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Growth idea action plan

Two-sided referral reward

Offer both the inviter and the invitee a meaningful reward so sharing feels generous rather than transactional.

common tacticfree budget

Why this can grow a startup

It turns users into a distribution channel by aligning incentives on both sides of the invite.

Company example

Dropbox extra storage referral

Source and metric

Source: dropbox.com

Source discovered: March 19, 2026

Referrals0-100100-1K
GrowthDex operator note

When to use it

Use this when Referrals is relevant to 0-100, 100-1K and you can run a bounded test with a free budget.

When not to use it

Do not use it as a substitute for customer evidence, a clear owner, or a measurable stop condition. Local platform rules and market behavior still need checking.

Founder checklist

  1. Read dropbox.com and identify what is directly supported.
  2. Choose one channel context: Referrals.
  3. Define the test around one observable customer behavior.
  4. Set an owner, evidence window, and stop condition before launch.

Explore the context

Advisory bridge

Apply this with an operator

Connect activation, customer value, retention, and referral into one measurable loop.

Work with Ian