Kevin had a transformative shift in his approach to business (GrowthBay).
Background:
Kevin Sturm has had his own growth marketing company GrowthBay for 3 years.
What challenges were you facing when we met?
I was spending most of my days working in the business, helping clients grow (which I love). But I realized that ironically I did not eat my own dog food when it came to my own company, GrowthBay. I decided that it was time to work on MY business and take it to the next level. I felt I knew what was missing but I needed an external sounding board and an accountability partner to make it happen.
Did you evaluate other alternatives?
I did reach out to Mike Rome who sent me back to you :-) I was looking for someone who's been in my shoes leading growth teams and efforts. Ideally, someone who's now a solopreneur, understanding the unique challenges and struggles that come with that.
Over the 3 years of running my own business, I had found many answers but had accumulated even more questions. Some were very growth marketing specific but most were about how to grow my own company sustainably without overly depending on referrals and word-of-mouth.
In essence, I was looking for someone to help me gain clarity.
What did we work on together?
We worked on positioning my company in the market, coming up with a clear-cut messaging and redesigned my website. We revamped my LinkedIn presence and came up with a content strategy that I feel comfortable with. We set up a monthly growth tracking and reporting for my own company. We discussed ways on how to take my client projects to the next level and how to improve my stakeholder management while embracing my professional self. We spoke about PLG motions and how to implement such programs effectively.
What was the experience like?
The biggest difference was in the mindset not only in myself, but across the rest of the team. It's a new muscle coming from account based marketing and AE driven sales motions to a product led strategy. Intellectually it's easy to see what a strategic and tactical shift this requires -- but it takes time and reinforcement to truly shift your mental models. Beyond the many tactical wins Andrew helped us with, this was probably the biggest, most significant benefit. Favorite part of working together: The sanity and calm that Andrew always brought to our meetings. No matter what chaos I was dealing with, Andrew always cuts thru the noise and centers the task at hand. You can't undervalue how much that clarity of mind is really worth in high stress moments.
The bi-weekly calls with Andrew were part growth therapy and part accountability sessions. I loved the non-chalant vibe of our discussions - sometimes wild, unstructed and open-ended, other times well-organized and with a clear outcome in mind. Whenever we were laid astray, Andrew led us back to where we started or set out to go. If I didn't articulate something well, he dug deeper. When I saw only two options he made me come up with another five. He pushed and nudged me beyond my self-defined limits and comfort-zone so I could break through my own plateaus.
Any major results?
The biggest difference was in the mindset not only in myself, but across the rest of the team. It's a new muscle coming from account based marketing and AE driven sales motions to a product led strategy. Intellectually it's easy to see what a strategic and tactical shift this requires -- but it takes time and reinforcement to truly shift your mental models. Beyond the many tactical wins Andrew helped us with, this was probably the biggest, most significant benefit. Favorite part of working together: The sanity and calm that Andrew always brought to our meetings. No matter what chaos I was dealing with, Andrew always cuts thru the noise and centers the task at hand. You can't undervalue how much that clarity of mind is really worth in high stress moments.
Any message to someone on the fence about working with Andrew?
Andrew clearly knows his growth stuff but he understands humans even better. I don't know how he does it but there was never an iota of akwardness in one of our calls. Things felt natural. I believe the reason for that is that Andrew is being himself. You can feel he's not a bullshitter. He's genuinely interested in people. He never hesitated sharing anything. From how he built a high converting sales funnel for his own company to how he tracks growth projects for clients, he never held back. He's a pro but laid-back at the same time. I still wonder how he manages to juggle all these balls with coaching, advising, writing, podcasting and a family but it's probably due to the restorative effect of his woodwork.