy a paid plan.

28. Press + exclusivity growth hack: Used by Canva

Before launching your product, connect with as many journalists as possible and promote your startup. Talk about its value and USP, and in the end, provide an invitation link to join the access waiting list.

​This way, you can create mass buzz and excitement for a product and add a dash of exclusivity to it.

​Canva did the same before launching the main version of its product.

​Before they launched, they reached out to blogs, conferences, and podcasts, where they spoke about the product and provided an exclusive invitation link that led to people being added to a waiting list to access the product.

​In a matter of time, they had 50k people waiting to get access to the product.

Canva’s pre-launch Techcrunch post consisted of an invitation link.

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup ?.

Study the features of your product and think about which feature would be indispensable for your users.

Based on that, make the feature available for free but with a limit on its full use.

This way, users would get a taste of the product’s value and usefulness, but be limited in utilizing it fully, incentivizing them to buy a paid plan.

To apply this growth hack, conduct pre-launch press outreach to reach as many niche media spaces as possible.

Be it blogs, podcasts, or conferences, reach out to every media outlet and talk about your product’s USP and value, with an invitation link to access the product.

​From there, do a controlled rollout with a waiting list for new applications.

The power of press hype, combined with the exclusivity that comes with an invite-only access and a waiting list, will generate massive excitement around your product.

​One off-the-record note about Canva: Just before the launch, Canva’s Chief Product Officer, Cameron Adams, was involved in an accident and had to be rushed to the hospital.

Despite the injury, he showed up to work the next day, which was a Sunday, continued coding, and saw through the successful launch of this famous and iconic product.

You are a hero, Cameron!

29. Instagram contest growth hack used by Foundr

Create regular contests and interactive content for your brand’s social media accounts, encouraging followers to tag their friends on posts, thus amplifying reach and attention.

​Foundr, the entrepreneurship magazine, did this with its Instagram account.

​Founder of Foundr (I love saying it), Nathan Chan, an expert with Instagram marketing, made each Instagram upload an opportunity to get maximum followers. He focused on creating posts that consisted of an opinion, or a question, something that would incite an agreement or a response.

To optimize the posts further, he would add captions like – “Tag a friend who needs to see this” or “Double tap if you agree”.

This would lead to Foundr’s followers tagging their friends and connections in the comments, making them get acquainted with Foundr as a brand.

Next, Nathan organized regular Instagram contests where the condition to participate was to engage with the account, tag 2-3 friends, and leave a review for their podcast.

This way, Nathan not only capitalized on the new audience but doubled down by making them do the same action of tagging their network. This grew Foundr’s Instagram followers very rapidly. Moreover, having conditions like leaving reviews for podcasts helped them promote their brand across platforms.

Next, Foundr advertised its interviews with stalwarts like Richard Branson and other business tycoons, using them as social proof to convert followers into a loyal audience base.

One of Foundr’s many instagram contests

Foundr’s engagement CTAs in action

Another example of Foundr’s engagement growth hack

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

Create a bunch of interactive posts that elicit agreement, responses, and questions. Think of simple posts like – “What is your favorite business book and what did you learn from it?” or a quote like “Success has never been a straight line” and so on. Keep it simple and put the text on an attractive Instaworthy graphic.

In the age of reels, you can optimize this hack by appearing in a video and simply asking a question or saying a quote.

Then, at the end of the video and in the captions, use a simple ask such as “Tag a friend who needs to see this” or “double tap if you agree and let me know your opinion on this.”

Then, as you grow your audience, run a small contest where you offer some swag and free access to your product to the contest winners.

You can use a tool like BlitzRocket (previously known as Vyper) to get this done.

Have a condition that requires a person to tag 3 of their friends, repost the post, subscribe to your free blog, and so on.

This way, you will increase your followers pretty swiftly.

30. Unique value proposition growth hack: Used by Fiverr

Have a unique value proposition that gets inbound attention and press.

​Fiverr is the perfect example of this.

Before Fiverr, the world of outsourcing was chaotic with dodgy service providers, a lack of organization, and extremely varying rates.

People didn’t have good, reliable places to find workers for small outsourcing work.

​Fiverr solved this by creating a platform where all services were offered at $5 each.

Although it was a gimmick to get the product started and build a habit for users, it generated massive attention in the press and freelance/outsourcing space.

This single price point made things streamlined and helped eliminate indecisiveness that users might feel when confronted with multiple price points.

The name “Fiverr”, along with the $5 price tag, created a sticky effect, and the press was much easier to tap.

​It’s worth noting that the founders knew the $5 price tag could not be sustainable, and the site would have varying price points in the future.

Having said that, this angle was great for attention and establishing their presence in the industry.

Early version of Fiverr where every gig was actually $5

How to apply this growth hacking strategy for your startup?

Study your product inside out and see what aspect of your product is so unique that it can be press-worthy? Could it be a price point, a special innovative feature, or a disruptive business model?

Think of an angle that can attract instant press attention and generate buzz in your niche, then run with it to get eyeballs on your product. This value proposition can be watered down later or changed completely, but for now, if it is something unique, then roll with it.

And with this point, we finish our list. As you can see, growth hacks by design invoke creative, unorthodox tactics as means to achieve growth. 

 A lot of them are not conventional, but I guess that’s what makes it all the MORE FUN!

Tell us what you think of these growth hacks and SHARE these famous stories behind them with your friends.

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