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{ "episode": { "guest": "Adam Grenier", "expertise_tags": [ "Growth Marketing", "Marketing Strategy", "Emerging Channels", "Product Marketing", "CMO Leadership", "Growth CMO", "Mental Health in Tech", "Improv and Business", "Performance Marketing", "Brand Strategy" ], "summary": "Adam Grenier, former Head of Growth Marketing at Uber, VP at Lambda School and Masterclass, discusses three critical topics for product leaders and marketers. He shares his framework for evaluating emerging acquisition channels (TikTok, VR, OTT, influencers) based on channel strengths, channel DNA, and company DNA. He introduces the Growth CMO concept—a marketing leader who combines data-driven performance thinking with product iteration mindset, moving beyond traditional marketing silos. Finally, he provides candid insights on mental health, burnout, and depression in tech, drawing from therapy and lived experience, emphasizing the importance of recognizing when exhaustion masks deeper issues and building support networks.", "key_frameworks": [ "S-curve growth model for acquisition channels", "Three ingredients for exploring emerging channels: customer needs overlap, channel DNA, company DNA", "Channel strengths matching (medium matching)", "Growth CMO attributes: data-driven, iterative, experimental, product-integrated", "Burnout vs. depression distinction", "T-shaped career model for marketing leaders", "Dunning-Kruger effect and self-awareness" ] }, "topics": [ { "id": "topic_1", "title": "Product Market Fit and Market Changes", "summary": "Adam explains how economic changes and market shifts require rethinking product-market fit. Rather than assuming PMF still holds and just launching new channels, companies need to recognize their entire customer base may have changed and reassess foundational fit.", "timestamp_start": "00:00:00", "timestamp_end": "00:41:14", "line_start": 1, "line_end": 343 }, { "id": "topic_2", "title": "Improv as a Business Skill", "summary": "Adam discusses how his improv training from Second City and ImprovOlympic in Chicago directly transfers to business. He covers the 'Yes, and...' principle for cross-functional collaboration and the 'gift of details' for marketing positioning and creative clarity.", "timestamp_start": "00:05:44", "timestamp_end": "00:13:15", "line_start": 52, "line_end": 119 }, { "id": "topic_3", "title": "Framework for Evaluating Emerging Acquisition Channels", "summary": "Adam presents a three-part framework for deciding whether to invest in emerging channels like TikTok, Clubhouse, VR, and OTT. The framework evaluates: (1) overlap between customer needs, company goals, and channel strengths, (2) channel DNA including trajectory and monetization, and (3) company DNA including risk appetite and current channel maturity.", "timestamp_start": "00:13:51", "timestamp_end": "00:25:40", "line_start": 121, "line_end": 207 }, { "id": "topic_4", "title": "Testing and Validation in Emerging Channels", "summary": "Guidance on how much time and resources to allocate when testing emerging channels. Adam recommends keeping initial tests minimal (half person), looking for directional momentum rather than statistical significance, and generally not investing beyond one quarter without clear signals.", "timestamp_start": "00:25:55", "timestamp_end": "00:34:01", "line_start": 211, "line_end": 290 }, { "id": "topic_5", "title": "Current and Future Emerging Channels", "summary": "Adam assesses specific emerging channels including OTT (Over-The-Top video), influencer marketing, VR, TikTok, and podcast advertising. He discusses their maturity levels, best use cases, and why influencers represent significant opportunity due to hyper-targeting capabilities and emerging tools.", "timestamp_start": "00:30:28", "timestamp_end": "00:37:01", "line_start": 244, "line_end": 305 }, { "id": "topic_6", "title": "Early Adopter Audiences vs. Broad Market Expansion", "summary": "Adam discusses the challenge of crossing the chasm from early adopter audiences to mainstream markets. Early adopters often differ fundamentally from broader audiences, and companies must stress-test whether product-market fit will transfer beyond the initial user base.", "timestamp_start": "00:38:26", "timestamp_end": "00:41:14", "line_start": 316, "line_end": 343 }, { "id": "topic_7", "title": "What is a Growth CMO", "summary": "Adam defines the emerging Growth CMO role as distinct from traditional CMOs. Growth CMOs are data-driven, iterative, experimental, and see product and marketing as integrated rather than siloed. They adapt marketing approaches rapidly based on real-time feedback, treating brand and messaging as iterable elements.", "timestamp_start": "00:41:43", "timestamp_end": "00:48:01", "line_start": 346, "line_end": 380 }, { "id": "topic_8", "title": "Growth CMO Attributes and Skill Development", "summary": "Adam