Viral Growth / Loops
Viral Growth
The Guides.co growth model is based on implementing viral growth features that have been used by several large online platforms. Today it is easier than ever before to scale a digital platform thanks to increased access to broadband and mobile networks, overall internet usage, mobile usage, and user willingness to try new apps.
While viral growth was once only used by social networks, it is now a fundamental feature of nearly every platform including marketplaces and SaaS platforms by using viral loops.
Viral loops are created when users invite other users to join a network. To appreciate the power of viral loops, consider the following scenarios where each user invites 3 users to join a platform:
| TOTAL NETWORK SIZE | ||||
| Each user invites | within | In 1 month | In 6 months | In 1 year |
| 3 people | 30 days | 4 | 1,093 | 797,161 |
| 3 people | 7 days | 27 | 94,143,178,827 | 2.65888E+22 |
| 3 people | 1 day | 102,945,566,047,324 | 2.28532E+86 | 7.9602E+168 |
A software's "viral coefficient" is calculated using the average number of invitations each user sends times the conversion (signup) rate of the invitations. If that number is greater than 1, you have a "viral loop" that will grow exponentially. As demonstrated above, the growth momentum is determined on how quickly the loop is completed.