Here are the 20 Growth Mentors of December 2022

1. Aditya Raghunath

Describe yourself

With 7 yrs of experience in launching and scaling B2C & B2B products across e-commerce, FinTech, Cloud Computing and Communication and Collaboration, I’m someone who’s passionate about building compelling, sustainable products at scale that can transform human lives and industries. I have been a mentor for about 2 years now, and believe that I have been able to add significant value to my mentees in shaping their PM career paths.

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

To enable startup founders in launching and scaling great products/ businesses and budding Product Managers to further their skills and knowledge.

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

It’s the mindset to take bold bets, fail fast and learn faster while keeping a focus on building scalable, sustainable products. Ideally, it’s abut creating a virtuous growth loop driven by the product itself by minimising paid user acquisition.

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

How to build scalable and sustainable growth products because this is probably the most challenging aspect of creating a strong product business that lasts and is also the area where I’ve done my best work.

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

When organic growth wasn’t good enough for a FinTech product (investments platform for consumers) that I was leading, I built a user journey (a new product area) to leverage our existing scale of tax filing users to funnel them into our investments product through a personalised recommendation user journey.

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2. Ahmet Can

Describe yourself

I am an entrepreneur with three exits with a focus on strategy, scaling, finance/ops and HR. I’ve hired and mentored many people and take joy in witnessing their career trajectory and successes as I strongly believe in community and paying it forward.

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

I love mentoring people and setting them up for success by sharing both my wins and losses.

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

A growth mindset means experimentation, not operating out of a place of fear, and being able to pivot quickly when necessary.

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

Having a contingency plan when things don’t go as expected.

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

Attrition was considerably high at my last SaaS company. I bifurcated the sales and customer success teams with sales focusing solely on new accounts and customer service spearheading renewals and upsells with proactive outreach. Clients were happier, attrition fell, NPS scores increased, and ARR increased.

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3. Anina Lambrechts

Describe yourself

I am a User Experience specialist working in remote tech startups alongside founders, products, design, marketing and engineers to priorities and focus on the real problems. I have expertise in conducting research, implementing human behaviour principles and building strategies to define problems and focus on user needs to create valuable products.

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

I’ve always naturally felt inclined to help people and I’ve given back to my industry through mentoring and coaching designers and product managers.

Now after a decade working in tech startups I’ve had fantastic founders as mentors and want to give back to founders.

I’ve seen startups experiencing similar challenges in product MVP, understanding the needs through human behaviour and aligning users and business decisions. I feel I have the expertise to support early stage startups in different phases from raising funds and meeting investor metrics.

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

1. Adaptable to change.
2. Identifying and validating problems.
3. Prioritising and efficiency.

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

Problem definition. Identifying and validating the real problems making sure the solution focuses on aligning users’ and business decisions in order builds a strategy towards developing a valuable product.

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

I’ve worked on a complex B2B SaaS platform for sales teams with a conversion rate of 18% and through a simplified onboarding I’ve increased their conversion with about 42% where we then focused on retention through their dashboard improvements.

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4. Anneliese Niebauer

Describe yourself

I have 10 years of experience in B2B Sales, Growth, and Leadership. My last role was leading a team of 50-60 people as Head of Acquisition and Enablement for SMB Merchants at Uber Eats. Prior to that, I worked in fintech and adtech SaaS companies in Enterprise B2B Sales.

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

I really want to maintain a sharp skillset and continue to expand my network in the industry by helping other people tackle their B2B growth challenges.

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

For me having a growth mindset is believing in your own agency to grow, learn, and adapt for the future.

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

Building a b2b acquisition strategy. Because I typically find that people adopt some ‘out-of-the-box’ marketing/sales playbook when they’re first starting. But they don’t take time to build a predictable model that works with their unique mix of business model, growth loops, and customer journey.

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

I was leading the growth team. We had an issue that whoever was first to getting in front of a new business when they opened was most likely to win long-term business. This insight caused us to build a new customer segment that we wanted to acquire. (Without sharing too many proprietary details here). We built a process to find the companies as soon as they incorporated, send them a personalised welcome, and then build an onboarding for new businesses (distinct from those for existing businesses).

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5. Areg Vardanyan

Describe yourself

Hey I’m Areg, a growth product manager at 10Web and Co-Founder at ForgeFiction (Currently Mythrill Fiction). I’ve been doing digital marketing and growth hacking since 2012 and in the past 2 years I decided to switch to Growth PM to my skills more complete. While working on startup I had some amazing mentors helping me out, and I’m excited to share that experience.

