10 growth tactics that never work | Elena Verna (Amplitude, Miro, Dropbox, SurveyMonkey)

Elena Verna is one of Silicon Valley’s most sought-after growth advisors and operators. She previously led growth at companies like Amplitude, Miro, Dropbox, and SurveyMonkey and is currently doing full-time advising for high-growth tech companies. In our conversation, Elena and I discuss:• 10 growth tactics that never work• Her 3 favorite growth frameworks• How to increase your career optionality—Brought to you by:• Sinch—Build messaging, email, and calling into your product• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security• OneSchema—Import CSV data 10x faster—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/10-growth-tactics-that-never-work-elena-verna—Where to find Elena Verna:• Newsletter: https://www.elenaverna.com/• X: https://x.com/elenaverna• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenaverna—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Welcome back, Elena!(06:02) Common mistakes growth teams make(08:31) #1: Hiring for growth roles too soon(15:09) #2: Hiring a head of growth to fix your problems(19:20) #3: Doing a rebrand to drive growth(25:11) #4: Obsessing over your competition(34:00) #5: Believing that your problems are unique(42:32) #6: Prioritizing other growth channels above earned channels(50:55) #7: Failing to evolve your growth model(01:01:06) #8: Not hiring advisors(01:05:55) #9: Over-experimenting(01:10:44) #10: Color optimizations, third-party signups, one-email wonders, and removing friction(01:15:00) Elena’s favorite growth frameworks(01:18:50) Contrarian corner: full-time jobs(01:26:05) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• Elena Verna on how B2B growth is changing, product-led growth, product-led sales, why you should go freemium not trial, what features to make free, and much more: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/elena-verna-on-why-every-company• The ultimate guide to product-led sales | Elena Verna: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-product-led• Six rules of hiring for growth: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/hiring-growth• Figma: https://www.figma.com/• Miro: https://www.figma.com/• Notion: https://www.figma.com/• Carol Wong on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-wong-14133927/• Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/• The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs: https://andrewchen.com/the-law-of-shitty-clickthroughs/• Miroverse: https://miro.com/miroverse/• GitHub: https://github.com/• My 9 Favorite Growth Frameworks: https://www.elenaverna.com/p/my-9-favorite-growth-frameworks• Growth Loops are the New Funnels: https://www.reforge.com/blog/growth-loops• Racecar Growth Framework: https://www.reforge.com/blog/racecar-growth-framework• The Adjacent User: https://andrewchen.com/the-adjacent-user-theory/• Unorthodox frameworks for growing your product, career, and impact | Bangaly Kaba (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Instacart): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/frameworks-for-growing-your-career-bangaly-kaba• Why I’m Unquitting Full-Time Roles: https://www.elenaverna.com/p/why-im-unquitting-full-time-roles• Noah Smith’s newsletter: https://www.noahpinion.blog/• Beef on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81447461• Veep on Max: https://www.max.com/shows/veep/37cb4217-c710-4166-8e9f-352a61f2cd3a• The Last of Us on Max: https://www.max.com/shows/last-of-us/93ba22b1-833e-47ba-ae94-8ee7b9eefa9a• Heated boots: https://www.amazon.com/heated-boots/s?k=heated+boots• Airpods Max: https://www.apple.com/airpods-max/• Memes by Elena: https://www.elenaverna.com/p/ten-funniest-growth-memes—Recommended books:• Project Hail Mary: https://www.amazon.com/Project-Hail-Mary-Andy-Weir/dp/0593135229/• The Martian: https://www.amazon.com/Martian-Andy-Weir/dp/0553418025• We Are Legion (Bobiverse #1): https://www.amazon.com/We-Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse/dp/1680680587• Fire Upon the Deep: https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Upon-Deep-Zones-Thought/dp/0812515285—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

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