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Rob Schutz

Chief Growth Officer & Co-Founder, Ro · 1 appearance on the record, plus 1 compilation re-air.

computed by AI from the episodes · how this works → · full disclaimer →

Rob Schutz is the Chief Growth Officer and Co-Founder at Ro. Previously, he served as VP of Growth at Bark, scaling revenue from zero to $100 million.

15statements → 4claims → 1claims resolved → 4.14/5average certainty → 1.86/5average debate potential → ≈4.5/5argument clarity, estimated →

0 supported 0 partly supported 1 contradicted 3 not checkable as stated how the 4 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

4 assertions · 1 opinion · 7 insights · 3 disclosures · every statement was checked. The predictions and assertions are the 4 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 1 is resolved, and 3 name no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.

The record, in short

What the tape says about how Rob argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

Their most notable contradicted claim

Assertion Contradicted
Schutz: Ro requires a founder interview for every new hire
“We still have a founder interview everyone that joins the company.”
Rob Schutz Jan 19, 2022 ▶ 18:57 20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversify Customer Acquisition Channels in the Early Days & When and How To Build Your Growth Team with Rob Schutz, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer @ Ro

How they sound: speaking style how? →

280 words/min while actually speaking · 0.4 um and uh per 1k words

No argument clarity score for Rob Schutz: no usable question→answer exchanges on raw tape (a fair score needs 8+). We do not score a sample that small. Roundtable and news formats yield far fewer direct exchanges than interviews. Their coarse estimate from 30 exchanges on the produced feed is ≈4.5/5, shown at half point precision because the sample is small and produced tape scores higher.

Measured by listening to 6,743 words across 1 episode, but every recording we have of Rob Schutz is the aired feed, and an editor cleaned that audio before release. Some of the hesitation was cut before we ever heard it, so read these as floors: the true rates are at least this high. These are measurements of speaking style, not scores. How it's measured →

How the interview went all their pushback → series average →

Across 2 rated episodes:

host pushback ▾ 1.5/10
pushed back at the host ▾ 2.5/10
setup questions received 80%

Everything Rob Schutz said on 20VC that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →

