The Collaborative Feedback Interview
by Melissa Tan • Former Head of Growth at Webflow & Dropbox at Webflow / Dropbox / Advisor
A seasoned growth leader who built Dropbox's B2B self-serve business and led growth at Webflow. She is a sought-after advisor for unicorns like Canva, Grammarly, and Miro, specializing in scaling growth teams and go-to-market strategies.
🎙️ Episode Context
Melissa Tan shares her deep expertise on building high-performance growth teams, drawing from her experiences at Dropbox and Webflow. She discusses the transition from PLG to sales, unique hiring frameworks like 'First Principles Thinking,' and specific operating models for aligning cross-functional teams.
Problem It Solves
Standard interviews assess prepared skills but fail to reveal how a candidate collaborates or accepts critical feedback.
Framework Overview
A unique interview step where the hiring manager holds a 'prep call' with the candidate a week before their final presentation to give feedback and context, testing if they incorporate it.
🧠 Framework Structure
Live Problem Solving: Assign a prompt...
The Prep Call: Schedule a coaching se...
Assess Incorporations: The hire decis...
When to Use
Hiring for senior PM or Growth roles where strategic thinking and coachability are critical.
Common Mistakes
Letting candidates present on past work, which focuses on context dumping rather than real-time problem solving.
Real World Example
When hiring for pricing at Webflow, Melissa would ask candidates to open the pricing page, critique it live, and then coach them on a presentation regarding pricing strategy changes.
I actually will give feedback on the presentation [before the interview]... Sometimes it's the biggest signal to what it's going to be like to work with this person.
— Melissa Tan