Erik is joined on this episode by Mike Duboe (@mduboe), investor at Greylock, Dan Hockenmaier (@danhockenmaier), of Basis One, and David Weinstein (@dw_stein), working on Special Projects at On Deck and TokenDaily.

They talk about…

* The history and different “eras” of growth as a standalone team.

* Why there’s been a shift in mindset towards growth teams, how they will change in the next 5-10 years, and why relentless optimization has backfired for some companies.

* Why you should think of user acquisition in terms of a loop rather than a funnel.

* Why onboarding is the point that determines whether a user will be retained or not.

* The fact that users acquired organically via word of mouth are much more likely to be retained than users that were acquired through paid channels.

* Why investors should ask themselves, “if you took away any non-organic acquisition, are you still excited about the business?”

* How to tell if a company’s growth is healthy and sustainable or not.

* Stories from the guests’ time working at Tilt, Thumbtack and Stitch Fix.

* The best structure for a growth team.

* Common misconceptions about growth.

Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.

Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg. Colin Campbell is our audio engineer and the show is produced by Brett Bolkowy.