Low retention products eventually die, even if they grow really fast to begin with. Spammy invite mechanisms no longer work (invite 100 people from your contacts).
Virality requires retention and engagement. A better model for today’s world is that a viral feature is used by a % of users, used multiple times, over the course of % of users that are retained. Without engagement, no one will use the viral feature. Without retention, the number of sessions where someone uses the viral feature doesn’t happen.
That’s why the highest retention products are also the most viral.
Read Why the best way to drive viral growth to increase retention and engagement from Andrew Chen.
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When Things Are Going Well it Feels Like Users Are Pulling You
When things are going poorly it feels like you are pushing your users. Sales are harder, finding new users is harder, etc. When things are going well it feels like users are pulling you. Users are driving you to get what they need, everything feels easier.