Playbook 9 of 10, Grow
Build repeatable growth
Define your metrics in writing, run one channel long enough to learn, fix leaks before adding traffic and turn the results into a monthly review.
What you will have at the end
- A metrics definitions sheet
- A channel log with cost and result for each period
- A written process for the channel
- A monthly review with the decision and the reason
The steps
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Define your metrics in writing
Write one definition each for monthly recurring revenue, churn, activation and the cost of winning a customer. Use the same definitions in every report so that this month can be compared with last month.
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Pick one channel and run it long enough to learn
Choose the single way of finding customers that has already worked once. Run it for a fixed number of weeks so that you can compare results rather than reacting to one good or bad week.
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Count cost and result for each channel
Each period, record what you spent in money and time, and how many customers you won. Use the written definitions from step one so the figures stay comparable.
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Fix the leaks before adding traffic
Look at onboarding, activation and support before you pour more people in. A leak in the first week costs more than a small gain in reach.
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Write the process down so someone else could run it
Record each step of the channel in plain words, with examples. If it only works when you do it, it is a habit, not a process.
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Review monthly and decide
Once a month, look at the results and choose to put more into a channel, change it or stop. Write the reason down and let the record carry into your investor updates.
The playbook at a glance
A cover, one public figure that frames the question this playbook answers, and the steps drawn as one path.
Show the figures as a table
| Years since opening | All private industries | Information, including software | Professional and technical services |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| 1 | 79.6% | 80.8% | 81.6% |
| 2 | 69.1% | 70% | 71.2% |
| 3 | 61.4% | 60.8% | 63% |
| 4 | 55.4% | 53.3% | 56% |
| 5 | 50.2% | 46.8% | 50.3% |
| 6 | 46.4% | 42.6% | 46.9% |
| 7 | 43.6% | 38.6% | 43.2% |
| 8 | 40.3% | 35.4% | 40% |
| 9 | 37.4% | 33% | 37.2% |
| 10 | 34.7% | 30% | 34.3% |
Establishments with at least one employee, opened in the year to March 2015. A closure is not always a failure: it includes sales and mergers.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7 , March 2025 release
These figures describe all new U.S. businesses, not WE's results.
The steps, in order
- Define your metrics in writing
- Pick one channel and run it long enough to learn
- Count cost and result for each channel
- Fix the leaks before adding traffic
- Write the process down so someone else could run it
- Review monthly and decide
Open these next
- Weekly investor update template A fixed structure for a short progress update, usable weekly or monthly.
- Metrics calculator Type one month of your numbers and see net new MRR, gross revenue churn, quick ratio, CAC payback, LTV to CAC and runway, with every formula shown.
- Runway calculator Type cash, net burn and, if you want it, burn growth, and see runway in months, rounded down, with every step of the working shown.
What good looks like
Repeatable growth means the result does not depend on one person having a good week. The same steps, measured the same way, give you figures you can compare from one period to the next.
- Each metric has one written definition with a date, and the definition changes only through a dated note.
- One channel has been run for a fixed period and measured the same way for at least two periods.
- The first week of a new customer’s experience has been looked at before more traffic was sent to it.
- A person who did not build the channel can follow the written process and tell you what they did.
- Each monthly review ends in a decision to put more in, change the channel or stop, with the reason beside it.
Decision aid: put more in, change it or stop
At each monthly review, find the row that matches what the channel log shows. Write down the row you picked and the reason.
| What the log shows | What it usually means | The decision |
|---|---|---|
| Customers arrive but many leave in the first week | The leak is in onboarding or activation, not in the channel. | Stop adding traffic. Fix the first-week experience, then run the channel again. |
| Results are steady and the cost per customer is in line across periods | The channel is learnable and stable. | Put more into it in a measured step, and keep the definitions unchanged. |
| One period was very good and the next was very poor | You may be reading one lucky week, or something changed that you did not record. | Keep the channel running for another period before you judge it. |
| The channel works only when you do it yourself | It is a habit, not yet a process. | Write the steps down with examples and ask someone else to run one period. |
| Cost has risen in each period and results have not | The easy part of the audience may be used up. | Change the message or the audience, or stop and test another channel. |
| You changed a metric definition during the period | The periods cannot be compared. | Restate the earlier periods under the new definition or start the comparison again. |
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Why it costs you | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Changing a metric definition between reports | The trend line breaks and nobody can tell what actually changed. | Write each definition once, version it and note any change with its date. |
| Reporting vanity measures | Page views and sign-ups can rise while customers leave. | Report revenue, churn and activation, each defined in writing. |
| Running many channels at once | None gets enough time to teach you anything. | Run one channel for a fixed period, then compare. |
| Scaling before onboarding works | New customers leave in the first week and the money spent winning them is lost. | Fix the first-week experience, then widen the channel. |
| Treating a rule of thumb as a target | A ratio from a blog post is not a fact about your business. | Use your own figures, defined the same way each period. |
| Leaving out your own time | A channel that looks cheap in money may use most of your week. | Count hours as well as money in each period of the channel log. |
Evidence to check before you move on
Move to Prepare for investor talks when you can show each of these.
- The metrics sheet exists, with one definition per measure and a date.
- The channel log covers at least two periods, measured the same way.
- Someone who did not build the channel could follow the written process.
- Monthly reviews record a decision and the reason for it.
These records are what the investor updates guide asks you to report from, and what a seed data room holds. Keep them current and they cost almost nothing to share.
Where WE can help
WE’s Business Management and Operations line sets up an operating rhythm with goals, metrics each defined in writing and a weekly review. It does not keep your books or run your company for you. The service line page lists what it covers and what it does not.
Sources
The steps and the decision aid draw on the research brief, articles and template below. Each names the public sources it read.
Start a readiness review
Tell WE where the company stands. WE replies to arrange a conversation and a written read of your company's timeline.
A short PDF of the charts and sources, sent by email to the address you give.
Talk to WE : A question that does not fit a form.