Essay
The Laziest Growth Strategy Is the Highest-Leverage One
Short answer: looking for the laziest way isn't a character flaw. It's how you find leverage: the option with the best return for the least effort. In growth, that's usually giving what you have to get what you need.
From the video:
Concede first
There's no such thing as instant users and no such thing as effortless growth. Whatever you do, you won't snap your fingers and get a bunch of users. But there are ways to get paying users quicker and easier.
The reframe
The founders who look lazy are often the ones who looked at every way of getting users and picked the one with the best return for the least effort. Don't let anyone shame you for that. Grind culture rewards hours. Markets reward the vehicle you chose. (The vehicles, graded: how to get paying users for your SaaS without ads.)
What lazy actually means
Be honest with yourself: it isn't zero work. There are terms to set and partners to pick. But lazy here means leverage. If you have something valuable, use it to the maximum through collaboration. I can get what I need by giving what I have. And if what I have is something a lot of people want, I can get a lot of what I need.
Where the leverage is right now
Everything a startup needs to grow is one rev-share collaboration away. One of mine went from "yes, I want to collaborate" to a finished collaboration with a contract and scope in 15 minutes, three of them on the platform. Don't take my word for it. Test it. (The walkthrough: how to set up a revenue-share collaboration in 15 minutes.)
Frequently asked questions
Isn't "lazy growth" just a gimmick?
Only if it means no work. It means choosing the option with the most leverage before adding effort.
What's the highest-leverage growth move for a small SaaS?
Putting your product in front of customers another product already has, on revenue share.
Does lazy mean no work?
No. There are terms to set and partners to pick. It means choosing the option with the best return for the effort, then using what you have to the maximum through collaboration.
If you want to test it, join Ordana and start collaborating.
Related reading:
- How to Get Paying Users for Your SaaS Without Ads — the options, graded.
- Why "Post More" Stopped Working for SaaS Marketing — why grind lost its leverage.
- Why the Rich Collaborate and Everyone Else Tries to Build Solo — the same idea, older.