Here are the 22 Growth Mentors of February 2024

1. Andrew Marchese

Describe yourself

I am a Data Science professional based in New York City. Since graduating with my Ph.D. in Mathematics, I have worked in a variety of companies working on recommendations, growth, pricing, and internal facing products.

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

I want to share the knowledge and experience I have gained over my education and career to help others succeed.

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

Consistency and humility are the keys to learning and growing. Setting aside some time to work on ourselves on a frequent cadence pays dividends in expanding our knowledge and capabilities.

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

Leveraging the data available to you to drive value.

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

In my first role recommending recipes to users for a meal kit company, I realized that people prioritized different things when choosing recipes. While some liked the consistency, some preferred novelty or had nutritional constraints. Learning weights for different models for each user let us hyper-personalize our recommendations and drove lift.

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2. Ben Pines

Describe yourself

With almost 20 years of experience, I’ve tested growth strategies across multiple mediums and industries. I was the first marketing hire at Elementor, helping them grow from 0 to $40m ARR.

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

I want to teach others about organic growth and developing as a growth-oriented content creator.

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

Proper growth is making educated plans, executing them, measuring results, and continuing these cycles of strategic growth.

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

Organic growth. In today’s world, content creators must adopt this mindset to elevate their position from content to higher-level marketing.

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

Creating an online tool and connecting it to the product.

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3. Daniel Hardoon

Describe yourself

I’m the Founder of The Startup CMO, providing fractional CMO and growth consultancy, and Hardoon Venture Partners angel investing into early-stage tech companies.

I’ve worked with over 35+ startups, as a growth consultant with a Series A graduation of +85% (vs 25% market average). The portfolio of companies I’ve worked with has raised c. €0.5b post my entry.

Previously Head of Growth at Samaipata, a renowned pan-European venture capital fund investing in digital businesses with network effects at the early stage across Europe, and Stint, a marketplace app connecting university students to hospitality businesses.

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

I want to help as many early-stage tech founders as possible and teach countless lessons learned from my mistakes.

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

A growth mindset, to me, means embracing challenges as opportunities for learning and growth. It’s the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and effort, rather than being fixed traits. It encourages resilience, curiosity, and a positive attitude towards setbacks, fostering personal and professional development.

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

I would choose to mentor someone on the topic of “Effective Communication” because it’s a foundational skill that can greatly impact success in both personal and professional aspects of life. Effective communication enhances relationships, helps convey ideas clearly, and fosters collaboration. Mastering this skill can lead to better understanding, empathy, and influence in various areas of one’s life.

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

To drive growth for a marketplace app in the UK tech business, consider an out-of-the-box solution:

Implement a “Local Heroes” Program: Create a gamified system within the app where users can earn rewards and recognition for referring new sellers or buyers within their local communities. Encourage users to become advocates for the platform by highlighting their contributions and success stories. This approach leverages the power of word-of-mouth marketing while fostering a sense of community and competition among users.

By tapping into the inherent desire for recognition and friendly competition, you can not only increase user engagement but also expand the user base as people actively promote the app to their networks. This out-of-the-box solution can help your marketplace app stand out and grow organically across the UK.

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4. David-Dandy

Describe yourself

Hi there, I’m Dave, and I’ve been working in SEO for over 15 years now. Currently, I work at Entain, one of the world’s largest sports betting and gaming entertainment groups, an FTSE 100 company, as well as advise and mentor a number of large publishers and startups.

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

I find profound satisfaction when sharing knowledge, coupled with the perpetual enrichment of my own learning through meaningful interactions with those I mentor.

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

A growth mindset, to me, cultivates collaboration and mentorship among cross-functional teams, enabling the successful execution of intricate projects, while simultaneously recognizing that occasional failure is not a setback but an integral part of continuous learning and improvement.

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

SEO – because this is my core focus.

