Andrei Marinescu (Partner, 500 Startups)

1. / Growth for Startups
U&I Summit // 2017.01.21

2. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
Partner, 500 Startups
● UX-focused growth marketer
● Scaled Hulu Plus to $500M run rate
● Also worked in IoT, Fintech, & Healthtech
● Former scientist
/Hi, I’m Andrei
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3. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
/Agenda
● About 500 Startups
● Growth hacking!?
● Examples
● What?
● Why?
● When?
● Where?
● How?
● Getting started
● Summary: pillars of growth
● References
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4. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
$205M in AUM2
1,500+ Investments2
Since July 2010
/Most active Silicon Valley1
seed investor
The various geographies highlighted in the map result from investments we have made across all 500 Startups funds.
1. The Silicon Valley Tech Venture Capital Almanac, Fall 2013 and TechCrunch Article May 5, 2015, “500 Startups Aims To Be The Largest VC Shop In The World”
http://techcrunch.com/2015/05/05/500-startups-aims-to-be-the-largest-vc-shop-in-the-world/
2. Approximated as of 11/17/2015 and includes the following 500 Startups funds: (a) 500 Startups, L.P. and 500 Startups-A, L.P. (together, “Fund I”), (b) 500 Startups II, L.P. and 500 Startups II-A, L.P. (together,
“Fund II”), (c) 500 Startups III, L.P. and 500 Startups III-A, L.P. (together, “Fund III”), (d) 500 Startups IV, L.P. and 500 Startups IV-A, L.P. (together, “Fund IV”), (e) 500 Startups Annex Fund, L.P. (“Annex”), (f) 500
Luchadores, L.P. (“Luchadores”), (g) 500 Durians, L.P. (“Durians”), (h) 500 Mobile Collective, L.P. (“Mobile Collective”, (i) 500 Kimchi, L.P. (“Kimchi”), (j) 500 TukTuks, L.P. (“TukTuks”), (k) 500 Startups JP, L.P.
("Japan”), (l) 500 Istanbul, L.P. ("Istanbul”), and (m) 500 Nordics, L.P. (“Nordics”)
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5. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
/“Growth hacking”!?!?
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6. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
/Ex: viral growth hack
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7. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
/Ex: WOM growth hack
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8. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
/Ex: technical growth hack
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9. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
/Growth is defined neither by tactics...
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10. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
/...nor by silver bullets
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11. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
APPLICATION OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD TO BUSINESS & PSYCHOLOGY
/What IS growth?
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12. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
/Why do you apply it?
SCALING BUSINESSES IS NOT INTUITIVE
“Oh shit”
meeting
Obvious
fixes
Harder
fixes
Stuff that
didn’t work
Step back and
think a bit
Launch
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13. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
/When do you apply it?
THE CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK IS YOUR GUIDE
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14. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
WHAT METRIC IS MOST IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW?
/What do you apply it to?
Acquisition
(Signups, Installs)
Activation
(Users)
Retention
(Repeat Usage)
Referrals
(Invites)
Revenue
($$$)
AARRR!
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15. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
/Where do you apply it?
TEST & PRIORITIZE ALL RELEVANT CHANNELS AND TACTICS
• SEO
• Conversion rate optimization (CRO) & A/B testing
• User experience (UX) and user testing
• Performance marketing (paid search, display, and retargeting)
• Email marketing
• Content marketing
• Viral loops
• Strategic pricing
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16. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
/How do you apply it?
DEVELOP A GROWTH MACHINE
• Adopt the mindset
– Change is constant—channels and tactics get commoditized over time
– Be motivated by helping customers achieve their goals
– Be curious: let experimentation and data drive your thinking
• Get process-driven & disciplined
• Key qualities
– Measurable
– Repeatable
– Scalable
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17. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
/Where should you start?
LET’S GET TACTICAL: BIG IMPACT OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE
• Top of funnel
– How to reach HUGE new audiences in a cost-effective way
• Middle of funnel
– Attracting and drawing people deeper into engaging with you
• Bottom of funnel
– Close to the $$$ - convert higher % and simply make more money!
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18. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
/Summary: 500’s pillars of growth
WHAT THE 500 STARTUPS DISTRO TEAM FOCUSES ON
• Understand your customers’ need(s)
– Talk to your customers!!!
• Communicate your key value propositions
• Reach new customers where they are & build trust
• Build your growth engine: how are you going to grow?
• Understand your KPIs, their levers & drivers
– Optimize CAC, payback period, retention, and LTV
• Select and experiment with appropriate channels
– Prioritize & work only on the stuff that matters!
• Optimize your funnel, one section at a time
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19. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
/References
DIG INTO THESE RESOURCES TO LEARN MORE
● Dave McClure’s Startup Metrics for Pirates
● Steve Blank’s Customer Development Methodology
● Eric Ries’s Three Drivers of Growth
● Andy Young’s Analytics for Startups
● Brian Balfour’s The Scientific Method: How to Design & Track Viral
Growth Experiments
● Andy Johns’s 3 Mandatory Skills Every NextGen CMO Should Know
● 500 Startups’ daily DISTROSNACK
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20. Andrei Marinescu | 500 Distro | @malaparte
REACH OUT
Andrei Marinescu
@malaparte
andrei@500startups.com
/Thank you! Questions?
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