Transform your growth strategy from 0 to 1

Hey folks, welcome to yet another exciting episode of Smooth Operators' Guide! Here we dive into the tech trenches, courtesy of the industry's finest – CTOs, CEOs, CMOs, and CROs – sharing the apps that fuel their businesses. In these exclusive sessions, we're diving headfirst into the app that powers their businesses, with invaluable insights straight from the minds of industry runners.

Who's stealing the spotlight this week, you wonder? It's none other than the incredible growth lead, Erwan Gauthier, at folk. Let’s dive into some game-changing insights!

1. Tell us a little about yourself. Introduce yourself to our audience, and talk about your current role, when you started, and why. Hey there everyone, I’m Erwan. Over the past decade, I've embarked on a thrilling journey through the startup landscape, from the raw beginnings of early-stage ventures to the more established arenas of France's bustling startup ecosystem. Now, I’m in this exciting role of leading Growth at Folk.With a decade's worth of experiences, lessons learned, and victories celebrated, I apply my expertise, creativity, and passion to drive growth, foster innovation, and propel the company to new heights.
2. What does your day-to-day look like at Folk? What projects or initiatives are you working on right now? I oversee and manage our primary acquisition channels, ensuring their effectiveness and optimizing strategies for maximum growth.I lead the exploration and testing of new acquisition channels, constantly seeking innovative ways to expand our reach and drive customer acquisition.For tracking and analyzing our overall performance metrics, I use data-driven insights to continually refine our approach and meet our objectives.
3. What growth verticals or channels are you bullish on and why? Paid Ads - Mostly Google Search and LinkedIn re-targetingInfluence B2B - Mostly on LinkedIn and now testing Youtube Affiliation Marketing
4. What does your stack look like? First up is Folk, which helps me organize projects smoothly. Then there's Favikon, my go-to for making our brand look cool. And then, I turn to Clay. Metabase to understand data better, and LinkedIn is where I connect with other professionals in my field.
5. How do you measure success? What metrics tell you whether you’re headed the right way? We measure everything in-house with our own DWH and Metabase as a dataviz tool. Our primary KPIs include: Signup CACActivated Signup CACCost per CustomerCAC PaybackARR Generated
6. Every growth lead has that one metric that tells the whole story. What’s that one metric for you and why? CAC Payback isn't just relevant – it's essential. It's the ultimate litmus test, measuring not just our ability to acquire customers, but the speed at which we recoup those acquisition costs.
7. Rapid fire round. Which tool(s) would you say: is your swiss army knife: folk; you cannot live without in your stack: folk; undiscovered gem: Favikon; new to your stack:Clay.com
8. What’s one unobvious tactic, tool, or piece of advice that has worked wonders for you? People love ready-made contact list (VC's mostly) and we found out that building those lists is highly valuated for our audience.

Erwan is a Growth lead and has been in GTM roles for 10 years in early then not-so-early startups in France. From the humble beginnings of early-stage ventures to the bustling corridors of more established enterprises, Erwan has been a steadfast navigator of growth and gtm strategies.

With a keen eye for detail and a knack for deciphering complex data, he meticulously tracks our overall performance, transforming numbers into actionable insights that drive Folk’s success forward.

Before joining Folk, Erwan was Head of Growth at Dougs Compta, Head of Business Development at Ornikar and Founder at ALCHIMEE.COM

Erwan’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erwan-gauthier-b2783280/

Folk Website: https://www.folk.app/

Folk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/folkhq/