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Chat with Andrew Chen, Supply Growth at Uber
8 segments available
Andrew Chen is one of Silicon Valley's thought leaders on growth, mobile, and startups in general. His essays on these topics have been featured in New York Times, Wired, and the Wall Street Journal (among many others). Andrew is now working on growth at Uber. In this discussion, Tim Chang, Managing Director of the Mayfield Fund, interviews Andrew about how he thinks about growth, what he has learned from trying different tactics, and how to evaluate the success of growth initiatives.
Segments Timeline
Introduction to Andrew Chen
Tim Chang introduces Andrew Chen, a prominent figure in Silicon Valley known for his expertise in growth and startups. The conversation highlights their past discussions about Facebook and Twitter, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of growth strategies.
"uh Andrew is um a blogger super uh big expert um in growth from Silicon Valley welcome and I've met Andrew welcome hi everyone and I've met Andrew a few years ago um back when um I think I started at ..."
Andrew's Journey to Uber
Andrew Chen shares his career journey, detailing his transition from venture capital to working on supply growth at Uber. He reflects on his experiences in adtech and how they shaped his understanding of customer acquisition and growth strategies.
"us all right good afternoon everybody uh I'm Tim Chang a managing director at Mayfield fund early stage Venture Capital firm uh here in the valley um we were early investors in Lyft back when it was c..."
The Model for Growth
Andrew discusses the importance of viewing growth as a systematic model rather than just a collection of tactical tips. He emphasizes the need for a comprehensive understanding of growth loops and the interplay between user acquisition and monetization.
"experiences I had was to actually work in adtech um and and the most interesting thing about adtech is you spend you know all of your time thinking about like customer acquisition for like all of your..."
The Evolution of Growth Hacking
In this segment, Andrew reflects on the term 'growth hacker' and its origins, discussing how it has evolved and sometimes been misinterpreted. He contrasts the role of growth hackers with traditional marketing practices, emphasizing the need for a deeper, more integrated approach to growth.
"it's like we're all looking for little silver bullets right on that that's you know I think the affinity for oh give me a quick thing I can do right now to boost numbers um this has led to a certain e..."
Understanding Growth Metrics
Andrew explains the distinction between growth and user acquisition, stressing the importance of measuring the right metrics that align with a company's strategy. He highlights how different businesses should tailor their metrics to reflect their unique growth challenges.
"versus um you know what would be sort of traditionally marketing activities right um and I think that's what's new and that's what you know I really think of as as growth is it's fundamentally it's a ..."
The Role of Product in Growth
Andrew discusses the relationship between product quality and marketing, arguing that a great product should ideally market itself. He shares insights on how startups can transition from product development to scaling effectively.
"that's right and you know to to take an analogy like if you take something like design right there are designers who like think about the entire product and how you know how you interact with it how i..."
Navigating the Mobile App Landscape
In this segment, Andrew addresses the challenges of launching new mobile apps in a crowded market. He discusses the importance of exploring new platforms and the potential of messaging apps as the next frontier for app distribution.
"shark fin thing you know one of the most interesting um things that if you guys were in the industry during the Facebook platform um when there was so much insane you know acquisition to be had you kn..."
Recommended Reads and Influencers
Andrew shares his favorite books and influencers in the growth and marketing space, including 'My Life in Advertising' and newsletters by Ben Thompson and Ben Evans. He emphasizes the value of innovative thinking in marketing strategies.
"there is Facebook and that's how a majority of apps get distributed Games Etc that's right um the way I've been sort of paraphrasing it is andri and Horowitz likes to talk about software eating the wo..."