Here are the 19 Growth Mentors of July 2024

1. Yevgeniya Gagarkina

Describe yourself

Growth manager with 7+ years of experience, focusing on product marketing and product growth. My experience lies within impact-driven startups that are my passion, specifically edtech. Love helping people to crack their challenges around activation, adoption, engagement and monetization, and will be happy to help with yours.

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

To get more growth to impactful products by empowering growth people seeking guidance and answers.

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

A growth mindset is a trajectory that is unclear from the very beginning, but it reveals itself due to lifelong learning, building upon previous insights, and choosing to find opportunities instead of giving up.

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

A growth mindset is a trajectory that is unclear from the very beginning, but it reveals itself due to lifelong learning, building upon previous insights, and choosing to find opportunities instead of giving up.

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

Creating training programs for the users that served as a growth channel for the focus market, and allowed to get compounding growth in acquisition, activation, retention and monetization. Finding a way to scale that through introducing Ambassadors, highlighting more value propositions and solving more pain points.

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2. Will Soprano

Describe yourself

Hi, I’m Will – I cut my teeth in startups, learning the ropes of product, marketing & development. As my career forged into view I learned hard life lessons as I battled mental health, alcohol, and relationship obstacles. While I continue to learn myself I’ve found that I must give away what’s been so freely given to me – and that’s why I’m here.

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

Part of my personal mission is to serve + help others, and I’m uniquely qualified to help on this platform (life, work, startup experiences).

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

When we pair the right intention with the right action we have the opportunity to grow. So a growth mindset is putting an intention to what is naturally occurring in the human experience.

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

Demand Gen (but I’d be remiss if I didn’t include mental health/alcoholism here)

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

Used a social Q&A to create ongoing relationships with a retail store (brick and mortar) that increased traffic by 2100% to the website.

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3. Udo Kaja

Describe yourself

I have 15 years of experience leading and executing go-to-market (GTM) and marketing strategies for companies like Google, Block Inc (Square Payments), Photoroom, Xbox, and Microsoft. I love to tackle acquisition and retention by speaking to customers, conducting market research and planning and launching campaigns that attract and convert. I’m also interested in using pricing as a lever to drive discovery and conversions.

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

I’m keen to help businesses grow by sharing and brainstorming new ideas or optimizing existing initiatives.

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

A growth mindset is embracing our ability to learn and pivot so we continue to discover new ways to do things or optimize our ways of working.

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

Pricing is something that is often overlooked – I would like to demonstrate how folks can drive more value for their customers and their businesses by putting the right pricing strategy in place.

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

At Photoroom – we didn’t have any content to educate prospects on use cases. To scale the creation, I prioritized key use cases and personas and researched tools that could help to quickly create videos and content for emails and blogs. As a result, I drafted 12 blogs, 3 videos, and email content in 3 weeks and increased traffic to the marketing pages by 4x.

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4. Tomasz Lisiecki

Describe yourself

Hej 👋 I’m Tomasz, the founder at NerdCow – a web design consultancy for SaaS businesses based in London since 2015. I operate at the intersection of marketing, design, and engineering. I use this unique position to navigate the complicated website landscape.

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

I’d like to help people in SaaS to better leverage their websites for business growth.

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

To me, growth mindset means being innately curious about everything.

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

It’d be the website’s marketing performance. As a person who has been building websites for 20 years, I can efficiently spot mistakes in user experience, messaging, and technical setup. Then, using my playbook, I can advise on the best way to fix them.

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

It’s probably my favorite part of any project. I believe before you can zoom in, you need to zoom out. Eliminate invalid assumptions, isolate cases, and go for the simplest tools to confirm suspicious. In times of the highest uncertainty, almost anything will tell you something.

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5. Rebekah May

Describe yourself

I’m an organic marketing growth expert with 10+ years of experience. I enjoy leveraging the power of SEO and content marketing to unlock scalable growth opportunities. As an instructor for certification programs at UC Davis, I empower others with the skills to thrive in the digital landscape and seek to mentor others.

