Key insights

• ⚙️ Joined growth teams at Uber and Airbnb when they were small and saw significant scaling
• 🌱 Early days of social viral growth and experimentation with platforms like Facebook
• 📈 Stories of viral growth strategies such as exploiting Facebook loopholes and optimizing engagement on mobile platforms
• 🔄 The role of the growth team has evolved to include analyzing and influencing the entire company
• 📊 Importance of metrics, experimentation, and optimization for growth teams
• 🔨 Structuring the growth team with product, engineering, analytics, design, and marketing functions
• 💰 Incorporating paid acquisition as a key strategy for growth
• 📉 Understanding the growth curve: focusing on new user acquisition and transitioning to retention as the user base grows

Q&A

• Were super aggressive growth strategies in China disclosed in the video?

  No, there was no disclosure of super aggressive growth strategies in China due to confidentiality.

• How did Uber transition its growth model and approach?

  Uber transitioned towards a data-driven growth model, merged product and growth teams, and emphasized a unified growth-oriented approach across all teams, focusing on understanding the growth curve and experimenting with driver engagement and retention strategies.

• What challenges are discussed in relation to operating in different markets?

  Challenges include ownership conflicts, the importance of translation and identifying product gaps, the significance of experimentation, and making small tweaks for a significant impact.

• How does efficiency improve in a two-sided marketplace?

  Efficiency increases with more liquidity in the network, and it is complex to calculate the value of riders and drivers. Companies should focus on building a great product, leverage channels with massive scale, invest in engineering and data science, and consider city-specific growth strategies.

• What were the differences in forming growth teams at Facebook and Uber?

  Differences included defining the Northstar metric for a two-sided marketplace, addressing real-world challenges in measuring and influencing behavior, and incorporating paid acquisition as a key growth strategy.

• How has the role of growth teams evolved at different companies?

  The video highlights the evolution of growth teams to include analyzing and influencing the entire company, emphasizing the importance of metrics, experimentation, and optimization for growth.

• What are some stories of viral growth strategies discussed in the video?

  The video shares stories of viral growth strategies from the early days of social viral growth and experimentation with platforms like Facebook, including exploiting Facebook loopholes and optimizing engagement on mobile platforms.

• 00:16 Two experts discuss scaling growth teams and share stories of viral growth strategies from their early days at companies like Facebook and Boxer.
• 05:34 The speaker discusses the process of building and adjusting growth teams at different companies, highlighting the importance of metrics, experimentation, and optimization. The role of the growth team has evolved to include analyzing and influencing the entire company.
• 11:36 The differences in forming growth teams at Facebook and Uber included defining the Northstar metric for a two-sided marketplace, addressing real-world challenges in measuring and influencing behavior, and incorporating paid acquisition as a key strategy for growth.
• 17:29 Efficiency improves with network liquidity, determining the value of riders and drivers in a two-sided marketplace is complex, focus on building a great product for long-term success, leveraging channels with massive scale, city-specific growth strategies, and customizing product features for local markets.
• 22:58 The challenges faced in different markets, importance of translation and identifying product gaps, the significance of experimentation, and making small tweaks for significant impact.
• 28:40 Understanding the growth curve is crucial for determining whether to focus on new user acquisition or retention. Uber experimented with strategies to engage and retain drivers. The company transitioned towards a data-driven growth model and merged product and growth teams. They emphasized a unified growth-oriented approach across all teams. Super aggressive growth strategies in China were not disclosed.