The Defining Role of the Next Decade

Why focusing on distribution is critical for the next wave of startups.

👋 Friends,

As I write this, I’m on my way to San Francisco, preparing for the launch of Lumos House during SF Tech Week. We’ll even have the Co-founder of Lyft joining us one evening, and I’m thrilled all of you there!

For those in NYC, I’m hosting an intimate, invite-only founder event with Rho on October 25. I’ve invited founders from DocSend, Foursquare, Venmo, Chief, and Inspired Capital to join us. Apply here.

Beyond that, get ready for an exciting fall in NYC.

Today’s piece is a bit of a departure from what I usually write, but it’s something I can’t stop thinking about.

I’ve spent a lot of time lately with marketers who are trying to figure out how to sell to CEOs and decision-makers at both large-scale enterprises and early-stage startups, and I wanted to share the observations I’ve gathered from conversations with the sharpest in the biz.

If you’ve spent any time on the internet at all in the past few months you’ll notice the rapid acceleration of AI use cases in engineering, design, and product.

Just a few years ago, it would’ve taken the average person months and tens of thousands of dollars to build a basic software product.

Today, anyone can do it in days with less than $100. Despite being embarrassingly untechnical, I was able to build a personal workout app in less than 20 minutes with GPTEngineer.

Software development will only get faster and cheaper:

• Faster - due to AI-assisted engineering and tools like Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

• Cheaper - due to the rapidly growing pool of offshoring resources available.

But this comes at an expense.

As the barriers to building software lower, software is going to be increasingly commoditized - and AI will transform software development similar to how Shopify transformed eCommerce.

As a result, branding, distribution, and taste will matter more than ever.

Enter the Head of Growth.

I believe that the most important role at any early-stage company is going to be the person in charge of building distribution.

(Btw, when I mean early-stage, I refer to hyper-growth companies in their first 5 years).

But titles are arbitrary. Here’s what this person should be able to do.

• Break virality down to a science

• Curate a community of loyal product evangelists

• Build a brand with an obsessive, cult-like following

• Discover creative ways to reach buyers without spending a dime

• Become an expert in hosting in-person events to build awareness

• Find scrappy methods to generate attention with a minimal budget

• Perfect the ability to debate and influence naysayers on the internet

• Master the art of meme-making and fabricating internet subcultures

• Build negative CAC (Customer Acq. Cost) channels that can scale indefinitely

• Convince influential people with access to distribution to evangelize the product

• Master social content across all formats: short- and long-form text, video, and audio

• Build the potential for media assets and event companies to exist as profit centers on top of the business

Large, well-funded companies have massive marketing and sales teams that do all the above, with separate departments that do brand marketing, performance marketing communications, business development, sales, partnerships, and community. These teams can be dozens if not hundreds of people.

But at a startup, it’s usually just one person doing all this. They are the hybrid marketers, salespeople, and content creators who can operate with the rigor of a founder, and the scientific approach of a researcher.

Take a look at company launches like friend.com, Antimetal, and Athletic Greens (in their early days). You would assume that they had the backing of a large, robust marketing team, but in reality, it is just 1 to 2 smart, scrappy people working behind the scenes.

This is the Head of Growth, and they will be the most important non-founding team hire in a few years.

👉 Want to learn more?

I’m halfway through writing a tactical guide on how to expand your understanding of “growth”, including what I envision the role becoming in the next few years and how you can start building those skills today.

If you want me to finish and publish my article, please comment below.

If there is enough interest, I’ll hit publish!

📌 Andrew’s Bookmarks

My favorite recent things from the internet.

• Taste is Eating Silicon Valley – Just as software ate the world and dramatically transformed industries in the last era, taste is now eating software—and with it, Silicon Valley. An excellent piece by Anu Atluru.

• My Ever-Evolving Personal CRM – How a super-connector manages their personal contact lift.

• How to increase your luck as a founder – How founders and entrepreneurs can maximize their swings at bat.

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💼 Job Board

Sharing roles at friendly companies I’m familiar with.

👉 Btw, if you want to be part of our partner talent network, next play, and get curated job opportunities in your inbox, please sign up here.

• Product Marketing Manager, Carry

• Operator, Carry

• City Launcher, POSH

• Multiple Customer Success & Sales Roles, POSH

• Community Program Manager, POSH

• Lead Product Manager, ResortPass

• Founding Engineer, Superpower

• Chief of Staff, Eniac Ventures

• Business Development Lead, Fern

• Software Engineer, Cassidy

• Founding Full Stack Engineer, Micro

• Client Relationship Specialist, Maestro Lab

• Digital Marketing Account Manager, JUICE

• Head of Marketing, awesomic

• Generalist Role, Paradigm

• Have a job to share? Please reply to this email.

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🖼️ Behind the Scenes

I’m a single child who was raised in China by traditional Asian parents. I spent close to 20 years there before immigrating to America.

To Asian parents, getting their kids into a prestigious school and employer like Google, Goldman Sachs or McKinsey is the ultimate goal. And I realized they dedicated the last twenty years to setting me up for a steady career, enrolling me in a great school, and paying for my college education.

So you can imagine the shock on their faces when I told them I was leaving my secure, stable corporate career at Google to “throw tech parties”.

They were doubtful for the first few months. I’m sure they still have no clue what I do.

But I slowly made it work. I invited my mom to stay with me for a week to see my life in America. Took her to all the restaurants, introduced her to my partner and her puppy, etc.

Then I started visiting them even more. Every time I’d bring new gifts from the distant land of America.

Recently I had the chance to do something I’ve always wanted to do:

I bought them a vacation to a place they’ve been longing to travel to. Portugal!

Probably the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done as a son.

To my fellow friends in their late 20s:

• Read The Tail End.

• Forget buying fancy watches, luxury brands, and material goods. Realize that buying things for your loved ones is the most fulfilling way you can spend your money.

Their reaction!