Growth Design Podcast: Recent Episodes
Emmanuel Omole and Ini Abiodun
Explore growth design with insights from industry-leading designers. Gain actionable best practices and tools to fuel your design journey.
Andy is a design leader, speaker, investor, coach and founder, many times over. From ClearLeft to Seedcamp, always a designer at heart, Andy believes design is powerful in transforming companies, teams and customers' lives for the better.
Andy joined us to discuss the importance of design in startups, particularly growth design's role in driving business growth and solving problems.
Together, we explore practical strategies for acquiring early customers, including leveraging networks, attending industry events, and utilising outbound sales.
Andy highlights the importance of growth designers in these early stages, particularly for customer discovery and research. He introduces the concept of "language-market fit," stressing the need to understand the target audience's specific language and needs.
He concludes by discussing the need for adaptability and quick iterations in early-stage startups and the future of design, including the merging of roles and new tools.
Key Topics Discussed:
- Finding early users and achieving product-market fit.
- The importance of founder-led sales and marketing.
- The role of growth designers in customer discovery and research.
- Understanding the language and needs of potential customers ("language market fit").
Takeaways
- Growth design focuses on improving existing capabilities and solving business goals, rather than just adding new features.
- Outbound sales and personalized outreach can be valuable strategies for acquiring early customers.
- Language market fit is important in effectively communicating the value of a product to potential customers
- Designers in early-stage startups need to be adaptable and willing to experiment with different approaches.
- The future of design involves the merging of roles and the use of new tools
Referenced Resources:
- The Growth Equation: How Early Stage Startups Can Build a Powerful Engine for Growth by Andy Budd
- Turn the Ship Around by L. David Marquet
- Never Split the Difference by Christopher Voss and Tahl Raz
- Blue Ocean Strategy by Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction
01:13 Andy's Journey into Design
07:38 Shift from Building Design Companies to Supporting Startups as an Investor
13:02 Defining Growth Design and Its Importance
20:13 The Biggest Design Challenges for Startups in the Early Stages
27:46 Effective Tactics for Acquiring Early Customers
37:59 Finding First Customers and Founder-Led Sales and Marketing
38:45 The Role of Growth Designers in Startups
46:20 The Importance of Language Market Fit
41:34 Designers in Early-Stage Startups: Adaptability and Experimentation
56:54 Utilising Behavioural Science to Drive Growth
01:14:04 The Role of Growth Design in Startups
01:15:24 Building a Small, Independent Team for Growth Design
01:19:18 Understanding Business Partners and Applying Empathy
01:23:18 The Future of Design: Merging Roles and New Tools
01:36:10 Lightning Questions with Andy
Where to find Andy:
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LinkedIn: https:https://www.linkedin.com/in/andybudd/
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Website: https://www.andybudd.com/
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Read a free chapter of his book here: https://www.andybudd.com/book
Co-hosts: Emmanuel - https://www.linkedin.com/in/omoleemmanuel/
IniOluwa - https://www.linkedin.com/in/inioluwa-abiodun/
Production by https://www.linkedin.com/in/damilola-ilesanmi-720baa1b0/
For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email hello@growthdesigncast.com
Jeff Callan, author, product management consultant, and CEO of Tyghtwyre, joins us to discuss strategies for effective collaboration in building great product teams.
Jeff shares his journey from building toys as a kid to working with cutting-edge technologies and now helping startups scale their products.
He emphasises four key steps for high-performing teams: hiring the right people, clear roles and responsibilities, providing resources, and measuring results.
Key Topics Discussed:
- Clear communication, transparency, trust, and respect are important in team collaboration.
- The evolving role of product managers and the need to leverage the expertise of designers and other team members.
- Common pitfalls of collaboration, including misaligned goals, siloed thinking, and ego.
- The importance of data-driven decision-making and shared KPIs.
Takeaways
- Defining a North Star metric and breaking it down into actionable goals and OKRs for different teams.
- Building a feedback-rich environment and establishing effective feedback loops.
- Prioritisation techniques, such as the value versus effort matrix, to focus on the most impactful tasks.
- Encouraging a culture of collaboration and appreciation, celebrating wins, and learning from failures.