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

Anticipating the imminent arrival of Google’s SGE (Search Generative Experience) in 2024, I orchestrated a program aimed at granting stakeholders access to Google Labs for real-world testing and optimization. This initiative aimed to establish essential internal workflows and processes, ensuring swift and agile optimization in preparation for its release.

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5. Hyder Abbas

Describe yourself

I am a T-shaped marketing leader in the direct-to-consumer space with expertise in customer acquisition, lifecycle marketing, and online conversion experimentation. I also have bleeding expertise in the areas of brand marketing.

My superpowers:

1. I’ve seen it all. Seed/Series A. Fortune 50. Topline budgets < $10M. Topline budgets > $100M.
2. I’m a business-savvy generalist. I am a marketer who’ll also speak financials (MBA) and processes (Six Sigma certified).

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

I want to share my knowledge in start-ups to fuel the growth that comes with cost-consciousness and profitability in sight. This is not a readily available area of guidance for start-up talent.

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

A growth mindset is about creating a culture of experimentation across the user journey and instilling comfort with failure across the organization.

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

I would mentor growth marketers in the ability to tie their daily growth metrics (e.g. CAC, LTV, etc.) to the company’s bottom-line financial impact. This will empower them to project how their work impacts the runway for the business.

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

In my tenure as VP of Marketing for a Canadian Series A eCommerce business, we found success in capturing high-order value transactions by leveraging long-form product pages. The challenge was that finding products that can drive scalable revenue, required experimentation weekly with new products and therefore, long-form pages to drive traffic for each of those products.

Instead of hiring more internal resources or outsourcing it to expensive agencies in Canada, we recruited a content writing team in South East Asia to help 10x our output and a fraction of the cost. We eventually trained the same team to also set up the media buy campaigns in ad accounts with strict stop-loss rules.

This entire process increased our experimentation velocity while also protecting our bottom-line risk.

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6. Jeremy Dela Rosa

Describe yourself

Hi, I’m Jeremy Dela Rosa. I’m a founder, executive coach, philanthropist, and writer. I am driven by my values and lead from the heart. I hope to leverage my 20+ years in tech, entrepreneurship, and social impact to help others expand their awareness and maximize their positive impact on the world.

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

Expand my network, level up my coaching skills, and find the right clients.

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

A growth mindset is an intent and conscious approach to continuously improving oneself. It requires deep introspection, openness, situational awareness, humility, and the courage to embrace change. By embodying growth, one can find immense satisfaction and rewards in life, relationships, careers, and beyond.

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

Self-awareness and consciousness. Self-awareness and self-sabotage are the biggest and most consistent challenges any entrepreneur will face. It lies at the root of all decisions, and decisions lead to rise or ruin.

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

I designed a web3 protocol and decentralized governance model to bring altruism on-chain and gamify it to drive volunteerism in developing communities.

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7. Leonardas Gujis

Describe yourself

I’m excited to have had both Start-up building & Scale-up consulting experience over the last 10 years building EdTech, and Fintech companies in Kenya, Bangladesh, and Denmark and having joined a specialized Google Growth team consulting Scale-ups in growth based out of New York City. I have adopted a 360 view of growth – from Enterprise direct sales to Paid, Organic, and Affiliate marketing with a particular focus on Mobile Apps. Being an angel investor myself, with experience in monetizing & growing, I’m looking for startups in Mobile App, and SaaS spaces (though open for more) with a goal of finding a team with whom I could build a continuous advisory relationship.

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

I believe that if you take a first step in giving great value free, you will get back 10X more in meaningful relationships & potential business partners to call upon in the future, Win-Win.

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

1. Identifying areas where I’m passionate about growing, even at the price of (high) discomfort.
2. Pursuing those growth opportunities with an open, curious mind to become better.
3. Collecting learnings, learning from them, and then actively applying them in real settings, creating measurable (business) impact & personal (EQ) growth.

Definitely applicable to both individuals & organizations!

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

Apps: Building, Monetizing & Scaling Mobile Apps.

