Empowering Industry Leaders and Innovators
Enabling Strategic Decision Making at Google
Modeling User Growth
to Maximize Returns
Following an acquisition, the team needed to determine how to allocate their paid user acquisition budget across 10 key markets.
This project involved assessing the impact of paid acquisition on monthly active user (MAU) growth, determining if retention growth would offset MAU loss based on engagement data, and identifying which key markets to actively invest in.
Background:
With the acquisition of Photomath, Google's Learning and Sustainability team needed to determine how to best allocate a $30,000 paid acquisition marketing budget across 10 key markets. The team was particularly interested in understanding the impact to monthly active user (MAU) and retention growth based on paid acquisition spend. Under a tight deadline, the leadership team needed to make a decision on which markets to invest in and how to best allocate the budget across all markets.
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Key Challenge:
Improve paid acquisition budget efficiency by determining optimal budget allocation based on various paid, organic, and retained user growth scenarios.
Exploration
To determine which markets to invest paid acquisition spend in, we needed to understand how paid acquisition was impacting install and retention growth in each market. To explore this impact, I created a MAU growth model allowing us to project user growth under various acquisition and retention scenarios.
Visualization
Using a multi-variable, input/output model, I evaluated MAU growth under various growth assumptions. ​This excel model enabled the team to see how changing the paid acquisition investment would impact organic, paid, and retention growth over a 2-year period.
Deliberation
The model was stress-tested by key marketing and leadership team stakeholders. We tested the impact to MAU growth based on scenarios such as halting paid growth while leaving organic and retention unchanged, or doubling organic growth while assuming a drop in retention rates.
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Creation​ ​​
The process highlighted that the impact of paid acquisition was most evident in retention growth. Using a data-driven approach, I made the case to our marketing and leadership team to consolidate the paid acquisition budget from 10 markets to 2 high retention-growth markets for maximum growth impact.
The MAU growth model enabled the team to better understand the return on investment from paid acquisition efforts, ensuring each marketing dollar was allocated efficiently to maximize user growth.
Key Highlights​
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Achieved paid acquisition budget optimization across 9 markets
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Reduced paid acquisition spend in 7 markets, drastically reducing ineffective expenditure
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Maximized MAU growth impact by prioritizing paid spend in high-retention growth markets
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Facilitated strategic pivot to retention growth strategy in key markets
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Fostered alignment across marketing and product teams by pinpointing clear market priorities
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These outcomes demonstrate the effectiveness of my data-driven approach to driving sustainable growth and maximizing returns on investment.
Understanding the Impact of GenAI
With the emergence and rapid growth of Generative AI, this project aimed to provide comprehensive competitive landscaping on a regular basis at Google.
The goal of this initiative was to track competitor growth and leverage insights to inform strategic decision making. Through diligent monitoring and analysis, the project also created transparency and a unified view of the industry across the organization.
Background:
With a surge of competitors integrating Generative AI (GenAI) solutions into their products, Google's insights into these developments were limited. Across the learning organization, each team had their own perspective and view of the competitive landscape. A unified view on the overall GenAI landscape was needed to enhance strategic alignment and decision-making across the department. With rapid changes in a short period of time, the need for regular competitive intelligence became crucial to understanding the ever-changing industry landscape.
Key Challenge:
Develop a unified view of the GenAI competitive landscape in EdTech, guiding strategic decision making and ensuring product differentiation for sustained competitiveness.
Exploration
To understand the GenAI landscape, I conducted market research on competitor products and industry developments. By consolidating existing research from across teams and integrating current perspectives, I developed a competitive landscape map defining key players and product differentiation strategies.
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Visualization
To communicate this landscape across the broader organization, I developed a quarterly competitive landscape report to keep the team informed on the latest competitor news and industry trends. By utilizing charts, tables, graphics, and product demos, the report highlighted key insights at a glance.
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Deliberation
In creating the quarterly report, I sat down with team members who had conducted project-specific landscaping efforts in the past to consider their perspectives. I consulted with key stakeholders in product development and marketing to understand what information was most relevant to include for their needs.
Creation
I distributed the competitive landscaping report on a quarterly basis across the organization. Team members could comment on the Google Slides doc if they had questions or comments on the findings. This enabled broader conversation and idea sharing across teams, creating more unified perspectives.
Regular competitive landscaping enabled the Learning and Sustainability Team to align their fragmented views of the market. With a clear view of the current landscape, teams could identify opportunities for differentiation and better understand how to prioritize the product roadmap.​
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Key Highlights​
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Tracked and monitored performance and growth metrics for 50+ competitors and key players
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Enhanced strategic alignment and decision-making across 7 product teams
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Improved understanding of competitor strategies, market dynamics, and GenAI integrations
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Informed product development initiatives, leading to enhanced product differentiation
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Strengthened competitiveness and market position in the evolving EdTech market segment
These outcomes collectively contributed to Google's ability to navigate the challenges posed by Generative AI integration and maintain its position as a leader in the EdTech sector.