Referenced Resources:
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What Makes Great Products Great: A Product Management Bootcamp by Jeff Callan
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The Right Thing by Ryan Holiday
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The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
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Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
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Lenny's Newsletter and Podcast (Lenny Rachitsky)
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Continuous Discovery Habits by Teresa Torres
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
02:30 Introducing Jeff Callan and His Achievements
06:20 Jeff's Journey into Product Management
12:45 Defining Effective Collaboration
16:10 Key Steps to Building High-Performing Teams
20:25 The Role of Data in Decision Making
24:40 Misaligned Goals and Communication Pitfalls
30:55 The Importance of a North Star Metric
36:15 Creating a Feedback-Rich Environment
41:00 Prioritization in Product Development
46:35 Building a Culture of Collaboration
52:10 Celebrating Wins and Acknowledging Effort
57:30 Jeff's Book and Resources for Product Leaders
01:02:00 Lightning Questions with Jeff
Sara Gattoni shares her journey from being a mathematician and academic researcher to leading growth at tech companies. Known for her unique insight into data, Sara discusses the importance of balancing quantitative and qualitative data, her career transitions, and the role of data in product development.
Key Topics Discussed:
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Sara’s transition from academia to startups.
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The role of quantitative and qualitative data in design.
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How to avoid common traps when relying on data.
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Strategies for designers to integrate data into their workflows.
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Building a centralized data system at Localized.
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The origin and significance of her nickname, "Data Witch."
Takeaways:
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Balance between data-driven and data-informed approaches is crucial.
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Centralising data from various departments enhances accessibility and efficiency.
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Designers should maintain qualitative insights alongside quantitative data.
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Effective communication and collaboration between designers and data scientists are key to product success.
Referenced Resources:
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Airtable and Productboard for data management.
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The importance of having a glossary for shared language within teams.
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Use of AI tools to facilitate access to centralized data.
Where to find Sara Gattoni:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-gattoni/
Referenced:
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Outcome-driven innovation (ODI) as a framework.
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Books: "Alice in Wonderland" for personal and product development insights.
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"Atomic Habits" and "Ikigai" as recommended reads.
Co-hosts: Emmanuel - https://www.linkedin.com/in/omoleemmanuel/
IniOluwa - https://www.linkedin.com/in/inioluwa-abiodun/
Production by https://www.linkedin.com/in/damilola-ilesanmi-720baa1b0/
For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email hello@growthdesigncast.com
In this episode, we sit down with Ben Shih, Lead Growth Designer at Localize, to discuss all things user onboarding. Ben shares his journey into design and his current focus on growth design.
Here are some Key Takeaways:
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Growth design is about using data, experimentation and testing to optimize getting users to a product's core value as quickly as possible. It differs from core product design.
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When analysing onboarding, look at both qualitative data (user feedback, observations) and quantitative data (drop-off points in funnels) to identify problems and opportunities.
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Common onboarding mistakes include overusing tooltips, landing users on empty states with no guidance, and asking for payment before demonstrating value.
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Personalisation is key in onboarding to match the user's needs and get them to the "aha moment" faster.
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Advice for growing as a designer
This episode is a must-listen for any designer, product manager or growth marketer looking to level up their user onboarding and drive better user retention.
Resources: - Growth Design School Spring Cohort, use GROWTHDESIGNPOD10 to get 10% off - https://www.growthdesigners.co/school
- Mobbin, get 20% off here - bit.ly/49dX8H6——
Where to find Ben Shih
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hbshih
- Website: https://bento.me/hbshih
——Where to find the Growth Design Podcast and co-hosts:- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/growth-design-podcast/- Website - https://growthdesigncast.substack.com/- Instagram - https://instagram.com/growthdesignpod- Emmanuel’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/omoleemmanuel/- IniOluwa’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/inioluwa-abiodun/——Production by Damilola Ilesanmi - https://damilolailesanmi.com/
Meet Alicia Cressall, a Senior Growth Designer and Mentor at DesignLab. She joins us in The Growth Designer's Career Playbook to discuss her journey as a growth-first hire and how a designer can get started with product-led growth.----
Here are a few highlights & areas we discussed.
— Discovering & defining growth design as a first-hire
— Building Trust & experimentation culture.
— Lessons learnt as a growth designer
— Getting comfortable with failure & experimentation.
