Systematic Growth Beats Hacks

Ankur Nagpal shares his experience with growth at Teachable, emphasizing how traditional "growth hacking" and unsystematic approaches failed, leading them to develop more structured growth methods. His perspective comes from struggling with early growth despite significant funding and team size.

Key Points:

• Initial Growth Struggles:

  • After raising $1M and having 10 people, only reached $10K monthly recurring revenue
  • Team was working harder then than they do now, but results weren't showing
  • Traditional startup advice wasn't working at desired scale

• Failed Growth Hacking Attempts:

  • Built bots to scrape competitor platforms (Udemy)
  • Attempted automated email outreach
  • These "smart" tactics backfired (accidentally emailed competitor's founder)

• What Didn't Work:

  • Following generic startup advice like "do things that don't scale"
  • Manual interventions like personally uploading content
  • One-off partnerships (hosting Y Combinator startup class)
  • Growth hacking tactics and automated solutions

• Turning Point:

  • Implemented structured growth model ("every dollar model")
  • Moved away from tactical "growth hacking" to systematic approach
  • Result: 16x growth from $10K to $160K monthly recurring revenue

• Current Success:

  • Reached $1.5M in monthly revenue
  • 80% from monthly recurring revenue ($1.1M)
  • Creators earning over $20M on platform
  • Average revenue per creator: $70/month

• Key Learning:

  • Success came from systematic approaches rather than "growth hacks"
  • Team-driven success rather than individual tactical efforts
  • Structured growth models outperform opportunistic growth attempts