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    Samar Birwadker

    Samar Birwadker

    Seasoned SF based founder & CMO with a successful exit and 15+ years of building tech companies, raising growth capital and building world-beating teams.

    Entrepreneur San Francisco University Of Mumbai '03
    samarb.notion.site
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    Experience
    Good&Co
    Exit
    Good&Co
    Founder & CEO (Acquired by Axel Springer / StepStone GmbH 2012 - 2020 (about 8 years)
    Good.Co was a psychometrics-based recruitment platform acquired by StepStone GmbH/Axel-Springer in 2016. Good.co was often described as “LinkedIn meets eHarmony” or a “Quantified... more Glassdoor”
    • Scaled to ~150 employees, $23M ARR, 15M+ registered job seekers, 20K+ business profiles, and 50+ mid-large enterprise customers, utilizing integrated user acquisition and demand gen
    • Raised over $75MM and generated upwards of $100M of value by building and integrating a customer acquisition engine with 5 of the largest job boards in 3 countries
    • Built largest psychometric database with 15M+ registered profiles and 10k recruitment customers, leveraging PLG, content and social media strategies
    • Grew Good&Co mobile app to top 10 career apps in US, UK, and Germany with a virality coefficient of 2.5. Won several awards for brand, design, and product innovation.
    • Launched B2B SaaS platform and grew to 50 mid-market customers with $15k average ACV, employing Product-led Growth tactics.
    • Eminent thought leader in team building, workplace culture, and growth marketing, with extensive international speaking engagements and publications
    • Developed 8-factor behavioral assessment with a team of psychometricians & AI engineers to predict new hire performance; first major advancement in 40 years of the 5-factor DISC model

    • Raised $4M, recruited CTO & senior team, and grew business to 1.2M job seeker profiles, 1k business profiles, and 5 enterprise customers
    • Implemented B2C2B growth model for quantitative culture profiling through viral assessments; Pre-PLG penetration strategy that helped shorten enterprise time to close by 30%
    • Built team of 25 employees in engineering, product, and marketing roles, fostering a culture of innovation and experimentation
    Various Startups
    Various Startups
    Growth Advisor & Investor 2018 - Present (over 8 years)
    As a growth strategist, I collaborate with several early to growth-stage startups in capital-efficient revenue planning, PLG implementation/transition, fundraising, demand... more generation, brand, and product commercialization. My expertise spans across Consumer Subscription, SaaS Subscription, Generative AI, Blockchain, and Fintech; currently working with four startups with ARR ranging from $0M to $50M.
    AKQA
    AKQA
    Senior Strategist 2010 - 2012 (almost 2 years)
    • AKQA/WPP Developed GTM, brand strategy, media planning, activation, and measurement programs for B2B tech and consumer brands Sony, Intel, Xbox, Nike, Google Fiber, and... more YouTube
    Landor Associates
    Landor Associates
    Sr. Insights Manager 2008 - 2010 (almost 3 years)
    • Landor/WPP Led brand marketing, buyer persona development, customer journey and content mapping for clients like FedEx, HP, EA, Citi, Adobe and Siemens; led market research... more using BAV methodology to quantify and measure qualitative brand assets as predictors of financial and marketplace success.
    WPP
    WPP
    Analyst (Special Projects) 2005 - 2008 (over 2 years)
    Special projects for the exec & M&A team
    Founder
     
    Employee
    Good&Co, AKQA, Landor Associates, WPP, Various Startups
    Investor
     
    Incubator
     
    Advisor
     
    Attorney
     
    Board Member
     
    Mentor
     
    Member
     
    Acquired
     
     
    Projects
    Build Marketing Org. and Boosting Capital Efficient growth
    Objective: Establish a marketing team from scratch for the A
    Head of Marketing · MetaMap, a Series C AI-powered data analytics SaaS firm was grappling with ever increasing cost of revenue due to a wholly… · More high-touch, sales-led go-to-market strategy

    Establish a marketing team from scratch for the AI-driven data analytics SaaS firm MetaMap, focusing on brand enhancement, PLG, and demand generation.

    Results:

    - Built the entire marketing operation, including product, PLG, demand gen, brand, content, and marketing ops, saving 40% under budget.
    - Expanded the marketing team from 4 to 18, spread across Mexico City, Lagos, Sao Paulo, and Bangalore.
    - Implemented the first PLG strategy, reducing the CAC to LTV ratio by 30% in just five months.
    - Introduced a MarTech stack and automation resulting in a 25% reduction in customer acquisition cost.
    - Generated a $25m total pipeline, contributing to $8m in revenue at 2.5x per/$ efficiency, boosting overall revenue by 40%.
    Good.Co App & Web Design
    UI/UX design and prototyping for iOS and Android apps.
    UI/UX Design for Good.Co's iOS and Android apps.
    Alyson Jones
    Subbu Balakrishnan
    Jonathan Wylie
    Josh Miramant
    Phil Erickson
    With Phil Erickson, Josh Miramant, Jonathan Wylie, Subbu Balakrishnan, Alyson Jones
    Introducing: Team Dynamics by Good&Co (Enterprise)
    The Science of Workplace Happiness
    Attract, hire and retain the best talent with Team Dynamics! Good&Co’s powerful culture analytics tools enables organizations to make smarter hiring and… · More reconfiguration decisions, identify organizational strengths, boost employee engagement, uncover potential roadblocks and reduce turnover.
    Good&Co: The Science of Workplace Happiness (Consumer App)
    “The eHarmony of Jobs” - TIME
    We firmly believe that when you love what you do, work can (and should!) feel like play. That's why our app is designed to empower people with the… · More information they need to make better, more informed career decisions.

