Experience

Reforge

• United States
• E-Learning Providers
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Partner + Investor

  • Jul 2020 - Present

  Guest speaker, writer, and investor. Content: Published 'Word of Mouth acquisition' research that I began at Zynga in 2014. Part 1: https://www.reforge.com/blog/word-of-mouth-coefficient Part 2: https://www.reforge.com/blog/how-to-calculate-your-word-of-mouth-coefficient Also available on my personal substack account: Part 1: https://yousuf.substack.com/p/how-to-systematically-measure-and Part 2: https://yousuf.substack.com/p/calculate-word-of-mouth-coefficient



Dealpath

• United States
• Software Development
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Advisor

  • Jan 2023 - Present

  Working with founder and SVP of Product to create a more data driven product org. Hiring data analysts!



Evernow

• United States
• Wellness and Fitness Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Advisor, Interim VP Growth

  • Oct 2022 - Present

  Started as growth advisor before diving in as 6 month fractional VP of Growth to reset Evernow's marketing function. Results: Lower CAC and greater scale at a 10x higher product price point Phase 1: Set strategy, up level team (internal + external), fix core growth engine and easy churn wins Phase 2: Diversify away from commoditized paid marketing channels to new defensible channels



Ergatta

• United States
• Health, Wellness & Fitness
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Advisor

  • Feb 2021 - Present

  https://news.crunchbase.com/news/ergatta-rows-into-2021-with-30m-series-a-to-gamify-fitness/



CALA

• United States
• Retail Apparel and Fashion
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Advisor

  • 2017 - Present



HP

• United States
• IT Services and IT Consulting
• 700 & Above Employee

• Advisor

  • Jul 2021 - May 2023

  Advising SVP on building a Growth Center of Excellence within HP (central service growth team) Advised CMO and print org on how to: 1) Scale HP Instant Ink (a direct to consumer printer ink subscription service) 2) Transform from a traditional marketing organization to a growth marketing organization using Reforge growth methodology and my personal experience operating in a test and learn fashion.



brightwheel

• United States
• Education Administration Programs
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Advisor, Interim Head of Growth

  • Jan 2022 - Dec 2022

  Advisor - Jan - March 2022 Interim Head of Growth - March 2022 - September 2022 Brightwheel is a Series D B2B startup building software for preschool and childcare centers. Also the best Shark Tank performance you will ever see: https://vimeo.com/173011465 Started as an advisor and then dove in for 6 months as interim head of growth to build out their central growth function from scratch. Spun up 3 growth pods focused on improving different parts of the sales led GTM engine… Show more Advisor - Jan - March 2022 Interim Head of Growth - March 2022 - September 2022 Brightwheel is a Series D B2B startup building software for preschool and childcare centers. Also the best Shark Tank performance you will ever see: https://vimeo.com/173011465 Started as an advisor and then dove in for 6 months as interim head of growth to build out their central growth function from scratch. Spun up 3 growth pods focused on improving different parts of the sales led GTM engine (for inbound and outbound sales). Within 6 months the team's Growth approach had spread throughout the company: marketing, sales, and rev ops functions were all adopting the Growth team's roadmapping and "continuous discovery" approach to growing active users Show less



PlushCare

• United States
• Wellness and Fitness Services
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Advisor

  • Aug 2020 - Mar 2021

  [Acquired by Accolade for $450M] Hands on growth advsior for founder and product team



ClassDojo

• United States
• Technology, Information and Internet
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Interim Head of Growth

  • Jan 2020 - May 2020

  San Francisco Bay Area



Eaze

• United States
• Consumer Services
• 100 - 200 Employee

• VP of Growth

  • Apr 2017 - Dec 2019

  San Francisco Bay Area Built and led Consumer Growth team that drove user acquisition, activation, retention, resurrection and monetization at Eaze. Owned analytics for major user metrics across Eaze. Control multimillion dollar annual budget, prioritizing spend with an analytical framework.



CSC Generation

• United States
• Venture Capital and Private Equity Principals
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Head of Growth

  • Oct 2015 - Apr 2017

  San Francisco Bay Area CSC Generation is a private equity + technology company saving retail. CSC acquires classic retail brands, fixes their business, and scales them back up. Notable CSC acquisitions: -Sur La Table -One Kings Lane -Bon-Ton -Z Gallerie -Direct Buy 100% operational role across all of CSC's portfolio companies. Focused on: -Discovery and scaling of new acquisition, retention and monetization channels -Diving into newly acquired portfolio companies to rebuild… Show more CSC Generation is a private equity + technology company saving retail. CSC acquires classic retail brands, fixes their business, and scales them back up. Notable CSC acquisitions: -Sur La Table -One Kings Lane -Bon-Ton -Z Gallerie -Direct Buy 100% operational role across all of CSC's portfolio companies. Focused on: -Discovery and scaling of new acquisition, retention and monetization channels -Diving into newly acquired portfolio companies to rebuild marketing & growth functions Accomplishments: -Developed in-house tech to scale Facebook acquisition for 2 portfolio companies. This was in 2015 when Facebook's campaign management tools were terrible. Increased annual revenue run-rate by 100%+ for each -Established personalized SMS as a new CRM channel with yield equivalent to email Show less



