Here are the 10 Growth Mentors of May

1. Farzad Khosravi

Describe yourself

My mission is to use the latest in neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics to help you design the perfect Customer Experience. I’m a founder of three companies, a lover of science, an entrepreneur at heart, and a customer experience nerd. I believe that maximizing customer lifetime value is the greatest asset for any company. It will be my pleasure to help you turn your customers into evangelists.

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

I’ve founded three companies and helped dozens of startups in various industries with challenges around their customer experience.

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

Having a growth mindset is all about thinking strategically and long term about your customer experience. The most powerful companies, whether they been Amazon or Toyota, got to where they are by creating evangelists out of their customers. Maximizing your customers’ lifetime value is the key to growth. An important part of that equation is turning your customers into evangelists who will give you referrals, write good reviews, act as references, and volunteer for case studies.

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

It would be around designing the customer experience to be as effortless as possible. Often times we think short term. We think of an extra support person or a discount after a bad experience as costs to the business. But you must weaponize your customer experience, just as Amazon has done, to lead to organic and continued growth. You must understand what is the cost of your customers waiting an extra hour for a reply. Or the cost of them feeling bitter about being treated unfairly. Until you know the costs of these you cannot make strategic decisions about asset allocation.

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

A recent customer of mine asked me to help them with retaining their open source users. Since these are free users my customer cannot spare using support or engineering resources to help them. So instead of jumping right into ways of getting us there I started on first principles and asked them: Why do you want to retain your open source users? Only when we agreed upon the value they provide did I allow us to start coming up with measurements. Once we came to an agreement I was able to help guide them into various metrics we start measuring to determine the cost of every open source user they lost. Initially they saw these open source users as people they can’t spend resources on. But after working together we were able to put a value on every single one and transition the org to think completely differently about these people.

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2. Yisrael Segall

Describe yourself

G’day, I’m Yisrael, currently the Senior Marketing Manager at Group 8A and notorious problem solver. My marketing passions are helping companies grow by developing content & content distribution strategies, a heck of a lot of automating stuff, & find new audiences. Also, keeping those clients as long as possible. The greater the challenge, the more I thrive.

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

Give back to the marketing community & learn by teaching.

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

Always looking for new opportunities and new things to learn. Never sitting on your laurels or content to repeating old behaviours just because. On the constant look to innovate. Passion for what you’re doing and what it stands for.

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

Demand Gen.

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

“This is was for a travel telco company

Problem: Wanted to increase customer repeat purchase rates, and increase engagement rates, without just pushing product. Didn’t have a dev team

Solution: Borrowed the 9th purchase, get 10th free loyalty system from hotels

– Gave small perks like additional data for free for the loyalty program

– Gave them bigger sales promotions than normal customers i.e. 20% instead of 15%

– Gave the loyalty program a special brand design different to everyone

– generated content specifically for this group of people.

– automated post purchase email offered them to sign up if they weren’t already

– had to learn SQL, wrangle some Zapier and marketing automation tool to make this an automated process

Sign up rates were about 20%. CLTV went from $159 – $185 in a matter of months. Content engagement rates increased and repeat purchase rates soared”

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3. Nancy Hähnel

Describe yourself

Hi! “Think global act local” is my motto. I am an entrepreneur, founder of NH Global Consulting, LocLunch Ambassador and master 6 languages fluently. My unique combination of 20 years in the language industry, sales leadership and digital marketing experience helps you turn local achievements into international success. I have deep knowledge in my home markets Germany and the Netherlands and experience in language solutions & localization across various industries. Formerly Sales Director at thebigword, acolad Group, Logos and Xillio, I now help companies and individuals go global with their ideas and adopt solid market strategies.

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

I am passionate about helping other people grow and learn a lot myself in every session I hold.

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

Progress takes place outside your comfort zone.

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

Language solutions & translation for global markets, because this is the field I am unequaled subject matter expert (always a digital sales person in my heart).