Insight
Rob Schutz: Early startups should max working channels before diversifying
“It's actually one piece of advice I give to early stage founders, which is like, don't worry about diversifying. Like, this is maybe controversial in this day and age. If Facebook is working for you, and your LTV to CAC is good, and your payback is good, crank…”
Rob Schutz Jan 19, 2022 ▶ 7:26 20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversify Customer Acquisition Channels in the Early Days & When and How To Build Your Growth Team with Rob Schutz, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer @ Ro
Insight
Rob Schutz: Early-stage startups should not diversify channels prematurely
“Don't worry about diversifying. This is maybe controversial this day and age, but like, if Facebook is working for you, and your LTV to CAC is good, and your payback is good, crank it. Do it as much as you can, because That might not be available to you next w…”
Rob Schutz Mar 25, 2022 ▶ 23:49 20VC The Memo: Inside the Growth Engines of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Instacart with the Growth Leaders Who Built Them; How Instagram Went from 440M to 1BN, How Twitter Changing Their Signup Flow was a Needlemover and How Removing Card Payment Requ
Insight
Schutz: Consumers won't pay to quit habits they enjoy
“We learned people don't like paying to stop something that, while they know it is bad, they enjoy it, and they've been doing it for a long time.”
Rob Schutz Jan 19, 2022 ▶ 34:51 20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversify Customer Acquisition Channels in the Early Days & When and How To Build Your Growth Team with Rob Schutz, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer @ Ro
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Schutz: BarkBox Hacked Instagram's Popular Page With 5:15 PM Posts
“At Bark, we found a way to hack Instagram's popular page back when that was a thing. Like, if you posted a funny dog picture at five 15 during the week, We would get every time on the popular page, and we just have explosive growth”
Rob Schutz Jan 19, 2022 ▶ 5:52 20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversify Customer Acquisition Channels in the Early Days & When and How To Build Your Growth Team with Rob Schutz, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer @ Ro
Insight
Schutz: Effective CAC Requires Blending Aggressive Paid Channels With Free Ones
“How do you supplement aggressive paid channel work with free and cheap channels, so your blended CAC Is really effective, right?”
Rob Schutz Jan 19, 2022 ▶ 6:08 20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversify Customer Acquisition Channels in the Early Days & When and How To Build Your Growth Team with Rob Schutz, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer @ Ro
Insight
Rob Schutz: Startups must build core retention tools before diversifying
“Everyone should build card abandon out as probably one of the first things they do. Everyone should build an email list. You should, how'd you hear about us surveys that can help with attribution. You should figure these foundational things out so regardless o…”
Rob Schutz Jan 19, 2022 ▶ 8:49 20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversify Customer Acquisition Channels in the Early Days & When and How To Build Your Growth Team with Rob Schutz, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer @ Ro
Insight
Schutz: New acquisition channels rarely fix core product or business problems
“Very rarely will entering a new channel or new types of creative fix underlying issues with the overall business or the value proposition.”
Rob Schutz Jan 19, 2022 ▶ 10:31 20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversify Customer Acquisition Channels in the Early Days & When and How To Build Your Growth Team with Rob Schutz, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer @ Ro
Disclosure
Schutz: Paid search failed at BarkBox but succeeded at healthcare startup Ro
“For example, at Bark, paid search was not a thing. It did not work for us. People were not searching for, like, monthly box of treats and toys for dogs. But at Rope, people are looking for all sorts of vacation or treatments for different conditions that they'…”
Rob Schutz Jan 19, 2022 ▶ 12:05 20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversify Customer Acquisition Channels in the Early Days & When and How To Build Your Growth Team with Rob Schutz, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer @ Ro
Disclosure
Ro splits growth and marketing into separate functions under its CGO
“I think for us, you know, we have kind of two separate but equal functions. We have growth, which is more of the performance marketing. They spend the media dollars. And then we have marketing, which owns creative, which owns messaging and insights, kind of th…”
Rob Schutz Jan 19, 2022 ▶ 14:10 20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversify Customer Acquisition Channels in the Early Days & When and How To Build Your Growth Team with Rob Schutz, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer @ Ro
Disclosure
Schutz: Spending $50K Monthly on TV Ads Yielded No Definitive Results
“You know, I think that I look back to when I launched TV many years ago as my first channel. I tried to do it just like dipping my toe in the water. Let's spend 50 K a month, right? How do we test? Because it's a lot of money. It's a high ante to get into TV. …”
Rob Schutz Jan 19, 2022 ▶ 20:29 20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversify Customer Acquisition Channels in the Early Days & When and How To Build Your Growth Team with Rob Schutz, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer @ Ro
Insight
Schutz: Give New Growth Hires Three Weeks Before Expecting Changes
“I try to encourage folks to give these new hires as much space as possible to truly onboard. You never get that time back. After week three, you'll have plenty on your plate. You don't need to rush into week two immediately trying to jump into things. So letti…”
Rob Schutz Jan 19, 2022 ▶ 24:37 20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversify Customer Acquisition Channels in the Early Days & When and How To Build Your Growth Team with Rob Schutz, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer @ Ro
Opinion
Schutz: Calm generated immense value sponsoring CNN's 2020 election coverage
“They were the sponsor of CNN's coverage for election night. Results. So it was like, election, 2020, brought to you by Calm. And it was like, hilarious, because people are like, of course, I'm freaking out mentally. It blew up on social, and I know they got li…”
Rob Schutz Jan 19, 2022 ▶ 37:05 20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversify Customer Acquisition Channels in the Early Days & When and How To Build Your Growth Team with Rob Schutz, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer @ Ro
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Schutz: The average age of a Roman customer is 46
“The average age on Roman is 46 years old.”
Rob Schutz Jan 19, 2022 ▶ 33:11 20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversify Customer Acquisition Channels in the Early Days & When and How To Build Your Growth Team with Rob Schutz, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer @ Ro
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Schutz: 14% of Roman ED patients were heavy smokers
“14% of men that came onto the platform for ED were heavy smokers, and it played a large role in why they were experiencing issues with sexual intimacy”
Rob Schutz Jan 19, 2022 ▶ 34:46 20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversify Customer Acquisition Channels in the Early Days & When and How To Build Your Growth Team with Rob Schutz, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer @ Ro
Assertion Contradicted
Schutz: Ro requires a founder interview for every new hire
“We still have a founder interview everyone that joins the company.”
Rob Schutz Jan 19, 2022 ▶ 18:57 20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversify Customer Acquisition Channels in the Early Days & When and How To Build Your Growth Team with Rob Schutz, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer @ Ro

Appearances (2)

EpisodeDateSpeaking time
20VC The Memo: Inside the Growth Engines of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Instacart wit compilation Mar 25, 2022 1m
20Growth: The Biggest Lie in Startup Growth and Marketing, Why You Do Not Need To Diversif Jan 19, 2022 27m
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