Growth Talks: Growth Marketing Strategies & Insights

If your messaging isn’t aligned with your product experience, you’re just buying churn.
In this week’s episode of Growth Talks, Jordan Hwang, VP of Marketing at OpenPhone (now Quo) joins host Krystina Rubino to unpack how B2B marketers can adopt a smarter growth mindset; one that prioritizes product alignment, experimentation, and trust.
With over 15 years of experience at fast-moving startups like Gusto andEvernote, Jordan shares how to translate product value into messaging that resonates, build buy-in for bold bets, and design experiments that create impactful insight, not just short-term results.
Find out how today’s most effective teams connect brand, product, and performance across every stage of the funnel.
🗝️Key Takeaways:
Build small. Test often. Smart marketers experiment frequently and explore new channels with low lift and low risk. They set expectations early and invest in learning, not just outcomes.
Transparency builds trust. Senior leaders don’t need perfection. They need clarity. When you’re upfront about the risks, you create space for real alignment and stronger team support.
Change starts with alignment. Before refining product messaging, get clear on what’s working, what’s not, and why. Keep what resonates with customers and be willing to change what doesn’t.
Start with your customer. Business buyers don’t want complexity; they want to know your product will work, won’t waste their time, and won’t put them at risk.
Test to learn. A healthy experimentation culture starts with consistency and strong design. When tests are built around clear hypotheses, you generate repeatable insight, not just lucky wins.
Speed beats perfection. The cost of waiting often outweighs the risk of being wrong. A test-and-roll mindset helps you outlearn the competition while they’re still calculating.
⏰  Timestamps
01.42 Building Gusto’s Growth Engine
05:42 Importance of Trust in Growth Strategies
08:47 Balancing Risk and Reward in Growth
11:32 Navigating Change Management 
18.28 Positioning Product Marketing and Messaging
23.02 Understanding Buyers Needs and Outcomes
41.12 Lessons Learned from Scaling Growth
44.15 How to Speak Your Audiences Language
🔗  Mentioned in this episode:
Quo (formerly OpenPhone): https://www.openphone.com/
Gusto: https://gusto.com/
Test & Roll Methodology: https://ron-berman.com/2020/01/26/test-and-roll/
👍 Did you enjoy this video? Don’t forget to click the like button! And find more episodes of Growth Talks here: https://bit.ly/3xXGJJc
 
🤝 Connect with Right Side Up
Right Side Up is a premium growth marketing agency that has helped more than 1,000+ companies hit their growth goals. 
‣ Check us out and send us a note at: https://bit.ly/4bfaBQt
‣ Subscribe to our channel: https://bit.ly/3HWiJYD
‣ Subscribe to our marketing newsletter: http://bit.ly/44SEjbu
‣ Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rightsideup/
‣ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RightSideUpCo/
‣ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rightsideupco

Brand is the promise you make to customers and the experience you deliver every time.
In this week’s episode of Growth Talks, Tamara Mendelsohn, former CMO of Eventbrite, joins host Krystina Rubino to share her marketing playbook for building brand value across every touchpoint.
From designing scalable growth loops to tracking the metrics that actually matter, Tamara breaks down the core drivers behind Eventbrite’s success and the mindset shift every marketer needs to drive long-term growth.
Find out how great marketers align brand and performance teams, choose the right signals, and use curiosity and customer insight to build brands people love.
🗝️Key Takeaways:
Connection drives retention. Your funnel should mirror what your customers truly care about. If people don’t see themselves in your brand, you’re missing the real growth opportunity.
No silver bullet metric. Monitor brand health by tracking signals like search volume and traffic. When those numbers start to climb, it’s a clear sign you’re building both awareness and intent.
Beyond the funnel. Marketers should think in loops, not just stages. Follow where customers enter, how to nurture them, and how to accelerate their path to purchase.
Test your value prop. Early on, paid marketing shouldn’t be about juicing growth. Use it to validate product-market fit, refine your messaging, and identify the best customer segments.
Brand is the promise. It’s not your logo or campaign. It’s the promise you make to your customers and how well you deliver on it. The best brands win by offering real value, not by outspending the competition.
Lean into AI. The best marketers use AI to help their teams move faster, test smarter, and drive customer impact. Embracing new technology is how you stay ahead of the competition.
⏰  Timestamps
01:34 Building a Scalable Marketing Strategy
05:06 Full-Funnel Marketing That Converts
10:15 Why Ads Alone Won’t Build Your Brand
14:20 Brand Metrics That Actually Matter
17:52 Top Measurement Mistakes to Avoid
23:53 How to Pick the Right Channels
32:06 Avoiding Risk in Marketing Spend
34:04 Key Stages of Marketing Strategy
49.38 The Core Drivers of Brand Success
🔗  Mentioned in this episode:
Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/
Casey Winters Growth Loops
Simon Sinek Ted Talk
👍 Did you enjoy this video? Don’t forget to click the like button! And find more episodes of Growth Talks here: https://bit.ly/3xXGJJc
🤝 Connect with Right Side Up
Right Side Up is a premium growth marketing agency that has helped more than 1,000+ companies hit their growth goals. 
‣Check us out and send us a note at: https://bit.ly/4bfaBQt
‣ Subscribe to our channel: https://bit.ly/3HWiJYD
‣ Subscribe to our marketing newsletter: http://bit.ly/44SEjbu
‣ Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rightsideup/
‣ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RightSideUpCo/
‣ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rightsideupco

