Does your startup need a Head of Growth?
Review these 4 signals first
Hi there,
Let’s get right to it: does your startup need a Head of Growth?
In the last few years, Head of Growth roles have exploded. It shocks me how many open job listings there are for this role. Get a Head of Growth, and your growth problems will be solved!
Or will they?
I’m not saying you shouldn’t get a Head of Growth. That would be quite hypocritical, given my own experiences as one. Instead, I want you to actually find out if you need one, or whether you’re just following the trend. Learn the four key factors to know when you are ready to hire a Head of Growth.
Four signs you need a Head of Growth
1. You have Product/Market Fit
While a Head of Growth can help you to find PMF, this process can take time, and not all HoG’s have PMF experience. This is something you’d like to get beforehand, if possible.
Alternative: You’ve got two viable options here. Firstly, the founder could be the Head of Growth and hire a strong Product Manager to help you find PMF. Secondly, you could work with a HoG with pre-launch startup experience.
2. You have someone else to lead the top of the funnel
It is rare to find someone strong throughout the funnel who is creative and yet data-driven.
Alternative: Unless your main growth lever is brand-related activities, it is usually better to hire two separate individuals, such as a Brand Marketing Manager and Growth Lead, although the titles can vary.
3. You are willing to (eventually) hire channel specialists
Your Head of Growth is most impactful when they are focused on finding the overarching growth strategy and identifying growth levers.
Alternative: You may start with a Head of Growth specialised in your main channels and then bring in specialists.
4. You can get specific about what you need
I once did an analysis of different Head of Growth roles. The number of desired skills were shocking, and it ended up looking like this:
Growth is a team sport that will not result from one person's efforts alone, so don’t expect one person to be an expert in everything.
Alternative: Find a Head of Growth who has in-depth knowledge of the key area that is relevant to your growth.
A Head of Growth is extra fuel, not a silver bullet
I hope you appreciate that metaphor, as I was quite proud of it.
End of the day, for many companies, a Head of Growth will help you go faster if you are hiring them for the right reasons, at the right time and in the right role. It won’t be a magic cure-all, nothing can offer that.
The role has now existed long enough that we can define it better and get specific about who we need and why. I’ll share some helpful resources below to help you design an appropriate Head of Growth vacancy.
Recommendations
I wrote a whole series on this topic on Medium, including what skills to look for in a HoG. It was one of my most popular article series (yay!). Here are the friend’s links, so that you can access them for free without a Medium account:
This series was inspired by my own experiences, namely the misunderstanding of what a Head of Growth should do. But it was further fuelled by meeting many incredible Head of Growth’s who were fired or quit within the first twelve months.
These were all incredible and smart individuals who went on to make a huge impact at other organisations. Speaking to them made me realise that it was often a case of wrong timing or wrong expectations (which is something both sides are responsible for).
So, I hoped this series would clarify this popular role further and help companies realise whether they were ready to hire a Head of Growth.
If there are any related topics you’d like me to dive deep into, definitely let me know.
Until next week,
Daphne
P.S. On a completely different note, if you want to speak about growth or experimentation, we are looking for speakers for our online Women in Experimentation Summit in July (female and male speakers welcome!). You can find out more here. Deadline to apply is 10th March.