The hottest Growth Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

40+ ICP marketing plays

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 465 implied HN points • 23 Oct 24
💼 Business Marketing Sales Growth Strategy
  1. Identify your ideal customer profile (ICP) well. Look at signals like company growth and tech usage so you know who to target.
  2. Use different marketing strategies together, like emails and social media, to reach your best customers effectively. It's better than just hoping your ads will land on the right people.
  3. Keep track of how potential customers interact with your business, like signing up for newsletters or attending events. These actions show they are interested and can help guide your follow-up efforts.

The Incredible Beauty of Unlikely Friendships

Brent and Michael are Going Places • 904 implied HN points • 20 Mar 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Friendships Loss Connection Growth Community
  1. Unlikely friendships can have a profound impact on our lives, even if they are brief.
  2. People are not always what they seem, and judging based on first impressions or stereotypes can be misleading.
  3. Building connections with others, especially in unlikely circumstances, can bring a unique and beautiful experience to life.
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The U.S. Economy is Roaring. Why Should Rates Come Down?

The Overshoot • 452 implied HN points • 27 Jan 24
💰 Finance Economy Interest Rates Growth Inflation Forecasting
  1. The U.S. Economy is showing strong growth and may not need rate cuts despite controlled inflation.
  2. Traders anticipate interest rates to decrease, but data suggests a period of faster growth akin to past economic booms.
  3. Initial forecasts of a U.S. recession were proven wrong, with the economy growing over 3% and showing resilience against negative predictions.

Oxford Nanopore JPM Presentation Thoughts

ASeq Newsletter • 21 implied HN points • 14 Jan 25
💼 Business Finance Revenue Customers Growth Analysis
  1. Oxford Nanopore is showing 31% revenue growth, but this excludes some major projects like the Emirati Genome Project and COVID-related work. This might not give a full picture of their earnings.
  2. The company seems to rely heavily on a single new large customer for much of its revenue growth. This could be a risk if that customer changes or goes away.
  3. Historically, large customers can disappear when their projects finish, meaning Oxford Nanopore needs a steady influx of new clients to maintain growth.

TBM 314: Using Enabling Constraints for Situational Awareness

The Beautiful Mess • 396 implied HN points • 07 Oct 24
💼 Business Management Growth Efficiency Strategy Leadership
  1. Rapid growth can lead to chaos and mistakes in organizations. It often happens when teams are expanded quickly without proper planning.
  2. Using enabling constraints can help manage the mess during fast changes. They act like simple rules to keep teams focused and aware of potential issues.
  3. It's important to regularly check on how things are going, especially when many people are involved in projects. This helps catch problems before they become serious.

What the East African Plains Ape Anthology Intelligence Has Managed to Do, with Respect to the Economy

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality • 253 implied HN points • 07 Dec 24
💼 Business Economics Society Growth Institutions Transition
  1. Human society has evolved from slow, agricultural growth to rapid industrial progress, but we still struggle with managing this change effectively.
  2. The historical shift from cooperation to domination in societies has created challenges in creating systems that benefit everyone today.
  3. We have the potential for great prosperity, but we need better institutions to help us use our resources wisely and live well.

How to build your GTM strategy from scratch

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 291 implied HN points • 06 Nov 24
💼 Business Startups Marketing Strategy Sales Growth
  1. Building a go-to-market (GTM) strategy involves understanding stages like problem-solution fit, product-market fit, and go-to-market fit. Each stage helps you grow and attract more customers.
  2. Create an Early Customer Profile (ECP) based on real evidence to identify your first customers. This helps you target those who have a strong need for your product and are willing to pay.
  3. Differentiate your product by refining your unique value proposition (UVP) and unique selling proposition (USP). This makes it clear why customers should choose you over the competition.

DO TOO MUCH

Rational in the Fullness of Time • 360 implied HN points • 07 Oct 24
💼 Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Management Innovation Growth
  1. Leaders need to go above and beyond in their efforts. Doing more can inspire others to care and work harder too.
  2. When achieving goals, over-communication and quick reactions can be more effective than waiting and planning too much.
  3. To create something meaningful, embrace the idea of doing too much. It's a part of pushing boundaries and achieving great things.

