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Nilan Peiris: What Growth Hacks Worked and What Did Not, from Wise CPO | E1182

Nilan Peiris is Chief Product Officer at Wise, where he leads on growth across channels including product and platform. Prior to Wise, Nilan was VP Growth at HouseTrip, in charge of scaling the company’s growth in the European market. He’s also worked as Chief Marketing Technology Officer at Holiday Extras, where he was responsible for all areas of technology, marketing and customer acquisition. Nilan also advises a number of early-stage startups on growth and getting to traction. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (00:42) Entry into Growth and Product (02:57) Joining Wise (04:36) Understanding Wise: Products & Services Overview (05:10) How Wise Got the First Customers (06:53) Creating Content for End Users (11:26) Extracting Value from Revolut's Product Range (17:21) Product Quality vs. Distribution Efficiency (22:40) Recognizing New Product Success Quickly (23:26) When to Kill a Product (32:07) Effective Marketing for Diverse Product Lines (39:18) CAC Challenges in a Competitive Fintech Environment (43:58) Hiring Mistakes & Lessons (48:25) Quick-Fire Round -------------------------------------------------------------------- In Today’s Episode With Nilan Peiris We Discuss: 1. Lessons Scaling Transferwise to the First 1M Users: What growth tactics worked in scaling Wise to 1M users? What growth tactics did not work? What did they learn? What did Wise not do that Nilan wishes they had done? What single product change completely changed the trajectory of their growth? 2. How to Use Content to Crush Competition: What are the two different types of content that all companies must now make? What are the single biggest mistakes companies make with content today? What do you do when your competition can spend 7-8x more on marketing? Is SEO and SEM dead today or does it still play the same prominent role? 3. Wise’s Framework on How to Win at Performance Marketing: What have been Nilan’s single biggest lessons on how to win in performance marketing? What are the biggest mistakes companies make today in performance marketing? When is the right time to diversify and add new channels? What level of channel concentration would concern Nilan to see? 4. The Secret to Adding More Products: When is the right time to add a second product? How does Nilan define great product marketing today? How can one do amazing and targeted product marketing with several products aimed at different customers? What are the single biggest mistakes that companies make with brand marketing? -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Nilan Peiris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nilanp 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 #podcast #nilanpeires #wise #product #growth #founder #crowdstrike #revolut #hiring #marketing #transferwise

Nilan PeirisguestHarry Stebbingshost
Jul 26, 202452mWatch on YouTube ↗

Episode Details

EPISODE INFO

Released
July 26, 2024
Duration
52m
Channel
The Twenty Minute VC
Watch on YouTube
▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Nilan Peiris is Chief Product Officer at Wise, where he leads on growth across channels including product and platform. Prior to Wise, Nilan was VP Growth at HouseTrip, in charge of scaling the company’s growth in the European market. He’s also worked as Chief Marketing Technology Officer at Holiday Extras, where he was responsible for all areas of technology, marketing and customer acquisition. Nilan also advises a number of early-stage startups on growth and getting to traction. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (00:42) Entry into Growth and Product (02:57) Joining Wise (04:36) Understanding Wise: Products & Services Overview (05:10) How Wise Got the First Customers (06:53) Creating Content for End Users (11:26) Extracting Value from Revolut's Product Range (17:21) Product Quality vs. Distribution Efficiency (22:40) Recognizing New Product Success Quickly (23:26) When to Kill a Product (32:07) Effective Marketing for Diverse Product Lines (39:18) CAC Challenges in a Competitive Fintech Environment (43:58) Hiring Mistakes & Lessons (48:25) Quick-Fire Round -------------------------------------------------------------------- In Today’s Episode With Nilan Peiris We Discuss:

1. Lessons Scaling Transferwise to the First 1M Users: What growth tactics worked in scaling Wise to 1M users? What growth tactics did not work? What did they learn? What did Wise not do that Nilan wishes they had done? What single product change completely changed the trajectory of their growth?

1. How to Use Content to Crush Competition: What are the two different types of content that all companies must now make? What are the single biggest mistakes companies make with content today? What do you do when your competition can spend 7-8x more on marketing? Is SEO and SEM dead today or does it still play the same prominent role?

1. Wise’s Framework on How to Win at Performance Marketing: What have been Nilan’s single biggest lessons on how to win in performance marketing? What are the biggest mistakes companies make today in performance marketing? When is the right time to diversify and add new channels? What level of channel concentration would concern Nilan to see?

1. The Secret to Adding More Products: When is the right time to add a second product? How does Nilan define great product marketing today? How can one do amazing and targeted product marketing with several products aimed at different customers? What are the single biggest mistakes that companies make with brand marketing? -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Nilan Peiris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nilanp 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 #podcast #nilanpeires #wise #product #growth #founder #crowdstrike #revolut #hiring #marketing #transferwise

SPEAKERS

  • Nilan Peiris

    guest
  • Harry Stebbings

    host
  • Narrator

    other

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of The Twenty Minute VC, featuring Nilan Peiris and Harry Stebbings, Nilan Peiris: What Growth Hacks Worked and What Did Not, from Wise CPO | E1182 explores wise CPO Nilan Peiris Reveals Real Growth Levers Beyond Marketing Hacks Nilan Peiris, CPO of Wise (formerly TransferWise), explains how Wise achieved scalable growth by obsessing over product quality, word of mouth, and rigorous measurement rather than relying on generic growth “playbooks.”

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