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

I love teaching and deconstructing challenges to find solutions.

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

A growth mindset is like playing chess, not checkers. I don’t just react to the present; I anticipate future moves, challenge the status quo to find innovative solutions, and always ask “How can we make it better?”

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

Crafting SEO-friendly content strategies that engage and convert.

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

Marketing problems can have layers, like an onion. My approach is to peel those layers back, one by one. I start with a clear understanding of the issue, then relentlessly ask “why” to reach the core. Finding these answers means analyzing data, interviewing stakeholders, considering external factors and examining the overall approach. With this information, we can then begin to solve the problem at its core.

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6. Nicola Boldrini

Describe yourself

I am Nico, a Growth Manager with 5+ years of experience in Growth & Business Development for early-stage tech companies looking forward to achieving product-market fit. Working to bring customers to the company I support, I live and breathe for growing every aspect of the business.

Skills: SEO & Copywriting; Social Media Marketing; Email Marketing; Tracking & Optimization; Web & Bot Development; Performance Marketing; Data Visualization; Graphic Design.

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

I just discovered your platform and I’d love to be part of a community of people that do the same job as me. I live in Italy and it is not an easy task to find growth people 🙂

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

Close the bridge between consumers and product by using a variety of skills that allow the product team to launch the product in the best possible way, learn from the customer how it should be improved and re-launch again with this information in mind.

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

Organic marketing – this is what I love and what I do best

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

Pinpointing the root cause of a problem involves a systematic and methodical approach to ensure that the underlying issue is identified and addressed effectively. My approach typically includes the following steps: 1. define the problem 2. identify possible causes 3. analyze the causes.

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7. Nayla Haber

Describe yourself

My name is Nayla and I am passionate about all topics related to growth! I have led the growth of new payment products at Amazon and defined go-to-market strategies in 3 countries. Later on, I led the growth at an early-stage data analytics start-up, leveraging both product-led and sales-led growth.

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

I love the intellectual challenge of identifying growth levers for new products. It would also be very fulfilling to lend a helping hand to start-ups that may be short of resources. All that while also potentially learning new industries!

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

A Growth mindset culture or mindset means that you have to be willing to experiment fast at the risk of being publicly wrong. You also have to be in a ”discovery” mindset – aiming to uncover levers that deliver exponential gains and not simply optimizations. This means that you have to prioritize learning as fast as possible vs. traditional business metrics that are used to assess the progression of more mature businesses.

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

I would love to guide someone on establishing growth sprints within their company. This involves working backward from customer/target customers’ feedback, A/B testing hypothesis and scaling what works.

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

In a nutshell, my approach is i) always start with the data, specifically, examining marketing and sales funnel data ii) combining it with qualitative observations (e.g. email content quality, lead quality) and iii) running experiments to validate the root cause.

Providing an example from my role: we noticed a drop in opportunities created in Q3 and didn’t know what was happening. I first ran an analysis identifying our top sources of deals and how these changed monthly. I identified a drop in organic leads driven both by lower organic traffic and a lower conversion rate of traffic. Further splitting the data, it turns out that a lower conversion rate was due to targeting a new country. Talking with the team, it turns out they had stopped investing in SEO. We aligned to turn back on that decision and target specific regions of this new country (Tech hubs). In 3 months, we already improved on metrics analyzed.

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8. John Kilmer

Describe yourself

I’ve worked hard most of my life. I have failed a lot. But I have pushed past these failures and learned from my failures. Thus allowing them to succeed with greater weight than ever before. I love cooking breakfast for my wife. The smallest gifts and acts of kindness are the greatest rewards for self-growth. Huge online chess player. Enjoy finding lakes around world the that I can jump in and swim in.

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

To listen, and hopefully help them prevent the errors I have made and those I have seen others make.

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

Listening. Being open to appreciate what all people have to say. And know how to provide advice to each unique individual. Everyone hears, listens, and learns differently. From that, adapt those experiences and skills and apply them to everyday life not just personal but professional.