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

I have looked to generate a massive amount of traffic for an App with plenty of in-app pages. I have realized that the app, acting sort of like a marketplace for services, has +1000 potential niche audiences. Instead of having 1 Paid campaign to drive traffic to the App Store, I have convinced founders to generate web landing pages answering popular Google search queries for each of those niche audiences and where they would find their solution within the App. Coupled with traffic purchases, we were able to generate thousands of new website visits, which would convert into App users at >50% because of how relevant those pages were in providing an answer and then a service within the app.

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8. Luka Kankaras

Describe yourself

I am a PLG Lead and consultant, with over 5 years of experience. I love working on data-driven and innovative product growth strategies. Passionate about optimizing product activation and retention.

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

It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to not only share my expertise in product growth (especially PLG) but also to learn from a diverse community, and connect with up-and-coming talents, enriching my perspectives.

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

Constantly seeking knowledge and self-improvement, embracing challenges as opportunities. It’s all about shedding the ego, always being open to feedback, and never settling for mediocrity.

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

Product Activation

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

Realizing our users needed more real-life examples of our software in use, I initiated “Storylaner of the Week.” This project, born from user research, not only gives users social recognition but also turns them into advocates. They share their stories, helping others with practical tips while boosting our demand.
This turned out to be our most successful LinkedIn campaign.

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9. Maria Chernoyarova

Describe yourself

Hi, I’m Maria! I became a marketer more than a decade ago, and I still live and breathe this profession. Over the past years, I have run my own branding agency and helped launch and grow B2B and B2C products and services. Currently, I am Head of Marketing at Lisk, one of the oldest blockchain protocols.

Happy to help you with all branding-related things!

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

I love to see people and their startups grow and evolve.

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

Never stop learning and changing.

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

How to create a unique brand that will put you out of the competition. This is the topic that makes me tick, and I’m eager to share my experience with you!

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

While I was working as a CMO for the FMCG brand Yummy United, we planned to launch a TikTok challenge. With glazed curds as a key product, the brand targeted kids between the ages of 8 and 12 years old.

We created a nice idea for the challenge. Creative agency prepared for us a custom TikTok lens, with which users should interact. Musician wrote a track. Influencer agency signed agreements with popular teen stars to kick off the challenge.

TikTok at that point significantly strengthened the regulations about videos involving kids. To comply with new rules, we had to change the rules, requesting to have in a video at least one person over 13 y.o. That worked and TikTok HQ approved the campaign!

Despite a tight schedule and complex processes, our challenge went viral and got more than 2,5 billion views (including UGCs, of course).

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10. Michele Tropeano

Describe yourself

Ciao! I’m Michele and I head up Growth and Marketing at YunoJuno – an all-in-one platform for sourcing, managing, and paying contractors worldwide. I have spent the past decade leading acquisition, retention, and monetization for the world’s most innovative tech start-ups, scale-ups, and enterprises.

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

I’ve been lucky to have had exceptional mentors during my career. Now, it’s time for me to pay it back and share my 12+ years of experience with those who need it.

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

To me, a growth mindset is about the continuous cycle of testing, learning, and adapting, where challenges are seen as an opportunity to learn and grow.

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

Revenue Marketing 101. It’s all about mastering the essentials – positioning and messaging, setting and tracking the right objectives and key results, and fuelling the growth flywheels worth doubling down on.

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

I joined a company as the first senior growth leader. I built a tiny team, spearheaded product repositioning through messaging, and activated pivotal growth loops that led to tripling marketing-driven revenue opportunities quarter over quarter in under a year.

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11. Millie Khandpur

Describe yourself

I’m a seasoned growth marketer with 12+ years supporting full funnel user growth across industries (social, gaming, e-commerce, dating, B2B) and have managed $150mn+ budgets to achieve business goals (DAU, ROI). I have a proven track record of scaling impactful marketing programs from the ground up, consistently delivering strong revenue results globally.

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

To build my personal brand and be able to contribute to the growth community by helping other members address challenges they are currently facing in the market.