— PLG is putting data-driven design into practice
— PLG thrives in a cross-collaborative working environment.
— Common challenges designers face when designing for PLG.
——Resources: - Growth Design School Spring Cohort, use GROWTHDESIGNPOD10 to get 10% off - https://www.growthdesigners.co/school
- Mobbin, get 20% off here - bit.ly/49dX8H6————
Where to find Alicia
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-cressall/
- Website: aliciacressall.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/aliciacressall
——Where to find the Growth Design Podcast and co-hosts:- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/growth-design-podcast/- Website - https://growthdesigncast.substack.com/- Instagram - https://instagram.com/growthdesignpod- Emmanuel’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/omoleemmanuel/- IniOluwa’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/inioluwa-abiodun/——Production by Damilola Ilesanmi - https://damilolailesanmi.com/
Christian is a Product Designer with 15 years of experience designing both enterprise software and consumer products. Over the past 7 years, he’s focused on Growth roles and has helped different companies move key metrics through the power of Design. Christian believes in simple design, working closely with engineers, testing products often, and building relationships to help Design thrive. Throughout his career, he designed for many household names, including British Gas, KPMG, Uptime, DFS, McLaren, HSBC, and Google.Continuing our conversation on the series, “The Growth Design Career Playbook”, we discussed how to stay ahead in our design career. Here are some highlights from our conversation:
— Continuous learning is crucial for staying ahead in your design career.
— Building a strong professional network can open doors to new opportunities and collaborations.
— Staying up to date with industry trends helps you stay relevant and adaptable in a fast-paced field.
— The importance of taking on challenging projects to grow as a designer.
— Setting clear goals and having a long-term vision can guide your career progression.
— Effective communication skills are essential for collaborating with cross-functional teams.
— Understanding the global design landscape can give you a competitive edge in the industry.---------Where to find Christian Vasile- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamsegun/- Website - christianvasile.com——Where to find the Growth Design Podcast and co-hosts:- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/growth-design-podcast/- Website - https://growthdesigncast.substack.com/- Instagram - https://instagram.com/growthdesignpod- Emmanuel’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/omoleemmanuel/- IniOluwa’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/inioluwa-abiodun/——Production by Damilola Ilesanmi - https://damilolailesanmi.com/
Olusegun Adebajo is a Growth Product Designer at Rocket Homes, a real estate tech platform and homeownership company. He has been on the Growth team, working on optimisation and experimentation. He enjoys the interplay between design, data, and user psychology—to effectively inspire user behaviour change, moving them forward in their journey and towards their goal, while driving desired business outcomes. He has been involved in nearly 200 experiments at Rocket Homes.
In our conversation on the series, “The Growth Design Career Playbook”, we discussed How to Recognise Growth Design Opportunities in Your Current Role.
Where to find Olusegun Adebajo- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamsegun/- Website - https://iamsegun.com——Where to find the Growth Design Podcast and co-hosts:- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/growth-design-podcast/- Website - https://growthdesigncast.substack.com/- Instagram - https://instagram.com/growthdesignpod- Emmanuel’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/omoleemmanuel/- IniOluwa’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/inioluwa-abiodun/——Production by Damilola Ilesanmi - https://damilolailesanmi.com/
Shawn Gong is a product advisor and head of product growth, with background in product management. He has 12 years of experience leading cross-functional teams and launched award-winning products globally. He spearheaded international expansion for Grindr, the largest social networking app for LGBTQ. He also orchestrated GOAT's expansion into China, the largest marketplace for authentic sneakers. In addition, his team pioneered augmented reality mobile apps at Daqri, acquired by Snap. In our conversation about "Monetization Mindset: Building Products That Sell Themselves" we discussed- What is monetization & different models- Understanding the Audience for Effective Monetisation- Data-driven strategies for Monetisation- Balancing Monetisation with User Experience- Adapting to Evolving Monetisation Trends- Overcoming Behavioural Barriers.——Where to find Shawn Gong: - LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gongshawn/——Where to find the Growth Design Podcast and co-hosts:- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/growth-design-podcast/- Website - https://growthdesigncast.substack.com/- Instagram - https://instagram.com/growthdesignpod- Emmanuel’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/omoleemmanuel/- IniOluwa’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/inioluwa-abiodun/——Production by Damilola Ilesanmi - https://damilolailesanmi.com/
