10 growth tactics that never work | Elena Verna (Amplitude, Miro, Dropbox, SurveyMonkey)

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

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Find the transcript at: www.lennysnewsletter.com

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Where to find Elena Verna:

• Newsletter: www.elenaverna.com

• X: x.com

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: twitter.com

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com

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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

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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: www.lennysnewsletter.com

• The ultimate guide to product-led sales | Elena Verna: www.lennysnewsletter.com

• Six rules of hiring for growth: www.lennysnewsletter.com

• Figma: www.figma.com

• Miro: www.figma.com

• Notion: www.figma.com

• Carol Wong on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com

• Dropbox: www.dropbox.com

• The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs: andrewchen.com

• Miroverse: miro.com

• GitHub: github.com

• My 9 Favorite Growth Frameworks: www.elenaverna.com

• Growth Loops are the New Funnels: www.reforge.com

• Racecar Growth Framework: www.reforge.com

• The Adjacent User: andrewchen.com

• Unorthodox frameworks for growing your product, career, and impact | Bangaly Kaba (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Instacart): www.lennysnewsletter.com

• Why I’m Unquitting Full-Time Roles: www.elenaverna.com

• Noah Smith’s newsletter: www.noahpinion.blog

• Beef on Netflix: www.netflix.com

• Veep on Max: www.max.com

• The Last of Us on Max: www.max.com

• Heated boots: www.amazon.com

• Airpods Max: www.apple.com

• Memes by Elena: www.elenaverna.com

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Recommended books:

• Project Hail Mary: www.amazon.com

• The Martian: www.amazon.com

• We Are Legion (Bobiverse #1): www.amazon.com

• Fire Upon the Deep: www.amazon.com

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Production and marketing by penname.co. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.