How to sequence your growth squads

Don’t get cute with the Growth team order. Build them in the right sequence.

Your company decided to invest in Growth.

Let’s say you’ve won the budget battle, earned leadership buy-in, and secured headcount. Now what?

Most companies start by dabbling - running a few experiments or asking a solo PM to “own a metric” (check out my post on six rules of hiring for growth that answers the question of “When is the right time to hire my first full-time growth person?” And “What should I look for when hiring for growth?”) That’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking fully staffed, cross-functional squads built to move key Growth levers.

And here’s the real unlock: the order matters.

Growth typically breaks down into four focus areas: activation, monetization, acquisition, and retention. Build in the wrong sequence, and you’ll end up chasing outcomes you can’t actually influence, while the biggest opportunities go untouched.

And the order should go something like this: