20 Growth: Viral Loops; How To Create and Sustain Them, Why Interviews for Product and Growth Hires are BS and What To Do Instead, Mastering the Onboarding Process; Structuring the First 90 Days with Adam Fishman, Former Head of Growth @ Lyft

Adam Fishman is one of the leading growth practitioners of the last decade. Most recently, Adam was the Chief Product and Growth Offer @ Imperfect Foods, where Adam built a 40-person product and growth organization, responsible for 70% of overall company metrics and growing revenue by 400% in one year to $600M annually. Before Imperfect, Adam spent 4 years as VP of Product and Growth @ Patreon, driving the company pivot and rebrand and helping the company scale to $1BN GMV and $100M in revenue. Finally, before Patreon, Adam was the Head of Growth @ Lyft, Adam was the first growth and marketing employee hired, grew the team to 18 people, and reported directly to the founders.

In Today’s Episode with Adam You Will Learn:

1.) Entry into Growth:

• How Adam first made his way into the world of growth when “growth” did not exist as a function?

• What were Adam’s biggest lessons from leading Lyft’s growth team? How did that impact his mindset?

• What are some of Adam’s biggest takeaways from his time at Patreon? What are some of the biggest mistakes he made at Patreon?

2.) The Basics: Growth 101: What and When:

• How does Adam define “growth” today? What is it? What is it not?

• When is the right time to hire your first growth hires?

• Should this first hire be a seasoned growth leader or a more junior growth rep?

• What characteristics and skill sets should this growth hire have?

3.) The Hiring Process:

• How should founders structure the hiring process for their first growth hire?

• What 3 questions should all founders ask in the hiring process for growth?

• How can founders use data and case studies to really test the skillsets of growth candidates?

• Why does Adam believe that the hiring process for growth and product is so broken?

4.) The Onboarding Process:

• What is the right way to structure the onboarding process for new growth hires?

• How should growth hires create cross-functional relationships and communication with the rest of the team? What has worked for Adam in the past? What has not?

• What are the signs that are new growth hire is not working? How long should they be given?

• What are the signs that are a new growth hire is working? What is the sign of “exceptional”?

5.) Adam Fishman: AMA:

• What growth decision has Adam made without data? How did it go?

• How does Adam define “viral loops”? What makes one better than another? Where do so many make mistakes with viral loops?

• Adam led the rebrand for Patreon, what is the secret to a successful rebrand? What are some of the most common pitfalls to avoid?

Items Mentioned in Today’s Episode with Adam Fishman

Adam’s Favourite Book: First 90 Days, Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels