“Feel what you’re feeling, but don’t dwell on it.” 🚀
On my Inside A Hustler’s Brain podcast, I talked with Rohan Chaubey, a young growth hacker from India who helps startups get their first 10,000 to 100,000 users. 🎙️
📊 In this episode, we unpacked:
- ✍️ From blogging at 16 to growth hacking
- ⭐ Start with the north star metric
- 🩺 Growth is like being a doctor
- 🏷️ Lifetime deals and the pandemic
- 🛡️ Communities, haters and the lockdown
🎥 Watch the full episode:
✍️ From Blogging at 16 to Growth Hacking
Rohan grew up on the internet and started blogging at 16. Reading comments on his posts was the reward. He didn’t know blogging could be monetized until companies started hiring him for content marketing, PR and SEO, including viral content strategy for Interesting Engineering. ✍️
When a CEO called himself a growth hacker, Rohan googled it. A normal marketer treats each stage of the funnel separately, while a growth hacker owns the entire funnel. He developed his own frameworks and launched The Growth Hacking Book, an Amazon bestseller with 25 contributors from different countries. The next edition planned about 150 founders and thought leaders from 20 countries. For a growth-minded founder, read Oli Gardner’s interview. 🔗
⭐ Start With the North Star Metric
His team had seven permanent people and a pool of 35 freelancers. They mostly worked with SaaS companies, and sometimes apps, to get their first 10K or 100K users. ⭐
First, they find the north star metric. For YouTube, it’s not more creators or viewers but total watch time, which serves both sides. For Quora, it’s questions answered, not questions asked. Then they reverse-engineer which channels get there. For a SaaS founder’s view, read the Surfer SEO founder interview. 🔗
🩺 Growth Is Like Being a Doctor
Some playbooks repeat across similar companies, but in new industries you experiment, like a doctor running trials. You might try 100 things, and five work extraordinarily well and become the story. 🩺
Companies rarely share the failures. Buffer credits guest posting for its early users, but he’s sure they tried plenty of other things too. For more on experimenting with conversions, read Oliver Kenyon’s landing page tips. 🔗
🏷️ Lifetime Deals and the Pandemic
Lifetime deals work well for early feedback and finding product-market fit, because buyers like to experiment. But keep them limited: if a product is forever on a lifetime deal, nobody pays for the subscription, and it degrades the product’s value. 🏷️
During COVID-19, he dropped “nice-to-have” services like brand messaging and positioning, and focused on “must-haves”: acquiring users and driving sales and revenue. Inbound requests came from crypto platforms (after the RBI lifted its ban), conferencing tools and remote work apps.
🛡️ Communities, Haters and the Lockdown
Rohan prefers “the classes” to “the masses”: a close-knit community of people at the top of their game rather than a million followers he doesn’t know. He doesn’t see anyone as a competitor, even the marketers in his own book. 🛡️
On haters: one of his videos got about 80,000 views and 500+ comments in 30 days, mostly positive, but some attacked him for speaking English on a Hindi channel. People will always find reasons, so if your intentions are good, don’t care. His morning: read a chapter, pray and work. His lockdown advice: protect your mental health first, then rethink your business, brand and life goals. For more mindset, read Piyush Kukreja’s interview. 🔗
📝 Key Takeaways From the Rohan Chaubey Interview
- ⭐ Find the north star metric that delivers value
- 🧪 Run many experiments and scale the winners
- 🏷️ Use lifetime deals only for a limited time
- 🎯 Focus on must-have services in a crisis
- 🛡️ Don’t dwell on lows or worry about haters
❓ FAQs About Rohan Chaubey
Who is Rohan Chaubey?
A growth hacker from India and author of The Growth Hacking Book, who helps startups get their first 10,000 to 100,000 users.
What is a north star metric?
The one metric that reflects the value users get, like watch time for YouTube or questions answered for Quora.
Are lifetime deals good for SaaS?
They help with early feedback and product-market fit, but only for a limited time.
🎙️ More Inside A Hustler’s Brain Interviews You’ll Love
- How Kevin Meng Built a 7-Figure Business With SEO and Copywriting? 🤑
- Jabez Reuben’s Inspiring Entrepreneurial Journey: Life Lessons and Insights 🤩
- How to Skyrocket Your Business with Social Media, AI, and Crypto: Insights from Alena Zharkovskaya
- Dennis Yu Facebook Advertising Expert Interview Founder of BlitzMetrics
What’s the north star metric for your business? Tell me in the comments. 💬
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Jitendra Vaswani is a well-known expert in SEO and AI-driven digital marketing. He has spoken at international events and founded Digiexe, a digital marketing agency, and AffiliateBooster, WordPress plugin designed specifically for affiliate marketers. With over 10 years of experience, Jitendra has helped many businesses succeed online. His bestselling book, Inside A Hustler’s Brain: In Pursuit of Financial Freedom, with over 20,000 copies sold globally, underscores his influence and commitment to empowering digital marketers.