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

A fast growing start-up expanding on international markets, was overwhelmed by the manual work related to exploding translation volumes (12+ markets at that time). Together we implemented a tool, a process and a QA system, that freed up 60% of her time, so that they could focus again on the core business and replicate their sales success from one into the other market.

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4. Alex Panchuk

Describe yourself

Hey, I’m Alex. Currently, I work as a Performance Marketer at Reply.io. I’ve been doing PPC for as long as I can remember (kidding of course). I have 6+ years managing both small and big budgets for various ad channels (Google Ads, FB/IG Ads, Display, Youtube, LinkedIn, Quora, Reddit, …).

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

I want to communicate with like-minded people that need a bit of help from a PPC guy like me.

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

For me, a growth mindset is a perpetual engine that should never stop working. Once it stops, you’re done as a marketer.

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

My experience (and love) is about PPC. I’ve tested 100s of approaches, for both big and small businesses, and I know how to make those ads profitable and well-performing.

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

“While working at Reply.io, I’ve come up with an approach of lowering CPCs significantly with the help of landing page tracking and Google Tag Manager.

I had CPCs of $20-$30 which are very high. So I started tracking all the clicks on the landing page that led to some specific action (not just the signup itself, which was the goal back then).

Once this data started pouring into Google Ads and being attributed to campaigns, I did not just saw which actions are performed more often than the others, but I also switched from Manual CPC bidding model to a Target CPA and had conversions (actual signups) of 50% the price of previous goal completions.”

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5. Hanns Schempp

Describe yourself

I surfed a lot of waves in corporate marketing, also cross-region, with great teams and love passing on the tricks and tells. Not every doctrine and wipeout is needed to grow.

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

I have been mentoring team members and other managers for years. Byond the science and schooled skill of marketing, its practice is a key source of growth success and best transported by peer actor, not leading lecturer.

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

In surfing, there is no such thing, ever, as a ‘perfect wave’, a way of riding it, a vantage point for catching it or eqipment needed. There is you, learning from people smarter than you, trial-and-error, strategized experimentation and, ultimately, taking a risk towards a clear and very simple goal: growing beyond what you can do today – no matter how much you think you know.

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

Balancing brandbuilding and growth marketing with simply everything affecting your P&L from the start.

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

Re-branding a corporate regionally towards mid-sized companies with a then-new angle around employee family ties and start-up mindset of their management social and online first and based on full-scale business, not only marketing analytics.

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6. Ümit Eroglu

Describe yourself

I gained my B2B growth experience from successfully selling to some of the biggest companies in the world and managing growth for a B2C product with over 600k monthly paying customers. Today, I am helping B2B startups that are experiencing challenges at different company lifecycle stages and with difficult target markets. I’m also a lecturer at a business school and a mentor at several accelerators and VCs.

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

I want to help and learn by helping, learn about problems, learn about experiences and connect on a human level to like-minded people that see more in growth than just revenue generation.

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

How to develop extreme customer focus to then execute experiential and data-driven growth strategies before and after product-market-fit.

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

For me, growth mindset means to always stay humble and accept that staying curious and seeking for experience and knowledge will make you a better and more successful person. It also means to never say “I can’t do this” but instead “I haven’t learned it yet”.”

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

One of the products I managed suffered from high churn rates. By doing something very unscalable and old school – calling the customers and ask them – I was able to quickly find out what the problem was. We then implemented measures that significantly lowered churn rates and increased customer lifetime. Sometimes it’s the easiest and most pragmatic solutions that will bring you the best results.

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7. Paul DiVincenzo

Describe yourself

I’m a life long learner. An authentic person, who builds trust quickly, allowing me to outperform most sales professionals without resorting to the tactics, tag lines, or buzzwords. I’ve had many ups and downs in my personal and business life, bought all the courses, and found the most valuable insight from engaging with real people, including a professional coach to solve problems in my own career and life. I love to engage and help sales people and do it everyday for my own network. I wish this tool existed for me as I navigated and crossed into new industries. I’ve been ranked #1 at a Fortune 500 company, regionally as well as in global accounts for over a decade as success experience within my career to help mentor folks.