Not everything that drives growth shows up in Google Analytics.
IIn this week’s episode of Growth Talks, Matt Bahr, Co-Founder of Fairing, joins host Krystina Rubino how survey data is reshaping attribution, helping brands uncover what truly influences customer decisions in today’s complex media landscape.
Drawing on 15 years of experience from leading global e-commerce at Master & Dynamic to building Fairing, Matt shares why PR might matter more in an AI-driven world, how post-purchase surveys complement ad pixels, and the key strategies marketers need to move beyond the last click. 
Find out how Fairing is helping leading brands turn real-time insights into smarter strategies and long-term growth.
🗝️Key Takeaways:
Brand is the ultimate differentiator. Launching $400 headphones against Bose and Sony, Master & Dynamic matched ad spend with PR, because in crowded markets, the brand story wins.
PR is the new SEO. Every article, feature, and mention becomes searchable proof of your brand. Press today fuels AI tomorrow and drives continued visibility, trust, and growth.
Surveys complement ad pixels. Post-purchase surveys drive 70–80% response rates, turning traditional research into clear, real-time customer attribution marketers can trust.
Triangulation reveals the bigger picture. Perfect attribution doesn’t exist, but actionable insights do. Layering surveys, promo codes, and MMM reveals a fuller view of the customer’s path to purchase.
Measure beyond the last click. If the final click is all that counts, podcasts, influencers, and streaming ads get erased. The customer journey is always bigger than what Google Analytics shows.
Continued learning is the real growth hack. Testing without an agenda wastes data. The best teams document insights so every experiment improves sales, product, and marketing.
⏰  Timestamps
02:12 Launching Products in Competitive Markets
05:20 Brand Storytelling as a Growth Multiplier
06:55 Building a Scalable E-commerce Engine
13:27 How Fairing is Solving Market Gaps
24:05 Surveys That Map the Customer Journey
27:45 From Measurement to Customer Insight
42:03 Fixing Attribution’s Biggest Blind Spots
46:24 Avoiding Survey Design Mistakes
49:48 Learning Faster with Collective Intelligence
🔗  Mentioned in this episode:
Fairing: https://fairing.co/
Master & Dynamic: https://www.masterdynamic.com/
👍 Did you enjoy this video? Don’t forget to click the like button! And find more episodes of Growth Talks here: https://bit.ly/3xXGJJc

