The Growth Roundup

GrowthPad
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  • Business

The Growth Roundup is where the world's top founders, product leaders, and growth operators break down how today's fastest-growing companies actually scale. Each episode goes beyond headlines to unpack the strategies, decisions, experiments, and lessons behind sustainable growth—from product-led growth and AI to pricing, monetisation, retention, and go-to-market. Whether you're building your first startup or scaling to millions in revenue, you'll leave every conversation with practical ideas you can apply immediately. No hype. No recycled advice. Just candid conversations with the people building the future. Presented by GrowthPad

  1. 4d ago

    How to Find Strong Market Signals Before You Build

    In this session, Zain Abiddin discusses the importance of distinguishing between enthusiasm and evidence when building products. He provides a framework for evaluating market signals and emphasizes the need for real customer behavior to validate ideas. Takeaways Build from evidence, not enthusiasmFocus on real customer behaviorChapters 00:00 Understanding Market Signals02:48 The Role of AI in Building05:49 Evaluating Customer Evidence09:05 The Five Levels of Evidence11:58 Defining Success and Failure14:58 Testing Assumptions Effectively17:54 The Importance of Market Demand21:08 Applying the MOAT Accelerator

  2. Oct 1

    How to Build a Growth Engine AI Can’t Commoditise

    Zain Abiddin discusses how to build a growth engine that leverages AI to create durable competitive advantages rather than just making execution cheaper. He introduces the MOAT framework, which focuses on market signals, owned distribution, accelerating loops, and tribal knowledge to foster sustainable growth. Takeaways Build systems, not tacticsLeverage AI for competitive advantageChapters 00:00 The Challenge of AI in Growth03:02 Introducing the MOAT Framework05:54 Understanding Market Signals08:52 The Importance of Owned Distribution12:14 Accelerating Growth Loops15:07 Harnessing Tribal Knowledge18:00 Building a Durable Growth Engine

  3. Sep 30

    How Spline Built the Future of 3D Design

    In this conversation, Zain Abiddin interviews Carolyn Mack, CEO and co-founder of Spline, discussing her journey from Canva to building a new product category in 3D design. They explore themes of product-led growth, community engagement, and the nuances of monetization in early-stage startups. In this conversation, Caroline Mack discusses the importance of customer feedback, pricing strategies, and the evolving landscape of design software, particularly in relation to AI and user experience. She emphasizes the need for businesses to adapt their monetization strategies while maintaining a focus on user engagement and product value. Takeaways Product-led growth is essentialCommunity engagement drives retention Customer feedback drives product developmentPricing strategies must adapt to user needs Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Growth and Career Paths03:00 The Evolution of Growth Strategies06:07 Lessons from Canva on Trials and Retention08:50 Transitioning to Spline: New Challenges12:00 Identifying Growth Opportunities in 3D Design14:51 Building a Passionate Community18:05 Defining Activation Moments for Users21:05 The Role of Operations in Startups23:51 Monetization Strategies and Insights26:26 Understanding Customer Needs28:09 Pricing Strategies and Paywalls30:53 Balancing Adoption and Value Capture32:41 AI Integration in Design Tools35:21 The Future of Design Software37:22 Spline's Competitive Advantage39:17 The Role of Community in Design Software41:01 Rapid Fire Insights

  4. Sep 23

    How to Build a Business AI Won’t Eat

    The LAST Framework provides a strategic approach for building durable companies in the face of rapidly changing technology. It emphasises the importance of understanding lasting customer jobs, accumulating power, sacrificing the current product, and transforming continuously. The framework challenges businesses to think beyond their current products and focus on building companies that can adapt and remain relevant in the long term. Takeaways Lasting customer jobs survive technology shiftsAccumulate power by creating assets that strengthen as the company growsSacrifice the current product to protect the company, not the implementationMake reinvention part of the operating systemChapters 00:00 The Last Framework08:06 Lasting Customer Jobs12:09 Accumulating Power16:01 Sacrificing the Current Product17:52 Transforming Continuously

