BUS 257 Syllabus
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start-up.roBUS 257 Syllabus
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start-up.roPRELIMINARY ONLINE COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Title: Growth Marketing: Proven Theories Powered by New Technologies
Course Code: BUS 257
Instructor: Mada Seghete, Ethan Smith
Course Summary:
*Please see course page for full description and additional details.
We will focus on topics such as implementing an online acquisition strategy, activating and
converting users, driving core product strategy to increase user retention, and building a high-
performance growth marketing team. The classroom experience will involve a blend of mini-
lectures, tips from experts in the industry, and opportunities for hands-on practice within a
team applying each week’s insights on a real-life company. For this class, the client you will
be consulting for will be MasterClass.
Grade Options and Requirements:
● No Grade Requested (NGR)
o This is the default option. No work will be required; no credit shall
be received; no proof of attendance can be provided.
● Credit/No Credit (CR/NC)
o Students must participate in at least 70% of weekly discussions
and/or Zoom sessions and join a mini-project team and participate
in the weekly discussions.
● Letter Grade (A, B, C, D, No Pass)
o Students must participate in at least 70% of weekly discussions
and/or Zoom sessions, and complete the final project presentation
as part of their project team.
*Please Note: If you require proof that you completed a Continuing Studies course for any reason (for
example, employer reimbursement), you must choose either the Letter Grade or Credit/No Credit
option. Courses taken for NGR will not appear on official transcripts or grade reports.
Class structure:
○ 10 - 15 min - Discussion of reading
○ 20 - 25 min - Mini lecture on week’s topic
○ 15 - 20 min - Group activity in project team on the current topic and how it applies
the client
o 40 min - Real-life case studies/panel discussion with industry professionals
Please contact the Stanford Continuing Studies office with any questions
365 Lasuen St., Stanford, CA 94305
[email protected]
650-725-2650
PRELIMINARY ONLINE COURSE SYLLABUS
Tentative Weekly Outline:
Week 1, Sept 28th – Introduction to Growth, the growth framework, and an overview of the
challenges of growth on mobile
Tentative guests:
● Charles Taira, CRO Lead @ MasterClass
Week 2, Oct 5th – Paid Acquisition and affiliates - an intro to paid acquisition and how it plays
into your growth plan.
Tentative guests:
● Matt Lamers, VP of Digital Acquisitions Strategy @ Synchrony Financial
● Niila Ali, SVP, Commerce @ Buzzfeed
Reading List:
● Beginner’s guide to paid mobile user acquisition
● Ultimate Guide to Mobile User Acquisition
Week 3, Oct 12th - Organic Acquisition – an intro to organic acquisition and SEO and how
each play into your growth plan.
Tentative guests:
● Eli Schwartz, Head of SEO @ Survey Monkey
● Kevin Indig, VP of SEO @ G2
Reading List:
● SEO by Intent (with video)
● Programmatic SEO: How to Dominate SEO Like TripAdvisor, Yelp and Zillow
● Pinterest and Grubhub’s Former Growth Lead on Building Content Loops
Week 4, Oct 19th - Virality – an intro to virality, how to measure it, and the levers to drive it.
Tentative guests:
● Josh Elman, Partner @Greylock, ex VP product @ Robinhood
Reading List:
● Jonah Berger on Why Things Catch On
● The Five Types of Virality and choosing the right one for your product to grow
● Optional Book - Contagious by Jonah Berger
Week 5, Oct 26th - Activation – an intro to activation, why it’s important, and how to do it well
on mobile
Tentative guests:
● Charles Taira, CRO Lead @ MasterClass
● David Mazza, VP Growth marketing, Postmates
Reading List:
● How to Use Cialdini’s 6 Principles of Persuasion to Boost Conversions
● This Is How You Design Your Mobile App for Maximum Growth
● Why Onboarding is the Most Crucial Part of Your Growth Strategy (With Video)
● Behavioral Economics Applied to Activation
Week 6, Nov 2nd - Retention – an intro to retention, how to work with marketing and product to
do it well, and why it’s important
Please contact the Stanford Continuing Studies office with any questions
365 Lasuen St., Stanford, CA 94305
[email protected]
650-725-2650
PRELIMINARY ONLINE COURSE SYLLABUS
Tentative guests:
● Casey Winters, CPO@Eventbrite
Reading List:
● What is good retention
Week 7, Nov 9th - Measurement – an intro to the different types of measurement and why you
should think cross-platform
Tentative guests:
● Chris Stevens, Chief Marketing Officer @Spothero
Reading List:
● A guide to multitouch attribution
● Death of App Attribution
Week 8, Nov 16th - How to build a growth team + final presentations - In this last session, you
will be giving your group presentations, and learn how to build a successful growth team in your
current or next organization.
Tentative guests:
● TBD
Reading List:
● How to build a growth team - Andrew Chen
Please contact the Stanford Continuing Studies office with any questions
365 Lasuen St., Stanford, CA 94305
[email protected]
650-725-2650
