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Building High Performance
Growth Teams

Melissa Tan
Head of Growth, Webflow (formerly Dropbox, Canva)
2024
First Principles

Hire Smart People,
Not Experience

SMARTHUMBLEINNOVATION & COLLABORATION
"We would hire a ton of really smart people that had never done sales and had them do sales. One advantage of that is they can innovate because they come in with 'I don't know anything. Let me just figure this out.'"
  • First principles thinkers > résumé experience
  • Humble, collaborative people drive cross-functional innovation
  • Outsiders bring fresh approaches that beat best practices
  • Culture of recruiting as everyone's job, everyone interviews
The Framework

Four Pillars of Growth at Scale

HIRINGEXECUTIONFOCUSALIGNMENTThe Devil Is InExecutionCOMPANY
Dropbox Growth2013→2017
200 to 1,500 people · $1B to $10B valuation
  • Hiring: Selective on culture + first-principles thinking, not just pedigree
  • Execution: The devil's in the details, how you execute matters more than the idea
  • Focus: Consumer AND B2B tension, clarify strategy early to avoid being pulled in two directions
  • Alignment: Make go-to-market a company priority, not a growth team layer on top
The Dropbox lessonStarting sales motions too late meant competitors caught up. Growth should be front-and-center from day one, not added later.
Team Development

The Lifecycle of Talent Development

  • Hiring: Look for growth mindset, people who want to learn and take feedback well
  • Onboarding (90 days): Clear success definition, early wins, visibility opportunities like internal presentations
  • Development: Regular feedback, creative visibility tactics (Looms for async demos), cross-team collaboration
  • Lifelong: Stay connected, advise on career moves, mentor, build friendships, keep learning from them
Direct feedback = deep care

Telling someone directly that they need to move faster isn't mean, it's an investment in their growth. That person becomes a high performer because you gave them clear direction.

Radical candor principle

Care deeply + challenge directly. Be honest about what needs to improve while showing you're invested in their success.

The Mindset

Ownership at Scale

  • Think "what can I do?" not "what's blocking me?"
  • Exhaust all options before feeling disempowered
  • Owner mentality: take responsibility when things don't work
  • You're ultimately accountable, even for blockers outside your control
The real testDid I actually own the outcome? Ownership isn't about scope, it's about thinking like the CEO of that thing and using every lever available.
Growth Myths Busted

What High-Performing Teams Actually Do

✗Care and results are in tensionINSTEAD →✓ They coexist. Clear goals + personal investment in people = higher performance.
✗PLG or sales, pick one earlyINSTEAD →✓ Start PLG if it's intuitive + viral. But plan for enterprise motion early, it's coming.
✗People should stay in their laneINSTEAD →✓ Team-first culture means helping cross-functionally. Lead by example and set that tone.
✗Hire people with the exact backgroundINSTEAD →✓ Hire smart, humble people who think from first principles. Fresh perspectives beat experience.
Based on Melissa Tan's episode on Lenny's Podcast. All ideas on this page are from the episode.Watch on YouTubeFollow @melissamtan on X
GO DEEPER IN THE EPISODE
04:12 What’s next for Melissa06:45 Lessons learned from Dropbox11:49 When to add sales to product-led products and vice versa14:28 Managing people with a people-focused and results-oriented approach17:14 An example of people-focused leadership20:26 The importance of talent development and why Melissa invests in it22:26 Tips for finding a mentor24:58 Specific questions to ask when you are interviewing for a role27:49 Companies Melissa has worked with28:33 Attributes of high-performing teams31:38 Creating a sense of ownership among team members34:36 Building a team-first culture36:54 Avoiding burnout by knowing your limits39:24 Developing talent and unlocking potential within your organization42:45 Melissa’s hiring practices and what she looks for in a product manager44:40 The exact interview sequence Melissa utilizes49:58 Common pitfalls when creating growth teams53:43 “Flying formation” and the DACI framework56:48 Who should own revenue58:19 When to invest in growth1:01:06 What to look for in your first growth hire1:04:35 When it’s appropriate to hire an advisor1:06:19 First-principles thinking1:09:50 Lightning round
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