Business Models

Product-Led Growth (PLG)

A go-to-market strategy where the product itself is the primary driver of user acquisition, conversion, and expansion.

In product-led growth, users discover, try, and decide to pay for a product with minimal or no involvement from a sales team. The product does the selling. This typically involves a free tier or trial that delivers genuine value before asking for payment. PLG lowers CAC dramatically because marketing spend drives signups, not deals, and conversion happens in-product rather than through sales calls. The mechanics of PLG rely on a clear activation moment, a compelling free-to-paid upgrade trigger, and built-in virality through collaboration features or sharing. PLG companies often run sales teams in parallel, but those teams focus on already-engaged accounts rather than cold outreach. This model compresses the sales cycle and produces more efficient growth at scale.