How to identify, interview and hire a head of growth for an early-stage startup | TechCrunch

The waters are never calm when scaling a startup. In fact, they are typically quite choppy. However, by making the correct hire in the head of growth position, you can navigate to shore much more smoothly.

The individual you’re looking for will create and execute growth strategies, manage marketing initiatives and, ultimately, drive revenue. My more informal take on this role is that it’s someone who deeply understands growth fundamentals, has significant expertise in one to two growth pillars and knows how to build an effective team.

I’ll walk you through when and how to hire your head of growth, their archetypes, how this role stands apart from other marketing executive positions, and what to expect from this hire during their first few quarters.

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Million-Dollar Startup Secrets | AllBusiness.com

Most small businesses never reach $1 million in annual sales. Instead, they struggle just to survive. Of businesses started in 2004, barely more than half — 56 percent — were still around in 2009, a study from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation found.

In fact, cracking the $1 million barrier at any point in a company’s lifetime is a major achievement. U.S. Census data from 2007 shows that more than three-quarters of the country’s 6 million firms with employees made less than $1 million in revenue. And most solopreneur businesses don’t earn anywhere near that much: According to IRS data for 2008, the average solo business brought in less than $60,000.

Given these sobering numbers, reaching seven figures in a business’s very first year — and with a startup’s often-scarce resources — is nothing short of extraordinary.

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