Want to grow your product fast without burning money? Here is a simple framework for that. I just call it SIM (Scalable Input Module) framework.
1. A SIM is an input unit that you can deploy to get to your output goals. For example, a sales representative (SR) is a SIM who gets you the output which is Sales or Revenue.
2. A SIM should be input and not an output. So a salesperson is a SIM but deals closed is not. A distributer is a SIM but the distribution GMV is not.
3. A SIM should be completely within your circle of control. Again an SR is a SIM as hiring one is within your circle of control. Getting featured in the App Store is not as that is not under your control.
4. A SIM should scale proportionately. If one SR gets 10K sales daily, 10 salespeople can get ~80-100K daily. If $1 spend in Facebook ads gets 10K daily, $10 spend in FB ads will not get you 80-100K (try it and see). So FB ad is not a SIM while an SR, a Lenskart store or a Swiggy hub is.
5. A SIM is replaceable. If one sales rep doesn’t work, you can replace them with another. If FB ads don’t work or if FB blocks you, you can’t replace FB.
6. A SIM should have revenue directly attributable to it. So an SR is a SIM but an Engineer is not.
7. Sometimes, a SIM can be a combination of input units. For example, one SIM could be a team of a market research person, a lead generation person, a salesperson and a closer.
8. It’s a good practice to combine both supply and demand for a SIM wherever applicable. For example, one sourcing associate and one sales rep together can constitute a SIM.
9. A SIM should be Contribution Margin positive. For example, a sales rep should generate enough margin that could pay their salary before they can be considered a SIM. A store, distributor, franchisee or a hub should be profitable for it to be a SIM.
If you can create a SIM for your product, then it’s just a matter of cloning more SIMs to grow your product. If you don’t have a SIM for your product, then there is a good chance that your growth might not be under your control. So don’t start scaling until you have identified a SIM.
SIM (Scalable Input Module) is a simple growth framework: find the input unit that produces your output goal — a sales rep produces sales — make it scalable and repeatable, then add more modules to grow without proportionally burning cash.
Grow by adding input modules whose output reliably exceeds their cost, instead of buying growth with discounts or paid spend. When each module pays for itself, scaling adds revenue faster than burn.