Spearheading Growth with Analytics at Photomath
Leading International Growth using Analytics
With a growing global user base, prioritizing which markets and languages to launch paid premium content in proved a significant challenge.
Leading the charge, I was responsible for developing a vetting framework to greenlight new languages. Working with our product, marketing, engineering, and content teams, we launched in 9 new markets, growing global revenue by $700k annually.
Background:
As a freemium app, Photomath offers free AI-powered math solutions to users across the globe. When it came to premium content however, users could only access solutions in English. Since premium content had never been translated to non-English languages, the team needed to develop a process to vet, prioritize, and launch premium content in new languages and markets. Being in uncharted territory, we needed to develop a framework and process to evaluate new market opportunities, taking into consideration factors like market size, monetization growth opportunity, and product-market fit.
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Key Challenge:
Determine which languages/markets to launch premium content in and develop a sustainable process to evaluate new market launch opportunities.
Exploration​
I started by evaluating the present state of the business. Working with product and engineering, I determined our limitations and available resources for content translation. I also worked with our product and data team to examine historical data, pinpointing which user languages had the most engagement.
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Visualization
To make sense of our data, I developed a vetting framework to evaluate each language opportunity on the basis of market size, product-market fit, and monetization potential. I assessed various metrics within each of these categories to further understand which markets would drive user growth and retention most.​​​
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Deliberation
I set up a cross-functional team including product, marketing, strategy, content, and engineering, facilitating regular meetings to determine new language selection and the launch process. Together, we created a roadmap with key milestones, deliverables, and deadlines agreed upon on by all.
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Creation​
As the international team lead, I developed and oversaw a sustainable process for launching premium content in new languages. Facilitating team meetings and managing the project roadmap, I ensured timely delivery and aligned go-to-market strategies across teams, monitoring growth along the way.
The newly developed international expansion process allowed the company to go-to-market with new language content more quickly and efficiently. With a scalable process for vetting and launching new languages, Photomath was able to quickly adapt to and deliver on global demand and user needs.
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Key Highlights
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Launched paid content in 4 new languages, enabling expansion into 12 new global markets
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Increased revenue growth by $680K annually across non-English markets
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Achieved a 15% increase in global install growth among non-English users
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Streamlined the process for future language launches, establishing a market vetting framework
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Established and maintained position as market leader in global education apps space
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The internationalization strategy resulted in substantial market expansion, revenue growth, and improved operational efficiency, positioning Photomath as a global top player in the industry.
Driving Revenue Growth with OKRs
With limited historical data and pressing growth goals, setting appropriate Objectives and Key Result targets at Photomath required a rigorous approach.
To determine realistic and achievable goals, I modeled various growth scenarios and analyzed historic conversion, retention, and install data. The proposed target levels enabled the company to stay on track and achieve it's $50M annual revenue goal.
Background:
Setting precise Objective and Key Result (OKR) targets to achieve $50M in gross sales was complicated by the company’s expansion into new, unfamiliar markets. Analyzing historical data and understanding year-over-year (YoY) growth trends were essential, but the limited data in these new markets meant we had to rely heavily on assumptions and projections. Each market also had specific user retention and acquisition trends, making the task of setting targets even more complex.
The Challenge:
Develop precise and achievable OKR targets for conversion, retention, and install goals in each market that would enable the company to achieve $50M in global revenue.
Exploration
To address the challenge of setting precise and achievable OKR targets, I developed a comprehensive methodology that leveraged historical data and predictive models. This structured approach allowed us to navigate the uncertainties of new market expansions while aiming for significant and sustainable growth.
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Visualization
I conducted a detailed analysis using historic install, retention, and conversion data to identify early retention patterns and forecast future performance based on historic trends. This helped to determine the appropriate target level goals that would drive early user engagement and retention rates.
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Deliberation
I met with our product, marketing, and strategy teams to stress test and refine our assumptions. Getting cross-team feedback further helped to reduce bias in our forecasting (i.e. "real case" vs "ideal case") , and ensured the proposed OKR targets would be achievable from the perspectives of the teams involved.
Creation
Once we had reached an agreement on achievable target levels, I worked with leadership to run the proposed target metrics through our revenue model, ensuring our goals supported the $50M sales objective. The revenue model allowed us to sense-check each target from a revenue growth perspective.
​​The methodology for determining target conversion levels resulted in accurate, market-specific goals that aligned with each region’s maturity and potential. The chosen target goals further supported overall strategic goals, enabling the team to hit conversion, retention, and revenue growth goals.
Key Highlights
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​Generated $23M in annual revenue driven by effective OKR goal planning and user growth
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Improved Month-1 subscriber retention rates in newly established markets
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Analyzed monthly install data and correlated it with user engagement to set realistic growth targets
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Grew new user acquisitions and active user numbers, boosting global user and revenue growth
The overall alignment of these targets with our revenue model ensured that each key result supported our primary objective of achieving substantial and sustainable growth in all markets.
Scaling a Startup at 365 Retail Markets
Optimizing Processes to Boost User Experience
With an increase in customer support calls, 365 Retail Markets needed to understand and address customer concerns effectively.
