Growing Forward: Lead like the top 1% in growth, marketing, & product

In this conversation, Wes Bush, the founder and CEO of ProductLed, talks about his background and journey in the product-led growth space. We start by exploring his childhood, entrepreneurial drive, and transition into the tech world. Then, Wes reflects on being fired from his job at Vidyard, how that experience fueled him to start his own business, and how he navigates being a leader today. Along the way, we explored some of the speed bumps in his journey: from making tough decisions as a leader, maintaining emotional distance from his team, managing anxiety, and finding balance while traveling.In this episode, you’ll hear about:Why Wes was fired from Vidyard - and what he learned from the experienceHow he navigates being a leader today and approaches tough convos with his teamWhat gives Wes anxiety, and how he manages itThings to listen for:(01:21) Wes shares what his new book is about (03:48) His entrepreneurial spirit and itch from a young age(06:55) The moment Wes realized that any job that didn’t use his brain was a waste of time(11:25) When he got fired for challenging his leadership’s approach(17:53) Wes was told to stop sharing ideas(23:05) Being glad he got fired because it wasn’t the right environment to be in(30:30) Wes’s advice to a younger individual who needs to make a tough decision(35:46) His experience spending 19 weeks of traveling in 2023(41:00) Dealing with down days and anxieties(46:30) He describes how his job has opened new doors and opportunities(49:38) Which skill Wes wishes he worked on earlierResources:Connect with Wes on LinkedInCheck out ProductLedConnect with Andrew on LinkedInWork with AndrewLearn more about AppcuesLearn more about Navattic

In this episode, Talia Wolf, CEO and Founder of GetUplift, shares her experiences growing up in a family that valued hard work, her early jobs as a waitress and skydiver, her transition into the tech, marketing, and CRO world - and many of challenging moments along the way, including balancing her career and motherhood, the need to ask for help from your support system, and navigating critical feedback.In this episode, you’ll hear about:Staying in a CMO role she didn’t like because she was afraid to start her own businessBeing a woman in a male-dominated field and how she overcame her imposter syndromeReceiving a “slap in the face” piece of feedback from someone on her teamThings to listen for:[06:20] Talia's diverse career path, from skydiving to wedding planning and tech[12:48] The challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated industry[18:05] The creation of a supportive group among women to share vulnerabilities and experiences[24:37] How having children changed Talia's perspective on work-life balance[28:52] Learning from critical feedback and using it to improve as a leader[33:17] The importance of accepting and building upon experiences or letting go in business[37:44] Talia's upbringing and how it influenced her unconventional approach to CRO[42:56] Struggling with self-doubt and imposter syndrome when starting her own business[47:19] The impact of a supportive network in overcoming fears and boosting confidence[52:03] Balancing the identity of a driven career woman with motherhood[56:28] Learning to trust her team and achieve a better work-life balance after having childrenResources:Connect with Talia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taliagw/?originalSubdomain=ukGetUplift CRO Agency: https://getuplift.co/Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcapland/Work with Andrew: https://deliveringvalue.co/get-startedLearn more about Appcues: http://appcues.com/value

Yuriy Timen, a SaaS advisor and solopreneur, shares his unique journey from finance to leading tech companies like Grammarly, Canva, and Airtable. He reflects on how his upbringing during the Soviet Union's collapse shaped his strong work ethic and values. Yuriy opens up about career mistakes, overcoming self-doubt, and the importance of empathy in leadership. He discusses the lessons learned from tough feedback and highlights the significance of intentional networking and work-life balance, aiming to be 'empathetically intense' in his professional relationships.

Growth advisor Kate Syuma reflects on career lows, adjusting leadership style, and hiring mistakes. She shares pivotal moments, embracing uncertainty, and balancing authenticity as a solopreneur. Topics include feedback impact, career conversations, and intuition in decision-making.

In this episode, Samantha Leal, Growth Advisor, discusses her journey and experiences in the SaaS PLG marketing world, the importance of understanding and practicing critical thinking and effective communication in leadership roles, and the blend of art and science in marketing.In this episode, you’ll hear about:1. When Samantha knew she needed a radical shift in her approach and decided to hold a no-holds-barred feedback session with her team2. Samantha’s boss telling her word-for-word she “lacked critical thinking skills”3. The moment when Samantha had to take over the marketing and felt like she was failing continuouslyThings to listen for:[03:13] Writing started to feel draining for Samantha[13:13] Her ‘welcome to the league’ moment when she felt ashamed for not knowing her role[18:09] Samantha’s wakeup call from office gossip[33:36] The constant feeling of failure that she felt in her new role[34:45] When her CEO told her she “lacked critical thinking skills”[49:17] Samantha’s goals at the stage she’s in right nowResources:- Connect with Sam on LinkedIn- Work with Sam- Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn- Work with Andrew- Learn more about Appcues

