Here are the 31 Growth Mentors of February 2023

1. Udit Misra

Describe yourself

I’m an ex-lawyer, who’s been working in growth for the majority of my career now – across two countries. I’ve been an IC, managed a team, and co-founded a company – so I understand where your questions are coming from, and I’ve probably worked through some versions of them. I’m most helpful as a thought partner to help you solve a problem, rather than giving you a ready solution.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I’ve done Growth at very different stages of companies – super early stage, scaling, hyper-growth, and established. During this time, I’ve had a ton of help along the way from some really smart, but selfless people – and I see this as a way of giving back.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

In very simple terms – growth (and life) is all about marginal gains. A growth mindset to me means looking to get a little better, every day – and watching that value compound massively over time.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Conversion Rate Optimization – across all my roles (in music streaming, language-learning, edtech), this has been a common theme and something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

Problem:
Status Quo was that no sign-up was required to use the app. If you signed up, you’d get personalized recos and could subscribe.

A majority of users tended to not sign-up, which meant that we couldn’t personalize their experience at all and they only ever saw the generic page. The retention levels for such users (based solely on device ids) were much lower than for users who signed up. Additionally, we were not able to serve targeted ads to them – which really hurt our advertising business.

However, signing up was a multi-step process with a high drop-off factor (something like 50% from start to end).
(Something like 5-6 steps)

We had Facebook/Google logins available – but a large proportion of our users didn’t necessarily have the Facebook app (usage in India is very mobile-web heavy), and we had issues with invalid tokens very often.

Over time, the strategy was also to move to a universal sign-in (owned by our parent company – think sign-in with Apple), so we didn’t want to rely too heavily on Facebook logins.

Did 2 different things:

1. First thing we did was to shorten the sign-up flow.

We revamped it to a simple 2-stage process—personal details on page 1, music and language preferences on page 2.

The flow now was that although you had to sign up, it was much easier to do. The drop-off rate decreased drastically as well.

2. Second thing was to make sign-up compulsory to use the app. A drastic shift from the existing flow.

Our hypothesis was that although this added a bit of friction to the initial steps – it nevertheless made for a much better experience in the long run and would drive up retention. Additionally, being able to serve targeted ads to a much bigger cohort of users would make the ads platform more robust and enable our sales team to sell higher-value campaigns.

The risk here was that our MAUs would dip – but we believed it wouldn’t be too drastic (based on A/B tests we conducted with small cohorts), and that increased retention would make up for lost MAUs.

So what happened was that we got some initial complaints regarding the compulsory sign-ups on Twitter and the app store reviews, but things normalized over time as expected.

Overall free user retention went up – I think it was something like 15-20% in 6 months. Revenue also rose drastically, since we tripled the number of users we could target.

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2. Trevor Sookraj

Describe yourself

I help early-stage SaaS startups to hire marketers + build their marketing teams. My background includes being an early growth hire at Clearbit (B2B self-serve), sales at Shopify Plus, and freelancing as a growth marketer at Hopin, Upscribe, Toolbox, and several other startups. Reach out if you’re looking for advice on growth strategy or hiring a growth marketer (PT or FT)!

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

Share what I’ve learned about growing early-stage B2B SaaS companies with other founders or marketers.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

Never being static with your growth engine – both for your business and as an individual. As a business, that means having a system for running growth experiments (optimizing existing channels, testing new hypotheses, etc.), tracking your results, and documenting your learnings. As an individual, that means tracking how you’re growing your skillset + experience, identifying your blind spots, and knowing what to pursue next.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Hiring growth marketers. Most founders are dead set on learning how to do growth themselves, but overlook how to screen for new hires (PT or FT) to build systems + accelerate their growth. I’ve interviewed 100+ marketers and can share my learnings.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

We had a 7-figure self-serve engine at Clearbit, but it was difficult to grow. Retention was the biggest problem, as even users that did plenty of Enrichments (usage metric) would churn after 1-2 months.

I started offering a Calendly to new users, to learn more about how they used the product. I coupled this with interviewing long-term users (3+ months) and deconstructing their use cases. The #1 theme was connecting Clearbit to their CRM or marketing automation system.