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

Strategic Thinking and Planning. My failures taught me how to think strategically. And only my recent accomplishments now in the area are showing me I am going down the right path.

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

Guiding them. You can not make a horse drink water. But if you can SHOW them. Why, where, and how it is important and better? Then the horse might drink the water.

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9. Ivan Kychatyi

Describe yourself

I am a founder with extensive experience converting brands like Meta, Bolt, and Telefonica and growing AI-driven products. 1.5M+ people used my latest project UAtalents and we had 10,000+ businesses registered in less than 6 months after launch. I am a big fan of multi-channel outreach combined with content marketing and achieved 50%+ reply rates with my campaigns. I am also developing a new venture now in the AIxHRtech niche and leading product & growth there.

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

Observing mentees grow their ventures inspires me immensely.

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

Define your goal, start small, and beat your yesterday’s self by 1% with each iteration.

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

Multi-channel-touch B2B outreach: so many founders opt-in to touch base only once and in 1 place with their audience missing a huge potential of delivering the messages consistently across many channels to nurture them and convert in the XX% range rather than 0.X% one.

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

Data and frustrations: first, I look into the data to pinpoint the first suspects but behind every number, there is a person who acts in a certain way. So I talk to people next to identify what actually happened and their frustrations. Data helps me keep the bigger picture in mind while figuring out the “why” during my discussions. The approach allows me to come up with a strong hypothesis to resolve the issue making sure the agents behind the numbers achieve what they need.

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10. Guido Manfredi

Describe yourself

I’m Guido and I’ve been growing startups since 2015. I am currently COO at Bildung Data, a product analytics and growth agency. Previously, I spent the last 5 years growing a hyper-growth startup backed by Coca-Cola where we reached 1500 people around the world.

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

Expose myself to new growth and product analytics problems and try to solve them.

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

Begin with the output metric in mind. Understand what inputs compose it, and then move to hypotheses and experiments.

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

Product analytics

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

Start by modeling the system you’re working on. I usually rely on Metric Trees for this. This helps me understand the relationship between metrics, and how input metrics impact each output. Then, it’s quite easy to go through the metric tree and discard or deep dive on a given branch.

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11. Erin Chuah

Describe yourself

I help consumer technology startups of all stages find product market fit and drive scale. With almost 10 years of experience in product and business strategy in hyper-growth companies such as Revolut and ByteDance, I have successfully designed and implemented GTM and growth strategies across fintech, e-commerce, edutech, social media, and many other consumer technology sectors. I am currently mentoring startups figuring out product market fit or how to find step-change growth in established businesses.

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

I want to help startups find product market fit and strategic clarity while broadening my horizons and applying my expertise in different contexts.

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

Always learning – there is always more to be learned, and we are all capable of learning and growing if we just start.

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

Product market fit and how to scale a business.

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

Pivoted a business to focus on an underserved part of the value chain further upstream.

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12. Dimitris Farmakis

Describe yourself

Hello, I am Dimi – short for Dimitris – with 10 years of experience in B2B SaaS product management and digital transformation. I’ve worked with startups that started from scratch, working directly with founders to build the company from the ground up and launching AI-powered products from 0 to 1, which grew the business to a seven-figure ARR. Also, having to wear many hats such as marketing and customer success, has provided me with invaluable complementary experience and insights. Lately, I co-founded a research group in Europe focusing on bridging the gap of digital literacy so that advancements in technology are harmonized with human welfare, and the environmental and social fabric.

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

Having learned many things the hard way, I want to help entrepreneurs and product leaders focus and effectively navigate the decision-making dynamics of building scalable products and organizations.

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

For me Socrates’s quote “I know that I know nothing” perfectly summarizes the attitude of keeping an open mind, ready to explore and uncover new knowledge. This fundamental mindset will allow you to continuously test assumptions, iterate and learn.

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

The importance of managing different levels of detail (LOD) in the Product management mechanism; Creating strategies and plans at various system levels will drive organic alignment within the Product team and subsequently throughout the organization.

