S2 Ep 7. Tom Dewhurst - How to Scale 100's of Startups into Scaleups

Overview:
Working with Hundreds of Startups - providing Expert Growth Marketing Teams.
More on Tom https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomdewhurst/

Key Discussion topics
When is a Start up ready for a scale up
Moving from one channel to a range of channels
A founder is ready to start hiring
Growth becomes more sustainable as you reduce cost - especially from the positive influence of the brand
There is true understanding of customers needs and there is enough of proof of the solution that the product or service requires
KPIs metrics from Start-up to Scale-up
North star metrics
Moving from
Engagement metrics e.g. Conversion metrics that are helping to define product-market fit
to MQLs - merging between sales and marketing
CAC repeat purchase
Be very clear on the Full-funnel
Getting tracking in place as early as possible
Investing in the tech stack, in order to track conversions correctly
Understanding the LTV more as people churn or don't return
Moving away from hypothetical metrics
Could you spend MORE if the LTV stacks
The challenges of attribution - Need to appreciate the full funnel

Customers
Feedback loops with customers
Always be listening - Sales calls, Service calls - how are they getting to the Aha moment
What are the barriers to sale - What are prospects concerned about - How can this be answered earlier in the process, to reduce friction?
How are they looking to alternative solutions that solves the problem for them?

Channels
Using the Bullseye framework to decide which channels are going to be most appropriate
3-6 channels which are going to be most appropriate
Acquisition channels, but also the process of retaining customers

Messaging and positioning
Testing the messaging as you're testing the channels
Value proposition pivots, if the model has changed
Using frameworks like Value Proposition canvas
Certain channels are harder to get the proposition across

Team and Agencies
Fractional growth staff vs. In-house hires
Experts that test the channels before starting to scale
True understanding if the channel works before starting to scale it up
What "good" looks like
Collaboration between sales and marketing operations
Experimentation mindset - Learnings from other experiments and how to apply this