My Perspective
Marketing, product, and growth teams are closely connected, but they have different areas of focus and ways of working.
Marketing shapes perception of the company and builds qualified demand over time, while product creates and continually improves the value customers receive. Their work overlaps throughout the customer journey, but each discipline brings deeper expertise and sustained attention to its primary area.
Growth works across those disciplines. It evaluates the full business funnel to identify the most valuable opportunities, then involves the right people to run targeted experiments and measure their impact.
The goal of growth is not to replace the work of product or marketing, but to help the business determine where focused, cross-functional action can create the most value.
Experience Across Strategy and Execution
I’m Peter O’Brien, founder of O’Brien Growth Co. Over the past eight years, I’ve worked across business development, marketing, and growth in both in-house and consulting roles. On the in-house side, I served as Head of Marketing and Business Development and later as Head of Growth.
Working in both roles gave me firsthand experience with the distinct responsibilities of each discipline and how they work together. My experience spans the full process, from identifying opportunities and setting direction to leading implementation, measuring results, and refining what comes next.
Along the way, my work has contributed to results including 145% quarter-over-quarter growth in revenue from a key product feature, a 17% increase in signup conversion rate, 71% growth in in-app integration partners, and 12.5 million social impressions in three months.
Where is growth getting stuck?
Share a little about your business, what you’re trying to improve, and where progress has slowed. I’ll follow up to discuss the challenge and whether there’s a strong fit.