Great work happens at the intersection of enthusiasm and conviction.
In this week’s episode of Growth Talks, Mallory Contois, VP of Growth at Maven, joins host Krystina Rubino to discuss her marketing philosophy for building brands and communities that people love.
Drawing on lessons from her time at Pinterest and Mercury, Mallory shares how a customer-first approach fosters genuine connection and lays the foundation for long-term success.
At Maven, Mallory is now focused on championing adult learning, bringing more smart people together to teach and learn from one another. And as Founder of The Old Girls Club, she unpacks why and how she’s built a thriving network where women in tech can connect, grow, and support one another.
🗝️Key Takeaways:
Deep user empathy is a competitive edge. The best products aren’t built on assumptions; they’re built by teams who truly understand their users.
Authenticity scales when it’s real. Pinterest’s early growth came from real users sharing what they loved. No incentives, no performance, just authentic enthusiasm.
You can’t buy community. Real community-led growth starts with showing up, listening, and earning trust—not with events, swag, or splashy budgets.
The best work happens at the intersection of belief and passion. When you have both conviction that something will work and personal enthusiasm for it, you’re in the sweet spot.
Learning is the new currency. Great leaders don’t just hire talent; they cultivate it. Teams that prioritize upskilling outperform when the market shifts.
Experience is the best teacher. Setbacks aren’t failures, they’re feedback. The best marketers use them to adapt fast and make better decisions.
⏰  Timestamps
01:56 Lessons from Pinterest’s Early Growth
05:20 How Social Platforms Shape User Behavior
10:05 Leveraging Data for Smarter Marketing
12:12 Scaling Community on a Startup Budget at Mercury
17:02 Maven and the Future of Upskilling
20:06 Balancing Enthusiasm and Conviction in Work
32:24 How Old Girls Club Helps Women Thrive
46:23 Favorite Growth Marketing Non Hack
🔗  Mentioned in this episode:
Maven: https://maven.com/
Mercury: https://mercury.com/
The Old Girls Club: https://www.jointheogc.com/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/
Cameo: https://www.cameo.com/
👍Did you enjoy this video? Don’t forget to click the like button! And find more episodes of Growth Talks here: https://bit.ly/3xXGJJc
🤝Connect with Right Side Up
Right Side Up is a premium growth marketing agency that has helped more than 1,000+ companies hit their growth goals. Check us out and send us a note at: https://bit.ly/4bfaBQt
‣ Subscribe to our channel: https://bit.ly/3HWiJYD
‣ Subscribe to our marketing newsletter: http://bit.ly/44SEjbu
‣ Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rightsideup/
‣ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RightSideUpCo/
‣ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rightsideupco

Marketing today should be a team sport. The companies that thrive are the ones who align product and brand around a shared mission.
In this week’s episode of Growth Talks, Pranav Piyush, CEO of Paramark, joins host Krystina Rubino to share leadership strategies for aligning product, marketing, and finance to drive business success.
As a former marketing leader at companies like BILL and Adobe,  Pranav unpacks how to recognize growth plateaus, lead change with clarity, and foster high-trust relationships with finance.
From refining your brand-performance connection to activating your community as a true growth engine, this episode provides sharp insights for building a company that lasts.
🗝️Key Takeaways:
Product-market fit is everything. Great marketing teams solve a real problem first, then build strategy and messaging around it.
Stakeholders matter. CMOs don’t just lead marketing; they manage up, down, and across the organization. Influence is as critical as strategy and execution.
Plateaus test your strategy. The best leaders lean in, dig into the data, recalibrate fast, and unlock new levers for growth others miss.
Finance is your growth partner. CMOs who win long-term build trust with finance early. They connect brand marketing to revenue and sell the vision with numbers.
Think like your customer. Great marketers walk in their buyer’s shoes. They ask better questions, speak the customer’s language, and build experiences that resonate.
Test with intention. Smart teams don’t just run experiments—they learn from each one. Clear hypotheses and expectations drive better outcomes.
Community is a growth engine. Top brands turn their audience into advocates. Community builds loyalty, word-of-mouth, and lasting momentum.
⏰  Timestamps
01:45 Importance of Product Market Fit
03:33 Navigating Organizational Shifts
08:26 Leading Through Growth Plateaus
13:25 Stakeholder Management as a CMO
20:33 Partnering with Finance for Success
29:45 Bridging Marketing and Data Teams
37:08 Knowing When to Pivot in Marketing
41:08 Why the Best Marketers Learn From Every Test
44:05 Step Into the Buyer’s Journey
46:23 Community as a Growth Non-Hack
🔗  Mentioned in this episode:
Paramark: https://paramark.com/
PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/
Adobe: https://www.adobe.com/
BILL: https://www.bill.com/
👍Did you enjoy this video? Don’t forget to click the like button! And find more episodes of Growth Talks here: https://bit.ly/3xXGJJc
🤝Connect with Right Side Up
Right Side Up is a premium growth marketing agency that has helped more than 1,000+ companies hit their growth goals. Check us out and send us a note at: https://bit.ly/4bfaBQt
‣ Subscribe to our channel: https://bit.ly/3HWiJYD
‣ Subscribe to our marketing newsletter: http://bit.ly/44SEjbu
‣ Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rightsideup/
‣ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RightSideUpCo/
‣ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rightsideupco