I created a partnership with Zapier, enriching new signups and offering Clearbit use cases with Zapier to HubSpot, Pipedrive, and other CRM systems. I also created how-to guides and case studies, which Zapier amplified to their newsletter of 1M+ readers and shared on their blog. Over a few months, I reduced self-serve churn by 20% via Zapier users and focused on acquisition channels.

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3. Travis Hughson

Describe yourself

Hey, I’m Travis! I’m 29, Canadian, and live in London UK. Currently, I work in the fintech space building out our GTM and driving sales in the digital space. Hit me up if you are starting out in sales and looking for guidance on navigating daily challenges, career progression, and the pressures associated with targets.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I owe my success to those who mentored me, so I’m hoping to give back!

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

Challenging the norm, leading by example, and paving your own path.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Career and life balance – this is something I spend a lot of effort on. I’m extremely passionate about helping others with this.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

My goal was an international move and promotion … I was told this was impossible. Yet here I am in the Uk, 3 promotions later as I treated it exactly like an enterprise sales process.

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4. Tom Marcus

Describe yourself

I’m an enthusiastic creative problem solver equipped with 8+ years of Marketing, Customer Experience, and Product and Business Operations background, and I’m always up for a challenge.

I’m a Partner and the Chief Growth Officer for Escala Ventures, and my background goes through various positions in the marketing surroundings from automation, to analytics, through branding & creatives, to strategy and growth hacking, all in businesses from the gaming industry, SaaS, agency, and services.

These days I’m leading the growth initiatives for our group of companies, establishing the growth function including multiple teams like Acquisition & Revenue Marketing, Retention & Brand Marketing, Branding & Creative, and Business Operations, leading them both strategically and operationally.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I enjoy teaching and sharing knowledge and experience with others. At the same time, I also see this as a great opportunity to learn myself, grow my network, meet great people, and maybe get involved in great ventures.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

Growth mindset is reflected in anything a person does, not only in his role in business. You’re perspective and motivation are to find the path to “how do I make this better”, and “how do I grow it”. Whether it’s your daily routine, a business problem, your learning curve, or a marketing strategy, your mind is always set on finding the best way to push that initiative to new horizons.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Building a marketing machine – from strategy to execution.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

A company I was working for was in the early stage of introducing a new product to local SMBs.

As the usage volume of the product was relatively low, and proven results for the clients took time, we were lacking testimonials, reviews, and basic product credibility – which is so crucial at such an early stage.

So in order to fast-track success stories to come, we took x5 clients into a “success stories” pilot where we helped them fully utilize and use smartly the product, so they’d reach results and success much faster.

As a result, we were able to get loyal clients, who are heavily invested in the product and gave us extensive testimonials and success story interviews, helped us generate content, and on top of it a lot of learning and experience of the usage of the product from the client perspective.

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5. Theo Ohene

Describe yourself

I’m Theo – I’ve been working with startups for the past 8 years as a head of growth/consultant. I enjoy working at the intersection of psychology, UX, and data to create products that grow.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

Help founders and marketers to solve challenges by sharing my expertise.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

Always seeking to improve, learn and be better. Taking a willingness to listen to new perspectives and try new things.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Product Growth – the best companies always have a great product and leverage it to grow.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

A company I was working with was struggling with churn. Users didn’t understand the product.

We NPS’d users, ran user interviews /surveys, and revamped the onboarding. We tested a non-skip onboarding 😱 vs skip (also listened to user sentiment). We found that non-skip led to 20% higher retention and didn’t affect NPS or user sentiment negatively at all.

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6. Steven Tate

Describe yourself

I’m committed to clients and mentees and invest my time and passion entirely in their respective industries. I’ve got deep domain expertise in a few industries and have advised SaaS and e-commerce brands. If I weren’t a growth marketer, I’d probably be an investigative journalist or detective of some sort as I’m constantly in search of uncovering a crucial piece of missing information.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I want to be able to give back and make a positive impact in the startup community, and sharpen my ability as a mentor by offering extensive knowledge in a distilled manner.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

A growth mindset means being open to an approach that may make you feel uncomfortable from your initial instinctive plan and strategy. It also means that what seems like an initial failure is simply data from which you can learn and adjust your strategy further.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

It would be on design & creative strategy because words and storytelling matter greatly when you first go to market with your product.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

When it comes to communication with the masses, the most important item you need to hone in on is empathy. If you can empathize with those you’re communicating with, you can reach your customers more efficiently. For instance, as simple as this sounds, when creating ads, create content that does not feel like an ad. Don’t sell, solve.

