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20 Growth: Why Retention Defines Product Market Fit, What is Good Retention Levels Today, The Most Counterintuitive Elements of Product and Growth & Why So Many Startups Mess Up Hiring For Growth Teams with Brian Hale, Head of Consumer Product & Growth @

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Apr 6, 2022

Brian Hale, Vice President of Consumer Product & Growth at DoorDash, shares insightful strategies from his extensive experience at Facebook. He discusses the crucial timing for startups to hire growth leads and how to accurately assess product-market fit through retention metrics. Brian delves into the common hiring mistakes startups make and outlines vital interview questions for growth team candidates. He also challenges popular myths about user retention, emphasizing sustainable growth over quick tricks.

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ANECDOTE

Unconventional Career Start

Brian Hale's career began unconventionally at 17, landing a job at ACDSee through a humorous resume.
His resume listed exaggerated technical titles for ordinary jobs, which amused the hiring manager.

INSIGHT

Facebook's Growth Team Innovation

Facebook's key innovations weren't just product-focused but also organizational, like the growth team structure.
The growth team's product is a metric, not pixels, giving them freedom to work on anything that moves the needle.

ADVICE

Prioritize Retention over Growth Teams

Don't create a Facebook-style growth team until you achieve product-market fit, which is defined by retention.
Focus on retention first; without it, increased marketing efforts are like pouring water into a leaky bucket.

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Brian Hale is Vice President of Consumer Product & Growth @ Doordash. Before joining Doordash, Brian spent an incredible 10 years at Facebook, most recently as VP of Product Growth working across Instagram, Messenger, Whatsapp and more. Prior to Facebook, Brian was Director of Growth @ Uptake.com and it all started for Brian in 1999 working at ACDSee in Canada where he was asked to “figure out that search engine thing”.

In Today’s Episode with Brian Hale You Will Learn:

1.) Brian Hale: Entry into Growth:

How Brian made his way into the world of growth from being a "marine ceramic engineer"?
What were 1-2 of his biggest takeaways from his 10-year journey with Facebook?
What are 1-2 of the biggest misconceptions about the Facebook growth team?

2.) When is the Right Time:

When is the right time for startups to hire their first growth leads or reps?
How should the founder allocate resources to the growth team? Hire new designers, engineers etc for the team or pluck them from existing teams within the company?
What are the biggest mistakes startups make on the timing of this hire?
How can startups accurately assess whether they have product-market-fit?
What levels of retention suggest PMF? How does this change by industry?

3.) Who To Hire:

Step by step, how does Brian structure the interview process for all new growth hires?
What are the must-ask questions for growth leaders to ask candidates in interviews?
What are the clear signs and answers that suggest a 10x growth hire? How do the very best interact with data? What do they really hone in on?
What literal tests does Brian do to determine the quality of a hire? How do the best perform?

4.) Onboarding and Integration:

What is the optimal onboarding process for all new growth hires?
What can leaders do to set their new growth teams up for success?
What are the biggest ways new growth hires can mess up in the first 60 days?
What have been some of the biggest challenges for Brian in his onboarding at Doordash?