How to build a high-performing growth team | Adam Fishman (Patreon, Lyft, Imperfect Foods)
Adam Fishman has decades of experience building and scaling some incredible businesses, like Lyft, Patreon, and Imperfect Foods. He is currently an Executive in Residence at Reforge and an advisor to numerous companies on growth, product, strategy, and company building. In today’s episode, Adam shares his growth PM competency model to help founders identify specific skills when hiring growth leaders, how to structure feedback, and how to identify gaps in your growth team. He also discusses the role of onboarding in retention and how to evaluate a company as a prospective employee.
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Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-build-a-high-performing-growth
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Where to find Adam Fishman:
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/fishmanaf
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/
• Website: https://www.adamfishman.com/
• Adam’s newsletter: https://www.fishmanafnewsletter.com/
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for making this episode possible:
• Linear: https://linear.app/lenny
• Coda: http://coda.io/lenny
• Eppo: https://www.geteppo.com/
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Referenced:
• Stream Super Pumped on Showtime: https://www.sho.com/super-pumped
• Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Pumped-Battle-Mike-Isaac/dp/0393652246
• HitRecord: https://hitrecord.org/
• Adam’s growth competency model: https://www.reforge.com/blog/the-growth-competency-model
• Adam’s LinkedIn series: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/adamjfishman_ive-now-published-my-complete-series-on-activity-6979198793992802305-VtCu/
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In this episode, we cover:
(00:18) Adam’s background
(06:16) Lyft’s launch press release
(09:56) Adam’s newsletter and growth competency framework
(10:34) Myths and mistakes founders make
(15:12) The growth competency model
(18:47) Customer knowledge and user psychology
(21:23) Why strategy and communication are more advanced competencies
(25:45) Why to hire a junior-level growth executive and how to support them
(31:20) Why Adam skews toward internal hiring
(33:25) Generalists vs. specialists
(35:59) The importance of onboarding
(41:49) Opinionated defaults
(45:03) Balancing conversion and retention with successful onboarding
(48:46) Guidelines for redesigning onboarding
(52:22) The PMF criteria for candidates
(57:57) What Adam would have done differently at Imperfect Foods
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.
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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 at 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