The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

20Growth: When To Make Your First Growth Hire? How To Structure the Hiring Process for Growth? Five Core Things the Best Growth Hires Do in the First Week? What to Expect New Growth Hires to Achieve in the First 30 and 90 Days with Hila Qu, Growth Advisor

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Jan 18, 2023

Hila Qu, a growth advisor with a rich background at Acorns and GitLab, shares her expertise in building high-performing growth teams. She discusses the right moment for startups to hire their first growth employee and emphasizes the importance of data analysts in that role. Hila contrasts B2B and B2C growth strategies and shares critical elements of crafting job descriptions that attract top candidates. Additionally, she outlines what new growth hires should achieve in their first month, focusing on establishing a growth culture and using key performance indicators.

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ANECDOTE

Hila's Path to Growth

Hila Qu, with a biology background, transitioned into growth after realizing data analysis alone wasn't impactful.
Early growth roles at growthhackers.com, Acorns, and GitLab shaped her expertise.

ADVICE

Layering Growth Channels

Layer multiple growth channels, starting with a strong foundation.
Diversify into paid advertising, referrals, and new product lines to expand reach.

ADVICE

Facebook Ad Optimization

Conduct daily stand-ups to track progress and maintain focus.
Utilize cross-functional teams, data analysis, and creative ad testing for Facebook ad optimization.

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Hila Qu is one of the leading growth execs of the last decade. Hila helped scale Acorns from 1 million to 5 million users as their VP of growth. Hila then joined GitLab, where she launched their PLG motion (on top of an established sales motion), and built their first-ever growth team. Today Hila is an advisor to amazing companies like Replit and funds like Mucker Capital, Openview and First Round Capital.

In Today's Episode with Hila Qu We Discuss:

1.) From Biology and Explosions to Growth:

How Hila made her way into the world of growth with growthhackers.com?
What are 1-2 of the biggest takeaways from her time with Acorns and Gitlab?
How do B2B growth orgs compare to B2C growth orgs? What is different? What is the same?

2.) WTF is Growth? When? How & Why:

How does Hila define growth today? What is it not?
When is the right time for early-stage founders to hire their first growth hire?
Why does Hila always look for data analysts in this first growth hire?
From a data standpoint, what should founders have ready and accessible for their first growth hire to have access to and learn from? Is Google Analytics enough?

3.) Hiring Your First Growth Hire:

How should early-stage founders structure the hiring process for the first growth hire?
What do the best growth job descriptions include? What do they not include?
Once applications are in, how does Hila advise founders screen for the best candidates?
How should founders structure the interview process post-screening? What are the must-ask questions? Who is involved in the interview process? What are some red flags?

4.) The Master of Onboarding:

What should new growth hires want to achieve in the first week?
What should they want to complete in the first month?
In the first quarter, what do the best candidates have completed?
What can founders do to set their growth hires up for success in the best way at this time?

5.) Growth Models, North Stars, Activation and Onboarding and Key KPIs:

What really is a growth model? How do founders and growth teams create one?
How does Hila advise founders on how to pick the right North Star Metric to focus on?
Why are activation and conversion Hila's two favorite growth metrics?
What are growth loops? What are growth funnels? How do they work together?