  5. Sep 18

    How to Turn Payments Into a Growth Lever

    The session discusses the importance of treating payments as a revenue system and not just plumbing. It emphasizes the need to understand and optimize the payment stack, contextual routing, designing for failure, and the role of growth teams in payment strategy. The session concludes with a call to action for a payment revenue audit. Takeaways Payment processors are not just infrastructure but a measurable and optimizable part of the growth engine.Understanding payment stack, contextual routing, and designing for failure are crucial for optimizing payments. Chapters 00:00 Payments as Revenue Systems01:32 Understanding the Payment Stack03:20 Treating Payments as Conversion Events07:15 Contextual Routing and Designing for Failure12:25 Local Payment Intelligence and Payment Method Prioritization15:06 The Role of Growth Teams and Continuous Improvement18:43 Orchestration Framework: Observe, Route, Recover, Localize, Optimize20:34 Call to Action: Payment Revenue Audit

  6. Sep 10

    How to Find Opportunities That Can Grow in the AI Era

    The conversation explores the changing landscape of software development in the AI era, emphasizing the shift from scarcity to abundance and the need to identify valuable product opportunities. The Wedge framework is introduced as a strategic approach to finding and validating opportunities, focusing on changes, expensive problems, distribution, proof, and expansion. The importance of understanding distribution, getting proof, and expanding after customer pull is highlighted, along with the operationalization of the opportunity map and three filters before building. The seven-day playbook and the Subscription Growth Accelerator are presented as actionable steps to implement the framework and drive growth. Takeaways Identifying valuable product opportunities in the AI era requires a strategic approach that focuses on changes, expensive problems, distribution, proof, and expansion.Understanding distribution, getting proof, and expanding after customer pull are crucial steps in operationalizing the opportunity map and driving growth. Chapters 00:00 The Changing Landscape of Software Development03:08 Scarcity in the Age of Abundant Software05:06 The Wedge Framework08:55 Understanding Distribution in Product Development13:01 Getting Proof and Validation15:49 Expanding After Customer Pull16:48 Operationalizing the Opportunity Map17:21 Three Filters Before Building18:26 The Seven-Day Playbook20:22 The Subscription Growth Accelerator23:42 Taking Action and Implementing the Framework

  7. Aug 28

    The AI Distribution Advantage

    The conversation explores the impact of AI on software distribution and the importance of identifying the right distribution model for reaching customers. It introduces the GrowthPad Distribution Advantage Map, which outlines seven potential distribution wedges and provides guidance on selecting the right wedge for a company's growth strategy. Takeaways AI has dramatically reduced the cost of building software, leading to an abundance of software and scarcity of customer attention and distribution.The GrowthPad Distribution Advantage Map helps companies identify the right distribution wedge, compounding loop, and distribution risk for their growth strategy. Chapters 00:00 The Impact of AI on Software Distribution02:39 The GrowthPad Distribution Advantage Map03:19 Identifying the Right Distribution Wedge05:39 Exploring the Seven Distribution Wedges21:23 Applying the Map to Three Fictional Companies26:12 Selecting the Right Wedge and Output

  8. Aug 20

    The New AI Growth Model

    The conversation explores the impact of AI on traditional SaaS growth models, highlighting the need to rethink activation, retention, and expansion strategies. It introduces the concept of collapsing the activation journey, the delegation ladder, and expansion beyond seat-based models. The AI growth scorecard and the new AI growth model are discussed, emphasizing the importance of understanding growth constraints and building a growth plan. The Growth Strategy Workshop is introduced as a practical application of growth strategy to address specific business constraints. Takeaways AI's impact on growth modelsRethinking activation, retention, and expansion strategies Chapters 00:00 The Evolution of Growth Models03:01 Rethinking Growth in the Age of AI05:36 Collapsing the Activation Journey06:06 The Delegation Ladder07:12 Expansion Beyond Seat-Based Models08:13 AI's Impact on Retention10:03 The AI Growth Scorecard11:48 The New AI Growth Model15:34 The Growth Strategy Workshop

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About

The Growth Roundup is where the world's top founders, product leaders, and growth operators break down how today's fastest-growing companies actually scale. Each episode goes beyond headlines to unpack the strategies, decisions, experiments, and lessons behind sustainable growth—from product-led growth and AI to pricing, monetisation, retention, and go-to-market. Whether you're building your first startup or scaling to millions in revenue, you'll leave every conversation with practical ideas you can apply immediately. No hype. No recycled advice. Just candid conversations with the people building the future. Presented by GrowthPad

Information

  • Creator
    GrowthPad
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 GrowthPad
  • Show Website
    The Growth Roundup