Erik is joined on this episode by Mike Duboe (@mduboe), investor at Greylock, Dan Hockenmaier (@danhockenmaier), of Basis One, and David Weinstein (@dw_stein), working on Special Projects at On Deck and TokenDaily.
They talk about…
* The history and different “eras” of growth as a standalone team.
* Why there’s been a shift in mindset towards growth teams, how they will change in the next 5-10 years, and why relentless optimization has backfired for some companies.
* Why you should think of user acquisition in terms of a loop rather than a funnel.
* Why onboarding is the point that determines whether a user will be retained or not.
* The fact that users acquired organically via word of mouth are much more likely to be retained than users that were acquired through paid channels.
* Why investors should ask themselves, “if you took away any non-organic acquisition, are you still excited about the business?”
* How to tell if a company’s growth is healthy and sustainable or not.
* Stories from the guests’ time working at Tilt, Thumbtack and Stitch Fix.
* The best structure for a growth team.
* Common misconceptions about growth.
Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.
Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.
Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg. Colin Campbell is our audio engineer and the show is produced by Brett Bolkowy.
