Watch
Investment loops 1:04
A 64-second explainer of Investment loops, narrated over the same demo you can try yourself.
Try the interactive Investment loops demo
What this video covers
Investment loops are the part of a habit-forming product where the user puts something in - data, content, effort, social connections - that makes the product more valuable to them and loads the next reason to return. Each bit of investment stores value and sets up the next trigger, so the loop pulls people back over time.
Each thing you put in - a follow, a saved item, a tweak - made the product fit you a little better and gave you a reason to come back. That's an investment loop: stored value that compounds and quietly raises the cost of leaving. It's powerful and often genuinely good for the user - but the honest test is whether the effort you're asking for improves their experience, or just locks them in.