This highly collaborative project involved analyzing the customer sales journey and identifying points of friction in the sales process. The project led to a more streamlined sales operations process and improved customer satisfaction (measured by NPS) by 20%.
Background:
In a period of rapid growth, support call volume was at an all time high, negatively affecting customer satisfaction. Leadership needed to get to the root of the issues and implement changes to the sales operations processes that would alleviate customer friction. Some of the challenges faced included an inconsistent customer experience, system inefficiencies, rush order bottlenecks, and a lack of visibility into the sales ordering pipeline. We needed to develop a customer journey map to determine how to best streamline processes to enhance the customer experience.
Key Challenge:
Identify and address points of friction in the customer sales experience by mapping the user journey, streamlining processes to improve efficiency, reduce support call volume, and increase sales revenue.
Exploration
To uncover the source of customer friction, I met with each team involved in the stages of the sales process, including marketing, sales, finance, logistics, implementation, and support. Understanding each team's role in the sales operation process enabled us to put together a complete customer journey map.
Visualization
To put ourselves in the customer's shoes, I set up a live sales order demo with each department present. Together, we recreated the live process to see sales transaction issues in real time. We identified the exact points of breakdown in the process and developed solutions to streamline workflows more efficiently.
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Deliberation
Working with key stakeholders in data, sales operations, marketing, and finance, we revamped the way sales data is entered into our systems, leveraging automation features and ensuring consistency of information across all teams. Gaining stakeholder support was the key to implementing process changes.
Creation
The analysis justified the need to implement an online sales ordering system and streamline sales order flows through our backend systems. The new process eliminated customer pain points in the sales order experience, and improved internal communication by automating workflows across teams.
By mapping the customer's journey through the sales process, we uncovered many inefficiencies and opportunities to improve our sales order workflow. The improved processes ultimately led to a significant boost in customer satisfaction and increased sales.
Key Highlights:
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Increased NPS score by 20%, indicating a dramatic improvement in customer experience
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Grew Revenue by 15% annually by implementing more efficient, streamlined processes
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Reduced support call volume significantly by eliminating process bottlenecks
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Improved operational efficiency through automation and interdepartmental collaboration
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Eliminated redundancies in process and expedited order processing times significantly
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Leveraged ERP automation to enhance data accuracy, eliminating manual data entry processes
This project demonstrates the power of process optimization in achieving customer satisfaction and business growth. By understanding customer needs and implementing data-driven solutions, we were able to create a win-win situation for both customers and our company.
Driving Accountability Culture with 4DX
As the company transitioned from startup to high-growth, the need for organization wide alignment, structured goals, and accountability was critical.
This 3-year program involved overseeing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) using the Four Disciplines of Execution (4DX) framework. Spearheading the program as a 4DX coach, I aligned operations with company strategy to hit our KPIs.
Background:
As the company was expanding and acquiring new businesses, keeping all departments aligned and focused across the organization proved challenging. The need for clear goals, inter-departmental collaboration, and a culture of accountability were crucial to sustaining growth and progress effectively. The lack of a structured goal setting framework and unified direction also led to many communication and process inefficiencies. We needed a process to establish clear strategic objectives and ensure company wide operations were aligned to long-term vision and growth goals.
Key Challenge:
Transform company culture using The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) framework, driving a disciplined approach to goal-setting, execution, and accountability at all levels.
Exploration
As lead coach for the program, I received in-depth training to understand the 4DX framework and then trained our leadership team on its principles. I met with each team to understand their concerns, challenges, and frustrations with the current process, enabling me to tailor the program for our needs.
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Visualization
The program hinged on identifying "wildly important" goals and the supporting "battles" that would allow us to win them. I worked closely with our executive and leadership team to identify strategic growth objectives, and articulate high-level company goals for each planning cycle.
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Deliberation
I conducted workshops and training sessions at the company-wide level to familiarize teams with the new goal setting framework. I worked closely with each team to define KPIs that would align to overall company growth objectives. Incorporating feedback led to continuous improvement for each new cycle.
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Creation
By regularly monitoring goals and following up with responsible stakeholders, we created a culture of accountability that supported a rapid growth business environment. I provided ongoing coaching and support to team leaders, helping them set relevant goals, milestones, and measures to track progress.
Leading the implementation of 4DX enabled the company to embrace a culture of accountability. Ultimately, our carefully crafted goals led to significant growth in many areas, from revenue and sales to customer satisfaction and improved performance metrics.
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Key Highlights:
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Increased product sales by 209% over a six-month period due to strategic goal setting
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Improved NPS score by 67%, decreasing customer call volume and improving support operations
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Reduced order-to-ship time by 50%, significantly improving operational efficiency
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Sold over 750 newly launched product units in an 8-month period
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Rolled out “connected campus" program to 15 operators, shifting strategic focus to integrations
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Streamlined inter-departmental processes, improving cross-functional alignment and collaboration
These results demonstrate the program's effectiveness in driving growth, improving operational efficiency, changing company culture, and enhancing customer satisfaction while boosting sales.