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7. Stefan Mauer

Describe yourself

I have been building and growing startups for more than 8 years. I have extensive experience in all growth disciplines and am passionate about leadership. In the end, your team makes or breaks your startup.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I am currently on a sabbatical with lots of free time and would love to give back to the community with free mentoring since I always benefitted tremendously from others helping me.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

Seeing challenges as opportunities for growth. A can-do attitude and willingness to learn new things.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Leadership. Being a good leader allows you to hire the best talent and keep them motivated to solve even the biggest challenges for you.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

At Lingumi, an app for toddlers to learn English, I came up with a feature that would allow parents to share their children’s learning progress with other parents. These features substantially increased our virality rate and growth.

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8. Rita Zinger

Describe yourself

Hello, I’m Rita. I help businesses to create a story about their products or services and to promote it using different social media platforms, in order for the story to reach the ideal customer, which will lead to the company’s growth. I love marketing, it’s the most satisfying profession because you can see the results of your work right away and the impact that it makes on other people.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I love teaching.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

A growth mindset is a constant wish of getting better at something, self-improvement, the ability to always stay on top of things, to take control, and to live life the way you want it.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

I would teach about the creation of a marketing message because everyone should know how to sell themselves properly if it’s for business purposes or to move up the corporate ladder.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

I turned the reporting and data analysis into a beautiful presentation, that is super easy to read and understand anyone.

The advertising data can be overwhelming, but we still need to understand it in order to make decisions, I simply took the data and turned it into visual graphs that looked much friendlier and clear.

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9. Priya Bhatia

Describe yourself

I’m a former Investment banker turned into a product & growth leader, currently leading the Product Growth team and Experimentation at 7shifts, a B2B SaaS company.

I’ve conducted multiple experiments that have increased the self-serve conversion and monetization of the product using product-led growth principles.

My work has been featured in Kyle’s newsletter, Headup.ai’s podcast, and other platforms. I’m passionate about product-led growth, product-led sales, and data-driven approaches to problem-solving. I love sharing my wins and failures to inspire and help other growth professionals/ founders in their journey. I draw a lot of inspiration from my career in investment banking and apply it to products to execute the highest ROI bets.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

To share my learnings that help others avoid pitfalls, inspire new ideas, and help drive the execution of the same and, in turn, discover my blindspots or unknowns.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

A growth mindset, to me, means being able to question or challenge everything. It means to incrementally and continually test your assumptions, gain new learnings and continually improve systems, processes, products, and personal skills. It also means to execute on the highest ROI bets, fail fast and repeat.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Growth strategy and experimentation.

I’ve driven a lot of impact in my current role that has helped improve activation, trial conversion, free-to-paid conversion, pricing optimization, and expansion. I believe these learnings and frameworks could help others facing similar problems.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

A critical setup moment for a restaurant is setting up its departments and employee roles. We moved this process to an onboarding wizard, which pre-populated the typical roles at a restaurant. This additional step didn’t distract users from completing onboarding and improved trial conversion rates considerably.

It was out of the box because setup moments are often forgotten in the ‘aha moment’ definition. A user needs to feel that we understand their business and that this product could solve their problem. In our case, the problem was also complex because it was a necessary step for a customer to feel set up, yet it wasn’t the core step to realize the value of 7 shifts. Getting it out of the way early meant we were setting up the customer for success.

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10. Paulina Szymanska

Describe yourself

Hello, my name is Paulina.

I am a seasoned marketing professional with over a decade of experience in paid advertising and growth marketing.

Throughout my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work in various industries, from corporate to small startups, where I was the first marketing team member.

My passion lies in startups and I aim to continue my career in this direction.

Recently, I transitioned to consulting in marketing and growth for B2B startups and I am looking to expand my professional network.

