How I Grew This

Mauricio Monico, Chief Product Officer at Wish, discusses his career journey, challenges of user acquisition, product optimization through AI, and the merging of entertainment and shopping. The hosts also answer fun questions about apps and talking to animals, and talk about Apple's innovative gardening solution using AI.

In this episode of How I Grew This, Benjamin Chemla, CEO and Co-founder of Shares, joins Mada Seghete to share practical insights for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, trading, and the startup ecosystem. They dive into the success story of the Shares platform, the differences between the startup ecosystem in Europe and the US, and the importance of attracting a supportive and committed initial user base when launching your product. Benjamin is a seasoned French serial entrepreneur and AMF-certified business angel with a remarkable track record of building cohesive teams and companies from scratch and rapidly scaling them across Europe and the US for over a decade. One of his notable ventures was the on-demand delivery platform Stuart, which secured an impressive €22 million in funding before its official launch. Eventually, the company's outstanding growth attracted the attention of La Poste, leading to its acquisition.

Erin McFarland is the Managing Director, Marketing Channels Strategy, and Personalization at JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the U.S. She is responsible for the optimization of JPMorgan’s industry-leading digital assets and marketing channels that deliver communication to more than seventy million customers. She has spent the last twenty years creating customer-first marketing strategies for national and global brands across healthcare, luxury, hospitality, and finance industries. Erin suggests diving deep into data because data is how customers talk to you, and it helps guide customer acquisition channels. Think of your company as a “caregiver” to your customers and build fault tolerance and stress testing into your technology. This way, you’re ready when they need you. To make life easy for your customers on mobile, automate recurring actions. Create seamless identity management across devices because privacy is a major concern of the modern customer. Cardless transactions are also a big trend in the financial services industry. Erin explains how it’s okay to change careers but not to burn old bridges because networks will matter during such changes. Have a role model that you identify with but don’t look to them for anything beyond inspiration for your career. You have to steer your path based on what you want to change and who it’s for using your strengths. When executing org-wide changes, Erin suggests building for the customer journey, experiencing what it would look like, and figuring out internal dependencies to navigate. Test your ideas because ideas are only assumptions until they’re proven. Erin’s final advice: A leader asking for the opinion of their team members and sharing credit where it’s due validates the team's skills and helps them feel seen. Invite diverse opinions, be curious to learn, and have the guts to pivot when data doesn’t agree with your decision.

Canva belongs to a small group of products that change how people and brands completely shirt their approach to design. Our guest today, Cameron Adams, is the Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Canva, he shares how the product was built and how it was able to disrupt the design industry. He shares what he learned from building a product that would get massive adoption after working on Google Wave, a project which Google shut down because of low Monthly Active Users. He took the unconventional approach of waiting a long time to release the product, to ensure that it would launch a product that users wouldn’t stay with. They courted the press through the power of storytelling and were able to have a big launch and sustain that growth with smaller bloggers covering the tool. More on Cameron’s story how he came to America and failed to raise the round he’d hoped for, how his other creative endeavors like DJ’ing influence his design and the difference between graphic design and business design on this episode of How I Grew This. Listen now on Apple Podcasts Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher and more.

Ian Moore is the Head of Subscription Growth at Verizon Media. Before joining Verizon Media in August 2020, he spent five years at The New York Times, where he was the Growth Media Strategy Director. As the son of a first-generation American, Ian’s educational path pointed towards medicine, but that wasn’t where he found his career passion. An Economics professor turned things around. His professor taught him about the power of persuasion. From there, Ian felt inspired to predict human behavior through incentive programs. Ian dives into the concept of codeswitching early in his career and how his mentality has changed as he’s become more confident in his abilities. He reminds us to let the work do the talking. Quality work is going to do the talking. A turning point for Ian’s career is when the CEO of the New York times shared with him some advice he'd never forget (you're going to have to tune in to hear what she said). This interaction and his experience of pioneering subscriptions at the New York Times positioned Ian as an expert in subscription growth. Hear this and how his tenure at the New York Times shaped his view on how to drive subscription growth, how he’s investing in an online company replacing physical optometry appointments, what it’s like to build consumer relationships with legacy products, and more on this episode of How I Grew This.

