The hottest Growth Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

When should you cross-sell?

Startup Real Talk • 291 implied HN points • 21 May 25
💼 Business Growth
  1. Don't rush to cross-sell. In the beginning, most customers may not buy extra products from you, so it's better to focus on growing your customer base first.
  2. Avoid getting distracted by cross-selling. Stick to what you do best to keep your business moving forward.
  3. Wait until your customer count is larger before cross-selling. The more customers you have, the better the chances of successfully selling additional products.

Grown Rogue Goes Retail

Mindset Value • 216 implied HN points • 18 Jan 24
💼 Business Growth
  1. Grown Rogue is expanding into the retail sector in New Jersey.
  2. The company is investing in retail but maintains focus on its core mission.
  3. Grown Rogue is expected to see significant growth in cash flow and EBITDA in the coming years.

The Go-To-Market silver bullet

Top of the Lyne • 373 implied HN points • 13 Apr 23
💼 Business Growth
  1. Pictory used Behavioral AI and in-app nudges to boost Net Revenue Retention by 14%.
  2. Pictory faced challenges with high churn rates and poor free-to-paid conversions.
  3. The use of Behavioral AI and in-app nudges led to a 38% increase in free-to-paid conversions in just three weeks.

Marketing for a fundraise (like, the VC kind)

Mehdeeka • 5 implied HN points • 10 Feb 26
💼 Business Growth
  1. During a fundraise the target audience for marketing shifts from customers to investors, so focus on clear messaging, founder thought leadership, and visible social proof like PR and case studies.
  2. Investors care about evidence of product-market fit and disciplined spend — they prefer real customer pull, clear unit economics, and honest testimonials over glossy rebrands or theatrical marketing.
  3. Marketers should be plugged into fundraising strategy early to reallocate budgets toward measurable proof (case studies, PR, targeted events) and cut wasteful spend that won’t convince investors.

Management Rituals: Quarterly Check-ins

QUALITY BOSS • 79 implied HN points • 04 May 24
💼 Business Growth
  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.
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17 experts sharing their best tips founders shouldn’t skip in their 0-1mil ARR journey?

Startup Business Tips 🚀 • 34 implied HN points • 07 Dec 25
💼 Business Growth
  1. Match your positioning to market reality by honestly assessing market maturity, choosing a clear product category or use case, and crafting a simple sales story backed by a central messaging library.
  2. Build your Ideal Customer Profile from real customer behavior and early wins, niche down to the segments that get the fastest ROI, and make the ICP a living system that guides product, marketing, and sales.
  3. Treat go-to-market as repeatable processes: start content once you have an MVP and one sharp narrative, run pricing as a regular iteration tied to company stage, and keep CRM and KPIs simple so you follow up and make data-driven decisions.

Burning

Venture Prose • 339 implied HN points • 11 Jun 23
💼 Business Growth
  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.

Moving beyond founder-led sales

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 425 implied HN points • 22 Jan 25
💼 Business Growth
  1. Warmly grew from zero to $700k ARR in 2023 by using a founder-led sales approach, where the co-founder took a hands-on role in closing sales.
  2. By shifting to a more structured and scalable sales process, Warmly was able to triple their revenue plan for 2024 and build a diverse sales team with various roles.
  3. They experimented with different marketing channels, including partnerships and paid ads, which helped them expand their customer base while learning which strategies were most effective.

Copart

Business Breakdowns • 314 implied HN points • 04 Apr 23
💼 Business Growth
  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

DO TOO MUCH

Rational in the Fullness of Time • 591 implied HN points • 07 Oct 24
💼 Business 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.

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

Japan Economy Watch • 299 implied HN points • 12 Sep 23
🌍 World Politics Growth
  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.

Your guide to the 2024 SaaS benchmarks

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 504 implied HN points • 21 Nov 24
💼 Business Growth
  1. 2024 sees stabilization in SaaS growth rates, with early stages performing better while larger companies struggle. Smaller startups are showing stronger growth despite an overall slowdown.
  2. Early stage SaaS and AI companies are thriving, significantly increasing growth rates and maintaining lean teams. They are using automation and smart hiring to succeed.
  3. There's a shift in pricing models for AI products, with many still using traditional subscription models but a growing number exploring usage-based and outcome-based pricing. It's a sign of changing market demands.

China’s Growth Prospects, Part I

Japan Economy Watch • 279 implied HN points • 06 Sep 23
🌍 World Politics Growth
  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 Growth
  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.

Top Links 641 The UK's trade deficit with the US. Low-income growth in the USA. How electrification stalled. "M: son of the century" and "The new us".

Chartbook • 314 implied HN points • 06 Feb 25
💰 Finance Growth
  1. The UK has a unique trade relationship where it imports more from the US than it exports, leading to a trade deficit. This is unusual for a developed country.
  2. Low-income growth in the USA is a significant issue, highlighting economic challenges faced by many. It's affecting overall prosperity and living standards.
  3. Electrification efforts have hit a roadblock, indicating that progress in energy transition is not happening as fast as needed. This could impact future sustainability initiatives.

Our first try at PLG nearly failed. Here's what we did next.

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 354 implied HN points • 08 Jan 25
💼 Business Growth
  1. The team turned around low activation and conversion rates by improving their onboarding process. They made it easier for users to get started and better understood how to use the product.
  2. They used data from user feedback and behavior to identify problem areas in their product. This helped them find ways to create a smoother experience for users.
  3. By adding gentle reminders and prompts in their product, they encouraged free users to explore paid options. This strategy increased their free-to-paid conversion rate significantly.

