Every growth lead knows the feeling.

It’s the end of the month. You’re staring at the dashboard. And there’s a $72,000 hole between where you are and where you said you’d be.

That’s the growth gap.

Let’s break down how to think about it — and what to do when it stares back at you.

Let’s break down how to think about it — and what to do when it stares back at you.

The Growth Gap

The growth gap is the difference between your target output and your expected output, typically over a week or month.

In theory, it’s just a number. In practice, it’s the thing that keeps you up at night.

If you’re a growth lead, this is your core obsession — not just growing, but closing the delta between plan and reality.

You feel it most viscerally at the end of the month. Everyone’s scrambling to ship that one last feature, push that one last ad set, pull forward that one upsell email — just to hit the number.

Because sometimes it’s not about hitting a stretch target — it’s about not shrinking.

However the growth gap should be a daily drumbeat, not a monthly surprise.

How to think about the Gap

I’ve started tracking the growth gap every 2–3 days. It forces a question: Are we pacing toward the number — or falling behind?

Without it, you’re flying blind. You won’t notice the slowdown until it’s too late to correct. With it, you stay in a proactive posture — spotting softness early and counterpunching fast.

“What gets measured gets managed” is cliché for a reason.

Once you’re tracking the gap frequently, it becomes a game. Not “How do we hit the target?” But “What would actually close the gap this week?”

That’s where the fun starts.

Brainstorming Bridges for the Gap

A friend once told me how beer category marketing works:

Turns out — most businesses work the same way. You want to close the gap? Choose your lever:

1. Get new users

• More top-of-funnel. More reach. More conversion.

• Everyone focuses here — and it’s critical.

Example: Coming up with a new channel or media buy for that month. At Superpower we launched a new referral system one month due to the gap.

But this isn’t the only lever you have access to.

2. Get existing users to buy more often

• Frequency wins. Subscriptions, bundles etc.

• If your product solves a repeatable problem, tap this.

Example: Since word-of-mouth drives a large share of our sales, we’ve launched gifting campaigns to turn happy customers into active referrers.

3. Get users to spend more per purchase

• Raise prices. Add tiers. Bundle.

• Every increase in AOV moves you closer to the number.

Example: This month, Superpower rolled out specialty panels so members can customize their blood tests beyond the $199 baseline. It deepens engagement and lifts AOV — the kind of small product move that quietly closes revenue gaps.

Too many teams chase only acquisition, ignoring the leverage in monetization or retention. But the fastest path to closing the gap isn’t always new users, sometimes it’s monetising existing ones or even coming up with a completely new offering.

Closing Thoughts

To me, the growth gap is the job.

As a growth lead, your main responsibility is simple:
Spot the gap. Build the strategy. Creatively attack.

Then next week/month do it all over again.

Until next time,

Ajay

🧠 Ajay’s Resource Bank

A few tools and collections I’ve built (or obsessively curated) over the years:

• 100+ Mental Models
  Mental shortcuts and thinking tools I’ve refined over the past decade. These have evolved as I’ve gained experience — pruned, updated, and battle-tested.

• 100+ Questions
  If you want better answers, ask better questions. These are the ones I keep returning to — for strategy, reflection, and unlocking stuck conversations.

• Startup OS
  A lightweight operating system I built for running startups. I’m currently adapting it for growth teams as I scale Superpower — thinking about publishing it soon.

• Remote Games & Activities
  Fun team-building exercises and games (many made in Canva) that actually work. Good for offsites, Zoom fatigue, or breaking the ice with distributed teams.

✅ Ajay’s “would recommend” List

These are tools and services I use personally and professionally — and recommend without hesitation:

• Athyna – Offshore Hiring Done Right
  I personally have worked with assistants overseas and built offshore teams. Most people get this wrong by assuming you have to go the lowest cost for automated work. Try hiring high quality, strategic people for a fraction of the cost instead.

• Superpower – It starts with a 100+ lab tests
  I joined Superpower as Head of Growth, but I originally came on to fix my health. In return, I got a full diagnostic panel, a tailored action plan, and ongoing support that finally gave me clarity after years of flying blind.