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

It is believing that your skills can be developed and improved over time through constant dedication, hard work, and resilience. It is important to embrace challenges, learn from failures, seek feedback, and work with these triggers to pursue your goals and remain in the growth zone.

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

Growth Marketing/Performance Marketing – full funnel acquisition and retention strategies to drive quality users at scale for consumer-facing businesses.

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

Launched an Influencer Marketing Program from the ground to achieve breakthroughs in user acquisition for key cohorts (older audiences) at TikTok.
Strategized the program and scoped out the budget proposal, creative needs, potential impact, success metrics, attribution, and execution plan. Drove ~20% efficiency in acquisition compared to other channels and established a playbook for other regions.

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12. Nicolas Nemni

Describe yourself

I am a Lead Product Manager at Deel, a fast-growing HR technology company specializing in payroll for businesses with global teams. I manage four dynamic product teams and oversee the product strategy and development of Deel’s Payroll product. Under my leadership, these teams have been integral in processing 1.9 million payslips and handling a staggering $9 billion in payouts in 2023 alone.

With over 9 years of product management experience, I have a proven track record of delivering successful products from conception to launch. Prior to Deel, I served as a Head of Product and Marketing at Blazing Boost, where I led the whole Product and Web Marketing department.

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

I believe mentorship is key to developing the next generation of strong product leaders.

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

Nothing is impossible if you are willing to invest the time and effort.

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.

A system to pay salaries and taxes in 150+ countries.

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13. Pablo Asensio

Describe yourself

I help startups with GTM strategy and growth loops; increasing customer acquisition, retention, and revenue. My experience spans two decades, from listed companies (FTSE100 and STO) to fast-growing startups and scaleups.

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

I am passionate about contributing to finding solutions and building tech ventures. I have been acting as the founders’ right hand in many startups, both in-house and as a consultant. I have also done some startup mentorship (at The Friday Club London).

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

Growth mindset is the agile approach to solving challenges and seeing failures as opportunities for constant development. The seven ingredients for a successful growth mindset recipe are drive, humility, analysis, experimentation, rapid iteration, resilience, and self-improvement.

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

Go-to-market. This is the trickiest bit for many startups and where many founders struggle the most, as there are too many balls in the air, distractions, and lots of pressure. I have been there before with the launch of both new startups and -for more established companies- new products, and it’s rewarding seeing a solid and successful GTM strategy in place.

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

At Jaja Finance, I had to build a brand and a community around something as dull as credit cards to make these exciting. So I went for an approach to get the app’s beta testers at the center of our messaging so it can inspire others and solve the infamous WITFM question.

Budget: circa £80, as this was the total cost of the coffees we had to pay to our customers, and we had someone in the house who did all the filming.

Results: attracted over 22k sign-ups to the pre-launch list.

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14. Parin Jogani

Describe yourself

As a Product Manager at eBay, I successfully transitioned from an engineering role. Alongside, I co-founded Molekuls, a venture dedicated to streamlining the hiring process for growth teams.
My experience spans building 0->1 and scaling growth products, leading teams in areas like onboarding, growth, and Ads. Proficient in driving buyer/seller growth, elevating CSAT, and increasing GMV, I prioritize empowerment, trust-building with users, and a bias for action. Committed to continuous learning, I navigate dynamic environments with adaptability ensuring success in the ever-evolving tech landscape.

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

I have grown over the years with help from amazing leaders. It’s time to pay it forward by helping folks outside my immediate team and network.

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

Constant

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

Benefits of sticking at the same company for a long duration:
After having spent 10 years @ eBay, I can share the value of long duration at the same company, moving careers and teams within the same organization. How to build your brand equity to learn and grow.

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

eBay’s branded shipping boxes: eBay didn’t have branded shipping boxes a few years back. I helped make eBay Box a platform to get more buyers to sell on eBay. Buyers that sell, buy more!

