Building a Company Wide Growth Culture

SEAN ELLIS CEO / GROWTHHACKERS

BUILDING A COMPANY-WIDE GROWTH CULTURE @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

EVERYONE WANTS EXPLOSIVE GROWTH @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

BUT EXTREME COMPETITION FOR ATTENTION $160 3.5x $140 $120 US Online Ad
 $100 Spend per User $80 $60 $40 $20 $0 @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

CHANNELS IN CONSTANT FLUX James Currier @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

SOLUTION: COMPANY-WIDE GROWTH EFFORT Acquisition External Channels biz dev/ Marketing APIs Activation Promise Growth Revenue 1st Experience Team Retention Referral Ongoing Experience Product @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

GROWTH COMPANY REQUIREMENTS Broad Participation Transparent Weekly Learning Cadence @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

Broad Participation Transparent Weekly Learning Cadence @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

IDEAS FROM FULL TEAM & EXTERNAL EXPERTS External Experts Core Growth Team Drives Process Ideas Tests Results Internal Experts @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

GOAL: BUILD A LARGE BACKLOG OF IDEAS @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

FORMALIZE IDEAS IN EXPERIMENT DOC Include hypothesis, research, target lever Keep general contributor ideas simple (no ICE) @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

EXAMPLE: GROWTH IDEAS FROM DROPBOX Revenue test Retention/ Revenue test Referral test @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

Broad Participation Transparent Weekly Learning Cadence @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

GROWTH TEAM MANAGES CADENCE •Start with growth master + ad hoc team •Ad hoc team: designer, analyst, engineer, 
 ideally key execs (CEO, VP Product…) •Add dedicated growth roles as needed •Weekly test launch goals and weekly 
 growth meeting @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

WEEKLY GROWTH MEETING AGENDA •15 Min: Growth metrics, issues and opportunities •10 min: Review last week’s testing sprint •15 min: Key lessons learned from analyzed tests •15 min: Select tests for this week’s sprint •5 min: Check growth of idea backlog @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

GOAL: TEST AT HIGH TEMPO No certainty about how you will grow • Rapid testing across all vectors • Acquisition Referral Activation Revenue Retention Resurrection More testing = More discovery • @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

EXAMPLE: TWITTER INCREASED TEMPO @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

PRIORITIZE BY ICE SCORE & FOCUS AREA @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

MANAGE TESTING •Assign a project manager 
 for each test •Anyone on growth team 
 can be a project manager •Run tests with sufficient time @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

ANALYZE RESULTS Always ask why • Systematize on learning • Informs follow up tests • Revisit past programs • @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

Broad Participation Transparent Weekly Learning Cadence @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

EVERY TEST LEADS TO LEARNING Share all results with team (not just wins) • New ideas requires access to past learning • @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

EXAMPLE: PAST LEARNING LEADS TO A WIN Videos Learning: Embeds = longer sessions • Engineering solution: oEmbed 
 • (same action more embeds) Results: 41% more embeds • Slides @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

FINAL THOUGHT: FOCUS ON VALUE DELIVERY Value delivery drives sustainable growth • Help right users get value from your product • Easy to align full team around value delivery • @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers

THANK YOU! @SeanEllis @GrowthHackers