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

To help founders not to repeat the mistakes I did.

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

Growth mindset is all about embracing a long-term approach to learning and personal development, and being open to testing and challenging in order to continue learning and growing.

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

User onboarding and retention.

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

Growing a startup with 0 budget to 200WAU thanks to creative approach to influencer marketing.

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6. Brian Flanagan

Describe yourself

I’ve been doing Product Management and Growth for a long time and had a number of great mentors over that time. I’d like to give back and help others.

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

I really enjoy mentoring and have been with Plato for over a year. Unfortunately, they have moved away from Product mentoring and I’m looking for somewhere that I can give back to other PMs.

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

Having a growth mindset means always looking at ways to improve the business and to make things better for your users.

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

Product management.

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

I built the first online virtual community sponsored by a company in 1995.

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7. Gopinath Manimayan

Describe yourself

Hey, I’m a Lead Architect – DX at the Moonraft Innovation Labs, with over 14 years of experience crafting exemplary technology solutions. You can always count on me for guidance with the best architecture to suit any need, or for learning about latest technologies in the market. I have been no stranger to a challenge, having crafted Solution Architectures for business-critical systems . He opines on a variety of technology concepts such as Cloud Computing, UI Frameworks, CMS, DXP , etc. on his tech blog. He is a hardcore foodie (he’s always up for biryani), and he spends his free time in creative pursuits as a lyricist and a choreographer.

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

I love to learn from people and mentor to people. I feel Growth Mentor is doing great job of connecting the peoples to collaborate and grow. I like to be a part of it.

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

It is great digital medium to collaborate with different type of people, build a network and mentoring the people more connected way.

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

Digital Experience Platform.

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

I have created the Digital Experience solution to one of the e-commerce company. which made them to increase the revenue 40% in a year.

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8. Ilke Karabogali

Describe yourself

I’m a Founder, Mentor, Marketing and Growth Enthusiast who co-founded two companies and grew both businesses via bootstrapping. I sold my start-up and had a successful EXIT in 2022. Now I’d like to help other founders and goal-oriented tech professionals become more successful.

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

When I built my first business 10 years ago, I needed to talk to people who can empathize with me, who had the same issues and who found tangible solutions. Now that I sold my company and had the pleasure of an exit, I have enough time to help others.

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

To me, a growth mindset means breathing growth! This is what keeps you awake at night. In each daily activity you perform, you constantly ask yourself ‘Will this activity help this business grow?’. Analyzing traction numbers each morning is the ultimate habit of people with a growth mindset.

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

I’d choose startup growth as I believe it is the utmost important topic for a startup business.

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

A few years ago, I collaboratively transformed my company’s pricing model from commission based to usage based which eventually increased our sales by 200X!

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9. Ivan Buric

Describe yourself

I am a former pro athlete, turned product marketing leader. Passionate about leveraging digital innovations to bring people together. I am a dedicated team player with a collaborative leadership style that fosters all-inclusive and diverse-rich cultures of excellence.

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

After 7 years of experience in startups, I would like to approach the consulting industry, and I’m happy for the moment to give my time for free to help others in achieving their goals and hopefully overcome some challenges.

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

ABG Always Be Growing.

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

Messaging&Positioning because 4/5 startups fail due to lack of product market fit.

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

Well, I have pivoted from physiotherapy into business, sales, marketing, and ultimately product marketing. I have learned how to learn and pivot fast.

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10. James Hamlin

Describe yourself

20+ Years working in fast growth start ups and scale up alongside Advising and mentoring founders & teams across some of Europe’s fastest growing tech companies.

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

I want to give back to the entrepreneurs and growth professionals that will build the start ups of the future.

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

Constant and Never Ending Improvement (CANI).

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

Growth from a Marketing Perspective.

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

Scaling our “app based” start up through a Bricks and mortar partnership with one of the world’s most recognisable retail brands. Led to acquisition by that company and total global rollout.

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11. Jason Aiginitis

Describe yourself

I live and breathe Digital Marketing, specialising in Paid Marketing but having experience in every channel. During my career, I have always been agency side which allowed me to encounter a super wide range of issues and challenges that I now use to help you overcome yours. I am a no-fluff type of person that focuses on facts and data.

