GEM Prioritization (Growth, Engagement, Monetization)

Force rank Growth, Engagement, and Monetization to align your organization on priorities

Gibson Biddle
The art of product strategy and prioritization

GEM Prioritization (Growth, Engagement, Monetization)

"I got them in a room and I said, 'Listen, I just need you to force rank these three factors for me: growth, engagement, and monetization. And I need the two of you to agree.'" - Gibson Biddle

What It Is

GEM Prioritization is a framework for creating fundamental alignment within an organization by forcing leaders to stack-rank three competing priorities: Growth, Engagement, and Monetization. Developed by Gibson Biddle when he joined Chegg as VP of Product, the framework addresses what he calls "the number one source of misalignment" at startups.

The three factors represent fundamentally different ways to invest resources:

  • Growth: Customer acquisition, year-over-year user growth, market expansion
  • Engagement: Product quality, user experience, retention—a proxy for building a better product
  • Monetization: Revenue generation, pricing strategy, turning customers into a business

Without explicit alignment on the priority order, different leaders will optimize for different goals, creating organizational friction and wasted effort.

How It Works

The Chegg Origin Story

When Biddle joined Chegg in 2010, he immediately faced conflicting direction:

  • CEO Dan: "Grow, baby. Grow. The most important thing we can do as a startup is grow."
  • CFO Greg: "Slow, slow, slow. We actually don't know if we have a business model that works."

Both were right from their perspectives. The problem wasn't their logic—it was that nobody had decided which priority came first.

Biddle put them in a room and asked them to force rank: G, E, or M first?

  • Dan said: "Growth, Engagement, Monetization"
  • Greg said: "Monetization, Engagement, Growth" (exact opposite)

He gave them two hours to fight it out. They agreed on: Growth first, Engagement second, Monetization third.

The Aftermath

Two months later, Greg started pushing back again: "No, no, no, we need to slow down." At that point, Greg left the company. As Biddle notes: "These are the kinds of fundamental misalignments that can wreck startups. I'm not saying that one or the other was right or wrong, but as leaders in the organization, we've got to get some of the basic stories straight."

Defining the Metrics

Once you've ranked G, E, M, you need to define how you'll measure each:

Factor What It Measures Example Metrics
Growth Customer acquisition rate YoY customer growth %, new user signups
Engagement Product quality / stickiness Monthly retention, DAU/MAU ratio, NPS
Monetization Business economics Revenue, ARPU, LTV, unit economics

The hardest conversation is often: "What is our engagement metric?" At Netflix, it was monthly retention. At Chegg, it might be homework completion rate.

How to Apply It

  1. Start with a SWAG (Stupid Wild-Ass Guess): Don't walk into the alignment conversation empty-handed. Develop your own point of view on the right ranking first.

  2. Get executive alignment: Bring together the CEO, CFO, CPO, and any other leaders who might have different priorities. Ask them to independently rank G, E, M.

  3. Surface disagreements: If rankings differ, that's the point. Have the conversation. This is better than letting misalignment fester for months.

  4. Document the decision: Make the priority order explicit and communicate it across the organization. Everyone should know whether you're optimizing for growth or margin right now.

  5. Revisit periodically: Startups naturally flip between growth and engagement. "Grow faster, build a better product. Grow faster, build a better product." The ranking may change, but everyone should know when it does.

  6. Use it for tiebreakers: When debating features or initiatives, ask: "Does this serve our #1 priority (Growth)? If not, does it serve #2 (Engagement)?" This provides clear decision criteria.

When to Use It

  • At company founding: Align co-founders before misalignment becomes cultural
  • When joining a new company: Within two weeks, develop your hypothesis and test it with leaders
  • During strategic planning: Reset the ranking as market conditions change
  • When facing resource constraints: Use the ranking to cut projects that serve lower priorities
  • When you sense organizational friction: Misalignment on GEM is often the root cause

Common Patterns by Stage

Stage Typical Ranking Rationale
Pre-PMF E > G > M Build something people love first
Post-PMF, Pre-scale G > E > M Capture market while you can
Growth stage G > M > E Grow efficiently, don't over-invest in product
Mature M > E > G Optimize economics, maintain quality

Note: These are patterns, not rules. Your specific context may differ.

Source

  • Guest: Gibson Biddle
  • Episode: "The art of product strategy and prioritization"
  • Key Discussion: (43:39-47:07) - Introduction of the JAM/GEM prioritization framework with Chegg story
  • YouTube: Watch on YouTube

Related Frameworks

Back to Product Strategy