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20Growth: Biggest Growth Lessons from Reddit and Zynga on Scaling to Millions of Users | Why, When and How To Hire Your First Growth Hires | The Biggest Mistakes Founders Make In Hiring, Onboarding and Integration for Growth Teams with Vaibhav Sahgal, VP

Oct 26, 2022

Vaibhav Sahgal, VP of Consumer Product at Reddit and former Head of Growth at Zynga, shares invaluable insights on scaling growth teams. He discusses the distinction between value connection and creation, emphasizing that growth is both an art and a science. Vaibhav advises on the right time to hire growth professionals and the common mistakes founders make in the hiring process. He also outlines his structured interview approach, highlighting the essential questions to ask and what to look for in candidates to foster an effective growth culture.

44:56

Creator website

Episode guests

Vaibhav Sahgal

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Growth = Value Connection

02:31

The Future of Social

01:00

How to Find the Right People in the Interviews?

01:37

First month at a company

02:20

Intro

4min

The Journey to Value Connection

11min

Hiring for Growth Excellence

17min

The Importance of Product Reviews in Development Process

2min

The Importance of Talent in Angel Investing and Lessons from Failure

2min

Shifting Dynamics in Social Networking: From Friend-Centric to Community-Based Interactions

3min

Evolving SEO and Growth Strategies

3min

Innovative Solutions for Business Travel and Data Management

3min

Vaibhav Sahgal is VP of Consumer Product @ Reddit where he has been for close to 5 years. Prior to his leading consumer product, Vaibhav spent 3 years as Head of Growth at Reddit. Before Reddit, Vaibhav spent an incredible 8 years at Zynga across different roles including Director of Product and GM for "Words with Friends".

In Today's Episode with Vaibhav Sahgal We Discuss:

1.) Entry into Product + Growth:

How did Vaibhav come to lead some of the best growth orgs in the world at both Reddit and Zynga?
What are 1-2 of Vaibhav's biggest takeaways from working with Mark Pincus @ Zynga?
What is the most painful growth lesson that Vaibhav learned that he is also pleased to have learned?

2.) WTF Really is "Growth":

How does Vaibhav define growth today? What is it not?
How does Vaibhav fundamentally differentiate between value connection and value creation?
Is growth an art or a science? What tactics have died a death? What remains stronger than ever?

3.) Hiring Your Growth Team:

How does Vaibhav advise founders on when is the right time to hire their first growth professionals?
Where should they sit within the org? In product? In marketing? Standalone growth team?
What are the biggest mistakes Vaibhav sees founders make when hiring their first growth hires?

4.) The Interview Process:

How does Vaibhav structure the interview process for all new growth hires? What are the steps?
What are the must-ask questions when hiring for growth? What are good answers?
How can founders use case studies and data to determine the quality of a growth candidate?

5.) The Onboarding and Integration:

What is the optimal onboarding process for all new growth hires?
What are signs in the first 3 days that a growth hire will vs will not work out?
What can leaders do to ensure growth hires are integrated with the rest of the teams?
What are the biggest mistakes founders make when onboarding growth hires?

Items Mentioned in Today's Episode:

Vaibhav's Favourite Book: Andrew Chen: The Cold Start Problem

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