Kristina Volchek is a Senior Product Designer who transitioned from a marketing background where she had risen to become Chief Marketing Officer. She has helped build innovative growth experiences across different startups, some of which include Flooz and Sweatcoin. At Sweatcoin, she was the Growth Product Lead on the acquisition team responsible for adding 66m new users. She joins us for the first episode in our new series, “The Growth Design Career Playbook”. In our conversation, we discuss: - Her journey into Growth Design- Key skills of a Growth Designer- Transitioning from Product Design into Growth Design- The base you need for a career in Growth Design- Storytelling as a powerful tool- Growth mindset- Showing your impact as Growth Designer——Resources: - Starting with Growth Design Resource by Growth Design Podcast & Kristina Volchek - https://bit.ly/3OLu0yP- Growth Design School Spring Cohort, use GROWTHDESIGNPOD10 to get 10% off - https://www.growthdesigners.co/school- Mobbin, get 20% off here - bit.ly/49dX8H6——Referenced: - Ruined by Design by Mike Monteiro - https://www.ruinedby.design/- Growth Design Community - https://www.growthdesigners.co/- Win Every Argument by Mehdi Hasan - https://www.waterstones.com/book/win-every-argument/mehdi-hasan/9781529093582- Happier Hour by Cassie Holmes - https://www.cassiemholmes.com/happierhour- Sweatcoin case study - https://kristi.digital/shots/growth-design-case-study-66m-new-users-in-a-year——Where to find Kristina Volchek: - LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristi-digital/- Website - https://kristi.digital/——Where to find the Growth Design Podcast and co-hosts:- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/growth-design-podcast/- Website - https://growthdesigncast.substack.com/- Instagram - https://instagram.com/growthdesignpod- Emmanuel’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/omoleemmanuel/- IniOluwa’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/inioluwa-abiodun/——Production by Damilola Ilesanmi - https://damilolailesanmi.com/
Emmanuel Omole and IniOluwa Abiodun discussed the psychology behind the products we interact with every day. These psychology tactics are used by many successful products we know and love in our daily lives.
This episode covers how users interact with products by filtering, making associations, and seeking meaning through various cognitive biases. We also provide examples of how these are applied and how designers could understand and influence customer buying thus increasing business revenue.
In this episode, Ini Abiodun joins the podcast as a co-host, sharing her recent adventures as a growth designer. We recap and reflect on the top episodes from season 1, highlighting our key takeaways and hot takes. We also share some of our new plans with the podcast.
Meet Chase Denomme, currently leading design at Disco. Disco aims to empower creators to establish live learning empires that will revolutionize the education industry. Chase is a dedicated product leader who prioritizes connecting business with design to resolve real-world issues, achieve mutual benefits, and expedite growth.Our conversation centred around building a successful growth design career. We explored methods for balancing various types of tension and strategies for overcoming career obstacles as a growth designer.
Show Reference:
Where to find Chase
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chase-denomme-5a803817/
Where to find Emmanuel:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/omostical
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omoleemmanuel/
Meet Jamar Graham, a Senior Product Manager at PlayerWON™. He is a highly skilled and multi-talented producer, with expertise in game design, project management, data analysis for monetization, and partner relations. In this discussion, we explore the fascinating world of game design, with a focus on the intricacies of monetization.
Meet Alicia Cressall, a Senior Growth Designer @Parabol and Mentor DesignLab.
She generously shares her insights on effective monetization strategies and designing techniques for growth designers. Her valuable experience in the field is a great resource for anyone looking to improve their skills in this area.
Show References:
Where to find Alicia
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-cressall/
- Website: aliciacressall.com
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/aliciacressall
Where to find Emmanuel:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/omostical
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omoleemmanuel/
Joe Wilkinson - a Growth Leader and advisor for companies backed by Madrona Ventures, Meritech, Foundry Group, and Lux Capital. With over ten years of experience as Head of Growth at Lucid, Polly and HiHello, he now runs his own growth consultancy. Joe specializes in helping early-stage founders navigate the complexities of scaling, implementing product-led growth, and levelling up their teams.