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15. Reza Saeedi

Describe yourself

I’ve spent the last 10+ years helping high-growth SaaS startups (Seed to Series B) successfully launch new products, expand into new verticals, and generate $100M+ in predictable demand and revenue. My superpower is helping founders navigate early-stage growth challenges and achieve sustainable revenue milestones through a strategic roadmap that fits their product and market. I was On Deck’s marketing hire #3 during our rapid growth phase to 300+ employees and 20+ program offerings. Prior to that, I grew CrowdRiff, a mid-market B2B SaaS platform from $1M to $15M in ARR holding leadership positions at the intersection of marketing and inside sales. Throughout it all, I’ve been actively mentoring and coaching founders (and early marketing hires) on all things GTM, growth experimentation, and demand generation.

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

The idea of coaching, mentoring, advising, and giving back has always been on my career’s vision board. After having spent the last 10+ years in the trenches, helping early-stage startups grow, I now have the conviction that now is the right time to turn it into reality.

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

A growth mindset is the core belief that continuous effort and a hunger for learning lead to ongoing (and lasting) improvement. It’s about ditching self-imposed boundaries and embracing challenges as opportunities. Failure isn’t a dead-end; it’s a lesson in resilience. Tied to that, it’s also celebrating the success of others with a positive-sum outlook.

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

A growth mindset is the core belief that continuous effort and an obsession for learning lead to ongoing (and lasting) improvements. It’s approaching problems with a willingness to experiment and iterate on solutions; if the initial approach doesn’t work, we’ll use facts (data and insights) to course correct until we reach the desired outcome.

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

For a B2B SaaS solution, to optimize web traffic, I led an experiment to split-test two different offer variations: One to keep the typical “request a demo” CTA (A). The alternative: “watch a demo” CTA (B). The hypothesis was that by providing an immediate incentive to visitors, we can both give them the information they require to make an informed decision, and also capture their direct intent. The result: +35% increase in conversion rates for the new offer (B). Even better results: The leads that were captured through the secondary offer (B) were equally responsive to the outbound team’s outreach with no major surprise moments. This winning CTA continues to live on the website to this date!

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16. Sarang Arora

Describe yourself

Hi, my name is Sarang Arora. I am part of the Hardware Sales team at Google. My primary remit is to set up the B2B channel for Pixel devices. Prior to this, I was the first hire in the Google Cloud SMB Sales team in India. I am deeply passionate about setting up a sales team from scratch.

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

I want to become a growth mentor because I believe in the power of sharing knowledge and helping others achieve their goals.

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

1. See challenges as opportunities to learn and grow
2. View setbacks as temporary obstacles on the path to success

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

Channel Sales – With a proven track record of establishing successful B2B channels for both software and hardware at Google, I am confident in my ability to develop and execute a comprehensive sales strategy from the ground up.

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

While building out our channel strategy, convinced Global Systems Integrators to add Google Hardware to their offerings to their customers.

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17. Shany Mo

Describe yourself

Hi, my name is Shany, and I’m a digital product manager and a product consultant. I am also the founder of Beamup – an Airbnb Management Agency and Meyso, a productivity tool for freelancers (stealth mode). I previously collaborated with large publishing houses (including Mashable, Bloomberg, and NBC Universal) directing and launching highly interactive display ads across web and mobile platforms with millions of impressions.

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

Collaborate, learn, and support like-minded individuals.

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

A culmination of encouraging collaboration, encouraging risk-taking, rewarding learnings and efforts in addition to achievements, and regarding setbacks as reflection points.

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

Product and leadership; most suited for the topics.

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

Boosting the number of eyeballs and time spent on Amazon Prime ads by introducing gamification and interactive video in display ads, resulting in a massive boost in brand awareness and conversions.

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18. Stephen Seaman

Describe yourself

My background before fintech startup co-founder was primarily sales, business development, and sales management. I’m great with growing teams and motivating them. We are B2B so that’s where most of my experience is, I might not be the best to be matched with B2C founders. I’ve raised money, growing the company from day one to now we are year 6 with 25 employees and have helped grow and manage the team that got us to generating MRR of over $500k/month. We made the Inc5000 list this year, really excited about that. I got an Arch Grant and their follow-up funds so around $150k in free grant money and have been involved with that organization since we got involved and I have done speaking events and a lot of mentoring and coaching and sometimes just motivating.

