Lessons learned from growing LinkedIn to 400 Million members

1. Aatif Awan, Head of Growth & International at LinkedIn

1.1. @aatif_awan

1.2. https://www.linkedin.com/in/aatifawan

2. Principles vs. Tactics

2.1. Focs on principles, not tactics

2.2. Tactics have a short shelf life

2.3. Once you understand the principles you can findthe right tactics and even come up with your own

3. Lessons learned @ Linkedin

3.1. Growth is about accelerating the realisation of your vision, not about moving metics up and to the right

3.1.1. Quality signups vs. Signups

3.2. Pick one North Star metric, measure everything

3.2.1. The one metric is aligned with the success of your business, it measures value for users, and is summable

3.2.2. One might not be enough, but go for as few as possible

3.2.3. Measure everything, tie it back to the one metric

3.3. Good product comes first, growth second

3.3.1. Measure product goodness by measuring long-term retention

3.3.2. Increase retention by providing product value early and often

3.4. Investing in multiple scalable growth channels multiplies the odds of success

3.4.1. 2 core channels @linkedin

3.4.1.1. SEO of people profiles

3.4.1.2. Viral growth through users building their networks by importing their contacts

3.5. Identifying growth channels

3.5.1. Are people searching for a solution - SEO, SEM

3.5.2. Do exising users share your product via word of mouth - virality, referrals

3.5.3. Does having more users increase the experience? - virality

3.5.4. Are you targeting users already on another platform? - partnership, integration

3.5.5. Do users have high LTV? - paid acquisition

3.6. Hiring the right people is more important than strategy

3.6.1. analytical, curious, finding new ways to do things

3.7. Culture

3.7.1. data trumps opinions

3.7.2. set ambitious goals

3.7.3. move fast

3.7.4. celebrate wins

3.7.5. learn continuously