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

In the early days at a previous startup, I was at, we were trying to create a virtual constraint programming environment to simulate construction project management reality. During our prototype validation, in a proof of concept project our prototype hit the ceiling of complexity that could capture given the constraint modeling capabilities available. Persisting to prove the value of our product, I had to go outside my civil engineering box and borrow various concepts from my Operations research days and the simulation software I’ve used. Combining these multidisciplinary pieces together, allowed me to scrap together a feature solution which, aside of the project at hand, ended up unlocking a whole new use case and market segment for our product.

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13. Catherine St Clair

Describe yourself

Hi, I’m Catherine. I have worked with fast-growing companies for more than 20 years at companies like Hims, Afterpay, Zillow, and Yelp, and have spent most of that time in product marketing. I love helping companies craft their unique product narratives and developing GTM strategies that break through all the noise.

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

Mentors have played an important part in my career and I’d love to give back. Plus, it’s energizing to speak with early start-ups and marketers early in their careers.

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

To me, a growth mindset is all about asking questions. Why is it this way? What have I learned for next time? How can I make it better? From whom can I learn to be even better?

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

My expertise is in defining target audiences, developing positioning & messaging, drafting GTM plans (including product launches), and optimizing for growth post-launch.

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

First, I would understand the current situation – what does it look like today and what does the data show? Then, I’d develop some hypotheses on the root cause and ways to test each one. I’d also conduct competitive analysis for inspiration on how others are doing it successfully.

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14. Ben Roberts

Describe yourself

Hey, I’m Ben, and I’ve been growing and scaling apps through Performance Marketing for 5 years (with my work being nominated for an App Growth Award). I now run my own growth consultancy, Revolve Digital. I’ve worked in both agency and in-house roles so can put myself in the shoes of a number of positions.

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

The moments where I’m most in love with my job are when I get to exchange ideas (at conferences, free consultations, etc) and would love a steady cadence of opportunities to inspire (and be inspired by) founders and marketers.

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

A willingness to bring your experience to the table while also remaining agnostic when it comes to opportunities to build and scale your project. Open-mindedness and the ability to pivot again and again until you find the winning formula is key.

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

Growing apps and bringing joy to your users.

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

I pivoted Audible’s performance marketing strategy away from its brand and towards celebrating content, which totally revitalized its results and is still employed as a strategy by the business today.

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15. Alistair Allan

Describe yourself

I’m Alistair, a growth expert with a broad skillset, most recently helping PlayStation scale experimentation, Head of Growth at Square leading a team of growth strategists, and leading teams in D2C (Burberry, Topshop, Reiss) across both marketing and analytics. I’m highly technical, still coding in Python (for analysis) and formally a lead developer at Universal Music before I entered the growth world. I love upskilling my teams and helping solve hard problems.

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

I’ve been advising startups for a couple of years now (via Antler VC) and find it rewarding.

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

To me, a growth mindset means seeing every challenge as a chance to learn and improve, turning obstacles into opportunities for growth.

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

If I could mentor someone on just one topic, it would be the theory of constraints applied in a customer-centric way. Understanding where to start is often the most challenging aspect of growth. You don’t need to master complex growth hacking techniques; you simply need to identify the bottleneck from the customer or user’s perspective to begin addressing it effectively.

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

I use two key methods to pinpoint the root cause of a problem. First, I create a Value Tree that maps out all relevant metrics to identify which one is driving top-line performance compared to a previous period. Second, I map out the user journey with metrics to understand which part of the journey is most impacted compared to a different time period.

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16. Alina Vasile

Describe yourself

With almost a decade of experience in product management, I specialize in driving emerging tech implementation and optimizing product life cycles for tech companies. At the helm of teams up to 20 strong, I’ve spearheaded the launch of innovative products like the Gemba XR Learning platform. My strategic approach consistently aligns product development with business goals, delivering robust growth and competitive advantage. Currently, I am the VP of Product at Method Five Labs, a venture studio creating products that uplift humanity.

