P1-02 Referral Engine + Embeddable Widget
Per-user referral links, configurable rewards, embeddable in-app widget.
Scoring Card
Section titled “Scoring Card”| Dimension | Score | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Pain | 5/5 | Every SaaS team wants referrals; building them is a nightmare |
| Revenue | 5/5 | Direct revenue driver — referral customers convert 3–5x better |
| Build | 4/5 | Moderate complexity — link tracking, fraud detection, widget |
| Moat | 4/5 | Integration with contact graph and email creates strong lock-in |
| Total | 18/20 |
Classification
Section titled “Classification”The Pain It Kills
Section titled “The Pain It Kills”“Built referrals on Google Sheet + Zapier + Stripe webhook. Took 3 weeks. Breaks every billing change.”
“We pay Cello $200/mo for a referral widget that has zero connection to our email tool or user data.”
- Referral tools cost $49–$1,000/mo and are completely disconnected from the rest of the growth stack.
- In-app referral widgets increase activation by 400% compared to external referral portals.
- DIY solutions with Zapier/Sheets break constantly and have no fraud prevention.
- Referral data never flows back into the contact record, making attribution impossible.
What It Does
Section titled “What It Does”- Unique referral link per contact — generated automatically on signup or on demand.
- Configurable reward tiers — credits, discounts, free months, custom webhook rewards.
- Embeddable Web Component —
<growthOS-referral>drops into any app with one line of HTML. - Tracking dashboard — full referral funnel from share → click → signup → conversion.
- Conversion tracking — attribute signups and payments to the referring contact.
- Basic fraud prevention — self-referral detection, IP duplicate detection, velocity limits.
Competition & What We Replace
Section titled “Competition & What We Replace”| Tool | Pricing | Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Cello | $49–$200/mo | Referral only, no contact graph or email integration |
| ReferralHero | $49–$499/mo | Single-purpose, no lifecycle automation |
| Rewardful | $49–$299/mo | Stripe-only, no in-app widget |
| Viral Loops | $35–$240/mo | Campaign-focused, no product integration |
All four are single-purpose tools with no connection to email sequences, surveys, or contact data. GrowthOS replaces them and connects referrals to the entire growth stack.
Moat & Defensibility
Section titled “Moat & Defensibility”Integration is the moat (4/5).
- Referral data flows into the Contact Graph — every referred contact is enriched with source attribution.
- Referral events trigger Email Sequences — automated nudges, reward notifications, re-engagement.
- NPS promoters (score ≥ 9) from Surveys auto-receive referral invites — closing the loop between satisfaction and advocacy.
This integration is impossible with standalone referral tools.
Interoperability Advantage
Section titled “Interoperability Advantage”What Ships
Section titled “What Ships”- Unique referral link per contact — auto-generated, shareable
- Configurable rewards — credits, discounts, free months, custom webhooks
<growthOS-referral>Web Component — embeddable in any app- SDK integration —
growthOS.referral.getLink(),growthOS.referral.track() - Dashboard with funnel — shares → clicks → signups → conversions
- Server-side tracking — reliable attribution even with ad blockers
- Fraud detection — self-referral blocking, IP duplicate detection, velocity limits
What Does NOT Ship
Section titled “What Does NOT Ship”- Tiered rewards (escalating rewards for multiple referrals) — Phase 2
- Automated Stripe payout — Phase 2
- Leaderboard (public referral rankings) — Phase 2
- Double-sided different-type rewards (e.g., referrer gets credits, referee gets discount)
Build vs Buy
Section titled “Build vs Buy”BUILD.
No adequate open-source solution exists with multi-tenancy + embeddable widgets + integrated event emission. The referral engine must be a native module that speaks the same event language as every other GrowthOS feature.
Estimated effort: 3–4 weeks.
Dependencies
Section titled “Dependencies”| Dependency | Why |
|---|---|
| Contact Graph (P1-01) | Every referral link is tied to a contact record. New referrals create contacts automatically. |