outlines specific attributes of Growth CMOs: data-driven thinking beyond just performance, agile iteration mindset, experimentation across all marketing elements (not just channels), and deep product integration. He recommends learning agile product development and mentions resources like Reforge, Maven, and 'Hacking Marketing' book.", "timestamp_start": "00:44:22", "timestamp_end": "00:51:21", "line_start": 361, "line_end": 397 }, { "id": "topic_9", "title": "Hiring Signals for Growth CMOs", "summary": "When hiring CMOs for growth-oriented companies, Adam identifies key flags: comfort with chaos, willingness to do unfamiliar work, ability to get into the details, understanding of the T-shaped career model, and demonstrated adaptability to new operating models.", "timestamp_start": "00:51:53", "timestamp_end": "00:55:22", "line_start": 400, "line_end": 418 }, { "id": "topic_10", "title": "Historical Context: Traditional Marketing vs. Growth Marketing", "summary": "Adam explores how traditional marketing frameworks (four Ps) emerged from 1920s-1950s product development where marketing owned packaging and placement. Modern product-driven companies require integration of product and marketing as one function, not separate silos.", "timestamp_start": "00:46:17", "timestamp_end": "00:49:37", "line_start": 370, "line_end": 387 }, { "id": "topic_11", "title": "Burnout vs. Depression: The Distinction", "summary": "Adam shares his personal journey discovering the difference between burnout (work exhaustion but maintains other interests) and depression (withdrawal from all activities and relationships). He describes using improv class attendance and social engagement as diagnostic tools.", "timestamp_start": "00:56:08", "timestamp_end": "01:05:37", "line_start": 427, "line_end": 498 }, { "id": "topic_12", "title": "Personal Journey with Therapy and Mental Health", "summary": "Adam recounts his therapy experience at Uber, discovering that his workaholism stemmed from seeking recognition (as youngest child) rather than being the core problem. This insight allowed him to reframe his work ethic and make intentional career choices aligned with what he actually enjoyed.", "timestamp_start": "00:57:20", "timestamp_end": "00:59:33", "line_start": 436, "line_end": 453 }, { "id": "topic_13", "title": "Tools and Resources for Mental Health", "summary": "Adam recommends specific mental health tools: Waking Up (meditation app with educational framework), Aura (meditation marketplace), therapy (check benefits), friends and peer support networks, exercise, diet, and books like 'Why Buddhism is True.' He emphasizes the importance of finding approaches that match your learning style.", "timestamp_start": "01:03:04", "timestamp_end": "01:05:25", "line_start": 469, "line_end": 495 }, { "id": "topic_14", "title": "Signs of Burnout in Growth Teams", "summary": "The primary signal Adam looks for in managed teams is loss of adaptability. Burnt-out people become rigid, resistant to change and experimentation—the opposite of exhausted people who often get energized by new challenges. This shift from openness to dismissiveness indicates deeper burnout.", "timestamp_start": "01:05:37", "timestamp_end": "01:07:15", "line_start": 499, "line_end": 507 }, { "id": "topic_15", "title": "Building Support Networks and Transparency", "summary": "Adam describes his evolution from relying only on his therapist and wife for mental health discussions to building a network of 5-6 close friends with mutual transparency. Creating safe spaces for honest conversations about challenges helps identify root causes and solutions.", "timestamp_start": "01:01:17", "timestamp_end": "01:02:47", "line_start": 460, "line_end": 465 }, { "id": "topic_16", "title": "Current Role and Future Direction", "summary": "Adam describes his current position as 'me as a service'—advising, coaching, and investing. He's on Andreessen's Scout fund and leaning toward full-time investing, though remains open to other opportunities. He thrives with an 'anchor' role and is considering foundation work.", "timestamp_start": "01:07:24", "timestamp_end": "01:08:49", "line_start": 511, "line_end": 530 } ], "insights": [ { "id": "i1", "text": "Start by assuming you no longer have product market fit when the market changes, because you had PMF in a different market. Your entire customer base changed, not just the next 10%.", "context": "When economic conditions shift, companies often assume they can fix problems by launching new channels. This misses the fundamental fact that the market itself changed.", "topic_id": "topic_1", "line_start": 1, "line_end": 2 }, { "id": "i2", "text": "The 'Yes, and...' principle from improv directly translates to cross-functional work. Both a central team's goal and a local team's goal can be true simultaneously, allowing better rapport and solutions.", "context": "At Uber with city teams, approaching