Great brands are built on one big idea. And every campaign and customer touchpoint should connect back to that big idea.
In this episode of Growth Talks, Katelyn Watson, CMO of Talkspace, joins Right Side Up Founder and host Tyler Elliston to share her marketing philosophy for building brands that last.
Drawing on more than 20 years leading growth at companies like Nurx and Shutterfly, Katelyn reveals how grounding your brand in customer insights, aligning teams around shared goals, and thinking like a performance marketer can unlock stronger partnerships, faster scaling, and sustained growth.
She also shares lessons from high-impact rebrands and authentic influencer campaigns that have helped her build trust, relevance, and long-term brand equity.
🗝️ Key Takeaways:
Nail the first 90 days. Great CMOs lead with clarity. They set priorities early, define the mission, and earn trust fast.
Listen first, then message. The best marketers build strategy around what customers actually need.
Brand awareness still matters. Top of funnel builds recognition, earns credibility, and fuels long-term growth.
The affiliate advantage. Smart CMOs double down on what works, and affiliate programs consistently deliver.
Strategic partnerships drive real impact. Growth isn't always paid. Brand partners expand reach and create lasting value.
Authenticity wins in influencer marketing. Real stories resonate, foster community, and drive meaningful conversion.
⏰  Timestamps
01:54 Leading Brand Transformation 
08:15 How to Leverage Marketing Agencies 
11:30  AI’s Role in Brand and Marketing Strategy 
22:55 Strategic Partnerships for Scalable Growth 
29:38 Guiding Early-Stage Companies 
36:23 Influencer Marketing That Drives Results
38:40 Building Successful Long-Term Partnerships  
41:32  Measuring What Matters in Marketing 
46:25 Rethinking Organic Social Strategy
 
 
 
🔗  Mentioned in this episode:
Talkspace: https://www.talkspace.com/
Nurx: https://www.nurx.com/
American Express: https://www.americanexpress.com/
Shutterfly: https://www.shutterfly.com/
👍Did you enjoy this video? Don’t forget to click the like button! And find more episodes of Growth Talks here: https://bit.ly/3xXGJJc
 
🤝 Connect with Right Side Up
Right Side Up is a premium growth marketing agency that has helped more than 1,000+ companies hit their growth goals. Check us out and send us a note at: https://bit.ly/4bfaBQt
‣ Subscribe to our channel: https://bit.ly/3HWiJYD
‣ Subscribe to our marketing newsletter: http://bit.ly/44SEjbu
‣ Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rightsideup/
‣ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RightSideUpCo/
‣ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rightsideupco
 

"The B2B market is constantly shifting. Your ability to innovate and pivot quickly defines your competitive edge.”
In this episode of Growth Talks, we're joined by Cate Lochead, the former CMO o Snorkel AI whose career in B2B marketing leadership spans more than 25 years. She has held high-impact executive roles at companies like JumpCloud, DataStax, and Couchbase.
Cate shares her proven strategies for scaling global marketing teams, securing venture funding, and leading a company through a successful IPO. She explains why operational rigor, financial alignment, and a deep understanding of technical buyers are critical to sustainable growth.
Building on these foundational principles, Cate also offers a clear-eyed look at how the role of the marketer is evolving with AI, along with actionable insights on how to leverage new technologies to drive business success.
🗝️ Key Takeaways:
Culture is your edge. Teams that communicate clearly and operate with purpose will outperform, every time.
Adaptability is a must. In B2B marketing, what works today might not work tomorrow. Stay flexible and responsive to changing landscapes.
Know your audience—deeply. Technical buyers value substance. Speak their language and deliver insights they can use.
Brand trust compounds. A great campaign can spark short-term wins, but lasting impact comes from consistency and credibility over time.
Growth should be sustainable. Blitz-scaling can backfire. Long-term wins come from pacing growth with operational discipline.
Say “I don’t know” more often. Curiosity and humility make room for real alignment, better decisions, and stronger leadership.
⏰ Timestamps
03:44 Balancing Innovation and Business Operations
06:32 The Importance of Alignment with Finance
09:25 Empathy in Leadership and Communication
12:10 Messaging Strategies for Technical Audiences
17:41 Successful Campaigns and Learning from Failures
29:12 Navigating Growth and Sustainability in Tech
33:45 Marketing’s Evolving Role in the Age of AI
39:54 The Enduring Value of In-Person Events
49:50 Navigating Fundraising and Marketing Roles
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
Snorkel AI: https://snorkel.ai/
JumpCloud: https://jumpcloud.com/
DataStax: https://www.datastax.com/
Couchbase: https://www.couchbase.com/
Carbon Black: https://www.broadcom.com/
Oracle: https://www.oracle.com/
 
