The Shift from Growth at All Costs to Emphasizing Retention

Today on the show we have Yuriy Timen, investor and advisor to companies like Airtable, Canva, and Oyster, and former Global Head of Growth & Marketing at Grammarly.

Yuriy shares his journey from leading performance marketing to building a high-impact growth product team—and why aligning these functions is crucial for retention.

We explore the challenges of balancing acquisition and retention, how to structure growth teams effectively, and why the first user session is the biggest lever for long-term retention. Yuriy also shares his perspective on when startups should truly focus on growth and how to avoid the common mistake of scaling too soon.

Tune in to learn how to break down silos, create a retention-driven growth strategy, and build a seamless user experience from acquisition to activation.

Mentioned Resources

• Grammarly 
• Coda 
• Airtable 
• Canva 
• Oyster
• Whimsical
• Intercom

Churn FM is sponsored by Vitally, the all-in-one Customer Success Platform.