Our conversation focused on the challenges of building a growth team and the reasons why some companies have failed to do so successfully. We explored the inner workings of growth teams and discussed the role of a growth designer within such a team. Joe provided valuable insights on how to succeed as a designer on a growth team.
Where to find Scott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephwilkinson/
- Joe's Newsletter: https://artisanstrategies.substack.com/
Where to find Emmanuel:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/omostical
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omoleemmanuel/
Scott Christiansen was formerly Head of Design at two startups. He has over ten years of experience as a growth designer & manager, working with companies like H1, Expedia, Mystery, and PwC. He now runs his growth design consultancy, specializing in engagement & retention flows at early-stage startups.
In today's session, we discussed various stages of startups and their attributes to growth. We dive deep into what a growth designer should look for when deciding on a startup to join and how to hone your craft as a designer at an early-stage startup. Scott outlines GTM strategies to help you make a good decision as a designer.
Show References:
- GrowthDesigner Community - https://growthdesigners.co/
- Reforge - https://program.reforge.com/
- Interesting Growth Course - https://growth.design
- Scott’s featured newsletter on Growth designer -https://growthdesigners.co/newsletter/2023/growth-design-is-early-stage-startup-meant-for-you
- Pocus on PL-Sales - https://www.pocus.com/
- Growth Designer Job board - https://growthdesigners.pallet.com/jobs
- Design-Driven growth by Molly Norris Walker - https://www.design-driven-growth.com/
- Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking fast and slow - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0141033576
- Don’t make me think by Steve Drug - https://sensible.com/dont-make-me-think/
- Strava - https://www.strava.com/
- Nara baby App - https://naraorganics.com/nara-baby-tracker
- Wyze cam - https://www.wyze.com/
Where to find Scott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottcharleschristensen/
- Website: https://www.scottchristensen.design/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/_ScottC_
Where to find Emmanuel:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/omostical
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omoleemmanuel/
Kate Syuma is growing the product at Miro as head of growth design. She started as an individual contributor designer and became a design growth leader. She embodied the user experience through craft in Onboarding, Engagement, Monetisation, and 0→1 experiences.
In this episode, we'll explore the critical components of building a successful growth team (from scratch) and discuss strategies for fostering a culture of innovation and experimentation. We'll also discuss the challenges & lessons of hiring & building a growth team. How to drive & measure team performance.
Where to find Kate Syuma
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekaterina-syuma
Where to find Emmanuel:
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/omostical
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omoleemmanuel/
Referenced:
•Miro - https://www.miro.com
Empowered - Marty Cagan
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Empowered-Ordinary-Extraordinary-Products-Silicon/dp/111969129X
Hooked - How to build habit-forming products
https://www.nirandfar.com/hooked/
Mindset - Carlos S. Dweck
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40745.Mindset
Audible - https://www.audible.co.uk/
Class Pass - https://classpass.com/
Duolingo - https://www.duolingo.com/
We dive into an interesting with Ran Liu about having a growth mindset as a product designer. She shares her story and experience as she transitions from a software engineer to a product designer. Her emphasis was on every designer developing a growth mindset and making good use of data to guide their designs.
Ran's youtube video about Growth Designer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5cwVq2khPo
Growth design is a rapidly evolving field in the design space, and actively responsible for driving growth for products & businesses.
As a growth Designer, some traits and mindsets are the main difference.
In this episode, I had an exciting conversation with Ryan Wallace, Growth Designer at Sentry.io, to highlight the key traits of a growth designer and how to develop them. We also dive into tools, resources, and communities that help us grow as a growth designers.
Episode Resources & Link
https://growthdesigners.co/
https://growth.design/
Books
1. Better Onboarding - Krystal Higgins
- Data-Driven Design - Molly Norris Walker
Reach to Ryan
LinkedIn, Twitter & Instagram
https://instagram.com/ryanongrowth
https://twitter.com/ryanongrowth
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwallacedesign/
This is a little intro about the podcast. In each episode, I will be exploring a different topic about growth design and will have guest experts who will be sharing their thoughts, insights, and experiences about growth design. Also to discuss their work and share their approach, to how they have helped grow businesses & products as a growth designer.
Our goal is to provide our listeners with valuable information and insightful conversation about growth design in business & as a designer.
The first episode will be in January, Subscribe and turn on your notification to get notified.