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

Help other founders get to revenue and not have to learn from the same mistakes we made.

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

Revenue first, sells before you build, making sure every day results in something checked off the to-do list that helps grow the business. Separating business supporting tasks from business developing tasks and focusing on the developing tasks first.

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

Sales and specifically anything fintech/payments.

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

We positioned ourselves early on as the marketplace for payments and we did a lot of SEO and paid search work and could only drive SMB I worked on helping identify what our ICP was actually searching for, told the website, SEO, and marketing team to switch to where we position ourselves more of a consulting firm and less focus on being a software company and the leads quickly changed to the large enterprise clients we had been looking for. Now we are growing and due to great SEO optimization over time we do next to no outreach and just focus on inbound leads.

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19. Steve Brovchenko

Describe yourself

I am a growth practitioner, working on consumer tech products and sharing insights along the way. Before joining Amazon, my professional journey revolved around early-stage and growth-stage consumer companies. I enjoy working closely with founders to navigate the challenges of building, launching, and scaling new products.

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

I want to share practical insights from 8 years of hands-on experience to help founders understand how their business grows and save time uncovering key growth levers.

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

In my view growth mindset means being curious about the inner workings of things. It involves the ability to develop hypotheses about your market and customers, find ways to test them, and leverage the results to inform your strategy.

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

Growth for consumer tech products. I aim to help teams create a system of compounding growth loops, specifically breaking down the company’s current growth model, identifying the biggest opportunities across acquisition, retention, and monetization, and implementing a strategy that results in sustainable, compounding growth over time.

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

I worked with the team on a subscription app that faced critical retention problems.

After segmenting our customers, we identified two segments retaining at an above-average rate. Analyzing user logs, we uncovered the actions these users took early in their experience and ran a correlation analysis to pinpoint actions on the first day, first week, and first month that correlated with high retention.

Based on these insights, we reverse-engineered an activation experience to guide new customers to perform these actions in their first 30 days. We then focused our acquisition efforts on these two segments, resulting in a retention rate increase of 60%.

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20. Theresa Tang

Describe yourself

I’m an experienced digital products and program management professional who thrives on turning complex challenges into streamlined, user-centric solutions. With a background in leading diverse teams and initiatives across the tech and advertising landscapes, I bring a strategic yet empathetic approach to mentoring, eager to empower aspiring professionals with the tools and insights they need to succeed. Passionate about design, technology, and user experience, I’m dedicated to fostering growth, creativity, and operational excellence in the next generation of industry leaders.

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

I want to become a mentor to share my knowledge and expertise, give back to the community, continue my learning, and develop my leadership skills.

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

Growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, hard work, and a hunger for learning. It’s the perspective that challenges are opportunities for growth and that perseverance in the face of obstacles is the true path to mastery. Embracing a growth mindset means recognizing that failure isn’t a reflection of immutable limits but rather a natural step in the learning process. It’s about celebrating progress, not just perfection, and understanding that each experience enriches our competence and expands our potential. This philosophy guides how I approach problems, set goals, and ultimately, how I mentor others to approach their personal and professional development.

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

I would choose to mentor on strategic program management within the tech industry because it beautifully merges creativity with analytical prowess—essential for driving innovation. With my background, I can offer profound insights into managing complex projects and leading cross-functional teams. This area is crucial as it’s where ideas become tangible realities, shaping not just businesses but the future of technology itself. Mentoring in this field allows me to impart skills that can significantly impact individuals and the broader digital landscape.

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

During my tenure at Amazon, I was faced with a challenging product enablement issue where user engagement was consistently dropping post-launch. Traditional approaches, like feature updates and marketing pushes, were not yielding the desired uptick in sustained user activity. That’s when I decided to look beyond the usual fixes.