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

I believe remote working will bring a skill shortage in my industry and I want to do my part in countering that through mentoring.

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

It means having an entrepreneurial approach to problems and being passionate about constantly learning new things.

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

It would be about going beyond the typical metrics and KPIs and understanding the commercial side of things when it comes to Paid Marketing. This has been one of the biggest challenges non-senior consultants face and I want to help solve it!

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

Setting up a completely dynamic and automated Google Ads campaign that can target locations down to neighbourhood level for a super localised campaign. On top of that, it would target a whole country with the same level of localisation, with only a few clicks!

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12. Jose Moreno

Describe yourself

I’m a B2B Paid Search professional specializing in Lead Generation through Google Ads. I’m working full-time as Paid Marketing Manager at CIENCE Technologies. In the past I ran my own e-commerce business and was a startup founder in the Sports Industry.

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

The first reason is to share my knowledge, second reason is to network with people trying to grow their businesses.

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

A growth mindset is to forget everything that doesn’t add value and focus on initiatives that can quickly grow your business.

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

Lead Generation through Paid Advertising.

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

Have a dedicated web page comparing our solution with every single competitor (200+) and drive paid traffic to those pages.

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13. Marty Youssef

Describe yourself

Hey, I’m Marty – a freelance growth marketer with over 8 years experience with ecommerce, B2B and consumer tech startups. Most recently I was the first Head of Growth at Driva, Australia’s leading fintech in the auto loan space. Before that I was one of the first employees at Eucalyptus which is one of Australia’s fastest growing health tech startups. I’m passionate about conversion rate optimization (CRO), PPC, paid social and SEO.

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

Looking to share my knowledge and network with interesting companies.

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

Improving performance through the process of experimenting, learning fast and optimizing over time.

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

Conversion rate optimization (CRO).

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

Making Facebook a profitable channel at my last company when it didn’t seem possible before I arrived by introducing a creative velocity testing approach to learning what messaging and ad formats really resonated with our target audience.

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14. Rima Sharma

Describe yourself

I bring 8+ years of varied online marketing experience with specialization in Paid advertising, I have been managing 7 figure marketing budgets and follow a data driven/analytical approach in my projects. If you are beginning to start performance marketing and wondering how and where to start feel free to reach out to me. I am more than happy to discuss your plans, prep also willing to share insights from my own first-hand experience.

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

Share my past knowledge/expertise and have a meaningful exchange.

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

Growth mindset to me is finding new and better ways to grow. Experimentation and exploration is key!

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

Paid search, also overall advertising strategy because I have been doing it since years now.

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

In 2016, we were faced with a goal to improve conversion rate for a specific market for our channel. This was for a brand that served 15 different markets. Common solution was to do better optimization with bids and have better offers etc. Solution that didn’t sound common at the time was to have localised landing pages for those markets which not only had local language content but also local success stories shared on those pages which greatly helped in achieving our targets.

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15. Sam Eisenberg

Describe yourself

I am an operations + marketing generalist with an obsession with optimizing and improving processes, allowing for better organization, efficiency, and scalability. And with helping founders do the same for their businesses.

I’m co-founder, along with a Growth Mentor mentee, of a Pitch Deck design firm (designfordecks.com) with decks that have raised over $1B to date.

My biggest strengths lie in:
A. Pitch Deck improvement
B. Setting up effective, organization-improving customer support teams
C. Designing/optimizing online courses & information products

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

Give back to community. Plus learn from others.

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

For me, growth mindset means setting up your systems, processes, infrastructure in a manner that impels growth instead of hindering it.

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

Pitch decks.

After having reviewed 1,000s of decks, learning from the top pitch experts, and having worked with (and surveyed) dozens of leading investors, I’ve learnt a thing or two about pitch decks.

Oftentimes, the only thing separating the most brilliant companies from the capital they need to thrive (or survive), is an effective pitch deck.

Unfortunately, many of the most impressive founders I meet often have disastrous decks and I would love to help them improve this.
(I already mentor for pitch decks in a start-up community called ThinkUp)

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

Honestly, most solutions I implement are pretty simple and just stem from a bottom-up view.

Founders and marketers sometimes get boxed into what exists and working within that.

Taking a holistic approach I can find simple solutions to major bottlenecks.

An easy example is a (very successful) D2C brand I consulted for who was finding customer support to be a drag on his time.

