Power-Law User Acquisition: Build A Scalable Growth Engine

Cohort-based Course

Learn how to build a high-growth user acquisition engine in 10 days based on real strategies from Pinterest, Meta & Descript.

Leading & teaching tech at

Meta
Pinterest
Descript
Stanford University
The Puente Project

Course overview

The shortcut to your fastest growing source of users

Your team is likely spread too thin across user acquisition channels. Some teams overspend on ads, others chase too many channels at once, and most lack a repeatable system for growth. It turns out that user growth actually has a power-law effect, meaning that a small handful of channels end up driving most of your growth.


I saw this firsthand during my 12 years of leading growth teams at companies like Meta (Facebook/Instagram), Pinterest, Indiegogo, and Descript. I learned that most teams approach user acquisition the wrong way. Here's what growth teams get wrong, and how we'll help you fix it:


❌ Most teams juggle 7+ channels without a clear scaling strategy.

✅ The fastest-growing companies get over 70% of users from just 1-2 channels. I’ll share my proprietary shortcut framework for so that you can identify the best channel categories to test first.


❌ The gold standard is 3x LTV:CAC.

✅ Channel-level ROAS never starts at 3x. You'll learn how to pitch the right early metrics so your tests get buy-in and budget.


❌ 60%+ of ad budgets are wasted on poor targeting.

✅ A single shift in conversion optimization can turn ads into a high-quality growth channel. Learn how to choose the right conversion objective (hint: it’s not always the sale).


❌ Most teams optimize product for engagement, not distribution.

✅ The best companies build acquisition loops directly into their product. You'll identify the most effective product and social flows to launch.


❌ SEO takes too long to see ROI.

✅ SEO is evolving faster than ever. You'll implement the most crucial SEO tactics to position yourself for faster results.


I've lived through these mistakes myself. Early on in my career, I brute-forced my way through them when I helped companies scale their products from their first user to hundreds of millions. As a result, I created a repeatable framework that turns 12 years of leading growth teams into a playbook for finding and scaling the most power distribution channels for any business. I've pressure tested this system as a 5x head of growth at fast-growing companies and advising dozens more startups backed by investors like a16z, Sequoia Capital, Goodwater Capital, and more.


In this 10-day program across four live sessions, I’ll teach you the exact 90-day playbook I used at Pinterest, Meta & Descript to build scalable user acquisition engines. These are the exact steps I've taken when I enter a new company to become a top performer. We'll cover:


🔹 How to focus your team’s efforts on the highest impact growth channels that will drive >70% of your users.

🔹 My proven step-by-step system for identifying and evaluating new channels, including emerging ones your competitors haven't discovered yet.

🔹 The strategy behind Meta's PLG motion to turn consumers into advertisers.

🔹 Why Descript leveraged SEO and viral loops to scale, and how you can apply this to your business.

🔹 How to test user acquisition without a massive team or budget.


You’ll leave with a tested and repeatable framework to identify and execute on at least one new acquisition channel that can drive power-law growth for your company, or identify why your current channel investments aren't working.

Who is this course for

01

Growth Operators & Managers – For ICs who want to make high-impact channel decisions and want repeatable user growth.

02

Growth Leaders – For those who own revenue or user acquisition and need to prioritize channels, scale, and prove ROI to leadership.

03

Startup Founding Operators – For founders, PMs, or marketers who need actionable strategies to find their top sources of new users.

What you’ll get out of this course

Shortcut your way to find the top fit channels for your product

Use a tested framework to quickly determine which channels, whether paid or organic, have channel-fit for your product.

Identify new emerging acquisition channels

The landscape of user acquisition channels is evolving drastically. Follow a step-by-step system to find the biggest emerging channels for your product.

Run smarter acquisition tests before overcommiting

Most teams test channels wrong. Learn how to use painted door tests and other validation tests to prove which channels work before scaling.

Set the right goals at the right levels

The 3x LTV:CAC benchmark is one sweeping metric that is hard to operationalize at the channel level. Learn the best metrics to use and optimize for at the channel, team, and company level.

Apply the 90-day growth leadership framework to outperform

Master the 90-day playbook I've used in 5x growth leadership roles to gain authority and make the case for strategic buy-in and budget.

