The 9010 growth model

Every priority persona gets its own growth journey.

AAARRR helps your team see how a specific persona moves from recognition to acquisition, first value, retention, revenue, referral, and viral loops. The job, owner, intervention, metric, and evidence can change by persona and sector.

Work through the labs Choose a persona

The value chain

The frameworks work as one chain.

Persona names who is in the situation. JTBD names the progress they want. Theory of Change explains how your product or scalable service could cause that change. Brand creation makes the promise and proof recognizable. AAARRR measures how value is discovered, experienced, repeated, exchanged, retained, and referred.

Persona

Who it is

Name the role, sector, situation, and beneficiary.

JTBD

What they want done

Capture progress, struggle, workaround, and evidence.

Theory of Change

How change is caused

Link activities to customer and business outcomes.

Brand creation

How value is signaled

Turn promise, proof, personality, and service into trust.

AAARRR

How value scales

Measure first value, repeat value, exchange, revenue, retention, and referral.

SaaS example: an operations manager wants to prevent late projects; weekly risk reviews should reduce escalations; the brand promises calm, competent delivery; AAARRR measures the first resolved risk, repeat weekly use, subscription revenue, renewal, and a permissioned champion referral.

Choose your working depth

The standard stays high; the scaffolding changes.

Both founder paths answer the same AAARRR questions: what behavior proves each stage, what evidence supports it, who owns it, what guardrail applies, and what decision follows. The difference is where the founder starts and how much context the platform supplies.

First-time solo founder

Build one complete, evidence-backed journey without needing prior growth vocabulary.

Start here: Choose one persona, one customer situation, and one sector. Treat unknowns as research tasks, not failures.

Define every term before using it.
Work one AAARRR stage at a time.
Use a concrete event, owner, source, and next action.
Start with a small cohort you can personally observe.

Hard question: What did a real customer do or say, and what must I test next?

Concrete example: For invoicing SaaS, start with Sarah sending one accepted invoice, then measure whether she returns to bill again before designing a larger growth engine.

Seasoned second-timer

Reuse hard-won experience without letting past success hide changed assumptions.

Start here: Bring prior cohort, pricing, retention, and delivery evidence. Compare the new venture with the old one, but do not assume the same buyer or channel will behave the same way.

Skip explanations you already understand, but retain the definitions in the artifact.
Run the full chain from persona/JTBD to ToC and AAARRR.
Stress-test capacity, margin, delegation, and disconfirming evidence.
Use cohort comparisons and decision rules before scaling.

Hard question: Which prior assumption is no longer safe, and what evidence would disprove my current plan?

Concrete example: For delivery SaaS, prior logistics experience may identify the pain quickly; the new proof still needs to show that a different buyer will adopt, retain, pay, and expand the platform.

A founder may answer “unknown,” but must name the next evidence-gathering action. A polished assumption cannot pass as activation, retention, revenue, or scale proof.

Cross-stage decision module

Use the 21 tools to become raise-ready.

Raising is not a seventh AAARRR stage. It is a readiness gate across the journey: can you identify a real customer, make a fair offer, acquire and activate accounts, deliver the promise, retain value, and explain the economics and risks?

Customers

JTBD, TAM/SAM/SOM, Porter, PESTLE

Commercials

Brand, 7Ps, ToC, LTV/CAC

GTM

Story, AAA, AAARRR, loops

Operations

Blueprint, Fogg, COM-B

Retention

Cohorts, health, AAARRR

People + partners

Blueprint, 7Ps, loops

Readiness

All 21 tools + experiments

Investor test: every claim should link to a tool, evidence source, cohort or metric, owner, risk, and next action. The output is “ready for investor review,” “evidence incomplete,” or “do not raise yet”—never a promise of funding.

Open the founder readiness workshops

Persona pipeline

One shared map. Different observable proof.

For each persona, define the activation event and TTV, compare retention cohorts, connect revenue to margin and MRR or repeat purchase, then decide which referral or viral loop deserves the next experiment.

Awareness

Who should know you exist?

