Based on 272 dated milestones
What's Working Now
Growth channel trends from 2020+ compared to earlier years. See which strategies are rising and which are declining in effectiveness.
2
Rising Growth Channels
3
Declining Growth Channels
2
Stable Growth Channels
94%
Data Coverage
Key Finding
Twitter / X usage is up +30.8% since 2020, while SEO / Content is down -22.2%. The founder playbook is shifting.
Rising Channels
These channels are becoming more popular and effective
Declining Channels
These channels are less popular than before (but may still work)
All Channels Comparison
Complete breakdown of channel trends
| Growth Channel | Trend | Pre-2020 | 2020+ | Change | Average Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twitter / X | ▲ Rising | 10.1% | 40.9% | +30.8% | 1 year | View → |
| Product Hunt | ▲ Rising | 6.7% | 12.9% | +6.2% | 2 years | View → |
| Paid Ads | → Stable | 2.8% | 4.3% | +1.5% | 2 years | View → |
| Cold Outreach | → Stable | 2.2% | 3.2% | +1% | 2 years | View → |
| Communities | ↘ Slowing | 24% | 20.4% | -3.6% | 2 years | View → |
| Word of Mouth | ▼ Declining | 19% | 6.5% | -12.5% | 4 years | View → |
| SEO / Content | ▼ Declining | 33% | 10.8% | -22.2% | 4 years | View → |
How We Calculate Trends
We compare the share of stories using each growth channel in recent years (2020+) versus older years. A channel is "rising" if its share increased by 5%+ points, and "declining" if it decreased by 5%+ points.
Data quality: 272 of 288 stories (94%) have dated milestones. Trends are directional indicators, not guarantees of future success.