This course includes

4 interactive live sessions

Lifetime access to course materials

17 in-depth lessons

Direct access to instructor

3 projects to apply learnings

Guided feedback & reflection

Private community of peers

Course certificate upon completion

Maven Satisfaction Guarantee

This course is backed by Maven’s guarantee. You can receive a full refund within 14 days after the course ends, provided you meet the completion criteria in our refund policy.

Course syllabus

Week 1

Mar 27—Mar 30

    Identify & Validate Your Power-Law User Growth Channels

    • Mar

      26

      Live Session 1: How the fastest growing companies find their power-law user growth

      Wed 3/2612:00 AM—2:00 AM (UTC)
    5 more items

    Test your power acquisition channels

    • Mar

      28

      Live Session 2: Test & Validate Your Channels

      Fri 3/2812:00 AM—2:00 AM (UTC)
    5 more items

Week 2

Mar 31—Apr 5

    Scale your power acquisition channels

    • Apr

      2

      Live Session 3: Scale & Optimize Your Top Growth Channels

      Wed 4/212:00 AM—2:00 AM (UTC)
    5 more items

    Your best metrics & leadership strategies to drive business growth

    • Apr

      4

      Leadership, Metrics & Selling Your Strategy

      Fri 4/412:00 AM—2:00 AM (UTC)
    5 more items

Hear it directly from previous students

        Sandy's class really helped us nail the foundational strategies to build a product that naturally aligned to organic search distribution for our B2C marketplace product. Learning from her made a huge difference for our business.
Aryan Bhadouria

Aryan Bhadouria

CEO, Founder at TeachShare
        This course changed how I thought about user growth. Sandy provides frameworks from real-world experience that you can apply immediately. Sandy's style of teaching is easy to follow, and I immediately applied her frameworks to my work.
Brandon Hadoko

Brandon Hadoko

Growth at Scale AI
        Sandy distilled the most valuable and unexpected lessons she learned throughout her career, and packaged it in a way for us to easily understand and consume. Easily one of the top courses I've taken.
Carol Moh

Carol Moh

Head of Product Growth, LOVO AI
        If you’re looking for an actionable, ready-to-implement framework to help your team scale user acquisition, Sandy's course delivers. It’s practical, insightful, and built for immediate impact.
Vineeth Sampath

Vineeth Sampath

Growth Acquisition Lead at Shopify, Descript
        Sandy has advised some of the fastest-growing companies, and it shows. The depth of her insights on acquisition is unmatched. This is the best course for anyone serious about growth.
Michael Frank

Michael Frank

Growth Advisor, Various Startups
        Sandy is one of the smartest instructors I've ever had the privilege to learn from. Her communication is to the point and she has world-class experience that translates into world-class insights. Anyone would be lucky to learn from her.
Alisa Wang

Alisa Wang

CEO, Founder at Stealth

Meet your instructor

Sandy Diao

Sandy Diao

Sandy Diao is a growth executive who has helped grow users and revenue from zero to hundreds of millions at companies like Meta, Pinterest, Indiegogo, and Descript. Diao serves as faculty at UC Berkeley and Stanford CS, is a speaker at conferences like TechCrunch Disrupt and CES, and serves on startup boards.

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Power-Law User Acquisition: Build A Scalable Growth Engine

Course schedule

3-4 hours per week

  • Starts March 25, 2025

    Four classes total, 90 minutes each

    • March 25
    • March 27
    • April 1
    • April 3
  • Tuesdays & Thursdays

    5:00 – 6:30PM US PT


  • Weekly projects (Optional)

    30 to 60 minutes per week

    Optional templates, assignments, and readings are offered to participants who want to apply learnings.

  • Private office hours (Optional)

    As needed

    During the two weeks of course, get direct access to the instructor for private 1:1 sessions to discuss your user acquisition questions.

Learning is better with cohorts

Learning is better with cohorts

Active hands-on learning

This course builds on live workshops and real examples of growth problems.

Interactive and project-based

You’ll be interacting with other learners through breakout rooms and project teams

Learn with a cohort of peers

Join a community of like-minded people who want to learn and grow alongside you

Frequently Asked Questions

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Power-Law User Acquisition: Build A Scalable Growth Engine