conflicts with 'Yes, and...' rather than dismissal built better relationships and more complete solutions.", "topic_id": "topic_2", "line_start": 88, "line_end": 93 }, { "id": "i3", "text": "The gift of details in improv—providing specific details about context—gives much more material to work with. In marketing, this means moving from 'Masterclass is education and entertainment' to 'Masterclass creates content that solves deep curiosities the way a biography would.'", "context": "Specific details open up possibilities and clarify the actual problem being solved, making positioning and differentiation clearer.", "topic_id": "topic_2", "line_start": 74, "line_end": 84 }, { "id": "i4", "text": "Most people ignore the first ingredient of the channel evaluation framework: the strengths of the medium. They only want to know if a channel is 'hot' right now.", "context": "Companies pursue channels like Notion Clubhouse or Paparazzi-for-Spotify without assessing whether the channel's core strengths align with their business needs.", "topic_id": "topic_3", "line_start": 142, "line_end": 149 }, { "id": "i5", "text": "Understanding how a channel monetizes reveals whether you're aligned with their strategy. If you can support their monetization goals, you get better access to partnerships, custom solutions, and longevity.", "context": "At Hotel Tonight, being one of Facebook's alpha mobile ad testers was possible because Adam could articulate how his spending would help Facebook's monetization goals beyond gaming.", "topic_id": "topic_3", "line_start": 182, "line_end": 192 }, { "id": "i6", "text": "Channels early in their growth curve will change rapidly. If you invest heavily early, you must accept that the platform could disappear or require constant adaptation as their product evolves.", "context": "Clubhouse was early and hot, but investing heavily in it meant accepting high risk. Facebook notifications were a massive Zynga growth lever until Facebook removed them entirely.", "topic_id": "topic_3", "line_start": 176, "line_end": 180 }, { "id": "i7", "text": "Don't invest in a new channel if you haven't figured out volume on Google and Facebook first. Having a strong foundation in core channels before exploring risky new ones increases odds of success.", "context": "Early stage companies trying to be first movers on experimental channels often fail because they lack the maturity and resources to test properly.", "topic_id": "topic_3", "line_start": 205, "line_end": 207 }, { "id": "i8", "text": "Be a true first mover in emerging channels only if you have the appetite for real pain: tracking won't work, you'll show up on offensive content, you won't get refunds, and it will be really uncomfortable.", "context": "First movers in channels like early Clubhouse had to accept all these downsides as part of the risk.", "topic_id": "topic_3", "line_start": 202, "line_end": 204 }, { "id": "i9", "text": "Don't let channel testing bleed past a quarter. You can get good directional signal in a month or less—'fishing' rather than establishing statistical significance.", "context": "Extended testing of new channels beyond a quarter wastes resources. Momentum signals matter more than statistical certainty early on.", "topic_id": "topic_4", "line_start": 220, "line_end": 227 }, { "id": "i10", "text": "Channel testing should be part of your sprint roadmap and backlog of opportunities, not random experimentation. Weight new channel tests against other opportunities you're missing.", "context": "Systematic roadmap-based testing creates accountability and ensures you're making opportunity-cost tradeoffs consciously.", "topic_id": "topic_4", "line_start": 223, "line_end": 227 }, { "id": "i11", "text": "Define what success looks like before testing a channel. For Clubhouse, that might be growing room size by 10% each session. For TikTok, it's trackable conversions.", "context": "Without upfront success criteria, you can't tell if directional momentum is actually happening.", "topic_id": "topic_4", "line_start": 230, "line_end": 234 }, { "id": "i12", "text": "Influencer marketing is currently in a stage similar to early Facebook—extremely granular targeting is possible but tedious and manual. This represents a major opportunity for entrepreneurs building better tools.", "context": "The lack of automation in influencer discovery and management means there's significant tech opportunity.", "topic_id": "topic_5", "line_start": 245, "line_end": 249 }, { "id": "i13", "text": "Podcast ads work best when treated like radio—focusing on getting on the right show, making it personal, and repeating—not like direct response ads expecting immediate conversions.", "context": "Companies trying to measure podcasts like Facebook ads get disappointed with ROI because the channel operates differently.", "topic_id": "topic_5", "line_start": 260, "line_end": 263 }, { "id": "i14", "text": "B2B