logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2025
1h 35m

10 growth tactics that never work | Elen...

Lenny Rachitsky
About this episode

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://elenaverna.substack.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 podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.



Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
Up next
Jul 6
Solo founder, $80M exit, 6 months: The Base44 bootstrapped startup success story | Maor Shlomo
Maor Shlomo is the founder of Base44, an AI-powered app builder that he bootstrapped to an over $80 million acquisition by Wix in just six months. As a solo founder (with severe ADHD), he hit $1 million ARR just three weeks after launch and grew the product to more than 400,000 u ... Show More
1h 31m
Jul 3
I’ve run 75+ businesses. Here’s why you’re probably chasing the wrong idea. | Andrew Wilkinson (co‑founder of Tiny)
Andrew Wilkinson is the co‑founder of Tiny, a holding company that quietly owns more than three dozen profitable internet and consumer brands, including Dribbble and the AeroPress coffee maker. Starting as a teenage barista and web designer, he’s created a portfolio approaching $ ... Show More
1h 28m
Jun 29
Naming expert shares the process behind creating billion-dollar brand names like Azure, Vercel, Windsurf, Sonos, Blackberry, and Impossible Burger | David Placek (Lexicon Branding)
David Placek is the founder of Lexicon Branding, a company that focuses exclusively on the development of brand names for competitive advantage. Lexicon is behind iconic names such as Sonos, Microsoft’s Azure, Windsurf, Vercel, Impossible Foods, BlackBerry, Intel’s Pentium, Apple ... Show More
1h 22m
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2024
Stop Hacking and Start Growing w/ Casey Winters (Replay)
Are you struggling to drive sustainable growth for your startup? Wondering how to build a high-impact growth team? In this episode, Chris and Yaniv are joined by Casey Winters, Chief Product Officer at Eventbrite and one of Silicon Valley's top growth experts. They explore the co ... Show More
1h 16m
Oct 2024
How to Crush Your Growth Role, with Former Gitlab and Acorns VP of Growth Hila Qu
Every company wants growth, but not everyone knows how to make it happen.In today’s episode, Hila Qu breaks down the secrets of building a growth model that can optimize metrics and also unlock untapped potential.Hila is a growth expert who has led success at Acorns and GitLab. S ... Show More
1h 48m
Nov 2024
TWiST News: Reddit Earnings, Apple Intelligence, and more AI money | E2041
This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Runway. Looking to up-level your financial planning Runway is the modern and intuitive way to model, plan, and align your business for everyone on your team. Sign up at https://www.runway.com/twist to get your first 3 months free. Linke ... Show More
1h 30m
Jun 2024
SaaS Implosion? NVIDIA Eats OpenAI's Lunch, AI Doomsday Predictions, Silicon Valley Revisited (Reacts)
What's happened to B2B SaaS – and will NVIDIA eat OpenAI's lunch? Learn the latest movements in tech startups from industry insiders. In this week's episode, Chris, Emil and Yaniv discuss: B2B, Or Not To Be: Disappointing guidance from industry giants like Salesforce, ... Show More
48m 44s
Jul 2024
Top 5 VC funds raise big $, venture capital DPI is back, and Sequoia’s offer to LP’s | E1981
This Week in Startups is brought to you by… OpenPhone. Create business phone numbers for you and your team that work through an app on your smartphone or desktop. TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/twist Assembly ... Show More
1h 1m
Sep 2024
Career Progression at Startups - Caution: NOT How Big Companies Do It (Edu)
One of the toughest challenges in early-stage startups is managing employee career development. Unlike big corporations, startups thrive on chaos, ownership, and self-driven growth, meaning traditional professional development programs often fall flat.  In this episode, Chris Saa ... Show More
53m 11s
May 13
Anti-Work Uprising, Copyright Wars & the StreamFog Solution | E2124
Today’s show: Jason, Lon & Alex are back with a spicy Monday episode of This Week in Startups. Jason goes off on unions vs capitalism, we dig into why fewer seed startups are making it to Series A, and look at OpenAI’s quiet copyright land grab. Plus: YC says Google should be bro ... Show More
1h 30m
Dec 2024
Scaling TikTok With 60+ Accounts
E529: Advanced TikTok marketing. Posting multiple videos per day with over 60 accounts. Creators outsourced to low GDP per capita countries like the Philippines or Georgia. Strategy being used by dozens of AI companionship apps. On the high end, some of these apps are making hund ... Show More
12m 1s
Jul 2024
Founders Playbook: Lessons from Riot, Discord, & More
Gaming is not just entertainment—it's a revolution reshaping our culture, technology, and economy. a16z’s Jonathan Lai and Andrew Chen dive into the current gaming renaissance and its future impact. Joining them are Michael Chow, CEO and Steven Snow, CPO of The Believer Company, ... Show More
25m 56s
Apr 2024
Robin Dunbar - Optimizing Human Connection (Dunbar's Number) - [Invest Like the Best, EP.367]
My guest today is Robin Dunbar. Robin is a biological anthropologist, evolutionary psychologist, and specialist in primate behavior. He is the man behind Dunbar’s number, a theory about the number of stable relationships we can maintain at once. Robin unravels the thread of resea ... Show More
1h 2m