63: Kyle Pursell - Paths into Growth with the Head of Growth Optimization at Shopify
Don't stay in your lane
Summary
Kyle Pursell, the Head of Growth Optimization at Shopify, talks about impactful business strategies for growth.
What is the challenge of moving upmarket, and the role of product-led growth in driving this success. And why cross-functional collaboration in growth initiatives is often undervalued.
We also talk about the different paths to getting into growth roles and share their favorite podcasts and books.
Takeaways
Building alignment and getting feedback before important meetings is never optional.
Cross-functional collaboration is essential for effective growth initiatives
Focus on maximizing user engagement in the first session to drive activation
Implement strategies to retain customers who are canceling, such as offering compromises
Consider different paths to getting into growth roles, such as starting in customer service or marketing
Sound Bites
"Growth is not an overcomplicated craft. It's just identifying levers, using data to make decisions, experiment."
"The aim of important meetings like that are just like a rubber stamp. Everyone is aligned."
"Do not go into a meeting that is important to you without knowing how it ends."
"Drive people as far down the funnel as possible in that first session as early as possible."
Chapters
07:01 Understanding GMV and Leveraging Metrics
14:28 The Power of Product-Led Growth
28:19 Optimizing Site Speed for Engagement and Conversion
32:10 The Importance of Cross-Functional Collaboration
35:30 The Importance of Stakeholder Alignment in Meetings
38:22 Maximizing User Engagement in the First Session
39:20 Strategies for Retaining Customers Who Are Canceling
51:34 Different Paths to Getting into Growth Roles
01:03:49 Unwinding with Podcasts and Books Outside of Your Field
Listen / Watch all ProducTea Episodes:
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Connect!
Leah’s Book Suggestion: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54785515-four-thousand-weeks
Kyle’s Book Suggestion: https://www.amazon.com/Nuclear-War-Scenario-Annie-Jacobsen/dp/0593476093
Kyle’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pursellkyle/
Leah’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahtharin/
Season 4 of the Product Tea
We spill the tea on how to Go to Market through Product-led Sales and Product-led Growth in B2B and the realities of senior leadership.
I think he's underestimating the skills required for growth roles. Growth is hard!
Marketing (and growth) are one of the most creative parts of a business, and their are certainly less playbook-style than product or dev. There're endless things to try with only a few that can be realistically attempted.