Product-Led Growth.

Product-led growth (PLG) is a go-to-market strategy in which the product is the primary vehicle for customer acquisition, conversion, and expansion. Rather than relying on sales-led outreach, PLG companies let users experience value directly through free trials, freemium tiers, or viral product mechanics — creating qualified demand from within the product.

PLG vs. Sales-Led Growth

In sales-led growth, a sales rep must intervene at every stage of the funnel. In PLG, the product handles top-of-funnel (signup), activation (aha moment), and often conversion (self-serve upgrade) without human involvement. Sales teams in PLG companies act as expansion engines for large accounts ('land and expand'), not acquisition engines.

Key PLG Metrics

Time to value (TTV) — how quickly a new user reaches the product's core value moment — is the most critical PLG metric. Supporting metrics: activation rate (% of signups who complete key onboarding steps), free-to-paid conversion rate, product qualified leads (PQLs — users who have reached activation thresholds), and net revenue retention (NRR).

Freemium Design Principles

Freemium succeeds when the free tier delivers genuine value (not a crippled demo), and the paid tier solves problems that emerge naturally as users grow. The friction between free and paid must be at the exact limit where power users feel the limitation. Freemium that is too generous delays monetisation; freemium that is too restricted drives churn before activation.