Elena Verna

Growth, Dropbox

You can find more about me here: https://elenaverna.lovable.app/

Interim, Head of Growth

Lovable is turning 1🥳 and we just crossed $200m ARR 🤯. It’s wild. And not because the number is big, but because of how it happened. No giant sales org. Not a huge team (we are still under 100 peeps total). Not based in the heart of Silicon Valley. No endless paid marketing campaigns burning cash. Just product doing the heavy lifting like it always should.

Turns out when you focus on shipping fast, surprising people, and making software feel human again, the market pulls you forward. Builders talk, show/share what they make, and spread the word. The only other things that reliably worked for us were influencer marketing and giving the product away through freemium and every hackathon running on Lovable. It’s messy, nonlinear, and way more fun than the old playbook.

What I’m most proud of: this isn’t a growth theater. This is actual usage compounding. Real people building real things and telling their friends because they wanted to.

If you’re still treating growth like a channel optimization problem, you’re already behind. The most reliable engine is product that creates stories worth retelling. That’s what got us to 200m. And honestly, it feels like we’re just getting started.

#growth #lovable

Annual planning be like:
1. december: we start acting like psychics who specialize in ARR
2. we are given a number to hit
3. we build the plan
4. we rebuild the plan. and again. and again. and again. and again.
5. pre-reads, meetings, alignment about alignment. daily standups. 
6. we lose track of which version is “the plan”
(Its mid-Jan already) 
7. 40 slides. 6 pillars. 12 bets.
8. v27_final_final_FINAL.pptx becomes scripture
9. internal comms enters, now we need a comms plan for the plan
10. board hears the plan, no turning back
11. targets assigned like a chore wheel
12. Q1: always foundational work. Q2/Q3: the big stuff is coming. growth!
(last year? deleted from memory)
13. Q1 is running behind. 
14. big bets pushed to q3/q4 (q2 = still “foundations”)
15. we feverishly watch for “green shoots”
16. tech debt appears, migrations “almost done”
17. “need more time”
18. hockey stick expected to begin in Q4
19. “we can still hit the budget!”
20. there’s no way we can hit the budget. 
21. some executive exits
22. we promise to be realistic next year
23. someone proposes a new planning framework to fix everything
24. it’s December again. we become ARR psychics. 
#planning

I’m about six months into Lovable, but it honestly feels like six years. In a good way. I haven’t felt a learning curve like this since I was still climbing early-career rungs.

(I joined when we were just under $45m in ARR. We just announced hitting $200M - just 4 months after hitting $100M 😅)

My previous growth playbook carried me through roles where most of my job was tuning funnels and scaling established loops. Not here. Maybe 30-40% of what I knew still applies. The rest I’ve had to unlearn.  

Here’s what I’m seeing:

- Growth is now about launching new “features” and product surfaces, not just fine-tuning what exists.  

- Traditional marketing is still useful, but it’s no longer the main lever - product, virality, creator economies and community matter more.  

- The growth surface has collapsed: fewer knobs on the UI, more focus on model quality, embedded growth in product itself.  

- We’re racing on a moving treadmill: product-market fit isn’t a one-time milestone, it’s a continuous state in this AI era.  

- Roles are blending; structures are messy; you *must* author your role and navigate the ambiguity.  

Bottom-line: The current environment rewards people who can create clarity instead of waiting for it. 

⚡️Want to learn more about landing a job in AI company? Join a FREE webinar Sidebar is hosting with me this upcoming Monday!  Details on my blog post. 

Read more on my blog: https://lnkd.in/eXYVn5j3

Webinar sign-up: https://luma.com/l4575cls

#growth

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SheBuilds on Lovable buildathon applications are open again!!! A buildathon created for women, by women. Will you be there!!?

SheBuilds on Lovable is for every woman who’s had a product idea strike while feeding the kids, between meetings, on a run, during school pickup, and thought, “if only I had the skills, time, or help.”

Good news: The time is *now*. And no coding skills are required!

You will join hundreds of other women, get 48 hours, build your idea, and we give you unlimited credits to make it happen. Together. We will support you. We will lift you up. YOU. WILL. SHIP!

I want women shipping apps that solve real problems they care about. Tools that help your community, your household, your kids, your parents, you business (and yea, make money). 

🔥 Because when women build, world gets better. 

Ladies, let's go build something nobody saw coming 💃 

Important deets:
1. 48 hour buildathon is Dec 15-17
2. applications close in 48 hours, on Nov 26th.