Zynga

• United States
• Computer Games
• 700 & Above Employee

• Senior Director, Growth

  • Dec 2013 - Aug 2015

  San Francisco Bay Area Led 11 person team focused on driving non-paid user growth and retention. Team worked on product features and marketing/growth strategies that increased organic installs and user retention. Cross-promotion Network Team: Built Zynga's x-promo network and an automated, real-time bidding system to maximize the ROI across the cross-promotion network. Accomplishments: -Tripled monthly x-promo install run-rate within 3 months of taking over x-promo team -Managed overall… Show more Led 11 person team focused on driving non-paid user growth and retention. Team worked on product features and marketing/growth strategies that increased organic installs and user retention. Cross-promotion Network Team: Built Zynga's x-promo network and an automated, real-time bidding system to maximize the ROI across the cross-promotion network. Accomplishments: -Tripled monthly x-promo install run-rate within 3 months of taking over x-promo team -Managed overall roadmap -Built out and streamlined all campaign operations from forecasting, soft launch testing optimization, launch QA, and daily optimizations Growth Product Team: Focused on developing, implementing and managing game features that accelerate organic growth/retention. Also working with game teams on all soft launch and world wide launch strategies playbooks Accomplishments: -Developed massive multi-channel, bottom's up install model for 30 and 365 day mobile app growth management. Model allows for real-time fine tuning of acquisition sources to maximize chart position--by platform and by geography. Used across all Zynga mobile titles -Developed soft launch scorecard and implemented across Zynga studios -Spearheaded new organic install and word-of-mouth measurement technique, incorporated into product roadmaps and general growth strategies -Team spec'd, evangelized and implemented Twitter as a growth feature Show less



Mobile Growth Association

• United States
• Professional Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Co-Founder

  • Sep 2011 - 2015

  San Francisco Bay Area This was a not for profit, invite only, user driven content group of 1000+ Growth professionals that focus on networking, discussing the latest trends in user acquisition, monetization, retention, engagement and other ways of improving LTV and ROI.



The Walt Disney Company

• United States
• Entertainment Providers
• 700 & Above Employee

• Head of Mobile User Acquisition

  • Sep 2010 - Jan 2014

  Head of Mobile User Acquisition -- January 2012 - January 2014 Business Development -- September 2010 - June 2012 Launched 30+ mobile apps to Top 10 Overall Free in the app store, developed and evolved the mobile growth playbook. Apps have collectively spent over 150 days in the Top 10 Built Disney's first ever Mobile User Acquisition team, starting first as Disney Mobile and then expanding to a $15-20M budget across Disney Interactive, Disney Channel, ABC, etc. Also… Show more Head of Mobile User Acquisition -- January 2012 - January 2014 Business Development -- September 2010 - June 2012 Launched 30+ mobile apps to Top 10 Overall Free in the app store, developed and evolved the mobile growth playbook. Apps have collectively spent over 150 days in the Top 10 Built Disney's first ever Mobile User Acquisition team, starting first as Disney Mobile and then expanding to a $15-20M budget across Disney Interactive, Disney Channel, ABC, etc. Also built out a Disney mobile cross-promotion network for merchandising and tying together over 50 mobile apps across the broader Walt Disney Corporation. Skilled in acquisition across mobile ad network and Facebook mobile acquisition. Originally one of two business development professionals at hit 30 person mobile gaming startup Tapulous (Tap Tap Revenge and Where's My Water series). Worked in multifaceted BD role across partnerships, launch marketing, user acquisition, ad sales, ad operations, monetization, analytics, product. Show less



AppDirect

• United States
• IT Services and IT Consulting
• 700 & Above Employee

• Head of Platform Services

  • Nov 2009 - Aug 2010

  • Tested early hypotheses with founders as part of customer discovery focusing directly on franchise clients • Developed and executed operational systems for sales & marketing, including collateral, scripts, and CRM



Bain & Company

• United States
• Business Consulting and Services
• 700 & Above Employee

• Associate Consultant

  • Aug 2007 - Jul 2009

  Worked on multiple strategy and operations cases across industries including healthcare, semiconductor/telecom, and internet services. Performed in-depth quantitative and qualitative analysis of industries, markets, competitive landscapes, and strategic priorities. -Internet Services Company - Strategy point of view - Semiconductor Company - M&A retrospective - Internet Services Company - Cost reduction - Utilities Company - Long-term strategy and scenario planning -… Show more Worked on multiple strategy and operations cases across industries including healthcare, semiconductor/telecom, and internet services. Performed in-depth quantitative and qualitative analysis of industries, markets, competitive landscapes, and strategic priorities. -Internet Services Company - Strategy point of view - Semiconductor Company - M&A retrospective - Internet Services Company - Cost reduction - Utilities Company - Long-term strategy and scenario planning - Pharmaceutical Distribution Company – Competitive response strategy Show less



Life360

• United States
• Individual and Family Services
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Strategic Advisor, Product Lead

  • Jun 2007 - Aug 2007

  IPO in 2019 (ticker: 360.AX) Co-wrote business plan in college w/ founder in entrepreneurship class. Led team of offshore developers in creating minimum viable product. Served as strategic advisor throughout proof-of-concept phase



Lehman Brothers

• Capital Markets
• 700 & Above Employee

• Analyst

  • May 2006 - Jul 2006

  Investment banking summer analyst - Retail Group (NY office)



UCSF Health

• United States
• Hospitals and Health Care
• 700 & Above Employee

• Research Associate Level II

  • Jun 2004 - Jan 2005

  San Francisco Bay Area Research on CTLA-4 immune response receptor, a key receptor involved in down regulating the immune system. CTLA-4 targeted drugs have become a mainstay of cancer immunotherapy in the last decade.