companies get better returns on podcast advertising because each customer is substantially more valuable, so they don't need the volume a consumer company needs.", "context": "Podcasts as an emerging channel have different economics for B2B vs. B2C.", "topic_id": "topic_5", "line_start": 287, "line_end": 288 }, { "id": "i15", "text": "Only about 5% of truly emerging channels actually work and are worth the effort early on. More success comes from taking existing channels and making them scalable (like podcasts now).", "context": "Most brand new channels won't generate ROI. Better strategy is to ride channels as they mature into scale.", "topic_id": "topic_5", "line_start": 292, "line_end": 297 }, { "id": "i16", "text": "Early adopters are drastically different than broad audiences. Companies must understand what signals from early adopters will give confidence that PMF transfers to the mainstream market.", "context": "Clubhouse might have crossed the chasm too quickly without stress-testing whether core value worked beyond early adopters.", "topic_id": "topic_6", "line_start": 317, "line_end": 320 }, { "id": "i17", "text": "A Growth CMO sees product and marketing as integrated, not siloed. When they're married at the hip, opportunities compound in ways they never can when teams operate separately.", "context": "Traditional CMOs treat product as something to market. Growth CMOs see product as the company.", "topic_id": "topic_7", "line_start": 356, "line_end": 357 }, { "id": "i18", "text": "Growth CMOs should be data-driven across all functions—not just performance marketing. They measure retention, brand, and consideration funnel with the same rigor as conversion metrics.", "context": "Data-driven doesn't mean dismissing brand. It means measuring everything that affects growth.", "topic_id": "topic_8", "line_start": 361, "line_end": 363 }, { "id": "i19", "text": "A Growth CMO experiments with everything—brand, messaging, design, logo, sales storytelling. They use agile iteration and real-time data, not 24-month marketing plans.", "context": "In fast-moving markets, marketing leaders who aren't iterative get eaten alive.", "topic_id": "topic_8", "line_start": 365, "line_end": 369 }, { "id": "i20", "text": "Traditional marketing (four Ps) emerged from 1920s-1950s companies where product took years to develop. Modern product companies need to integrate marketing and product as one function.", "context": "Many marketing leaders still operate in a mental model from the cereal box era, not understanding how to work in fast-moving software companies.", "topic_id": "topic_10", "line_start": 371, "line_end": 375 }, { "id": "i21", "text": "When hiring a CMO, look for: comfort with chaos, willingness to do work they haven't done in 15 years, comfort getting into the weeds, and openness to new operating models.", "context": "Many strong traditional CMOs fail in startups because the pace and unpredictability is too jarring.", "topic_id": "topic_9", "line_start": 401, "line_end": 404 }, { "id": "i22", "text": "Map out a CMO's T-shaped strengths and weaknesses. Find their strength, understand their gaps, and figure out how they'll address them. The good ones will learn, adapt, and hire accordingly.", "context": "Adam's T was mobile—he knew that deeply, then expanded. He wasn't good at PR but learned enough to know he needed great people to fill the gap.", "topic_id": "topic_9", "line_start": 407, "line_end": 416 }, { "id": "i23", "text": "You can distinguish exhaustion from depression by looking at motivation beyond work. If you're exhausted but still excited about improv or friends, you're exhausted. If you withdraw from everything, that's depression.", "context": "Adam noticed he would cancel improv classes (depression) vs. still showing up when just tired (exhaustion).", "topic_id": "topic_11", "line_start": 457, "line_end": 461 }, { "id": "i24", "text": "Therapy revealed that Adam's workaholism wasn't the problem—it was a solution to a deeper need for recognition rooted in being the youngest child. Once he understood this, he could work hard with joy instead of judgment.", "context": "Thinking you're burnt out when you're actually living out unmet childhood needs is common among high achievers.", "topic_id": "topic_12", "line_start": 436, "line_end": 441 }, { "id": "i25", "text": "When you identify depression or burnout symptoms, pause to figure out which life area is affected—personal, family, work, health, finances. Often one domain affects your perception of the whole.", "context": "Adam's father's ALS, kids, work, money, and market crashes all stacked together. Breaking them down helped identify root causes.", "topic_id": "topic_15", "line_start": 461, "line_end": 465 }, { "id": "i26", "text": "Building a network of 5-6 trusted friends for transparent conversations about struggles is as valuable as therapy. When you open up, others reciprocate