Growth Roadmap Audit Filter

Use this audit to identify and remove high-effort, low-impact "growth hacks" from your roadmap. Growth is driven by amplifying product-market fit (PMF) through sustainable loops, not through aesthetic changes or one-off tactics.

1. Growth Readiness Assessment

Before adding growth initiatives to the roadmap, verify the foundation:

• Product-Market Fit (PMF): Ensure you have solid retention and a high "disappointment score" (users would be very disappointed without the product).
• Data Volume: Only hire a growth team or run high-velocity A/B tests if you have enough user volume to reach statistical significance within 30 days.
• Strategic Owner: For early-stage companies (under $1M–$5M ARR), growth must be founder-led. Do not outsource the discovery of distribution to a new hire.

2. The "Stop Doing" Filter

Remove or deprioritize the following items if they appear on your roadmap:

• Rebrands/Home Page Redesigns for Growth: Redesigns almost always cause an immediate performance hit. If you must redesign for brand positioning, model a 3–6 month recovery and optimization period.
• Blatant Competitor Copying: Copying a competitor's onboarding or pricing page fails because you lack their context, data, and user segments. Use competition for inspiration, but never skip your own user research.
• Third-Party Auth for Acquisition: Adding Google, Microsoft, or Slack login options is a UX convenience, not a growth lever. It rarely drives incremental signups.
• Color Optimizations: Do not test button colors or shades of blue. Choose an accessible brand color and move on.
• One-Email Wonders: Stop spending hours on a single one-off email. Growth requires a communication series and lifecycle strategy.
• "Simplifying" for the sake of it: Only remove steps if they cause documented cognitive friction. Removing necessary education or setup steps often hurts downstream activation.