I spearheaded a ‘reverse beta’ program, where instead of selecting users to test features before a public release, we invited them post-launch to participate in a program that granted them access to features in development. This not only provided us with continuous and real-time user feedback but also created a sense of community and exclusivity. Users felt like insiders and became more engaged, not just with the features but with the product as a whole. The result was a notable increase in user retention and a rich vein of user-generated insights that helped refine and prioritize our development pipeline. It was an unorthodox strategy that not only solved the immediate problem but also enriched our user engagement model moving forward. That moment was a testament to the power of creative problem-solving and reaffirmed my confidence in thinking outside the box.

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21. Yiannis Papadopoulos

Describe yourself

Hey, I am Yiannis, a seasoned executive (CFO) specializing in the financial/operational oversight and strategic development of startups and scaleups.

Throughout 13 years of experience, I have helped companies grow from 0 figures to 8 figures in revenue and from single-digit people to 65+ by leading the businesses’ Finance, Operations and HR. I have played a crucial role in the aggressive growth and international expansion in over 4 countries of a technology-backed digital marketing creative agency.

I contributed to creating a growth benchmark platform where users can find relevant growth metrics/KPIs and compare them with the industry or similar companies.

I have successfully led and raised over £5 million in investment rounds throughout my career.

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

I always feel fulfilled when I see things grow and flourish; being a mentor provides the opportunity to create the seed for something bigger, too.

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

To identify and capitalize on opportunities in situations where other people perceive them as barriers.

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

Growth Finance. How to navigate your finances and operations for business growth.

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

Getting onboarded to an agency as a finance professional, I inherited over $500k debt, experiencing significant monthly cash bleed and operational inefficiencies. Right away, I initiated an audit of the company, which resulted in a transformation of our Finance and Operations processes, that immediately enhanced our cash flow.

The pivotal moment came when I led a bold decision to restructure our business model, focusing on core competencies and drastically reducing overhead by cutting non-essential roles and expenses, focusing on the highest ROI elements of the business at a time, leading to a remarkable turnaround: from $555k in debt to $400k in the bank.

This strategy salvaged the company from near collapse and set a new course toward sustainable growth and profitability.

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22. Zhenya (Yauheni) Bankouski

Describe yourself

Hi there! My name is Zhenya (Eugene) and I am a co-founder of Revenue Wizards, a Revenue Operations company where we help Sales and Revenue leaders resolve bottlenecks and optimize for sustainable revenue growth.

I’ve worked with multiple SaaS companies and products in the health, insurance, sustainability, and fashion domains to help them build their revenue teams from scratch, optimize sales or channel motions, fundraise, or set up data analytics foundations across commercial teams.

Together with my co-founder at Revenue Wizards, we’ve been able to help secure $85M+ in funding for our partners, influence $96M+ of pipeline generated, and impact 21+ promotions.

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

I appreciate knowledge exchange and love to pay it forward. Since I was once in the position of looking for mentors I realized the importance of a good partner at the right time.

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

Growth mindset is all about staying curious and persistent.

All good things take time to grow and build so it is all about the number of iterations, mistakes, and corrections one is ready to make to get there.

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

This 100% be RevOps. More specifically I love decomposing big complex Revenue goals into a subset of tactics and operational steps needed to connect the dots between Revenue strategy and execution.

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

One of the companies we’ve partnered with was struggling with identifying the next segment to focus on for growth.

The root cause of the issue was the inability of commercial teams to work with product data.

While they had access to commercial and client data in CRM they were not actively exploiting the product and commercial dataset together leading to subpar decisions based on a gut feel.

After we set up the dataflows and exposed the combined datasets to the right eyes, the team was able to:

• spot inefficiencies in the existing segments and improve revenue by 15% within 6 months
• trim 70% of portfolio products and services that were generating a fraction of revenue
• review and increase pricing on the remaining products and services
• successfully enter the new segment

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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.