Does your startup need to hire a Head of Growth? 

We’re a little obsessed with the term ‘growth’ in tech startup recruitment. Growth Manager. Head of Growth. Growth Hacker. Growth Marketer. Growth Analyst. Growth Product Managers. You get the gist.  

The word ‘growth’ has become quite the buzzword in tech, so it should come as little surprise that growth-focused teams are frequently touted as the future for tech startups and scaleups.  

Creating manageable growth is almost certainly a priority for you as a startup founder. But scaling too quickly or scaling prematurely is a common startup mistake – and rapid growth, albeit euphoric, is meaningless if it can’t be sustained in the long-term.  

Sustained growth is achieved through a strategy that encompasses the entire lifecycle – from awareness and acquisition, through to retention and referral. It comes from setting achievable growth goals, developed on the basis of data and results. It isn’t uncontrollable growth, fuelled by publicity and market hype.  

This is where a Head of Growth or a Growth Manager hire comes in.  

What does a Head of Growth do? 

Clearly the role will differ between startups, but in essence, a Head of Growth is someone who can understand and define what growth looks like for your startup.  

A good growth specialist will quickly become a lynchpin in a scaling tech startup. Their role is to see the bigger picture; to understand the journey, to visualise the end goal. They do this by working cross-functionally with all departments - design, analytics, operations, marketing – to create, coordinate and execute plans to make that growth happen, and by optimising these plans to maximise growth over the long-term.  

Are you really ready to make your first startup growth hire? 

We speak to many early-stage startups with aspirations to bring in a growth specialist. But not all of them are ready – or at least, not yet. 

Firstly, and for your Head of Growth to have any chance of success in their role, you need to have a clear understanding of the short and long-term goals you want to meet. Can you clearly articulate your vision and what this looks like in terms of growth goals? And – be honest here – are you willing to listen and respond to a growth specialist if they tell you that your growth goals are unrealistic or unachievable?  

It's also worth remembering that growth is a team sport. Hiring a single growth specialist and not giving them the internal support or resources is a recipe for failure. You need to have a committed growth culture in place, supported by senior management or, at the very least, a strong willingness to move towards one.  

But hiring a good Head of Growth isn’t easy. Demand has exploded, with growth rapidly emerging as one of the fastest growing functions in tech startups and scaleups. Competition to secure the top talent is fierce – and this is only exasperated by the fact that there are more open positions than experienced heads to fill them. 

So before you make that leap, let’s look at what a Head of Growth can bring to your startup.  

What makes a successful Head of Growth? 

As tech startup specialist recruiters, we can help you find the right Head of Growth for your startup. But generally speaking, there are some important skills and attributes for you to consider.  

Firstly, data understanding. The importance of data simply cannot be overemphasised. Data is the fuel to your startup’s growth, so being able to understand, interpret and attribute meaning to data – as well use their findings as the basis for formulating strategy - is key to a Growth Manager’s success.  

Likewise, an experimental mindset is a prerequisite. Experimentation is precondition of creativity and Head of Growths work best when they have the autonomy and support to experiment aggressively and move forward with decisions quickly. There is a flipside to this, of course. Not all experiments will produce the desired outcome, so an ability to self-reflect and learn from failure are important qualities for any growth specialist.  

Sustained growth is underpinned by a multitude of people with a variety of expertise, so experience of working with cross-functional teams is important. A good Growth Manager or Head of Growth isn’t a lone wolf. They shouldn’t be working independently. Being in charge of a growth strategy involves evaluating and leading multiple initiatives spanning a wide range of internal specialisms, so look for someone with holistic business knowledge and a track record of managing internal departments.  

Ready to hire a growth specialist for your tech startup? 

As a startup founder, there are few more critical decisions to make than when best to hire a growth specialist - and especially so when there is a real urgency or momentum to your growth. Get the timing right and it could be a game-changer to have someone on board who has scaled a similar-sized startup and bring with them a wealth of relevant experience.  

If you’re at a pivotal stage of your scaleup journey, we can help you find the right Head of Growth for your tech business. 

If you’d like to talk more about how to build a growth-focussed team, get in touch with our co-founder and CEO, Alan Furley at  alan@isltalent.com or connect on LinkedIn.