My latest podcast with Lenny: 10 Growth Tactics and Strategies That Don’t Work.
Highlights from the podcast and links to my previous 2 episodes.
I recently did my THIRD (!!!) interview with Lenny, this time about 10 growth tactics and strategies that don’t work.
Lenny is such a great interviewer - he knows how to keep the vibe alive and asks sharp questions. I’m honored to have been invited back again. That said, Lenny’s a big deal now (with his what, a million subscribers now???), so I was definitely nervous about this episode going live… But what’s done is done, and I hope you enjoy it!
Watch it on YouTube:
Or Listen on Spotify or Apple.
Some highlights:
Hiring growth too early will stall your business.
Just like you can’t outsource finding Product-Market Fit, you can’t outsource getting your initial growth traction. Achieving Product-Market Fit (PMF) and ensuring your internal data is in a good standing have to happen before forming a growth team. Why data? Because growth relies on the scientific method - experimentation - to help you maximize your distribution. And for the scientific method, you need… data.
My recommendation is to wait until you’ve reached at least $1M in ARR before considering growth specialization on your team. Until then, everyone should contribute to growth! Founder-led growth FTW.
A growth team cannot fix a declining business.
As tempting as it may be to ‘fix’ a declining business by throwing a growth team at it (and even hiring a shiny new Head of Growth), growth alone won’t solve the fundamental product and marketing issues that caused the decline in the first place. If your core metrics are dropping, focus on addressing the underlying product and marketing problems that got you there. Growth teams can amplify distribution, but they can’t reverse declining Product-Market Fit or stop competitors from eating your lunch. Prioritize fixing the foundation before seeking growth as the solution.
Redesign will most definitely tank your metrics.
A redesign of your marketing site or app might feel like a fresh start, but if you’re expecting it to accelerate business performance, think again. Yes, I’m looking at you, marketers itching to rebrand the homepage and promising the moon and beyond. Anyone claiming a redesign will drive immediate lifts is being overly ambitious and optimistic.
While redesigns are sometimes necessary to unlock a new category, market, or audience, they are always a step back in terms of performance initially - they simply can’t compete with an optimized, existing experience. If you decide to move forward, be prepared to spend months post-launch optimizing to regain your previous performance levels.
Copying your competition is the fastest path to mediocrity.
While competitors can be a fantastic source of inspiration and research - I personally have countless Miro boards full of competitive flows because I find them fascinating and educational - flat-out copying is a massive mistake. Here’s why:
You don’t know what’s working. The flow you’re seeing could be something they’re testing (and it might not even perform well).
It may not be optimized. In larger companies, some pages or flows might be years old and untouched - not exactly a blueprint for success.
Their tactics are tailored to their context. Their flows are designed for their specific product, audience, and market. Even if you’re a direct competitor, what works for them likely won’t translate directly to your business.
You miss the bigger picture. Without understanding the full user journey or the context behind their design, copying leads to disjointed or ineffective experiences.
Use competition as a data point and a source of ideas, but never, ever just copy it.
Earned and owned channels >>> Google, TikTok, Meta—any day, all day.
When you invest in SEO, SEM, or paid social, you’re essentially renting access to someone else’s audience. While that access can provide a quick shortcut to growth, it’s neither scalable, sustainable, nor predictable. Since it’s someone else’s audience, you’re competing with everyone else for a piece of it - ultimately making Google, Meta, and similar platforms richer.
On top of that, you’re always at the mercy of their algorithms, which can giveth… and taketh away.
Instead, prioritize building owned and earned channels—like virality, word of mouth, and user-generated content. These channels are uniquely yours, hard for competitors to replicate, and offer a far more sustainable and reliable growth engine over the long term.
Don’t AB test everything!
Gasp. Isn’t it a growth team’s job to A/B test everything? Absolutely not. In fact, if you try to test everything, you’ll stall progress and fall behind the competition.
A/B testing is a powerful tool, but it’s only effective when used in the right context: when precise measurement is needed, results can be obtained in a reasonable timeframe, and the risk of "just launching" is too high.
For everything else? Trust your intuition and launch! You should always conduct a pre-post analysis to evaluate impact, but don’t waste time over-testing every minor change. Testing is costly, so ensure the ROI justifies the effort. Focus your resources where they matter most.
Your growth model should evolve every 18 months.
Just like Product requires constant expansion and new launches, your growth model needs regular updates too. You should aim to layer new growth loops onto your model about every 18 months. Why? Because every growth channel, tactic, or loop has a lifespan. They might start off productive and powerful, but eventually, they lose momentum. If you don’t evolve your growth model, you’ll inevitably face slowing growth.
Lastly… remember, don’t try to figure everything out on your own.
Your business problems are NOT unique, and there’s no need to waste time solving them from scratch. Seek out people who’ve tackled similar problems or hire advisors to guide you. Leverage their expertise to accelerate your progress.
Listen to the podcast for a deep dive into all these points!
And, if you’d like a trip down the memory lane….
Here is my FIRST interview with Lenny: Product-Led Growth is the Future!
And here is my SECOND interview with Lenny: The Ultimate Guide to Product-Led Sales!
I found the podcast very helpful
Loved this podcast. Wish more people where this honest and not selling fake growth hacks.