Matt Lerner: How to Hire Growth Leaders and Teams and Why in a World of AI | E1159

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

May 31, 2024

Duration

56m

Channel

The Twenty Minute VC

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Matt Lerner is one of the OGs of growth having spent 11 years leading growth teams at PayPal. Post PayPal, Matt led the growth marketing program at 500 Startups. He is also the bestselling author of Growth Levers and How to Find Them. Today, Matt is the Co-Founder and CEO of SYSTM, an accelerator program helping startups find their growth drivers. ----------------------------------------------- Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (00:47) Journey Into the World of Growth (01:56) Lessons form PayPal (05:24) What is Growth, What is It Not (08:13) User Experience vs Conversion Tension (12:11) Data vs. Intuition in Growth Leadership (13:17) Starting Your Growth Model (13:53) Picking a Northstar Metric (21:50) Early Channel Strategy & the Risks of Over-Diversification (25:51) What is the “Locksmith Moment” (27:15) Effective Messaging for Horizontal Products (29:17) How to Hire & Manage Growth Teams (45:24) Growth Experiment Failures: Convictions vs. Reality (49:05) Quick Fire-Round ----------------------------------------------- In Today’s Episode with Matt Lerner We Discuss:

1. From Philosophy Student to PayPal Growth Leader: How did Matt make his way into the world of growth? What were Matt’s biggest lessons from 11 years at PayPal? What did Matt know now that he wished he’d known when he entered the world of growth?

1. How to Master Growth: What is growth to Matt? What is it not? Why does Matt think growth is more science than art? Does Matt Agee with Adam Gross @ Vimeo that paid acquisition below $100M ARR isn’t PLG? How does Matt think AI will change the world of growth today? What does Matt think are the most common growth mistakes founders make?

1. Optimizing Growth Channels: Dos & Don’ts Why does Matt believe there are only six types of growth channels? What is the “locksmith moment” & how do startups find channels that work for them? How does Matt pick a Northstar metric? What are the most common mistakes founders make when picking North Star metrics? When is the right time to change them? How does Matt approach horizontal product messaging? What works? What doesn’t work? 4 . How to Hire & Manage Growth Teams What does Matt look for in the first head of growth hire? What questions does Matt ask when interviewing? What were Matt’s biggest hiring mistakes? What did he learn? Why does Matt think the best growth hires have no marketing experience? What are Matt’s two steps to master onboarding? What are the 3 most common patterns in leaders according to Matt? ----------------------------------------------- Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3j2KMcZTtgTNBKwtZBMHvl?si=85bc9196860e4466 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twenty-minute-vc-20vc-venture-capital-startup/id958230465 Follow Harry Stebbings on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarryStebbings Follow Matt Lerner on Twitter: https://twitter.com/matthlerner Follow 20VC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/20vchq Follow 20VC on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@20vc_tok Visit our Website: https://www.20vc.com Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/contact ----------------------------------------------- #20vc #harrystebbings #mattlerner #systm #paypal #founder #ceo #venturecapital #startup #hiring #growth

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Matt Lerner

  guest

• Harry Stebbings

  host

• Narrator

  other

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of The Twenty Minute VC, featuring Matt Lerner and Harry Stebbings, Matt Lerner: How to Hire Growth Leaders and Teams and Why in a World of AI | E1159 explores matt Lerner Explains How To Truly Hire And Enable Growth Leaders Matt Lerner, ex-PayPal growth leader and former VC, explains why early-stage founders themselves must be the first heads of growth and why most growth work is information discovery, not playbook execution. He stresses that 90% of results typically come from 10% of initiatives, so the central challenge is quickly finding those few powerful growth levers. The discussion covers defining growth, choosing and evolving a north-star metric, picking and proving channels, and hiring and onboarding early growth talent. Lerner also explores how AI is raising the floor on creative and outbound, and why humility, curiosity, and cross-functionality matter more than classic “marketing experience” in great growth leaders.

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