How we built a business out of recession - chapter 28 - lets get personal

The ZIPster • 44 implied HN points • 13 Dec 24
💼 Business Startups Entrepreneurship Finance Growth Sales
  1. Running a small business means wearing many hats and staying proactive, especially when things get busy. It’s easy to forget important tasks when you're juggling too much at once.
  2. Bringing in the right people, like a good finance director, can really help keep a company on track, especially when cash flow is tight. That support can be a lifeline during tough times.
  3. Being mindful of your image and decisions is crucial in business. Making flashy choices can draw unwanted attention and distract from the goals you should be focusing on.

5 Challenges of Scaling Paid Ads for Early Stage Startups

Nail It and Scale It • 59 implied HN points • 25 Jun 24
💼 Business Startups Marketing Advertising Scaling Growth
  1. It's hard to find out why ads aren't working. There can be many reasons, like targeting the wrong audience or having a bad website design.
  2. Early stage startups often struggle to scale quickly due to internal issues. When they get more leads, they might need to pause ads to catch up, which can hurt their momentum.
  3. Finding product-market fit takes time and constant testing. Just because something works now doesn't mean it will work later, so keep experimenting with different strategies.

The Thing About Change

Insight Axis • 434 implied HN points • 19 Oct 23
📖 Philosophy Change Acceptance Fear Pain Growth
  1. Change is often accompanied by pain, and that's okay. Accepting the pain is crucial for growth.
  2. To make a change, it's important to follow your fear, as it can show you where you need to grow.
  3. Embodying change means accepting the discomfort and fear, knowing they do not define you.

Citizen Trump.

News Items • 196 implied HN points • 07 Feb 24
🌍 World Politics China Economy Growth Trade Authoritarianism
  1. China's economy is struggling with a trade surplus and other challenges like a property market downturn.
  2. Investors and officials fear that China lacks a reliable source of growth.
  3. Boosting the spending of China's vast population is seen as a key factor for economic growth in the country.

Management Rituals: Quarterly Check-ins

QUALITY BOSS • 79 implied HN points • 04 May 24
💼 Business Management Leadership Performance Growth Feedback
  1. Quarterly check-ins help managers stay updated on their team's accomplishments and goals. They create space for important conversations about progress and development.
  2. The check-in process includes asking six questions that focus on both past achievements and future aspirations. This backward and forward approach ensures a comprehensive view of performance.
  3. These meetings do not replace regular feedback but complement it by providing a dedicated time for discussing growth and performance over a longer timeline.

Burning

Venture Prose • 339 implied HN points • 11 Jun 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Startups Management Growth Leadership
  1. Companies in the startup world face the risk of 'burning out' due to various reasons like lack of product-market fit, slow growth, or unsustainable economics.
  2. Entrepreneurs fall into categories like 'High Flyers' who start strong but need to sustain hype, and 'The Burn-Outers' who struggle to manage work-life balance while pushing their companies forward.
  3. Running a company successfully requires a balance of fundamental work, intense focus, and clarity of vision, along with surrounding oneself with a supportive team to navigate challenges.

Copart

Business Breakdowns • 314 implied HN points • 04 Apr 23
💼 Business Investment Management Financials Growth Risks
  1. Copart is a company that plays a crucial role in the automotive industry by handling totaled cars through auctions on a global scale
  2. The company's business model thrives on providing services like towing, storage, processing fees, and bidding platforms for salvaged vehicles
  3. Copart's scale advantages, intelligent shareholder base, and conservative management contribute to its strong position in the market

Comparing the Financials of Databricks and Snowflake

Tanay’s Newsletter • 82 implied HN points • 30 Dec 24
💼 Business Finance Technology Startups Growth Investments
  1. Databricks is growing faster than Snowflake, with a revenue growth rate of 57% compared to Snowflake's 27%. However, Snowflake remains more profitable at this point.
  2. Databricks is currently valued higher than Snowflake due to its strong growth potential and better positioning in the AI market. This could lead to a significant payoff for them in the long run.
  3. Snowflake and Databricks have different business strategies, with Snowflake focusing on profitability and Databricks investing heavily in growth and product development, especially in AI technologies.

