Lauren Schuman’s professional life had just been turned upside down. The company where she was VP of Product Growth had just gone through a dramatic strategic shift that directly impacted her role in a big way. It was a rough time, but Lauren made it through with a little help from her ‘personal board of directors.’

Working in a new company means your day-to-day responsibilities have to be tied to a larger goal. But when you’re fresh out of college in your first role, it’s hard to understand that perspective and how others work towards it. Claire Suellentrop, Co-Founder and COO of Forget the Funnel, knows the struggle.

In this episode, Product Growth Advisor Rosie Hoggmascall shares her experiences around someone taking credit for her work, struggling with being put on the spot, and having the tough conversation about feeling stuck at work. Listen in to hear her tried and true phrases you can employ to avoid freezing in anxiety-triggering conversations at work and to be reminded why soft skills are what hard workers really need.

Companies often prioritize growth hires too soon, before having product market fit and core capabilities built out. It’s a recipe for disaster. When the company isn’t ready for a Growth Lead, but they hire you anyway - my convo with Hillary Miller (Growth @ Whimsical) about being in the wrong role at the wrong time.

You finally landed your dream job. Director of growth at a cool tech company that’s scaling quickly. It’s everything you thought you wanted. But then, after only a few weeks or months, the reality sets in: This isn’t quite what you expected. In fact, it’s not at all what you expected.

The former growth lead at Heights shares her biggest failures and the learnings that fueled her comeback story.

How the former Head of Growth at Lyft, Patreon, Imperfect Foods, and Reforge EIR bounced back from tough feedback. My convo with Adam Fishman about getting outside your comfort zone.

You’ve been fired. Now what? How Liam MacCormick (growth at MadKudu) redefined success after a major career setback.

How the CEO of Compound Growth Marketing (and parent) deals with emergency calls and poop stories. My convo with John Short about the realities of work/life balance while working in tech.

Almost everyone eventually has to deal with office politics. And everyone hates it. So how does a head of growth approach them? You’ll need some chutzpah to speak up for sure. But you’ll also need the right emotional, interpersonal, and leadership skills to navigate the murky (sometimes shark infested) waters of office politics.

You’re in charge of moving the needle in a big way, but you don’t have big resources backing you up. The job involves a lot of hustle, plenty of speed bumps, and — if you’re not careful — burnout.. How to thrive as a one-person growth team.

Scott is the VP of Growth at Persefoni, and his wide-ranging growth experience includes time at Reforge, HubSpot, co-hosting the Growth TL;DR podcast with Kieran Flanagan, and working on the Signals product with Brian Balfour. In our convo, we talked at length about why growth roles tend to turn over so frequently, what makes a strong leader, and more.

Shirin Bradfield is the Head of Growth and Self-Service at Optimal Workshop, a New Zealand design, research, and UX testing software company. She started as a Growth Marketing Manager at the company, eventually becoming a Growth Product Manager, before finally being promoted to her current role. Shirin shares the journey throughout her multiple transitions in Optimal Workshop and the challenges she faced during it.

Benyamin Elias is the VP of Marketing at Podia. He has been in the growth space for some time, formerly serving as the Director of Marketing at Podia, and in a variety of roles at ActiveCampaign.

I’m joined by Ben Williams — former VP of Product Growth at Snyk, current founder and full-time advisor at PLGeek. Ben shared why he gifted a book with a personalized message to a new PM, how he reframed negative feedback so it stopped making him feel sick, and how he had way more fun after he stopped putting pressure on himself to know every answer.

In this episode, Sam and I discuss nonlinear career paths, the bumps and bruises of working at early-stage companies, and the imposter syndrome that comes with it. Tune in to this episode for an honest and vulnerable conversation filled with valuable insights and advice on career paths and what it takes to be successful in growth!

In this first episode of my new podcast, I share my personal story (of how I got here). I talk about my journey into growth. The two worst performance reviews I've ever had. The time I had a panic attack mid-presentation. And, what I'd do different if I could start all over. It's an honest and vulnerable look at my journey. I hope you enjoy it!