"Acquisition Flywheels"
The Core Concept
An Acquisition Flywheel is a growth model that leverages the momentum of happy customers to drive further acquisition. Unlike a traditional "funnel" which requires constant energy (money/effort) to pour into the top, a flywheel stores energy.
When a customer completes an action (like sharing a referral link, inviting a teammate to a collaboration tool, or creating public content), they effectively market the product to new people. This creates a loop: Acquisition -> Activation -> Referral -> Acquisition.
Why It Matters
Lowers CPA: As the flywheel spins, a significant portion of new users comes from "free" sources (existing users), drastically lowering the blended Cost Per Acquisition.
Compounds Growth: Funnels produce linear growth; Flywheels produce exponential growth.
Higher Quality Leads: Users referred by friends or peers typically have higher retention rates and lifetime value (LTV).
Best Practices
Incentivized Referrals: giving users a clear benefit (credits, upgrades) for bringing in others (e.g., Dropbox).
Viral Loops: Building sharing mechanisms directly into the product usage (e.g., "Sent via iPhone" or watermarked videos).