My areas of expertise include:

• B2B SaaS startups (from seed to Series A funding), – Go-to-market strategy and planning
• Account-based marketing (strategy and implementation)
• Paid media (Google Ads, YouTube, Display, Facebook/Instagram ads, LinkedIn)
• Email marketing and automation
• Data and analytics
• Budget forecasting
• A/B testing

If you need advice in any of these areas, let’s connect.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I’m passionate about knowledge and education and believe that I can contribute to someone’s personal or organizational success journey having 15 years of experience in Product Management and Product Marketing

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

To me, having a growth mindset means constantly challenging the status quo and trying out different things. Keep trying new ideas and maintaining a ‘can do’ attitude while overcoming hurdles and difficulties will help you grow personally and professionally with your company or in your job.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Product Management, simply because that’s where my personal experience and passion lie.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

Back in 2015, I was working at a Marketing Automation Company that pivoted from OnPrem solutions to SaaS solutions.

The uptick of the new offer was slow. After some VoC tours, it became apparent that the pricing and onboarding solutions did not meet customer expectations so I put a Go-To-Market plan together to build a whole new “New to SaaS” package that was sold as part of the new subscription service.

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11. Olga Poliakova

Describe yourself

Hi, I’m Olha, a content marketer with a background in philology and journalism.

I believe that a strong brand narrative is what drives business growth through engaging relevant audiences. This is why I’m combining my skills in storytelling, psychology, and marketing to create a unique tone of voice and messaging for the brand I’m working for (for now, it’s a mental health company Calmerry).

I can help you identify your brand story and start creating content that will tell this story and generate trust in your company. Also, I can share my experience of managing a content team and the process of content creation itself.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I want to discover how my experience can be applied to various business cases and see this synergy in action by providing actionable tips tailored to my mentees’ projects.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

For me, a growth mindset is about building products and processes with scalability in mind.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

I believe my experience would perfectly work for those who need mentorship in the area of content marketing: building consistent brand messaging, setting up content creation and management processes, and launching content funnels.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

In 2020, I was working at PromoRepublic — a martech SaaS company. We provided tools for small and medium businesses to create, schedule, and analyze the performance of social media content.

When the lockdown started, our clients were confused as the business landscape changed dramatically. Most of them weren’t ready to go online and didn’t know how to do it right.

It seemed to be not the best time to acquire new clients, even keeping those we had was challenging. However, we decided to invest in content that would bring value to our clients and help them navigate through the crisis. We created Emergency Marketing Center with articles, podcasts, and webinars sharing tips and insights from industry experts on how to market a business during the crisis.

Creating relevant messages that resonated with our audience helped us build relationships with potential clients. The Emergency Marketing Center worked as a content funnel attracting MQLs and nurturing them through valuable content. This marketing campaign let us keep pace with lead generation goals and became a foundation for business scalability.

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12. Mikel Ayala

Describe yourself

Hi, I’m Mikel. I’m the Chief Growth Officer at Atani, a global crypto start-up. Previously, I was the Chief Marketing & Data Officer at The Cocktail, an international growth studio. I love getting deep into “discovery mode”, scaling processes from scratch, assembling top-performing international & remote teams, building real stuff, and delivering tangible results.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

Share my experience and be useful to others. Be exposed to challenges outside my day-to-day work. Connect with cool people.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

A growth mindset means understanding that reality is complex, problems are multi-dimensional and there are no easy solutions, yet you want to embrace that reality, deal with it, build stuff, and achieve meaningful goals.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Setting up a growth engine to find product-market fit and scale distribution from scratch for a new product/venture (100 Day Plan, Positioning, Go-to-Market Validation & Scaling, Building an Experimentation Machine). I love this topic because there is nothing more exciting and challenging than dealing with the ambiguity and uncertainty of the early days.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

I conducted discovery, crafted the go-to-market strategy, built the team, operations & tech infrastructure from scratch, and successfully scaled distribution for an early-stage startup. In less than 12 months. In a nascent industry where most growth hacks and standard playbooks are useless.

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13. Matt Mroczek

Describe yourself

I’m a marketing agency owner who works with startups up to enterprise-level clients. I enjoy helping entrepreneurs think differently about their customers and GTM strategies.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I recently started mentoring a tech entrepreneur and have found it so rewarding! I’d love to spread my knowledge to more people!

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

Having a growth mindset means being incredibly humble, open-minded, and data-driven.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

GTM Strategy

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

Created a unique GTM strategy for a new photography-based app. I wish there was a short version to this but… built an in-person community prior to launching the app and it’s going great!