    - Take a series of fun, scientifically validated personality quizzes developed by leading psychometricians.
    - Uncover your personality traits and career strengths.
    - Discover how your personality fits with friends and coworkers.
    - Check your culture fit with thousands of companies.
    - Share your custom StrengthsCard with potential employers.

    Here's what people are saying about Good&Co's free app...

    - "Don't let the fun behind the questions let you think there isn't any science behind it. The site uses a proprietary psychometric algorithm to assess your potential as an employee."—USNews

    - "The job-hunting lovechild of eHarmony and LinkedIn" —PandoDaily
    - "Go from 'take this job and shove it' to 'take this job and love it.'" —Webbys

    - "[Good & Co] lets you see how well your personality matches up with specific companies and employees." —Mashable
    Post acquisition scaling of recruiting platform
    Scaling the psychometrics-based recruitment platform to reac
    CEO · - Scaled to 150 employees, $12M ARR, 10M+ job seekers, and 50+ enterprise customers.
    - Built the largest psychometric database with 10M+… · More profiles and 10k recruitment customers using product-led growth, content, and social media strategies.
    - Achieved top 10 career app rankings in the US, UK, and Germany.
    - Launched a B2B SaaS platform with 50 mid-market customers and $15k average ACV using PLG tactics.
    - Developed an 8-factor behavioral assessment for predicting new hire performance, improving the existing DISC model.
    Enhancing User Acquisition and Retention for a 10M user fintech bank
    Optimize user onboarding and implement product-led growth
    Growth Consultant · With over 10M customers, a $2bn mobile-first, digital-only bank providing user-centric financial services and solutions to… · More underserved communities aimed at promoting financial wellness.

    Objective: As a top-of-the-funnel focused growth strategist, for a period of 2 months, I guided a cross-functional product growth, design and marketing teams address specific challenges in the onboarding process and PLG activities
    Results:
    Streamlined Onboarding Flow led to initial engagement up by 45% & 1st-week uninstalls by 35%
    Tailored Product-Led Growth Strategy: Leveraged data-driven techniques to Enhanced MAU retention by 25%, boosted CLTV by 20%.
    Targeted Brand Messaging: Crafted distinct messaging for core segments, a 30% increase in brand recall and a 15% lift in conversion rates.
    Data-Driven UI/UX Redesign: Leveraging user behavior insights, implemented A/B tested design changes, boosting average session by 10% and in-app tool activations by 25%.
    Reward-Driven Engagement Approach: Implemented a gamified reward system, generating a 20% lift in referral sign-ups.
    Building a marketing maturity playbook for a $30M ARR startup
    Helped a $30M ARR startup in the equit mgt. space
    See screenshots
    Accelerating PMF for a personal development app
    Guide well-funded startup in developing a habit forming app
    Steering product ideation, monetization, design, branding, and growth tactics with weekly coaching sessions

    Concept Development: Conducted market… · More research and conceptualized a habit-building app with weekly coaching sessions.
    Product & Monetization Strategy: Designed a freemium model and implemented tiered in-app subscriptions.
    Design & UX: Collaborated with UX/UI team to create a user-friendly interface enhancing seamless workflow.
    Branding & Messaging: Developed a consistent brand identity resonating with target audiences, elevating brand awareness.
    Onboarding & Virality: Crafted engaging onboarding, implemented a referral program for amplified user growth.
    Customer Persona & Journey Development for $50M ARR ATS company
    Strategic persona and cust. journey development
    Ran work-sessions and guided Exec team, Rev and Sales to develop customer personas and customer journeys. Translated output and tactical touchpoint… · More prioritization to marketing and design.
    Creative Direction and Design System Development
    Creative Direction and Design System Development
    Sales Led transformation to Product Led Growth
    Helping portfolio companies
    Built a detailed framework and exhaustive checklist for transitioning an SLG to PLG company so companies in several different stages and categories could… · More adapt and customize easily
     
    Education
     
    About
    Achievements

    Bringing 15 years of experience in sparking strategic growth across various industries, I pride myself on being a forward-thinking revenue strategist. My journey has spanned key markets including the US, UK, Germany, and Latin America, where I've crafted and executed impactful growth strategies. As a Growth Advisor and Investor, I specialize in capital-efficient revenue planning, implementing PLG strategies, fundraising, demand generation, brand development, and product commercialization.

    A standout chapter in my career was leading Good.Co as CEO. At this psychometrics-based recruitment platform, I drove the company's growth to 150 employees, achieved $23M in ARR, and cultivated a community of over 10 million job seekers. My strategy resulted in raising over $75 million and increasing the company's value to upwards of $100 million, by syncing customer acquisition with major job boards effectively.

    Describe the most impressive thing you've done.
    Skills
    Team Building KYC Branding Demand Generation Growth Strategy and Execution Product Design PLG SaaS B2C Marketing B2B Marketing FinTech Recruiting/Talent Acquisition/ HR Reporting GTM strategies Marketing Automation Growth Hacking Product Led Growth (PLG)
    Locations
    Silicon Valley Palo Alto Cupertino Berkeley San Francisco Bay Area
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