From Fetish To Fetter: China's Model Of Investment-Led Growth

Japan Economy Watch • 299 implied HN points • 12 Sep 23
🌍 World Politics China Economy Growth Investment Consumption
  1. China's investment-led growth model is facing challenges, with excessive investment and unproductive spending impacting the economy.
  2. China needs to transition from more investment to smarter investment to sustain economic growth and improve living standards.
  3. The country's focus on high investment levels has led to weakening consumer demand, limited household income, and a growing debt burden.

China’s Growth Prospects, Part I

Japan Economy Watch • 279 implied HN points • 06 Sep 23
🌍 World Politics China Economy Growth Political
  1. China's growth prospects face uncertainty, with possibilities of a financial crash leading to years of slow growth, or a gradual deceleration of growth rates over time.
  2. China's growth rate has been slowing down as the country becomes more affluent, and the government's economic strategies may worsen the natural slowdown.
  3. Experts project China's growth rate to be around 4% for the next few years, and achieving even 4% growth would be considered significant given China's level of development.

High churn, low LTV

Top of the Lyne • 275 implied HN points • 17 Jun 23
💼 Business Tech Marketing AI Growth Sales
  1. Generative AI company Murf uses behavioral AI to penetrate the enterprise market and boost self-serve conversions.
  2. Murf's AI engine helped increase enterprise conversions by 10% and boosted revenue closed by 20% for their sales team.
  3. The AI engine improved conversion rates by 7x for pro self-serve conversions during a Black Friday promotion.

Why Mobility is the Key to Innovation

Sarah’s Substack • 19 implied HN points • 14 Jul 24
💼 Business Innovation Leadership Investment Growth Company Culture
  1. Mobility is crucial for innovation, as it allows people, ideas, and resources to move around. When talented people switch companies, they bring new ideas that can spark creativity.
  2. A growth mindset is important for companies to thrive. When employees learn from challenges and share their skills, it helps the whole organization improve and innovate.
  3. Successful companies mix long-term employees with new talent. This blend helps keep the culture strong while also bringing in fresh ideas to drive growth.

ServiceTitan S-1 Breakdown

Tanay’s Newsletter • 82 implied HN points • 05 Dec 24
💼 Business Finance SaaS IPO Growth Technology
  1. ServiceTitan is a software company that helps tradespeople like plumbers and electricians run their businesses better. They provide tools for managing customer relationships and service workflows.
  2. The company has been growing quickly, with a revenue increase of 24% in the last year. They make money from subscriptions, payment processing fees, and professional services.
  3. ServiceTitan is preparing for an IPO and plans to manage investor concerns about profitability. They have strategies in place to handle potential valuation drops and minimize shareholder dilution.

Bestseller In Japan: “Degrowth Communism” As The Answer to Climate Change, Part I

Japan Economy Watch • 599 implied HN points • 22 Sep 22
🌞 Climate & Environment Degrowth Communism Technology Growth
  1. Some believe 'Degrowth Communism' is the answer to climate change, promoting shrinking the economy, but it may pose risks by lowering living standards globally.
  2. Advanced countries show a trend of reducing CO2 emissions while still experiencing economic growth, indicating growth and technological progress are crucial solutions to climate change.
  3. Karl Marx emphasized the potential of technology for growth, contrasting with the view that the economy would hit a 'stationary state'; however, he underestimated capitalism's ability to address its own challenges.

9 tactics to get your first 50 SaaS customers in 2025

Startup Business Tips 🚀 • 47 implied HN points • 19 Jan 25
💼 Business SaaS Marketing Sales Growth Strategy
  1. Networking can help you find your first SaaS customers. Reach out to people you know for introductions and referrals.
  2. Creating comparison and alternative pages on your website can attract customers in crowded markets. Show how your product stacks up against competitors.
  3. Understanding customer feedback is crucial. Ask customers how they heard about you and track why deals were lost to improve your sales process.