Phil Carter

is that the product itself has become the most valuable asset, powering the growth of many tech companies. And I think that's particularly true for a lot of consumer products because a lot of them don't have sales teams.

And so when we talk about growth, fundamentally, we're talking about how do you accelerate your ability to get your product into the hands of more users faster and have those users understand why that value matters to them and why it will make their lives better. That's what's ultimately going to lead to higher conversion rates, better retention, better monetization over time.

And so when we talk about growth, fundamentally, we're talking about how do you accelerate your ability to get your product into the hands of more users faster and have those users understand why that value matters to them and why it will make their lives better. That's what's ultimately going to lead to higher conversion rates, better retention, better monetization over time.

And so when we talk about growth, fundamentally, we're talking about how do you accelerate your ability to get your product into the hands of more users faster and have those users understand why that value matters to them and why it will make their lives better. That's what's ultimately going to lead to higher conversion rates, better retention, better monetization over time.

But the way that looks is very different across different companies and products.

But the way that looks is very different across different companies and products.

But the way that looks is very different across different companies and products.

Sure. I think this really comes down to understanding from a first principles perspective, what is driving the growth of your business. And I think the mistake that a lot of founding teams make, especially now that growth has become such a buzzword, and a lot of VCs will tell their companies, Understandably so. Like, hey, you need to hire a growth leader because growth is important.

Sure. I think this really comes down to understanding from a first principles perspective, what is driving the growth of your business. And I think the mistake that a lot of founding teams make, especially now that growth has become such a buzzword, and a lot of VCs will tell their companies, Understandably so. Like, hey, you need to hire a growth leader because growth is important.

Sure. I think this really comes down to understanding from a first principles perspective, what is driving the growth of your business. And I think the mistake that a lot of founding teams make, especially now that growth has become such a buzzword, and a lot of VCs will tell their companies, Understandably so. Like, hey, you need to hire a growth leader because growth is important.

And teams with great growth teams have a lot more success, which isn't wrong. But before you do that, you need to understand, okay, for my company and my product and my target customer, what is going to maximize the growth of the business? And I can speak to Quizlet, where I spent almost 4 years leading user growth and ultimately subscriptions as well.

And teams with great growth teams have a lot more success, which isn't wrong. But before you do that, you need to understand, okay, for my company and my product and my target customer, what is going to maximize the growth of the business? And I can speak to Quizlet, where I spent almost 4 years leading user growth and ultimately subscriptions as well.

And teams with great growth teams have a lot more success, which isn't wrong. But before you do that, you need to understand, okay, for my company and my product and my target customer, what is going to maximize the growth of the business? And I can speak to Quizlet, where I spent almost 4 years leading user growth and ultimately subscriptions as well.

At Quizlet, this was an education product that for years grew through a combination of word of mouth between teachers and their students and between students and their classmates. And then at some point, it hit this tipping point where all of the content that Quizlet had created originally as a digital flashcards app

At Quizlet, this was an education product that for years grew through a combination of word of mouth between teachers and their students and between students and their classmates. And then at some point, it hit this tipping point where all of the content that Quizlet had created originally as a digital flashcards app

At Quizlet, this was an education product that for years grew through a combination of word of mouth between teachers and their students and between students and their classmates. And then at some point, it hit this tipping point where all of the content that Quizlet had created originally as a digital flashcards app

meant that they were appearing in more and more of these long tail search queries on Google, where students were trying to get help, getting unstuck on homework assignments, or they were preparing for exams. And so over time, Quizlet became one of the most trafficked websites in the US, especially during exam seasons.

meant that they were appearing in more and more of these long tail search queries on Google, where students were trying to get help, getting unstuck on homework assignments, or they were preparing for exams. And so over time, Quizlet became one of the most trafficked websites in the US, especially during exam seasons.

meant that they were appearing in more and more of these long tail search queries on Google, where students were trying to get help, getting unstuck on homework assignments, or they were preparing for exams. And so over time, Quizlet became one of the most trafficked websites in the US, especially during exam seasons.

So the growth leader and growth team that you would go build at a company like Quizlet, that's 95% plus organic acquisition through SEO and word of mouth, would look extremely different then the growth team you might go hire if you were, say, at a company like Masterclass with a higher price point and where a lot of the acquisition is coming from paid advertising.