Rules of Growth, Debunked

Austen Allred wrote a creative, yet somewhat link bait-y, post called Rules of Growth. I really enjoyed the rapid fire format and I think you’ll find it to be a super-fun read. Check it out and come back.

I think Austen was trying to be hyperbolic to increase virality, which is smart. But, me being me, I had to humbly refute some of his rules. :)

1. No one really cares about your product

So Apple did care about Beats headphones, the product, when it paid $2.6 billion for it? Do people shop at Whole Foods because they like high prices? Do I care if HubSpot stops releasing features and I have to spend 2 months switching away?

2. No one really cares about you

I guess define “you”–if “you” is the marketer then I agree; if “you” is the brand, then I disagree, kinda for the same reasons above.

8. The marketing tactics people complain about are the ones that work

Work sometimes or really work? Cold calling on the whole doesn’t work.

9. Everyone clicks on ads

Every data point I’ve seen shows otherwise, but I think this was just hyperbole.

12. Proxies solve any scaling problem

I don’t quite understand this one.

17. Good marketers cheat

Define cheat. I don’t think I’m cheating. Or maybe I’m not good. :)

20. The greatest companies have all grown on the backs of spam

Zappos, Amazon, Dropbox?

23. All press is good press

I’ve seen bad press damage reputation and cause massive headaches and create time sinks for execs. Ask Godaddy, Uber, or Sony about this.