The Growth Competency Model
by Adam Fishman • EIR & Program Partner at Reforge
Former CPO at Imperfect Foods, VP of Product/Growth at Patreon, VP of Growth at Lyft. Expert in growth leadership and hiring.
🎙️ Episode Context
Adam Fishman discusses his comprehensive Growth Competency Model for hiring and evaluating talent, explains why onboarding is a critical retention lever rather than just conversion, and shares his 'PMF' framework for evaluating potential employers.
Problem It Solves
Founders hiring the wrong growth profile (e.g., seeking a silver bullet) and lack of canonical standards for growth careers.
Framework Overview
A comprehensive framework for evaluating growth practitioners across four key dimensions to ensure a balanced team, rather than hunting for a non-existent 'unicorn' individual.
🧠 Framework Structure
Don't look for one person who is an 1...
Balance skills across the team to cov...
Use the model to give concrete feedba...
When to Use
During hiring to define role requirements, or during performance reviews to identify skill gaps.
Common Mistakes
Hiring a senior strategist when you need an executor (or vice versa); failing to test for basic execution skills.
Real World Example
Hiring Ben Lauzier at Lyft (strong execution/customer knowledge) vs. Sean at Patreon (internal transfer with deep customer context).
The goal of the competency model is not to find a unicorn human being... The goal is to create a well-rounded team.
— Adam Fishman