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

To help; I would have wanted this service when I was navigating my sales, leadership and industry shifts.

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

I believe a growth mindset means thinking big and being resourceful in all situations.

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

Their Sales Career. Professionally this where my experience, success, failures and passion lies. Within this is much more, for those living it. Meaning the ups and downs and challenges test everyone. Some break… I’ve cried on the way home not knowing if I was going to make enough commission to pay our rent in my early sales career. This and many other real challenges, mentally, emotionally, family and others need more guidance than a sales manager, vp, pushing for more numbers under their own stresses (some great ones, and many bad ones).

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

I had a mentee (unofficially) who was above me in my prior role. He was in global sales, top performer, multiple awards and trips for being in the top 5% in one company for over a decade… he called me as he was transitioning to his second job in new industry and said humbly after an interview told him he didn’t have industry experience that it would be tough to bring him onboard… he was happy to humble himself and “start at the bottom”. I asked him if he was really excited about the job/industry and he said not too much… So I paused him, changed his state and said “Jeff, I think you need to remember who you are… an amazing business professional who has sold multimillion dollar contracts and have been in the top 5% of global sellers for a Fortune 500 company for over a decade… and approach your career transition from that mindset”, ” Also, potentially write down what your most passionate about and look for top companies in that industry to approach” – He had a new job about a month later at Medallia focused on CX, one of his passions, about a month later (happy to include the text message in another format).

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8. Shady Ramadan

Describe yourself

My name is Shady, I have over 15 years of experience in sales, marketing, strategy, and product development in different industries like pharmaceutical, FMCG, fintech, and eCommerce. I am passionate about customer experience and how to optimize marketing, resource, and product development to enhance customer experience, build loyalty and increase revenue. I was leading key product launches in my career and many successful campaigns online and offline. I was a freelancer digital marketing coach for many brands helping them to generate leads and drive more business and revenue.

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

With years of experience it is the time to share with others and support business to grow.

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

Think customer don’t think revenue and business, full in love with your customer and you will find a way to grow your business to the level you never imagined. Growth is ongoing not one campaign or one ad, it is a way to live as you own a business.

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

Product Management and product strategy.

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

Working with a client for a new high-end beauty product, which was very expensive. The client tried many advertising approaches but sales were not satisfying. I worked with the client to change the scope from direct sales to the beauty consultation concept. building full landing about the beauty and NO sales, just lead to having a FREE consultation with a beauty consultant, then how the consultant will advise customer of the best solution. the new approach increase sales by 200% in first 6 months and reduced cost of sales by 50%.

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9. Laura Harrison

Describe yourself

I’m a scientist and a businesswoman. As a scientist, I trained in neuroscience at Caltech, investigating how our brains enable our social and emotional experiences and guide our decisions and behaviors. My research seeks to understand how these processes occur in the real world. I pursued business to bridge these discoveries and product. In business, I’m Chief Science Officer at psyML, a company that applies psychology to business solutions at scale through the use of science communication, psychometrics, experimentation, and machine learning. I’m passionate about defining a problem and using a scientific approach to find a creative solution.

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

Per Dani Hart’s recommendation – I enjoying mentoring, both in business and science, and want to help others integrate science and AI in their business plans.

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

Our brains are designed for a growth mindset. Fundamentally, our brains learn; they take on and incorporate information and experiences to allow us to predict future outcomes. If we view this positively, all experiences promote learning and improvement, or growth.

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

If I could mentor on just one topic, it would be how to creatively link science, technology and product to bridge the gap between research and products that make a difference.

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

In one project, we wanted to use a virtual reality platform in an MRI scanner. I designed a game that was immersive but didn’t require head movement.

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10. Noopur Gupta

Describe yourself

Authentic, getting things done, expert in prioritizing, long term vision.

In just one sentence, please tell us why you want to become a growth mentor?

I want to help people grow and share my experience and knowledge on product management, product launches, startups, big corp.

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

Self growth is a continued investment and we thrive to become a better person every day.

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 can answer it later.

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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.