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

In my roles delivering tech products, I had to learn a lot by myself and figure things out on the go, this approach led to a lot of learning I would share with other people going through the same.

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

To me, a growth mindset is about embracing challenges as opportunities for learning and improvement. It’s the belief that skills can be developed through dedication and hard work. This perspective has been integral to my role in transforming product teams and processes, where I’ve driven significant enhancements in performance and efficiency.

In practice, a growth mindset enables me to foster a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging my teams to experiment, learn from failures, and iterate their approaches. It’s about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, continuously seeking to better our strategies, and being resilient in the face of setbacks. This mindset has also allowed me to mentor and develop the potential in others, building teams that are adaptable, innovative, and ready to tackle the challenges of a rapidly evolving tech landscape.

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

Strategic Product Management it combines my understanding of market trends, customer needs, and technological opportunities with the ability to translate these elements into effective product strategies. This area is both about managing the product lifecycle and envisioning what a product could become and mapping out the strategic path to get there.

Mentoring in this area allows me to impart crucial skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and strategic foresight and sharing best practice methods to:

• Identify and prioritize product opportunities that align with business goals.
• Develop and refine product roadmaps that respond to evolving market and technology landscapes.
• Lead cross-functional teams to deliver products that meet complex and dynamic customer demands.

This is an opportunity to pass on my approach to integrating customer insights with business objectives to drive product success—ensuring that my mentees learn to think not just about products, but about how those products can transform businesses.

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

When creating the world’s first VR platform for learning, the biggest challenge was getting users to become familiar and at ease with the features in such a novel environment, so I designed a game-like experience around it that made it fun and engaged people to want to learn more.

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17. Vasilis Mylonas

Describe yourself

Hello! My name is Vasileios, or V (easier) and I am a digital marketing professional specializing in paid ads, PPC, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, SEO, and more. I am happy to assist you with any inquiry.

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

To help others with my experience.

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

It’s about embracing challenges as opportunities to learn and grow, rather than seeing them as insurmountable barriers.

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

I guess online acquisition because I have been doing it successfully for many years.

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

Keep coming up with new strategies on a platform for a client when no data is available.

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18. Narayanan Venkiteswaran

Describe yourself

Hi, I am Narayanan, a seasoned engineering leader with over 15 years of experience. I have worked in the B2B and B2C SaaS space and love to brainstorm ideas on how to grow your customers and retain them through great UX and incentives.

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

As an engineering leader in the monetization space, I am passionate about giving back to the community by helping individuals, their products, and their teams succeed.

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

Fostering an environment where everyone is encouraged to innovate, take risks, and develop their skills.

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

UX, Data Gathering, and People development

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

• Retained customers during COVID-19 by introducing a pause billing hardship promotion, which fostered goodwill towards the product.
• Developed an add-ons-based platform enabling customers to purchase products and stack multiple add-ons, thereby offering long-term value and flexible options for their purchases.

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19. Anita Yuan

Describe yourself

Hi, I’m Anita. With over 5 years of experience as a Product Manager, my journey has been a dynamic blend of diverse roles and industries. From managing international hotels to overseeing Fortune 500 retail stores, I’ve traversed various sectors before discovering my passion for digital product management. Having personally navigated career shifts and relocations, I intimately understand the challenges of adapting to new environments. With a proven track record of success and a passion for fostering growth, I’m committed to empowering individuals in their professional journeys. I can help you with career growth and development, transition into a product manager role, resume reviews, and interview preparations.

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

I am very passionate about mentorship programs and want to give back to the community and support professionals with their career growth and development.

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

To me, a growth mindset means always striving to learn new skills, being open to change and new opportunities, and viewing setbacks as chances to grow. It involves maintaining a positive attitude and continuously seeking improvement, understanding that effort and perseverance lead to development and success.

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

Product management. I am passionate about creating the best products for users and making a positive impact on the community and society. I would love to support people transitioning into product management, solving outstanding problems as a product manager, and navigating their product management careers.

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

I pinpoint the root cause of a problem by using first principles to break down complex issues into fundamental elements.

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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.