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20Growth: How Revolut Acquired Their First 10M Users: Tips, Tactics and Strategies From the Revolut Product & Growth Playbook with Val Scholz, Former Head of Growth @ Revolut

Jun 21, 2024

Val Scholz, former Head of Growth at Revolut, shares insights on scaling to 10M users, growth playbook secrets, product marketing strategies, and effective growth hires. Topics include referrals, content marketing, YouTube influencers, traditional marketing vs. product-led growth, and building a data-driven culture.

53:33

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Episode guests

Val Scholz

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Quick takeaways

Identifying niche markets like Poland allowed Revolut to raise funds, improve products, and expand team for growth.

Revolut focused on excelling in one core area, with 90% customer acquisitions through referrals, optimizing user journeys.

Optimizing referral processes, like reducing time from onboarding to referral, drove growth through word-of-mouth marketing.

Centralizing data for audience segmentation and personalized insights enabled Revolut to optimize growth strategies.

Deep dives

Finding Niche Markets for Growth

Identifying niche or uncompetitive markets like Poland allowed Revolut to focus on growth by raising more funds, improving products, and expanding their team. By understanding market segments, defining unique insights, and building products with minimal competition, companies can excel and drive rapid growth.

Innovate to Captivate

01:26

Hiring for Attitude and Mindset

01:26

Focus on Doing One Thing Well in Growth

01:18

Build Value, Not Just Volume

01:25

Intro

4min

Journey into Growth Strategies at Revolut

10min

Strategies for Making YouTube Influencers Successful and Analyzing User Cohorts

3min

Scalable Marketing Strategies and Growth Hiring

20min

Building a Data-Driven Culture for Rapid Growth

11min

Impressive Growth Strategy of NewBank in the Brazilian Market

2min

Tips on Short-Form Video, Collaborative Design, and Streamlining CSV Imports for Businesses

3min

Val Scholz is the former Head of Growth @ Revolut, where he led the company to their first 10M users. Post Revolut, Val played a crucial role in scaling several high-growth companies including VEED, Simple & Busuu (exited for $400M). Today, Val is the Head of Growth at Kittl, an intuitive design platform empowering graphic designers.

In Today’s Episode with Val Scholz We Discuss:

Lessons from Scaling Revolut to 10M Users

What were Val’s biggest takeaways during his time at Revolut?
What does Val consider the secret sauce behind Revolut’s success?
What did Val think Revolut understood about customers that no other bank did?

The Secrets to Revolut’s Growth Playbook

What was Val’s best growth decision? What was his worst?
Why does Val think most companies don’t do referrals well?
What made Revolut’s signup strategy so successful?
What are Val’s two ways to master content marketing?
Does Val think it’s good to diversify growth channels? When should founders diversify?
What are Val’s strategies to make Youtube influencers successful?

Product Marketing 101:

Why does Val think traditional marketing methods are outdated?
If traditional marketing methods are outdated, what should startups do instead?
What does Val think is the most dangerous myth around product-led growth?
What does Val believe are the most common mistakes founders make on optimizing products?

Growth Hires: Who, What, When & How

When does Val think is the best time to hire a head of growth?
What is the profile Val looks for in a growth hire? What traits does he look for?
What are the most common reasons founders fail at hiring?
What does Val think are the biggest red flags to look out for in a CV?
How does Val define good culture? Did Revolut have a good culture?

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