PLG (Product-Led Growth): the motion where the product itself drives signup, activation , and expansion, with users self- onboarding into a free or trial tier before any sales conversation.
Figma launched its free design tier in 2016 and let designers spread it organically across teams long before any enterprise sales motion existed. By 2022 over four million users were on the platform and Adobe agreed to acquire Figma for $20 billion (later abandoned in 2023 on antitrust grounds). The deal was the highest-profile validation yet that PLG could rival enterprise sales as a path to scale.