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Milli Sen

Community-led growth vs Product-led growth. Which is more important?

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I believe both a product and a community play a major role in the success of a business. But which should you spend more time on? Building a community or a product? I think a community weighs more in terms of the impact. What do you think?

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I think it depends. Some products are better suited to one growth strategy more than the other.
@sebastian_karges Yup. It also depends on external constraints. For example, I have an app that generates decent MRR, and is growing consistently. Despite being a healthy app, it cannot have product-led growth features in it. In the case of this app, it's a plugin that sits atop of another platform, which imposes restrictions that block my ability to implement growth features.
Milli Sen
@sebastian_karges @jgani That makes sense.
Aris Nakos
Having a community will inevitably lead to product growth or finding PMM.
Milli Sen
@aris_nakos Absolutely!
PRIYANKA MANDAL
Hey Milli, personally, I see the value in both community-led growth and product led growth. While a strong product is essential for attracting and retaining customers, a supportive community can amplify its impact and foster long term loyalty. I believe finding the right balance between the two is key. What matters most is understanding your audience and meeting their needs effectively, whether through product innovation or community engagement.
Milli Sen
@priyankamandal Agreed! 💯
Ghost Kitty
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Kayla Lafi
I think there should be a balance. Without a community, the product may go under notice. However, once that community is building you can trust the product to lead that growth. When starting out, I would focus on building awareness and trust so that your product when ready can take the lead.
Milli Sen
@kayla_lafi Yes.... exactly my thoughts.
Anastasia Liamets
Both! But I feel like the 2nd one is fuelling the 1st
Milli Sen
@anliamets Hmmm.. interesting!
Gurkaran Singh
Building a flourishing community can be like watering the roots of a tree - it nurtures sustainable growth. However, a stellar product serves as the juicy fruit enticing everyone to gather around. So, why not aim for a thriving orchard by nurturing both? It's like having the cake and eating it too!
Milli Sen
@thestarkster I love how you described it.. impressive!
Heyalbert
I'm striving to strike a balance between these two factors. Both are crucial, even with a great product, without community support, its benefits might not reach the intended audience.
Neel
Very pertinent question! This is something I've personally been struggling to figure out. However, I would tend to believe that once users start appreciating a good product it's their word of mouth that would build the community around the product and its features?