Mindfulness
Lauren Bass
Of Monks, Horses, and Broken Hearts

I never actually got to meet Norm in person, but I would know his easy laugh anywhere. 

We talked on the phone once a week for two years, yet I don’t even know his last name. Somehow, this blank where his last name should be makes my time with him feel that much more enchanted.

Norm died a few months ago.

Of Monks, Horses, and Broken Hearts
Startups, Growth
Lauren Bass
Build a Growth Machine Like Andy Johns

FACEBOOK → TWITTER → QUORA → WEALTHFRONT

Andy Johns has had the good sense to hop on, not one, but FOUR rocket ships. He’s been a key member of the early growth teams at Facebook, Twitter, and Quora and is now the Director of Growth and Revenue at Wealthfront. He may know a thing or two about hypergrowth.

That’s why I’ve devoured everything I could find about his approach to growing startups. Here, I’ve done my best to distill his perspectives on growth into eight actionable takeaways for the aspiring growth marketer.

Build a Growth Machine Like Andy Johns
Startups, Growth
Lauren Bass
5 Phases of the Startup Lifecycle: Morgan Brown ...

The best growth leaders know how to adjust their focus depending on what their startup needs at any given phase in its trajectory.

I had the chance to interview Morgan Brown, one of growth’s OG’s. He has served as the Head of Growth at Qualaroo, GrowthHackers.com, and a number of other high growth startups. I found out that Morgan isn’t only a total badass when it comes to strategizing and executing growth plans, he’s also incredibly articulate when explaining the processes and frameworks that underlie his approach.  

In the interview, I dug into the question of what growth looks like at different stages in a start up’s life cycle. So put your big girl growth marketing pants on and let me walk you through Morgan’s take on the key stages, and related inflection points, in a startup’s growth trajectory.

5 Phases of the Startup Lifecycle: Morgan Brown on What it Takes to Grow a Startup

The hardest, best thing I've ever done

The hardest, best thing I've ever done

When I met my partner, DJ, he wasn’t sure he wanted to have children. I, on the other hand, knew that it was the path for me. 

Before I met him, I was planning to start a family on my own and I told him as much on our first date. How’s that for an awkward first date conversation?! I was sure I would never hear from him again.

Being new to the Boulder area at the time, during the height of COVID, dating apps were a solid way to meet new people, even if it started and ended with a single sushi date, a bold proclamation of where I was headed, and a likely spotlight on mismatched life goals or timelines. I would have been happy to make a new friend, if nothing else.