Implementing a helpdesk with proper automations, swapping out a phone number for email support (which he was apprehensive about), and

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16. Sheryl Ng

Describe yourself

Hi! I’m Sheryl. An Uber and Lazada (acquired by Alibaba Group) alumni specialising in revenue growth, scaled operations, product launches and partner strategy. I’ve also had GTM experience at pre-launch stage for a social media startup. I’d love to share my experiences and knowledge where possible to help grow and scale new startups 🙂

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

I am passionate about products that help and add value to the everyday lives’ of people. Being part of the startup and tech ecosystem for 8+ years, I would love to share my experiences and knowledge with new startups that are building great new products and ideas.

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

Constantly looking for new opportunities to optimise the business and gathering feedback/data to iterate on existing strategies.

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

Strategy and operations for business and revenue growth (identifying opportunities across the business and executing against goals)

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

What if there was a way for account managers/internal teams to automatically get access business review slides without having to crunch any data? I helped automate a business review tool which saved thousands manual hours for ops, analytics and account management teams.

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17. Stuart Brameld

Describe yourself

Hey, I’m Stuart, a fellow growth enthusiast. I run Growth Method and also provide growth consulting to cybersecurity and telecoms companies in the UK. Spend a lot of my time establishing a growth culture in more traditional b2b services businesses.

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

I love learning about other businesses, and figuring out ways to help them grow.

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

Continual learning and experimentation, and a desire to deliver outcomes over outputs.

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

Growth strategy & building a performance culture.

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

Using WebMethods to programatically create, update and close HubSpot deals using SAP data for attribution reporting.

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18. Sumanyu Sharma

Describe yourself

I sit at the intersection of data, product, and growth – I do whatever it takes to deliver. Drove $500m / year in incremental revenue @ Tesla. Helped 4X MAU @ Citizen amongst other things.

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

Create value for others + challenge myself in novel situations.

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

It means using the scientific method to move numbers: generate a hypothesis, rank them based on the highest impact/effort ratio, execute, reflect and then repeat.

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

Building an evidence-based product roadmap.

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

Hiring technical PMs with strong growth chops was pretty hard to find. So I converted many of my data scientists to growth PMs. One of them drove 2M in incremental ARR within 4 weeks. The other increased CTR by 3x. Turns out data scientists make great growth PMs.

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19. Taylor Toussaint

Describe yourself

Hello there, my name is Taylor and I am currently the Director of eCommerce (North America) at Bolle Brands. I have over 15 years of experience in eCommerce, digital marketing, and operations. I live and breathe this stuff and love helping others.

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

I want to share my knowledge and experience with others in an effort to help them succeed.

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

It really comes down to adaptation. If the individual is open to change, growth will happen. Wins and failures provide growth opportunities and insights. In my experience, if you aren’t learning, you aren’t growing.

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

Direct-to-consumer strategy and execution.

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

That one time I “growth hacked” our shopping comparison feeds from 20k links/ads to 1m+ links/ads (programmatically). It took some experimentation but I tweaked how our products were cross-referenced to the OEM products. We had a database that built our store and built product feeds. With a little abstract thought and some hustle, I was able to dominate multiple marketplaces and take our eCommerce sales to a whole new level.

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20. Timi Orosz

Describe yourself

I’m the CEO who quit her job to live in a jungle in Sri Lanka for a while to figure out how to be authentic in business. Now I’m a spiritual business mentor and authentic marketing expert on a mission to help humanity evolve.

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

I believe in the power of collaboration and giving back to communities.

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

Having a growth mindset means that you are open to seeing new perspectives to better yourself both as a person and as an entrepreneur. When you consciously focus on solutions rather than getting stuck on a problem, you realise just how powerful your own mind can be.

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

How to make a positive impact on the world through business while you fully remain your authentic self.

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

When I was managing a new hotel, there was a major construction site next to our building which obviously resulted in customer complaints from our guests. As the construction work was out of my control, I quickly trained the team to change their communication style to trigger genuine empathy from our guests to reduce the complaints. The message was simple: yes, we are extremely sorry about the inconvenience but at least the guests were able to walk out of the building while we had to sit there all day listening to the extreme noise. Not only this humane approach completely stopped the complaints but my team ended up receiving small gifts from the guests to make them feel better. We ended up with glowing & honest reviews as well.

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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.