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14. Ludovico De Angelis

Describe yourself

I’m a people-first, performance marketer. What does that mean? It means I believe in creating amazing teams of people that are happy, driven, and motivated to perform their best work and drive the best results.

I’ve taught growth marketing at General Assembly which gave me insights into senior marketers early in my career. This allowed me to better serve the smaller startups and scale-ups I know to serve and continue to work within London.

I can’t wait to speak with more founders and startup marketing teams, I hope you do too! Ludo-

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

Mentoring and guidance are an absolute pleasure, especially when it results in tangible efforts.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

A growth mindset is a belief that when you put time and effort into intelligence and skills, you can achieve your goals (and more!)

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Oooh, great question. Probably the juggling of life and work together, which has always been a passion of mine and the subject of lots of conversations and reading. How to squeeze the most out of whatever you’re focused on in that particular period of your life. 🙂

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

Once I was all out of pasta sauce…. no just kidding.

At a previous startup (travel tech), we were going up against Booking.com and Airbnb. We also had to prove the product for the next round of investment.

As the performance manager, our budgets weren’t comparable. (Did you know Booking.com spends multiple billion dollars a month on Google Ads?)

Instead, I devised regional and national rollout plans for our hotels, based on demand, that would scoop up the high-intent BOFU traffic of those hotels after users had done all their research and comparison on the Booking/Airbnb, etc with direct regional marketing and digital remarketing to support the USP the travel tech startup.

The result was I was able to take bookings (from zero to hundreds) from these juggernauts of the industry with a paltry budget and provide enough evidence to secure a majority stake in a crowdfunding round.

I talk more about this if necessary of course!

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15. Lou Schillaci

Describe yourself

30-year tech industry veteran – learned a lot from many mistakes.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

After 30 years, it’s time to give back, as I do on other sites www.startupbootcamp.org

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

Working with a growth mindset means you see opportunities that others seem to pass. You look for steps up where others just see stairs.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

I am just a founder, but people keep calling me a CEO, what do I need to do to feel and act like one?

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

How to get attention and credibility at a major trade show in another country we couldn’t afford to go to? How? I wrote a long letter of congratulations to the event organizers telling them how well they did and how the industry had benefited from the event. In the days that passed, after the show. Our company was headlined in the reviews the event organizers used to promote the next show. That free publicity worked a treat and what’s more, their ad campaign lasted another 12 months and was seen by thousands.

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16. Lefteris Mantelas

Describe yourself

10+ years improving business performance and enabling intelligent business decisions at a strategic and tactical level, using data and data analytics.

Worked on various business models, industries, and domains such as SaaS and PaaS, retail and FMCG, banking and shipping, Energy, Gas, and Utilities, urban and regional planning.

Familiar with a range of business problems, different business, and technological maturity stages, as well as various stacks, data sources, and technical infrastructures.

Experienced in building and running teams, including remotely in different time zones, leading, coaching, and helping people grow, project management, R&D projects, consulting, as well as working with clients such as Google, Coca-Cola, P&G, Hess, and E.ON.

Motivated to work with fascinating people on interesting problems, be an agent of growth, and advocate of data-smart culture.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I have hit a lot of walls – professional or personal – that others do not have to.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

It is not about where you are but about where you wanna get at.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Data Analytics

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

I build a functional prototype solution for a very expensive product in 8 hours – after this was idle for months.

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17. Léa Samrani

Describe yourself

I have 10+ years of experience in Product Lead Growth for consumer apps. I scaled teams and products from zero to millions and can help you make tangible decisions with your career, your startup, your strategy, etc… Just get in touch 🙂

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I am already a growth mentor with my network and the startups I advise, now I am looking to grow my circle, help and mentor more people, and also learn from the exposure.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

A growth mindset means being adaptable, seeking new information, and using them to make decisions, it means taking calculated risks and using frameworks to reduce uncertainty, once you validate your hypothesis, go full on and repeat.

It applies to life, to work, to career, to startup, strategy, consumers… absolutely anything -> explore, adjust, prove, scale, repeat.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Product experimentation is my Jam

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

I once had to work with an archaic system requiring a phone call verification for users to get into a product, which was slow and confusing and resulted in a significant drop in user acquisitions.

For technical reasons, we were limited in what we could do to change the flow, so instead, we focused all our effort on making it understandable via very ingenious design and smart clear copy, and…. it worked.

