Growth Lead | Consultant | Expert
Hey There
Looking for someone to help you with growth, acquisition or retention?
A Bit About Me
I'm a growth leader with more than 15 years of experience in driving acquisition & retention for startups at different stages of their journey.
Although I've been fortunate enough to go through 4 exits with different teams, I firmly believe that the key to sustainable growth is hard work and lots of experimentation.
As a seasoned expert, I am committed to driving meaningful change and delivering tangible outcomes for the entrepreneurs, teams, and investors I collaborate with. My approach is characterised by a hands-on style that prioritises action and results.
I'm excited to leverage my experience and skills to help you unlock sustainable growth.
David Sheridan, Onedox
“...Ivo is always willing to try new alternatives for growth and always taking calculated risks”"
Gemma Godrey, Moola
“One of the most remarkably talented people and an absolute pleasure to work with...”
Mutaz Qubbaj, Squirrel
“Definitely an asset on the marketing front. Highly recommend. Could also help with your crowdfunding plans”
Startup
Experience
2021 - Present
Growth Lead @ loveelectric
A diverse car leasing project that combines B2B, D2C and B2B2C routes to market.
From 0 to hundreds of cars sold per month in less than 6 months since inception.
Skillsets: Paid Search, JTBD Interviews, Paid Social, CRO, Email automations, CRM integration, SEO, Viral Campaigns, Lead Gen, Lead scoring & Offline conversions.
Growth Team Size: 3; Growth Potential: 🚀
2020 - 2022
Growth Lead @ Boring Money
A DIY Investors Hub with 1M+ visitors / year
Grew affiliate revenue from comparison tables for different financial products (ISA, LISA, SIPPs) by more than 10X within 18mo of project start.
Skillsets: Paid Search, JTBD Interviews, Automations, Partnership management, SEO, CRM Integrations.
Growth Team Size: 3 + large content team
2020 - 2022
CMO @ EverUp
A money app: Premium Bonds on Steroids + Debit Card + Crypto
More than 70% of new users were coming from referral campaigns within 1 year of introducing the referral scheme. It became the most cost-efficient channel for acquisition.
Skillsets: Viral campaigns, Gamification, JTBD interviews, Paid Social, Automations, Intercom integration and utilisation, Activation, Monetisation, 2 Crowdfunding rounds
Growth Team Size: 2
2021 - 2022
Interim Head of Growth @ MoneyDashboard
One of the most popular budgeting apps in the UK.
I was responsible for core acquisition & retention KPIs during the due diligence phase before the company got acquired by Clearscore. Still there was space for quick maneuvers - we got thousands of new users with a single blog article. find out how
Skillset: Paid Performance, Retention, Gamification, SEO, Data modelling, Due Diligence
2017 - 2020
Head of Digital Marketing @ MOOLA
A Digital Wealth Manager. The company was acquired by a FTSE-250 company JLT and then Mercer in 2018.
We did big campaigns with MoneySavingExpert and MoneySuperMarket. According to the MSE these were the best performing campaigns in this industry until that point. We got 1,000+ investors depositing more than £1000 within 16 hours of the campaign going live.
Skillset: Paid Search, Paid Social, Gamification, SEO, Automation, Partnerships, JTBD Interviews, CRM Integration, Events, Due Diligence
Growth Team: 1 with 3 levels of compliance
2017 - 2019
Head of Digital Marketing @ Onedox
A household admin app that allowed users to connect all their accounts in one place.
From 0 to 60K+ users within 18 months. Very high retention.
Skillset: Paid Search, Automation, Retention, Monetisation, Paid Social, Referrals, 2 Crowdfunding Rounds
Growth Team: 2
2016 - 2018
Head of Digital Marketing @ Squirrel
One of the first budgeting apps in the UK which launched ahead of its time.
Improved conversion by 2X within 12 months of project start. We did 2 crazy crowdfunding campaigns which raised more than £1mln each.
Skillset: Paid Search, Paid Social, Activation, Retention, Monetisation, SEO, Influencer Marketing, Referrals
Growth Team: 2
2015 - 2016
Co-Founder @ MyFutureNow
A pension consolidation service. The company was acquired by L&G in 2019.
Tested different routes to market during pre-PMF phase and decided to switch to B2B-only route to market in 2016.
Skillset: Pre-PMF acquisition, Fundraising, Product, JTBD Interviews, CRM Integration, Salesforce
Growth Team: 2
2012 - 2015
Co-Founder @ iNVEZZ
A marketplace for DYI investment products. The company was acquired in 2017 by Investoo Group.
We built a traffic engine that was generating 300,000 visits /mo with £0 ad spent before we even had the product ready. And the best part it was driven by content. find out how
Skillset: 24/7/365 Founder, Product, Google News, SEO.
Growth Team Size: 3 + 12 Journalists + 2 editors
2007 - 2012
Founder @ MyClicks
A digital marketing agency heavily focused on PPC and SEO.
I guess I was lucky at the time. This was the first thing straight after the first job. Got to the right industry at the right time by accident. Fast forward 20 months - we were managing budgets millions of pounds for gaming clients with a team of 12 people.
Skillset: 24/7/365 Founder, Paid Search, SEO, Content, Client Relationship
Marketing Team: 12 people in Sofia & London
Projects lasting less than 6-months not included.
Skills
& Expertise
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Growth Leadership: Experiment Roadmaps, Routines, Growth Process, Ideation & Testing
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Paid Search Marketing: Hands on since 2006. Still remains a great channel if you can get your costs right.
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JTBD Framework: The best source of ideas for all-things-growth.
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Paid Social: Managed budgets of £100K+. Great for app promotion and leadgen.
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SEO & Google News - please get your PMF right before jumping on SEO. Otherwise managed SEO on scale during my agency times with Myclicks.
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Conversion Rate Optimisation - From Analysis to Iterations & Testing
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Conversion Tracking & Analytics: GA4, Mixpanel, Offline Conversions, Google Tag Manager
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CRM Setup and Utilisation: Salesforce, Hubspot, Intercom
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Email marketing: All platforms + Automations with connectors like Zapier
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Crowdfunding - I've been through 7 different campaigns of crowdfunding with different teams. No crowdfunding campaigns are the same.
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Virality: Good Referral Programme = Incentives + Gamification + Clear Value Exchange + Adequate Product
Education
2019
Harvard Business School| Competing on Business Analytics & Big Data
2018
Stanford Business School | Innovative Marketing for Strategic Advantage
2000 - 2004
Technical University Sofia | Computer Science | Bachelor's Degree
Accelerators:
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2022 - Startup Core Strengths - London
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2018 - Fintech Innovation Lab - London
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2016 - Octopus Labs - London
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2015 - Startup Bootcamp - Insurtech - London
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2012 - Progressive PPC Lab - Tel Aviv