In this episode, Joe Wilkinson, Founder and CEO at Artisan Strategies, discusses some of the challenges he’s faced in his career, his personal journey into handling workplace stress, and the lessons learned from handling transparency during company changes.In this episode, you’ll hear about:1. The time when Joe trained an individual to take over the team he was leading, just for him to transfer to a different team2. When Joe was stuck between choosing his friend or the company he was working at3. Joe’s boss telling him, “Great job everything is going amazing! You are the only one of your peers who won’t get promoted or a raise. No reason why.”Things to listen for:[03:32] When Joe gained the courage to go off on his own[07:21] His ‘aha’ moment into entrepreneurship[11:33] When Joe’s trainee was supposed to take over his team, but was persuaded to join a different team[18:10] Will he choose his friend? Or the business?[29:49] When Joe was told, “Great job! But you’re not getting a raise” at his performance review[37:30] Feedback can either make or break a relationship[41:16] Joe’s self doubt journeyResources:- Connect with Joe on LinkedIn- Check out Artisan Strategies- Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn- Work with Andrew- Learn more about Appcues

In this episode, Amanda Natividad, VP of Marketing at SparkToro, talks about some of the low points in her career, the toughest feedback she’s ever received, how she navigates burnout, and how she’s been able to find her authentic voice as a leader.In this episode, you’ll hear about:1. When Amanda was told ““Wow. Rand opened up a lot of doors for you!”2. Amanda’s boss said it was obvious when she didn’t know what she was doing3. When Amanda was told “You’re too junior” and “You’re too direct”Things to listen for:[06:34] When Amanda was told “Wow. Rand must have opened up a lot of doors for you”[15:39] During the pandemic, she was furloughed from her job at Liftopia[19:01] Amanda felt powerless in her personal and professional life…[27:29] Being told “It’s so obvious you don’t know what you’re doing” by a manager[31:11] Seeing feedback as positive and her co-workers wanting to help[32:38] Being told “You’re too junior” and “You’re too direct”[39:34] “I don’t know” shows maturity and awareness on a personal level[45:57] The skills she wishes she worked on earlierResources:- Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn- Check out SparkToro- Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn- Work with Andrew- Learn more about Appcues

In the 7th episode of the Behind the Scenes Miniseries with the Navattic growth team, you’ll learn:1. How critical it is for growth teams to stay aligned with leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.2. The systems Navattic has in place for sharing updates on experiments and results; how they leverage Slack channels and regular team meetings.3. How Navattic manages cross-functional collaboration and gets ahead of potential roadblocks.Things to listen for:[00:39] Why managing expectations is so important for growth teams[01:08] How they stay aligned with leadership[03:00] Their internal sharing operating system[04:08] How often Navattic is sharing growth results/ learnings in a typical month[05:17] Letting teammates come along for the ride and see work in progress[05:52] How they approach collaboration with other teams [07:25] Getting feedback from other teams[08:25] Mistakes they have made around communication[09:45] Why sharing “learners” is so important[11:15] Balancing competing priorities with other teams[11:30] Pre-mortems to surface potential concerns and pitfallsResources:- Binge the whole series on the Delivering Value Substack- Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn- Connect with Raman Khanna on LinkedIn- Connect with Natalie Marcotullio on LinkedIn- Learn more about Navattic

Hey I’m Andrew Capland 👋. For the past 15 years, I’ve been working in B2B SaaS. The first half, as a marketer. And the second half, I’ve been leading growth teams and product-led growth efforts.Now, I run my own business, Delivering Value where I coach other growth leaders and advise product-led growth teams.During my career, I kept coming back to the same realization… Blindly copying someone else’s growth playbook (without understand the contextual challenges they were facing) just doesn’t work. So I decided to make a series following one company going behind the scenes with one SaaS growth team. The goal was to learn about some of the contextual growth challenges their facing, and explore how they’re navigating them. It’s something I would have binged when I was in-house, because I never could learn/collaborate with other growth teams as much as I wanted to.The series will have short episodes (6-10 mins each) including interviews with the team mixed with my commentary. Sort of like The Office meets Planet Earth.This first season is featuring the Navattic growth team and will have behind the scenes access with Raman Khanna and Natalie Marcotullio.We explored how they think about growth, how they set growth strategy, how they operate, what they track, how often they share, and explored some of their biggest challenges, fears, and speed-bumps along the way.Resources:- Binge the whole series on the Delivering Value Substack- Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn or Twitter- Connect with Raman Khanna on LinkedIn- Connect with Natalie Marcotullio on LinkedIn- Learn more about Navattic

We kick-off the miniseries by exploring the background and scale of the Navattic business to contextualize many of the growth challenges they’re facing and systems they use (which we’ll explore in upcoming episodes)In this first episode of the Behind the Scenes Miniseries with the Navattic growth team, you’ll learn:1. How Navattic got started and settled on building interactive demos for the PLG market.2. Navattic's go-to-market approach, size/scale of the business, funding strategy, and current funnel.3. The hardest part about working in growth at this stage of the company.Things to listen for:[00:52] What is Navattic and how did it start?[01:45] Getting into Y Combinator[02:24] Discovering the PLG use case[02:52] How Navattic makes money / go-to market model[03:43] The scale of the Navattic business[04:10] Fundraising history[04:54] Number of employees[05:43] The pros and cons of not raising a huge round[06:07] A deep dive into Navattic’s funnel[07:26] The hardest part about working in growth at this stage of the companyResources:- Binge the whole series on the Delivering Value Substack- Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn or Twitter- Connect with Raman Khanna on LinkedIn- Connect with Natalie Marcotullio on LinkedIn- Learn more about Navattic