The best companies grow through word-of-mouth rather than paid acquisition, and in the early days of a startup, if you lack funds, focus on growing your business without spending money by doing things that don't scale. This organic growth is a sign of a strong product that resonates with users.

In the early stages, focus on organic growth rather than paid users, as relying on paid growth can be misleading and should be avoided as much as possible.

There are three types of growth: sticky growth, which focuses on retaining existing users; viral growth, which relies on users referring others; and paid growth, which involves spending money to acquire users.

Organic growth companies are far more common than those that grow rapidly, and the latter are often outnumbered in the startup ecosystem.

Great consumer companies that achieve significant scale typically optimize their viral loops and network effects to ensure the majority of their growth comes from organic channels.

Viral growth occurs when users have such a great experience that they recommend your service to others, leading to organic growth without additional costs.

The best consumer companies often have a growth split of over 80% organic to 20% paid. Relying too heavily on paid growth can lead to increased costs and reduced profitability as competition for ad space intensifies.

Paid growth involves spending money to acquire users. It's important to ensure that the lifetime value of a customer exceeds the cost of acquiring them, or else the growth strategy may not be sustainable.

The ideal product for organic growth is one that provides value to the first user, ensuring that even a single customer finds it beneficial.