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18. Lauren Blake

Describe yourself

I am a good listener and have a strong ability to learn businesses inside and out. I identify areas of weakness in my client’s marketing efforts and give them tools to improve. I create a comprehensive strategy for my clients to achieve their goals.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I enjoy helping startups grow their businesses.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

A growth mindset is being committed to improving. It is constantly testing to figure out what works.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

I would mentor paid advertising and overall growth marketing.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

I helped a client to identify offline ways to target a local market and provided a method of measuring success.

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19. Junaid Alam

Describe yourself

An all-spectrum HR professional with more than a decade of People & Culture strategy experience across tech startups & Fortune 500 corporations.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

To provide tried and tested thought leadership strategies to create great people-driven organizations.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

The only way to reach true potential.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Leadership & Trust

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

Launching new markets remotely.

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20. Julia Neguer

Describe yourself

Hi! My name is Julia – currently head of strategy at a software company focusing on life sciences and healthcare.

In my current role, I lead ad-hoc teams to explore potential markets and build make/buy/partner strategies to conquer them. I love deep diving into new topics and playing devil’s advocate to build scenarios and solve complex problems. With 10+ years in the tech industry, I have experience in product definition, team management, market intelligence, digital transformation, strategy, and M&A.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

Sharing my expertise and knowledge with driven entrepreneurs is a stimulating and gratifying experience and a great way to keep growing and pushing my boundaries.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

It means taking risks and testing ideas, measuring the outcome, and course-correcting as you go. Be humble, fail fast, and leverage data, analytics, and collective intelligence to improve.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Strategy – differentiation, value proposition, business model.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

As my company was contemplating entering a new and very broad market, the management was having a hard time accepting to narrow down the scope: whenever someone proposed to deprioritize a given topic, they would refuse as we might miss an opportunity. The lack of focus was hindering progress – no one knew where to start and how to efficiently spend time and resources. There was just too much ground to cover.

To tackle this problem, I developed an opportunity space to compare and contrast all the potential sub-markets we could go after. Putting together a synthetic high-level analysis of the entire space allowed everyone to align on priorities and focus areas.

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21. Jon Keilson

Describe yourself

Hands-on product and technology leader with extensive experience in consumer audio and video products. I’ve specialized in building and growing subscription businesses from the ground up.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I enjoy helping startups solve problems and grow their businesses.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

A growth mindset means that we are able to learn and develop our skills in many areas, given we invest in ourselves and take feedback from others. This continues throughout our lives and drives many of us forward in our industries.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Starting a new product or service, especially one that makes us a subscription-based business. I really enjoy the process of trying to identify the true problem we are solving, and what the potential of a solution could really do for a business. Exploring potential solutions.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

Previously working on free service via a 3rd party service, I was able to develop a product and content experience that ultimately drove demand from consumers for the 3rd party to integrate our subscription offering.

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22. Ikram Guerd

Describe yourself

Hi growth mentees, I’m Ikram, passionate about marketing and a woman leading in a B2B Healthcare environment with +17 years of experience both in Europe and in the USA.

I love traveling around the world, learning from other cultures, and connecting with people.

From product management to market strategies, through MarCom/ MarTech and digital marketing, I’m a proven marketing leader with a full set of experience in building and leading successful teams, collaborating with partners, getting things done, and driving growth and culture.

I enjoy giving back to the community and sharing my experiences as a women leader with a multicultural experience.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

Passionate about marketing and connecting with people, I enjoy giving back to the community sharing my experience as a women leader with a multicultural experience (Europe/US) and helping others achieve their goals in terms of professional and personal growth.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

Growth mindset can be used both at the professional and personal level. It’s about learning, being curious with a think-outside-of-the-box mindset to experience new challenges. It’s about going above and beyond. It’s about seeing the full potential of your project and you as a person. “The sky is the limit”

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

I’d love overall marketing strategy from product management through MarCom and MarTech to implement a successful execution plan.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

With a limited sales workforce, we found other opportunities to grow as a business through a successful distribution partnership to be able to cover the country to support a new launch product. It resulted in +50% additional revenue and a successful launch.