👍Did you enjoy this video? Don’t forget to click the like button! And find more episodes of Growth Talks here: https://bit.ly/3xXGJJc
 
🤝Connect with Right Side Up
Right Side Up is a premium growth marketing agency that has helped more than 1,000+ companies hit their growth goals. Check us out and send us a note at: https://bit.ly/4bfaBQt
‣ Subscribe to our channel: https://bit.ly/3HWiJYD
‣ Subscribe to our marketing newsletter: http://bit.ly/44SEjbu
‣ Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rightsideup/
‣ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RightSideUpCo/
‣ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rightsideupco

"You can’t talk your way into success, your product has to be wonderful, and customers have to love it."
In the Season 2 premiere of Growth Talks, Jaleh Bisharat, fractional CMO at Skillshare, joins Right Side Up Founder and host Tyler Elliston, to share her CMO playbook built on two decades of leadership across companies like Eventbrite and OpenTable. She breaks down how CMOs can make an impact in their first 90 days and why strategic focus is one of marketing’s most powerful levers.
Jaleh also shares how to build high-performing teams and translate customer insights into strategy—drawing on early career lessons from Amazon, where she saw how a customer first mindset fuels lasting growth.
🗝️ Key Takeaways:
Great CMOs think like CEOs. They look beyond brand performance, empower teams, and make bold decisions that drive sustained growth.
Culture is shaped by example. A marketing leader’s energy, focus, and integrity influence every interaction—and define how teams operate at every level.
The first 90 days are for listening. Great CMOs lead with curiosity, taking time to understand the team, set priorities, and build trust before making decisions.
Focus is a strategic advantage. Marketing teams often drown in ideas. The best CMOs zero in on the 20% that drives 80% of results and align teams around what matters most.
Customer insights are your growth engine. Metrics are important, but direct conversations lead to sharper decisions and stronger product-market fit.
⏰ Timestamps
00:00 Resilience in Action: Jaleh’s Journey to CMO Leadership
02:52 Navigating the First 90 Days as a CMO
06:05 Understanding Team Dynamics and Customer Insights
09:01 The Importance of Focus in Marketing Strategy
11:51 The Role of Product in Marketing Success
14:54 The Case for Fractional vs. Full-Time CMOs
28:16 Transitioning Roles: From Interim to Full-Time CMO
30:22 The Distinction Between Fractional and Full-Time CMOs
34:30 Core Principles of Effective Leadership
44:39 Customer-Centricity: Lessons from Amazon
46:04 Advising Companies: What Matters Most
47:41 The Value of Direct Customer Conversations
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
Skillshare: https://www.skillshare.com
Novi https://www.noviconnect.com/
Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/
Upwork: https://www.upwork.com
OpenTable: https://www.opentable.com/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/
👍 Did you enjoy this video? Don’t forget to click the like button! And find more episodes of Growth Talks here: https://bit.ly/3xXGJJc
🤝 Connect with Right Side Up
Right Side Up is a premium growth marketing agency that has helped more than 1,000+ companies hit their growth goals. Check us out and send us a note at: https://bit.ly/4bfaBQt
‣ Subscribe to our channel: https://bit.ly/3HWiJYD
‣ Subscribe to our marketing newsletter: https://rightsideup.com/resources/growth-marketing-newsletter/
‣ Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rightsideup/
‣ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RightSideUpCo/
‣ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rightsideupco