Recommendations

My Home Office Hacks • 5 implied HN points • 09 Feb 26
💼 Business Growth
  1. Substack’s recommendation feature makes it easier for readers to find useful newsletters and helps publishers grow their audiences.
  2. Several prominent newsletters offering endorsements include Overoptimize, Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter, RolePulse, and Thoughts From A Digital Mom.
  3. Recommended Stacks to follow include Workspaces, Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter, Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends, and The Minimalist Author HQ.

Why Mobility is the Key to Innovation

Sarah’s Substack • 19 implied HN points • 14 Jul 24
💼 Business Growth
  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.

40+ ICP marketing plays

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 465 implied HN points • 23 Oct 24
💼 Business Growth
  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.

🧠 50 Ways to Leave Your Guidelines (And Actually Build a Brand)

the case for brand 💼 • 137 implied HN points • 27 Jun 25
💼 Business Growth
  1. A brand is more than just a logo or a marketing plan. It's about how a business operates and the decisions it makes every day.
  2. Every interaction a customer has with a business is a chance to express the brand. From emails to packaging, every detail matters.
  3. To build a strong brand, it's important to think about how brand values influence everything, not just marketing. This includes team culture and customer experiences.

The New Fundraising Playbook: Seed-Strapping

Tanay’s Newsletter • 126 implied HN points • 01 Jul 25
💼 Business Growth
  1. Seed-strapping is when a startup raises a small amount of money and then grows instead using its own revenue. This lets founders keep more control over their company.
  2. AI has made it easier for startups to succeed without needing lots of funding. Companies can now build products faster and sell them sooner, leading to quick profits.
  3. While seed-strapping offers benefits like less dilution and more financial discipline, it can also come with challenges like competition from better-funded startups and limitations on growth.

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 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.

Unintended Consequences

Fish Food for Thought • 20 implied HN points • 17 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Growth
  1. Unintended consequences are inevitable; well-meaning fixes can create worse problems or surprising new opportunities, so assume surprises will happen.
  2. Chasing metrics without context makes products drift from their purpose, because optimizing numbers can reward harmful or shallow behaviors; always measure real human outcomes and watch for distortions.
  3. Treat every launch as the start of learning: test for misuse, listen to real users, and build a culture that adapts quickly instead of blaming mistakes.

TBM 314: Using Enabling Constraints for Situational Awareness

The Beautiful Mess • 396 implied HN points • 07 Oct 24
💼 Business Growth
  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.

All Feedback is Projection

The Leadership Lab • 196 implied HN points • 19 Mar 23
🚌 Education Growth
  1. Feedback is projection: Feedback you give others reflects aspects of yourself. What you judge in others can reveal your own traits.
  2. New paradigm of feedback: Move away from the old feedback model based on objective truth. Embrace the idea that feedback is a story and an opinion.
  3. Learning from feedback: By asking how feedback is true about yourself, you open up growth opportunities and deepen connections with others.

Managing Inside Growing Companies

Lessons • 176 implied HN points • 21 Feb 23
💼 Business Growth
  1. Managers inside growing companies need to accept that change is constant, and it's important to focus on facilitating the process of finding solutions rather than having all the answers.
  2. It's okay for managers to acknowledge and accept the things they cannot control, and instead, focus on what they can control to set their team up for success.
  3. Helping people on your team grow and learn is a crucial aspect that managers can control and should prioritize in a growing company environment.

These boots are made for strappin'

Top of the Lyne • 176 implied HN points • 20 May 23
💼 Business Growth
  1. In a competitive marketplace, being a late entrant can provide advantages like already solved product-market fit and the ability to focus on differentiation.
  2. Being an outsider in the industry can offer unique perspectives, broaden market focus, and lead to unexpected advantages in customer base.
  3. Successful growth strategies for startups include setting clear goals, charging for the product to get valuable feedback, and optimizing marketing tactics for maximum impact.

⏩ Trump’s 3% growth challenge

Faster, Please! • 274 implied HN points • 25 Nov 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Growth
  1. Scott Bessent wants to boost the economy by achieving a 3% growth rate, reducing the federal budget deficit, and increasing oil production. This approach is part of a bigger plan for economic improvement.
  2. Historically, the US economy grew at over 3% after World War II, but recent growth has been slower. Bessent’s goal is to restore that higher growth rate.
  3. The challenge for Bessent and Trump is that the current US GDP growth has been a full point less than the historical average this century.

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 Growth
  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 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.

Ours

The Weasel Speaks • 137 implied HN points • 07 May 23
💼 Business Growth
  1. Delegating more than is comfortable is critical in leadership roles.
  2. Leaders should avoid the traps of 'I can do it better' mentality or helicopter management.
  3. Embrace ruthless delegation as a way to help your team grow and succeed.

Accounting Shenanigans (SMRT-US)

Guasty Winds Investment Ideas • 137 implied HN points • 12 May 23
💰 Finance Growth
  1. Revenue growth at SmartRent was driven by accounting changes, not real business growth.
  2. The increase in revenue and adjusted EBITDA is due to accounting tricks and does not impact cash earnings.
  3. Professional services revenue showed little improvement, indicating the company's challenges in profitability.