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23. Ibrahim Halfaoui

Describe yourself

Hey, I am Ibrahim. I combine technical and business expertise with a Ph.D. in Artificial intelligence and an MBA with a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation. I have conducted research, and supervised and managed several AI projects to help successfully bring them to production. Hit me up if you need advice on adopting and harnessing AI in your business.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I am having an experience as a mentor that I am enjoying so much. I would like to extend my reach and offer my expertise on a larger scale through GrowthMentor.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

Openness, flexibility, and readiness to innovate and fail are states of mind that could and must be learned if you intend to grow.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Artificial intelligence is the future.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

Semantic segmentation and depth estimation from monocular images was solved using a multitasking Neural network combining both applications and mutually improving each other.

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24. Hany Lynny

Describe yourself

I’m passionate about building new products, solving market needs, and exploring innovations that drive engagement, and growth, delight customers, and establish product-market fit.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I believe I have much relevant experience to contribute to others looking to learn in the Product led Growth space.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

Growth mindset is first and foremost having the perspective and maturity to observe the market you operate in, your product, your challenges, and your opportunities in a manner that is conducive to your overall mission and goals.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

I believe the most beneficial of topics would be Product Led Growth; it combines the core attributes of a strong product leader, a solid understanding of the potential product-market fit, and the essential skill-set of working with multiple stakeholders in various domains such as marketing, sales, data, etc., in order to deliver material results.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

At one of my previous positions as a Product Leader, we identified a repetitive pattern in our customers’ behavior that strongly indicated they may have a deep need for an innovative solution in their core daily operations. We created a lean Proof of Concept to address that need, which later grew strongly to become a whole new and integral department at the company.

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25. Guillaume Roux-Romestaing

Describe yourself

Hey, I’m Guillaume, but you can call me ‘G’. I run an angel syndicate for Founders Forum members (the heart of the UK and EU tech ecosystem).

My expertise lies in VC, Growth Strategy, Venture Building, and Accelerator programs.

I’m currently doing all of the above, but transitioning to being a full-time VC in the coming months.

Keen to support those who are building the future, helping them with fundraising, growth strategy, hiring, or anything else you might need help with.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

Support exciting founders who build the future.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

A growth mindset is both iterative and non-linear.

Iterative in that one has to be diligent and consistent in their efforts to grow (themselves, an idea, a business).

Non-linear in that smart and efficient thinking must lead to 0 to 1, and 1 to 100 types of growth. Contrarian thinking is most often the source of rapid and sustainable growth.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Fundraising – because that’s where my most profound expertise lies. And because it’s intrinsically linked to my personal network, meaning I can most easily make introductions.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

1. When setting up my Angel Syndicate, I had 2 things in mind: how to secure the best deal-flow, and how to best perform due diligence on the opportunities we reviewed. Shot 2 birds with one stone by building ties with the best VCs in town, who let me piggyback off of their DD & sourcing efforts, and co-invest with them.
2. When I started angel investing, I realized that fundraising support for start-ups in Europe is fraught with problems. It’s mostly old bankers, charging extortionate upfront fees and barely making any intros. I broke that game by charging founders success fees for my intros and promising to reinvest 50 to 100% of those fees in their fundraising rounds.

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26. Federico Donatone

Describe yourself

Currently Fractional Head of Growth & Performance at True Sydney, I’ve spent the last 5 years working in tech. My journey includes high-volume businesses like Shopify stores and early-stage startups like Spacefill.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

Getting some high-quality feedback loop is key in our industry. I wanna help talents ask themselves the right questions and help them be the best professionals they can be.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

Growth mindset = starting from the objective you wanna achieve, and building your plan backward. A company can grow only if every team member grows every day. It’s a collective effort towards a single objective. It’s about synergy, efficiency, and cross-functionality, and ultimately, we’re doing this to provide frictionless value to the clients we serve.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Paid Acquisition. If you’re working in a VC-backed startup, it’s the go-to way to get your first wins. Once you’re Paid Acquisition is set, you can start building for the long term.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

Problem: Spacefill was struggling to get leads from Google Ads.

Solution: I scheduled 2-3 quick calls with potential clients every week in order to improve our landing page (copy, sections, etc.), and they literally told me how to improve it. Leads increased by 400% in 2 months.