3. APPLY HERE: ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gpzsUR-R ⬅️ 
(if you've applied before, apply again!) 
-> you must have a Lovable account to apply

4. we’re selecting ~200 participants across 3 categories: business app, consumer app, and social impact 

5.  prizes: 5K lovable credits, mentorship from me, memories to last a lifetime, and a community that will absolutely change your trajectory

Season 1 was a blast. Season 2 is going to be even better. Don’t miss it!

P.S. Who runs the world???

#lovable #womenintech

Introducing… Lovable Missions - the easiest way to learn how to vibe code an app from scratch! Because if you’ve ever opened Lovable, saw the prompt box, and immediately wondered where the adult supervision went… this is your moment.

-> https://lnkd.in/eVinJDdS

We basically turned app building into GPS for builders: copy prompt, turn left, add a feature, arrive at app greatness.

Just pick your route: 
-> Landing page to catch that sweet sweet traffic before it runs away
-> Kanban board for the type A folks who color code their color coding
-> Lead capture for harvesting them MQLs 
-> AI chat bot that won’t gaslight you
aaaand more!

How it works: Grab an example app, follow the step by step prompts or watch the video, tweak it however you want, and prepare to shock yourself.

Warning: vibe coding is dangerously addicting. Side effects may include zero sleep, unsolicited app demos to friends, and the sudden belief that you possess superpowers.

Go build something. Now. 

P.S. This app is 100% vibe coded on Lovable. #EverythingIsPossible
#lovableway

behold… your 2026 annual planning bingo card.
I'm sorry to say, but... our business problems aren’t unique. neither are the solutions we keep pitching every december (just more AI this year than ever before). 
how many bingos can you hit? 
#corporatelife #tech

Connecterra

Leading Marketing, Growth Product and Data for Connecterra's flagship product. I spearhead all growth initiatives aimed at optimizing the customer experience and driving sustainable product growth, collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to define the roadmap, identify key growth levers, and achieve ambitious business objectives.

- Optimized Customer Onboarding: Analyzed the sales process to identify repetitive basic qualification questions. Subsequently, redesigned the sign-up flow to proactively address these inquiries, freeing up the sales team to concentrate on understanding complex customer needs and driving deeper engagement.
- Drove Product Led Growth (PLG) for the Direct to Farmer model, achieving significant acquisition growth through a high-performing farmer referral program with a 62% conversion rate and 100% advisor acceptance, resulting in rapid advisor adoption.
- Increased trial-to-paid conversion rate to 85%, contributing to the connection of over 180,000 cows and driving substantial growth.
- Enabled data-driven strategic decisions by delivering actionable insights from product engagement data.

Senior Manager, Product Growth

Kindlee

Founding Team & Advisor

Hypherdata 

Member of The Supervisory Board

Advisor

Techleap

Coach co-founders with their go-to-market and scaling challenges towards growth

GTM Expert

Qpick

QPick help merchants and retailers get preferred customers using simplified advertising technology powered by AI. Advise the startup go-to-market strategies, specifically European and US markets, growth hacking and business development.

Talk360

Many underserviced communities in the world are not connected. Talk360 bridges these distances in two ways. Our mobile app allows reliable and affordable phone calls to any landline or mobile phone in the world. Serving over 600,000 users monthly, achieving over 10 million downloads, securing over $7+ million in investments, and reaching a valuation of over $30 million.

Captain a 12-person marketing team (CRM, brand, paid, content, data, and partner marketing) in the Netherlands and South Africa for a venture-backed mobile app offering global cost-effective calls to any phone.

▪ Crafted a go-to-market plan for a major app overhaul, collaborating with an external agency on UX/UI enhancements, with a sharp focus on improving customer onboarding, localizing the value proposition, and achieving a remarkable boost in first-call conversion.
▪ Directed a novel CRM promotion strategy, experimenting with reduced discounts across various customer segments, resulting in a substantial increase in gross profit margin with minimal impact on product adoption.
▪ Championed the inaugural store launch in Pretoria, SA, coordinating marketing and field team efforts (brand activation, PR) to make the product more tangible for a diverse user base, expanding distribution channels, and enhancing user activation.
▪ Devised and executed company-wide retention metrics in BigQuery and Tableau, sharpening focus on core product actions and enabling precise measurement and in-depth analysis across key metrics: minutes, revenue, customers, and purchases.
▪ Engineered a visionary brand strategy, engaged in close collaboration with cross-functional partners to scrutinize the extent to which the company was delivering on its brand promise, particularly as it ventured into new markets with supplementary services.
▪ Directed the migration to Intercom, orchestrating seamless collaboration with Support, Product, Tech, and Data teams to ensure a smooth transition and extensive enterprise adoption.