with vulnerability.", "context": "Adam moved from only having his therapist and wife to a broader support network through mutual vulnerability.", "topic_id": "topic_15", "line_start": 460, "line_end": 462 }, { "id": "i27", "text": "Look for adaptability as the primary burnout signal in your team. Burnt-out people become rigid and dismissive of new experiments. Exhausted people get energized by new challenges.", "context": "Loss of openness to change is distinct from tiredness—it indicates deeper burnout requiring intervention.", "topic_id": "topic_14", "line_start": 500, "line_end": 507 }, { "id": "i28", "text": "Meditation apps like Waking Up are valuable if your brain needs to understand the 'why' before the 'how.' Learning about meditation techniques and breathing beats just generic apps.", "context": "Different people need different approaches. Adam is a lifetime learner who benefits from understanding the mechanisms.", "topic_id": "topic_13", "line_start": 470, "line_end": 477 }, { "id": "i29", "text": "Diet and exercise are clean signals for mental health. Increased snacking often correlates with depression or stress. Healthy habits both help identify problems and improve mood.", "context": "Physical health and mental health are deeply connected; monitoring food choices can be a useful diagnostic tool.", "topic_id": "topic_13", "line_start": 479, "line_end": 480 }, { "id": "i30", "text": "Check your company benefits for mental health resources like therapist finding services, therapy coverage, and meditation apps. Most insurance and employer plans cover significantly more than employees realize.", "context": "Cost and access barriers to mental health are often overestimated; resources exist through benefits.", "topic_id": "topic_13", "line_start": 481, "line_end": 483 } ], "examples": [ { "id": "ex1", "explicit_text": "At Airbnb we had an improv teacher come and work with the PM team. It was for months. We did improv games once a week.", "inferred_identity": "Airbnb", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "Airbnb", "PM training", "improv workshop", "team building", "product management", "skill development" ], "lesson": "Improv training helps product teams become more adaptable and better at cross-functional collaboration through 'Yes, and...' thinking.", "topic_id": "topic_2", "line_start": 59, "line_end": 59 }, { "id": "ex2", "explicit_text": "I was at Zoosk. And so Zoosk and companies like Zynga got tons of their early growth because of notifications on Facebook, which was one of their early features, which allowed basically anybody that took any action on Zynga, it would post on everybody else's page that you got 10 carrots.", "inferred_identity": "Zoosk, Zynga, Facebook", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "Zoosk", "Zynga", "Facebook notifications", "viral growth", "early acquisition channel", "mobile games", "platform dependency" ], "lesson": "Early acquisition channels can disappear when platforms change their strategy. Facebook notifications were a huge growth lever until Facebook pulled them entirely, showing the risk of channel dependency.", "topic_id": "topic_3", "line_start": 179, "line_end": 180 }, { "id": "ex3", "explicit_text": "At Hotel Tonight, we were one of the alpha testers of mobile ads, because I'd been sitting here buying ad inventory on networks for the last five or six years and just waiting for Facebook to work, because it just wasn't really working for mobile installs. I was able to basically position and say, 'Look it, you want to work with us. Let me into your alpha, because I have five years of experience already buying mobile ads.'", "inferred_identity": "Hotel Tonight, Facebook", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "Hotel Tonight", "Facebook mobile ads", "early adoption", "alpha testing", "travel category", "non-gaming user acquisition", "case study value" ], "lesson": "Understanding a platform's monetization strategy and positioning yourself as a valuable case study for their goals gives you access to early features and better terms.", "topic_id": "topic_3", "line_start": 185, "line_end": 189 }, { "id": "ex4", "explicit_text": "Spotify in the moment of things like Clubhouse and Paparazzi becoming really popular... for Spotify, they're trying to get more people to consume music and be entertained by music. Their growth goals are probably around new customers or deeper engagement with audio. The customer's needs are discovery and more ways to maybe have deeper relationships with their music. If you're a jazz fan, can you learn new jazz artists or more about the artists that you love?", "inferred_identity": "Spotify, Clubhouse, Paparazzi", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "Spotify", "Clubhouse", "Paparazzi", "audio-first platform", "music streaming", "platform evaluation", "channel fit" ], "lesson": "Evaluating emerging channels requires