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27. Fabrizio Parzanese

Describe yourself

I am an expert in digital product, marketing, and business development, I have experience working for large internet and media companies and also in starting-up new businesses.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I already mentor startups for free on Lunchclub and it is something I enjoy, I am building my consulting practice and working for startups in growth, marketing, and go-to-market strategies.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

I put myself in the shoes of the client persona of the business I am working for and try to understand how to leverage his/her needs for effective marketing and growth strategies and activities.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Go-to-market strategy is my forte because is where my multidisciplinary experience which includes, marketing, content, strategy, product, partnerships, and business development, can express all its potential.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

I crafted a B2C2B marketing strategy for a campaign in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Singapore that was able to attract B2B customers as a positive effect of media investments on the B2C side.

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28. Ewan Mchorton

Describe yourself

I help startup teams and marketers to find their strengths and emphasize them. Working 10 years in marketing I help startups to grow quickly with effective positioning and strategic marketing. I am a professional ICF coach and spent more than 300 sessions.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

My mission is to help people with development so giving is my first priority in life.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

I believe that all people are “set” to development and growth by default.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Strategy and marketing positioning.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

Last year I helped a startup to grow 5x for 1 year in the number of new users.

For the promotion of the consent and sexting agreement in the mobile app we printed QR-code on the condoms and spread them in the colleges. The campaign had a great buzz among the target audience.

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29. Elliot Volkman

Describe yourself

Hey there, I’m Elliot, the Director of Marketing (Creative Services) for Data. Currently, I lead a team of creatives who partner with our growth and product marketing teams to build brand awareness, pipeline, product fit, and the resources needed to achieve our ARR goals. I specialize in developing growth strategies fueled by authentic brand awareness and inbound tactics such as thought leadership content, data-backed research projects, and other campaigns that pair well with paid activities.

In the past, I’ve run demand gen and product marketing teams for fast-growing startups but come from a journalism background.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I’ve run a non-profit that focused on educating people and orgs in the past, and have the itch to support budding founders again.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

Growth is the hunger for forward momentum, but doing so in a thoughtful and strategic way.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Brand awareness. This is often misunderstood and replaced by high-velocity paid programs, whereas it should be started on day one and eventually take over a greater share of pipeline-generating activity.

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

Many years ago I worked with a startup that developed a system that would allow individuals to see if they were involved in a data breach. There was an existing platform, which is still around today; however, it was not able to identify the exact information that was involved. At deployment, we had 1.2 million users within 30 days which resulted in 500K in sales.

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30. Bartosz Majewski

Describe yourself

I’m a co-founder of a Consulting company dedicated to e-commerce and B2B businesses. Previously I’ve been a co-founder of a SaaS startup, where I built a team that acquired 1000+ B2B clients from 41 countries. I’ve written probably 300 blog posts and delivered 200 speeches about marketing, sales, and running companies. I can help you with all things sales and most things management. I try to be helpful whenever I can so feel free to reach out.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

How about one word? Network 🙂

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

It’s a detailed focus on providing the best inputs and believing that if we’ll try our best then our outputs/results will take care of themselves.

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

B2B Sales

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

Had a lot of those. First, what popped into my mind was developing a recurring consulting services model that enabled my company to get 400 clients in 5 years with an average LTV exceeding 20 months and grow for 20 quarters straight from inception.

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31. Alessandro Mozzato

Describe yourself

I am a full stack Data Scientist with experience ranging from machine learning to product strategy and analytics. My main areas of expertise are e-commerce, experimentation, and performance marketing.

In just one sentence, why do you want to become a growth mentor?

I like applying my skills to help others grow.

In your words, what does a growth mindset mean to you?

Always try new things, the higher the failure risk, the better!

If you could mentor a startup on one topic, what would it be?

Definitely experimentation, that’s the single best tool a startup can exploit to learn fast!

Describe an out of the box solution to a complex problem that made you proud of yourself.

Problem: a startup I was mentoring was stuck in the ideation stage for a feature they wanted to build.

Solution: We created a structured dataset from scattered qualitative feedback which unlocked product development immediately.

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Interested in becoming a growth mentor?

What we’re looking for:

• Growth marketers, product managers, and designers, with extraordinary track records of success
• Inspirational founders that have “been there and done that.”
• Friendly people that take joy in helping other people.
• At least 5 years of demonstrable experience working in growth.
• GrowthMentor is a #givefirst platform. You should be cool with mentoring for free until you have three reviews.