Build credible reach across owned, earned, and social surfaces, then connect every publication to the campaign that created it.

Example: A project-management SaaS publishes a delivery-risk guide that operations managers recognize as relevant before they visit the product.

See stage modules 02

Acquisition

How do interested people become known contacts?

Turn attention into consented leads with landing pages, forms, CRM records, campaigns, and attributable channel journeys.

Example: The operations manager downloads the guide, consents to follow-up, and books a demo with the source campaign recorded.

See stage modules 03

Activation

How does a customer reach first value?

Coordinate the first meaningful action: a demo, conversation, activation, purchase intent, event check-in, or successful handoff to a human.

Example: The team connects a live project, identifies one delivery risk, assigns an owner, and resolves it within seven days.

See stage modules 04

Retention

Why do customers stay and return?

Ground follow-up in customer knowledge, resolve issues with context, and give teams the workflows to protect customer health and time to value.

Example: The team returns weekly to review active projects, receives help when usage drops, and renews because the workflow remains useful.

See stage modules 05

Revenue

How does demand become collected, profitable revenue?

Connect offers, payment links, orders, fulfilment, margin, and customer conversations so marketing is accountable for the commercial outcome.

Example: The activated workspace converts to a paid plan whose amount, source, activation cohort, MRR, margin, and payment status are recorded.

See stage modules 06

Referral

Who brings the next customer?

Turn satisfied customers, sellers, distributors, creators, and partners into attributable growth loops with clear incentives and evidence.

Example: A champion invites another operations team and the referral link records the new workspace and incentive cost.

See stage modules 07

Viral

What makes useful growth compound?

Design a customer benefit, shared artifact, invitation, or network behavior that brings in more relevant users without trading away trust.

Example: A shared SaaS delivery dashboard helps a customer invite another team, and the invitation creates a new qualified workspace.

See stage modules

Intervention catalogue

Choose the intervention by stage, sector, product, and evidence.

9010 agents use this catalogue to recommend the right intervention for a persona and market context. The catalogue includes content, summits, webinars, field immersions, partner motions, customer support, commerce, and advocacy loops.

awarenesscontent

Category narrative and thought-leadership series

Create informed attention around the problem and the brand point of view.

Sectors: all · Products: service, software, consumer, industrial

Research signals: category confusion, weak differentiation, new market education

awarenessevent

Summit, conference, or executive roundtable

Convene the market and capture attributable stakeholder interest.

Sectors: saas, financial-services, manufacturers, agencies · Products: software, service, industrial

Research signals: high-consideration purchase, stakeholder education, ecosystem fragmentation

awarenesscontent-event

Webinar, livestream, podcast, or expert panel

Turn expertise and proof into repeatable discovery.

Sectors: all · Products: software, service, consumer

Research signals: information gap, trust requirement, remote buying motion

awarenessexperiential

Field immersion, pop-up, sampling, or community activation

Make the product tangible and collect consented local evidence.

Sectors: brands, retail, manufacturers, distributors · Products: consumer, physical-product

Research signals: low product familiarity, trial barrier, local trust network

acquisitiondemand-capture

Persona lead magnet, benchmark, calculator, or scorecard

Exchange useful value for a consented, attributable relationship.

Sectors: all · Products: software, service, consumer

Research signals: urgent job, self-diagnosis need, comparison shopping

acquisitionevent-funnel

Summit, webinar, workshop, or demo registration journey

Convert event interest into owned contacts and attendance.

Sectors: all · Products: software, service, industrial

Research signals: stakeholder group buying, education before purchase, event intent

acquisitionpartner

Partner, distributor, creator, or affiliate recruitment

Extend reach through trusted channels with clear attribution.

Sectors: brands, manufacturers, distributors, agencies · Products: consumer, physical-product, service

Research signals: distribution gap, trusted intermediary, territory expansion

acquisitionoutbound

Consent-aware CSV contact research and outreach

Create relevant conversations without losing consent, ownership, or cost visibility.