understanding if the channel's strengths match customer needs and company growth goals. Clubhouse's live audio format aligns with Spotify's audio focus, while Paparazzi's photo focus does not.", "topic_id": "topic_3", "line_start": 131, "line_end": 138 }, { "id": "ex5", "explicit_text": "At Uber we dealt with city teams a lot, and so a lot of the times the way that the central team would scope a problem versus a local team would scope a problem, would almost feel at odds with each other. And if you approach it with that 'Yes, and...', it's often still true. Both of these things can be true at once.", "inferred_identity": "Uber", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "Uber", "cross-functional teams", "city teams", "central team", "goal alignment", "organizational structure", "collaboration" ], "lesson": "Cross-functional conflicts often aren't zero-sum. Using 'Yes, and...' thinking reveals how both teams' goals and constraints can be valid simultaneously, leading to better solutions.", "topic_id": "topic_2", "line_start": 89, "line_end": 93 }, { "id": "ex6", "explicit_text": "One of the guys that was on my team at Uber has a company that's doing programmatic buying and that type of stuff. And so I think there's more opportunities on podcast.", "inferred_identity": "Uber (team member context)", "confidence": "implicit", "tags": [ "Uber", "podcasting", "programmatic advertising", "former colleague", "emerging channel infrastructure" ], "lesson": "The best emerging channel opportunities attract specialized infrastructure companies and teams. Podcast ad tech platforms are being built by people who understand the space from inside growth teams.", "topic_id": "topic_5", "line_start": 260, "line_end": 261 }, { "id": "ex7", "explicit_text": "At Masterclass... if I'm marketing Masterclass and I have a ton of video content and storytelling and things like that, that channel actually makes a ton of sense probably. OTT strength is broad reach and video storytelling and that type of stuff.", "inferred_identity": "Masterclass", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "Masterclass", "OTT advertising", "video storytelling", "education platform", "content marketing", "channel-product fit" ], "lesson": "OTT (streaming video) is a strong channel for products with high-quality video content. Masterclass's core asset—premium video instruction—aligns perfectly with OTT's strengths.", "topic_id": "topic_5", "line_start": 143, "line_end": 147 }, { "id": "ex8", "explicit_text": "We were using Grin at Masterclass, we onboarded them. So, there's probably half a dozen companies in that same zone where they're building tools that allow you to do the discovery of influencers, the CRM of those influencers, and also often the measurement and payments and all that kind of stuff.", "inferred_identity": "Masterclass, Grin", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "Masterclass", "Grin platform", "influencer marketing tools", "influencer CRM", "influencer discovery", "creator partnerships" ], "lesson": "Influencer marketing platforms like Grin are emerging to solve the discovery, relationship management, and measurement challenges, though much of the work remains manual.", "topic_id": "topic_5", "line_start": 302, "line_end": 305 }, { "id": "ex9", "explicit_text": "Clubhouse might be a good example in the sense that they leaned into the broader audience maybe quicker than they should have. Their product market fit seemed to fit the moment in time and could they have built some experiments, or tools, or features that maybe stress tested will this work in an ongoing fashion?", "inferred_identity": "Clubhouse", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "Clubhouse", "early growth", "product-market fit", "early adopter audience", "chasm crossing", "unsustainable growth" ], "lesson": "Clubhouse's rapid growth to mainstream audiences may not have been sustainable. Testing whether initial PMF with early adopters would hold for broader audiences could have revealed fragility earlier.", "topic_id": "topic_6", "line_start": 326, "line_end": 327 }, { "id": "ex10", "explicit_text": "I worked at Lambda School", "inferred_identity": "Lambda School", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "Lambda School", "VP Product and Marketing", "education startup", "coding bootcamp" ], "lesson": "Adam's experience at Lambda School provided exposure to the education/onboarding sector and the role of marketing in product-led companies.", "topic_id": "topic_7", "line_start": 348, "line_end": 348 }, { "id": "ex11", "explicit_text": "I think the book, Crossing the Chasm, is a great place to start in terms of thinking about the broader topic of that.", "inferred_identity": "Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "Crossing the Chasm", "Geoffrey Moore", "early adopter audiences", "technology adoption", "market expansion" ], "lesson": "The book