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Meltem Kuran Berkowitz is Head of Growth at Deel, which went from $0 to $300m in ARR in 3 years (fastest company in history to do so). Meltem joined Deel early to lead growth, and currently leads all of the growth and marketing teams including paid ads, content, product marketing, community, brand, and more. In this episode, we discuss:\u2022 How Deel found success leveraging low-cost growth channels\u2022 Why early awareness campaigns are a waste of time in B2B\u2022 How to create effective SEO content\u2022 Deel\u2019s \u201ctraffic light\u201d framework\u2022 When it makes sense to invest in paid ads\u2022 The art of structuring growth teams\u2022 Building a startup culture

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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an-inside-look-at-deels-unprecedented

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Where to find Meltem Kuran Berkowitz:

\u2022 Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meltemkuran

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meltem-kuran-berkowitz-4721114b

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Where to find Lenny:

\u2022 Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

\u2022 Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Meltem\u2019s background

(04:21) What Deel does

(06:32) How Meltem leverages low-cost growth channels

(13:18) How to answer questions in a value-add way

(14:52) Leveraging closed communities

(15:48) Breaking down Deel\u2019s impressive growth\xa0

(16:33) SEO best practices

(18:32) Deel\u2019s \u201ctraffic light system\u201d framework for publishing content

(20:03) The step-by-step process of publishing an SEO article

(21:55) How Deel structures their content team

(23:18) Why you can\u2019t cut corners when doing SEO

(25:15) Businesses that should not invest in SEO

(26:40) The growth channels Deel prioritized early on

(32:12) Why Meltem is not a fan of early awareness campaigns for B2B businesses\xa0

(33:54) What Notion did right with their ad campaigns

(36:16) How Deel can help your company

(38:15) Deel\u2019s blog post that caught the attention of the IRS

(40:06) Paid ads tips

(42:12) Why acquisition channels are useless without a great product

(44:19) How the pandemic helped drive growth at Deel

(47:11) Structuring early growth teams

(51:23) Building a startup culture

(1:01:10) The story behind Meltem\u2019s unique workspace

(1:05:22) Closing thoughts on growth\xa0

(1:06:05) Lightning round

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Referenced:

\u2022 Deel: https://www.deel.com/

\u2022 Clearscope: https://www.clearscope.io/

\u2022 Notion: https://www.notion.so/

\u2022 Geoff Charles on Lenny\u2019s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/velocity-over-everything-how-ramp-became-the-fastest-growing-saas-startup-of-all-time-geoff-charl/

\u2022 Amp It Up: Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity: https://www.amazon.com/Amp-Unlocking-Hypergrowth-Expectations-Intensity/dp/1119836115

\u2022 Snowflake: https://www.snowflake.com

\u2022 How Will You Measure Your Life?: https://www.amazon.com/How-Will-Measure-Your-Life/dp/0062102419

\u2022 Oppenheimer: https://www.oppenheimermovie.com/

\u2022 The Summer I Turned Pretty on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NF4J7XW

\u2022 Library stamps on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/library-stamp/s?k=library+stamp

\u2022 Bloody Caesar recipe: https://www.liquor.com/recipes/bloody-caesar/

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.