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Every company wants growth, but not everyone knows how to make it happen.
In today’s episode, Hila Qu breaks down the secrets of building a growth model that can optimize metrics and also unlock untapped potential.
Hila is a growth expert who has led success at Acorns and GitLab. She’s also been an EIR at Reforge and was the First PM of Growth at Growth Hackers. She has over a decade of experience in product-led growth.
In this episode, we discuss:
Building Growth Models | 07:24
Exploring the Growth Full Funnel Audit | 35:48
Growth Tool Stacks | 57:38
Growth PM v/s Core PM | 01:11:59
Why are Growth Leadership tenures short? | 01:14:32
Conducting Career Experiments | 01:20:16
Approach to Job Search | 01:29:38
Here are the Key Takeaways
Here were my favorite lessons from our conversation:
1. Growth Models Are Critical for Scaling
Building a growth model is the foundation for any growth strategy. Before jumping into experiments or optimizing metrics, companies must clearly define what they are trying to grow.
Without clarity on this, efforts can easily go to waste.
A well-structured growth model breaks down the key success metrics and identifies the highest leverage points to focus on. This ensures that efforts are directed towards the areas with the biggest impact.
2. Metrics Can Drive Short-Term Thinking
While metrics are essential for tracking progress, they can incentivize teams to focus on short-term results over long-term customer value.
Instead, growth leaders should balance short-term and long-term initiatives.
This will direct focus towards customer value and experience rather than just hitting metrics.
3. Building the Right Growth Tool Stack
A well-integrated tool stack allows teams to drive growth experiments, iterate faster and make data-driven decisions. Companies need tools that centralize customer data, track user behavior, and enable seamless experimentation.
From a PLG point of view, startups should prioritize investing in:
A product analytics tool (such as, PostHog, Amplitude)
A lifecycle marketing tool (such as, Marketo, Hubspot, Customer.io)
A data-enrichment tool (such as, Apollo, Clay)
4. AI's Impact on Growth and Product Management
AI products often experience easier acquisition but struggle with activation and retention. The initial hype can lead to a "letdown moment" if the product doesn't meet high user expectations.
Growth strategies for AI products need to:
Focus on faster iteration cycles to keep up with rapidly evolving AI capabilities
Clearly demonstrate value propositions to combat the "AI tourist" phenomenon
Compete not just with other AI-first products, but also with established products adding AI features
Check out the full episode for more details!
Referenced
Hila’s favorite book: Anxious Generation
Hila’s favorite newsletter: Lenny’s newsletter
Hila new favorite product: Perplexity
Where to find Hila
Maven: Her latest PLG course is starting on 10/29
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Up Next
We have some great podcasts coming from George Harter, Maria Cuasay, and Shobhit Chugh. I’m so excited to share them with all of you.
In the newsletter, check out this week’s latest piece if you haven’t yet: What Your Biggest Weakness Really Is.
Look out for these pieces up next:
How to Rock Your Annual Planning to Come Out Ahead Instead of Exhausted
The Multiplayer Lever: How to Drive Product-Led Acquisition and Expansion
Full Guide: Estimation Questions
I think you’re going to love them,
Aakash