provides foundational framework for understanding the different between early adopter and mainstream markets and how to successfully bridge them.", "topic_id": "topic_6", "line_start": 317, "line_end": 318 }, { "id": "ex12", "explicit_text": "Coca-Cola invented the coupon. The first known coupon was Coca-Cola giving away Coke for free, but it was actually a marketplace, because what they would do is they would go to a town and they would go to the soda fountain and they would give a free Coke syrup to that side of the market and they would give coupons to the other side of the market to spark it, to get it going.", "inferred_identity": "Coca-Cola", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "Coca-Cola", "coupons", "early marketing tactics", "marketplace dynamics", "two-sided strategy", "historical example" ], "lesson": "Historical marketing tactics from the early 1900s like Coca-Cola's coupon strategy used sophisticated marketplace thinking. Modern growth tactics are often rediscoveries of these principles applied with new tools.", "topic_id": "topic_8", "line_start": 378, "line_end": 383 }, { "id": "ex13", "explicit_text": "I lived in Chicago, did Second City ImprovOlympic, a variety of different places, did quite a bit of performing", "inferred_identity": "Second City, ImprovOlympic (Chicago)", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "Second City", "ImprovOlympic", "Chicago improv", "comedy training", "performance background", "improv education" ], "lesson": "Adam's serious improv training at elite Chicago institutions shaped his approach to collaboration and adaptability, skills he applies to business.", "topic_id": "topic_2", "line_start": 53, "line_end": 54 }, { "id": "ex14", "explicit_text": "At Uber, I got to a spot where I was incredibly exhausted and tired and just down, not excited about work and things like that, and so I started going to therapy", "inferred_identity": "Uber", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "Uber", "burnout experience", "therapy", "mental health", "leadership role", "exhaustion" ], "lesson": "Adam's therapy journey at Uber revealed that his workaholism wasn't burnout but a need for recognition that could be redirected into more intentional work choices.", "topic_id": "topic_12", "line_start": 434, "line_end": 435 }, { "id": "ex15", "explicit_text": "I was the person they called when their spend was too high. And so 500 GMs... I was dealing with a lot of politics. I love mentoring people, and I had this massive team of 150 people that I barely know any of them. And so I'm not mentoring people either anymore.", "inferred_identity": "Uber", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "Uber", "Growth Marketing and Innovation", "500 GMs", "global operations", "team management", "scope and burnout", "mentorship loss" ], "lesson": "Large-scale leadership at Uber meant managing 150 people globally without the ability to develop relationships or mentor—a structural problem that contributed to burnout despite the job's prestige.", "topic_id": "topic_12", "line_start": 443, "line_end": 450 }, { "id": "ex16", "explicit_text": "I'm an investor, so I'm biased, but Aura, A-U-R-A, which is a marketplace app. It's some of the other meditation apps, but it's a marketplace, so it's actually coaches and stuff adding content.", "inferred_identity": "Aura (meditation app)", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "Aura", "meditation marketplace", "mental health app", "wellness platform", "investor perspective" ], "lesson": "Aura's marketplace model for meditation content (vs. single-creator apps) appeals to people who want variety and curated content over one teacher.", "topic_id": "topic_13", "line_start": 479, "line_end": 480 }, { "id": "ex17", "explicit_text": "I just joined Andreessen's Scout fund, so I'm doing a bit more volume now.", "inferred_identity": "Andreessen (a16z Scout)", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "a16z Scout fund", "Andreessen Horowitz", "venture investing", "portfolio strategy", "early stage investment" ], "lesson": "Scout funds focus on deal volume and sourcing, fitting Adam's advising and investing approach.", "topic_id": "topic_16", "line_start": 515, "line_end": 516 }, { "id": "ex18", "explicit_text": "I think a full-time or closer to full-time investing world is what I'd like to lean more towards. I'm very much a let's just open up opportunities, and once the right one is in front of me, I'm going to tackle it.", "inferred_identity": "Adam Grenier's future direction", "confidence": "explicit", "tags": [ "career transition", "investing focus", "opportunity-driven approach", "portfolio strategy" ], "lesson": "Rather than committing to a single path, Adam keeps multiple options (advising, investing, potentially full-time role) open and moves toward what feels right.", "topic_id": "topic_16", "line_start": 515, "line_end": 516 } ] }