Global Head of Growth (SLT Member)

Kaizo

Kaizo is a Workforce Performance Management (WPM) SaaS platform that empowers the hybrid workforce to be more efficient, engaged, and productive helping steer performance management for customer support leaders.

Directed a 5-person team in a VC-backed WPM SaaS platform, enhancing hybrid workforce efficiency, engagement, and productivity while guiding customer support leaders' performance management.

▪ Piloted substantial expansion in inbound strategy, product marketing, content marketing, SEO, and marketing analytics and automation, culminating in a remarkable 5X YoY growth in 2021.
▪ Amplified the subscriber base by a solid 10X and efficiently introduced 4 new Ebooks within a mere 6 months.
▪ Achieved a solid 2X increase in Support Heroes podcast listenership, attracting a growing audience.
▪ Earned recognition in the Zendesk Marketplace as the #1 WFP/Gamification app and successfully launched the Kaizo Support Hero Awards.
▪ Secured over $7 million in capital from prominent investors, including Gradient Ventures, ParTech, and Fortino, exemplifying shrewd business expertise.

Head of Marketing (SLT Member)

Demand Generation Lead

Swisscontact

Tech Boost Program is the very first Regional acceleration program in the Western Balkans designed to accelerate the growth of early-stage tech start-up founders who wish to prepare for the first investment round. Supported Foundation787 in implementing the pre-accelerator program

Entrepreneuer In Residence / Mentor

Entreprener In Residence / Mentor

bunq

Led conversion rate optimization, SEO, paid advertising, and experimentation to establish growth channels for awareness, acquisition, adoption, and advocacy at the second largest VC-backed neobank in Europe.

▪ Pioneered dynamic multi-channel marketing collaborations with industry giants like Facebook, Google, and Snapchat, catapulting our user base by an impressive 30% each month and igniting a powerful surge in brand recognition.
▪ Crafted a high-impact go-to-market strategy for the V3 app redesign, conducting a series of enhancements in user onboarding that crescendoed into increased recurring revenue and extended market dominance in Germany and France.
▪ Ignited a creative revolution, supercharging our output with a surge of innovation, resulting in a staggering 50% surge in click-through rates, a 30% lift in website conversions, and a remarkable 15% increase in app store conversions.
▪ Unleashed a comprehensive marketing audit that delved deep into the company's DNA, paving the way for best practices, cutting-edge infrastructure, and bold strategies.

Growth Product Manager - Web, SEO, & CRO

Performance Marketing Specialist

Bits of Stock

Directed growth marketing, business development, and brand strategy for a VC-backed app that introduced a novel reward currency: fractional shares of stock.

▪ Acquired 10,000 signups within 90 days, achieving a 40% month-over-month growth rate, with a 20% conversion rate and a 25% referral rate, all at a cost per acquisition (CAC) of approximately $2.00.
▪ Attained a 70% organic and 30% paid acquisition mix, with an average click-through rate (CTR) of 6%, a cost per click (CPC) of around $0.20, and a 10% conversion rate, with 20% of conversions originating from paid advertising efforts.
▪ Secured $700,000 in pre-seed financing and established relationships with more than 20 global brands, banks, and payment service providers in the United States and the European Union.

Head of Marketing

For over a decade, Corbin has driven explosive growth for consumer apps and SaaS products, specializing in scaling startups and scaleups. His experience spans FinTech, Media & Entertainment, and Health Tech, with notable achievements including contributing to €1 billion in user deposits at bunq (Europe's second-largest neobank) and enabling millions of affordable calls across Africa at Talk360. As co-founder of kweliTV, he successfully launched and scaled a streaming platform across the US and Europe. Corbin excels in data-driven execution, strategic go-to-market strategies, and building high-performing teams, and has advised governments and companies, contributing to over €100 million in startup funding.

At Connecterra, he spearheaded Product Led Growth for the Direct to Farmer model, achieving significant results including: an 85% trial-to-paid conversion rate, a high-performing farmer referral program with a 100% advisor acceptance, and optimized onboarding through simplified product registration. These efforts contributed to the connection of over 180,000 cows and enabled data-driven strategic decisions through actionable insights from product and marketing analytics.

I’m actively searching for my next adventure in a leadership role where I can channel my expertise to foster fresh outcomes in scaleups post Series A or +50M ARR with existing GTM, marketing, growth and brand positioning challenges.

Check out my journey https://corbinnorman.com

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Elena Verna

Corbin Norman, MBA

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