In this episode of How I Grew This, Lee Anne Grant, Chief Growth Officer of Babylist, joins Mada Seghete to discuss the growth and marketing strategy of Babylist, the leading digital destination for growing families. Lee Anne also shares insights on the website's founding, growth, and marketing channels, including their focus on search, social, and affiliates. With an illustrious career spanning multiple consumer companies, Lee Anne brings a wealth of expertise in partnerships, marketing, and driving cross-functional growth. Before Babylist, she was the Chief Business Officer of The Assembly, Head of Business Development and Social Impact at Brandless, and Vice President of Business Development and Sales at POPSUGAR.

In this episode of How I Grew This, Omar Seyal, Head of Product at Cambly, joins Mada Seghete to dive into the realm of product growth, customer retention, SEO, user behavior, and personal growth in the tech industry. Cambly is an English learning marketplace where students can select tens of thousands of tutors to learn and practice English. Before Cambly, Omar was the Head of Core Product at Pinterest, Co-Founder of Egomotion, and Engineering Manager at Asurion.

In this episode of How I Grew This, Farhad Massoudi, Founder and CEO of Tubi, joins Mada Seghete. They cover the success journey of Tubi, a free streaming service disrupting the industry, and its growth hack strategies involving content, viewership, and advertising. Farhad shares his journey as an entrepreneur and his approach to leveraging the power of AI in media distribution. Tubi is the leading free, premium, on-demand video streaming app. With its expansive library of films and shows, Farhad has successfully bridged the gap between Silicon Valley and Hollywood, building strong partnerships with top studios and using proprietary technology to personalize the viewing experience. Before Tubi, he was the Founder and CEO of AdRise, the largest provider of video-on-demand applications on connected devices.

Frank Hulsebosch is the Head of Digital Marketing Europe at Banco Santander. Before this role, he spent two years as a digital marketing manager in the Benelux region of Europe, also at Banco Santander. Frank was responsible for driving for Banco Santander’s Benelux region’s digital transformation, launching a new mobile home banking app, new digital onboarding journeys, and CRO programs to optimize online channels. He then moved on to lead the digital marketing strategy and performance of Santander’s Consumer Finance unit in Europe. Frank shares an honest account of his transition from a media agency to leading the Santander Benelux region’s digital transformation. He mentions that he oversold himself during the hiring process, which did enable him to get the role but led to a lot more stress further down the road as he struggled with a lack of experience in the world of mobile banking. Frank provides career advice for aspiring growth leaders: “do more.” Frank found himself completing his assigned tasks during his first internship and then always searching for more work to do. This approach significantly increased his rate of learning over that of his peers, accelerating his career. Hear more career advice along with why you should never give up when starting something new, the reason why other people don’t want you to succeed, the impact of COVID-19 on the mobile banking industry, and more on this episode of How I Grew This.

In this episode of How I Grew This, Mada Seghete is joined by Daniel Broukhim, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of FabFitFun. They explore the evolution of FabFitFun, including the company's approach to customer acquisition, influencer marketing, the importance of content creation, and the balance between mobile and web experiences. Daniel is a highly skilled Chief Executive Officer, boasting a remarkable track record in the internet industry. His visionary leadership has propelled his company, FabFitFun, to unprecedented heights, with an astounding membership base of over one million individuals worldwide. Beyond his influential role at FabFitFun, Daniel extends his expertise as an angel investor and philanthropist, actively supporting and guiding a diverse portfolio of companies. Notable among his investments and advisory roles are Cargomatic and MediaLab. For our valued listeners, we are pleased to offer a fantastic 20% discount on the FabFitFun box, featuring an exquisite selection of seasonal items. To avail of this great opportunity, simply apply the coupon code 'HOWIGREWTHIS' during the checkout process. Indulge in an assortment of premium beauty, wellness, fashion, and lifestyle products meticulously curated to elevate your experience.