Sectors: all · Products: software, service, industrial

Research signals: named-account motion, known customer list, market research need

activationfirst-value

Demo, trial, onboarding, or first-value workshop

Move a qualified contact to a defined first-value event.

Sectors: saas, agencies, financial-services · Products: software, service

Research signals: time-to-value risk, implementation anxiety, proof request

activationexperiential

Customer immersion, sampling, test drive, or field activation

Capture participation, intent, preference, and next action in the same workflow.

Sectors: brands, retail, manufacturers, distributors · Products: consumer, physical-product

Research signals: trial barrier, usage uncertainty, retail execution gap

activationconversation

Grounded AI conversation with live human handoff

Let an agent discover intent and give a human the complete context to close.

Sectors: all · Products: software, service, consumer

Research signals: complex questions, high-value lead, need for reassurance

activationproof

Customer story, proof session, case walkthrough, or reference call

Reduce perceived risk with evidence from a comparable customer.

Sectors: all · Products: software, service, industrial

Research signals: trust gap, risk objection, peer proof request

retentionlifecycle

Customer success check-in, health review, or renewal plan

Protect customer progress, health, renewal, and time to value.

Sectors: saas, financial-services, agencies · Products: software, service

Research signals: usage decline, renewal window, unresolved outcome

retentionsupport

Grounded support, knowledge-base answer, and ticket escalation

Resolve issues consistently while preserving evidence and human escalation.

Sectors: all · Products: software, service, consumer, physical-product

Research signals: repeated question, support backlog, policy uncertainty

retentioncommunity

Customer community, office hours, user group, or member summit

Create repeat engagement and peer learning around customer progress.

Sectors: saas, personalities, agencies, brands · Products: software, service, consumer

Research signals: belonging need, peer learning, repeat-use opportunity

retentionlifecycle

Preference-based reactivation and win-back sequence

Re-enter the conversation with a relevant reason and measurable next step.

Sectors: all · Products: software, service, consumer

Research signals: inactivity, seasonal return, preference change

revenuecommerce

Offer, proposal, payment link, or subscription conversion

Make the commercial action clear, attributable, and measurable.

Sectors: all · Products: software, service, consumer, physical-product

Research signals: purchase intent, budget window, pricing question

revenuecommerce-event

Retail, distributor, live-selling, or on-site sales activation

Connect field demand to stock, order, payment, and fulfillment proof.

Sectors: brands, retail, manufacturers, distributors · Products: consumer, physical-product

Research signals: stock availability, territory opportunity, conversion gap

revenueexpansion

Upgrade, cross-sell, bundle, or account expansion campaign

Grow customer value from an evidenced next need.

Sectors: all · Products: software, service, consumer

Research signals: adjacent job, capacity increase, account maturity

revenuepartner-commerce

Partner marketplace, referral offer, or channel incentive

Make partner-sourced revenue and incentive cost visible.

Sectors: manufacturers, distributors, agencies, brands · Products: service, consumer, physical-product

Research signals: partner demand, channel margin, territory expansion

referraladvocacy

Customer advocacy, review, testimonial, or referral ask

Turn a proven customer outcome into a permissioned growth asset.

Sectors: all · Products: software, service, consumer, physical-product

Research signals: satisfaction event, measurable outcome, trust transfer

referralpartner

Distributor, reseller, creator, or implementation partner program

Scale trusted distribution with attribution, enablement, and payout rules.

Sectors: manufacturers, distributors, saas, agencies · Products: software, service, physical-product

Research signals: ecosystem leverage, implementation demand, market entry

referralcommunity-event

Customer summit, awards, showcase, or peer-learning event

Give advocates a stage and create the next wave of qualified demand.

Sectors: all · Products: software, service, consumer, industrial

Research signals: community strength, visible success, peer influence

referralviral-loop

Shareable scorecard, invite loop, or member-get-member campaign

Make a relevant customer result easy to share and attribute.

Sectors: personalities, saas, brands, agencies · Products: software, service, consumer

Research signals: share intent, network effect, identity expression