GrowthX Experience

After 5 yrs of working with some of the smartest folks in the Indian startup ecosystem at Shiprocket, Cleartax & Cogoport, I still felt that I had a lot more to learn. Practically, I was learning on the job which I think 80%+ folks do for their 50%+ responsibilities. To know about my background, go here.

I has previously known about GrowthX via LinkedIn but never thought much about it before. I started exploring GrowthX after a trigger via this Linkedin post by Kiran Nair (an ex-GX member). And, I finally applied to see what’s the hoopla is all about. I was already fascinated with the community-building part which I closely saw at IIT Kanpur, Shiprocket & ClearTax. I also wanted to build one at Cogoport but couldn’t build-up a strong case due to other strategic priorities.

Foot in the door

I missed the interview due to a personal exigency so I tried again just before Diwali. The process is well-documented & communicated to the interviewees. It’s a small 20-30 mins group interview where a GX moderator presents a growth problem statement to a group of 8-10 folks. Our problem statement was “Increase the stagnant revenue of Hinge inside India”. We were expected to explore the product i.e., understand product & market (understanding user was impossible). I vaguely recall that I was asked to suggest 1-2 points on “why is the revenue stagnant in India?”. I prepared points on onboarding & CRO but most of that was already covered by folks before me. So, I had to dig deeper and mentioned about the lack of growth loops like strong referral & partner program for matchmakers & happy customers.

I liked how the moderator said to not talk about the solution but rather problems & product constraints like once-in-lifetime usage product, channel-product fit, onboarding leakage funnel, engagement hooks & pricing-market inefficiency. I was already fascinated by the community aspect of GrowthX and the structured nuance during the interview finally convinced me that I wanted to join the program. Within 36 hrs, I got the acceptance email & I paid the amount ASAP to join the GX18 Batch starting in Jan’24.

Finally, my reasons for GrowthX got more directive in the 2 months till the program started in Jan’24:

• Learn growth as a discipline to methodically solve impactful / purpose-driven problems in a collaborative environment. ✅
• Become part of a community opposite of echo chambers & filter bubbles. ✅
• Structured approach to identify & prioritize work with high purpose and high pleasure. ⏳

Learning by doing

1. Immersion Program (Learn growth fundamentals by applying to real products)❌ Unsupported block ($unsupported by Notion API)❌ Unsupported block ($unsupported by Notion API)❌ Unsupported block ($unsupported by Notion API)❌ Unsupported block ($unsupported by Notion API)
2. Capstone (Learn end-2-end growth problem-solving by applying to a real problem of a real product)❌ Unsupported block ($unsupported by Notion API)

   Note: The capstone was one of the most intense & transforming experiences of my life, period. More on this later.

3. Next (Learn specialised growth problem-solving from industry veterans)

   Will be learning Data Led Growth during 23rd-31st March’24. Learn more about it here.

GrowthX: Community for Growth of India

I’ll just leave you with few insights by one of my favourite GXers talking about “Selling: Ditch Ads & Make Stories” in a GrowthX podcast episode. Link here.

Join me at GrowthX: https://community.growthx.club