20Growth: Top Five Growth Lessons Scaling Stitchfix to IPO, How to Master the Art of Paid Marketing, Why CAC/LTV is a BS Metric & How To Use Payback Period as an Alternative to CAC/LTV with Mike Duboe, Partner @ Greylock
Mike Duboe, a Partner at Greylock and former growth leader at Stitch Fix, shares his journey from consulting to transformative growth roles. He discusses the crucial factors of building effective growth teams, emphasizing the importance of data, experimentation, and hiring strategies. Mike proposes shifting from CAC/LTV metrics to using payback periods for better insights. He also explores the balance between organic and paid marketing, advocating for innovative approaches like growth loops and referral programs to enhance user acquisition.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Mike's Path to Stitch Fix
Mike Duboe's journey into growth started with a background in engineering and consulting.
His experiences at Kitchit and Tilt led him to become the first growth hire at Stitch Fix.
insights INSIGHT
Growth Lessons from Stitch Fix
Define the right objective function for growth, considering the interplay of acquisition and retention.
Focus on incrementality in paid marketing, avoiding false precision from attribution models.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Defining the Growth Team's Role
Define "growth team" as responsible for accelerating learning and engineering growth systems.
Focus on a holistic view of growth, not just individual metrics.
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Mike Duboe is a Partner @ Greylock where he sits on the board of Builder, Inventa, Novi, Pepper, Postscript. Prior to entering the world of venture, Mike was the first in-house growth hire at Stitch Fix, where he built and led the Growth organization helping take the company through to their IPO. Before Stitchfix, Mike was the first growth hire at Tilt, where he built and oversaw multiple teams, including analytics, marketing, community, and growth product. He also served on YC’s growth advisory council and was a growth lecturer at Reforge.
In Today's Episode with Mike Duboe We Discuss:
1.) Entry into the World of Growth:
How Mike made his way from consulting at Bain to leading the growth team for Stitchfix?
What did Mike believe about growth 5 years ago that he no longer believes?
What does Mike know now that he wishes he had known when he entered the world of growth?
2.) When and Who To Hire:
How does Mike define the term "growth team"? What is their core role and responsibility?
Should the first growth hire be a senior growth lead or a more junior analytical lead?
What data foundations should founders have in place prior to their growth hire joining?
What are the most common ways founders fail to prepare for their first growth hires joining?
When does Mike believe is the right and crucial time for growth hires to be made?
Should these growth hires join existing teams or be put in standalone "growth teams"?
3.) The Hiring Process: How to Detect and Win the Best:
How should founders structure the interview process for their first growth hires?
What are the best questions to ask to reveal the quality of a potential growth hire?
What are the right case studies and tests to do to assertain their quality?
What are the different levels of comp package for different growth execs?
What are the single biggest mistakes founders make in the hiring process?
4.) Mastering Paid Marketing: Lessons from Stitchfix:
Why is CAC/LTV a BS metric? What should be used instead?
When is the right time to start really engaging with paid marketing?
How should marketing and growth teams determine budget on a per channel basis?
How much is the right mix between paid vs organic?
What are Mike's biggest lessons from making paid work so well at Stitchfix?
What are the single biggest mistakes Mike sees founders make today with paid marketing?
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