How do you scale your mobile game beyond 1 million players? Anyone can start a game or an app and get a certain amount of growth. But scaling is hard: you need to find more players, sure, but you also need to expand beyond your initial niche. And you probably have to start paying attention to what your competitors are doing. In this episode of Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier talks with Sven Jurgens, an independent mobile games consultant, about the challenges and strategies for scaling mobile games beyond 1 million players. Sven shares his journey into growth marketing, the importance of focusing on successful creatives, managing ad partners, handling cash flow, and optimizing monetization. He also discusses the significance of automation, getting smarter with data, and the impact of AI in user-generated content. The conversation concludes with actionable insights on competitor analysis and core marketing strategies. Tune in for practical advice and expert tips to take your game's growth to the next level. 00:00 Introduction to Growth Masterminds 01:37 Journey into Growth Marketing 03:55 Challenges of Scaling: Creative Strategies 09:20 Ad Partners and Scaling 11:39 Financial Challenges in Scaling 13:52 Monetization and Data Utilization 15:39 Tools and Automation in Scaling 18:23 Automate the Boring Stuff 19:04 Building Small Tools for Efficiency 20:37 Competitor Analysis Strategies 25:04 Getting Smarter About Data 28:53 Winning Strategies and Trends 32:55 Reviving Old School Marketing 35:35 Conclusion and Final Thoughts