B2B Lead Generation Beyond Vanity Metrics | Jonathan Aufray from Growth Hackers

Ernesto Quezada: Pathmonk is the intelligent tool for website lead generation. With increasing online competition, over 98% of website visitors don’t convert. The ability to successfully show your value proposition and support visitors in their buying journey separates you from the competition online. Pathmonk qualifies and converts leads on your website by figuring out where they are in the buying journey and influencing them in key decision moments. With relevant micro experiences like case studies, intro videos, and much more, stay relevant to your visitors and increase conversions by 50%. Add Pathmonk to your website in seconds. Let the AI do all the work and get access to 50% more qualified leads while you keep doing marketing and sales as usual. Check us on pathmonk.com. Welcome to today’s episode. Let’s talk about today’s guest. We have Jonathan, founder and CEO with Growth Hackers. How are you doing, Jonathan?

Jonathan Aufray: Good, Ernesto. How are you doing?

Ernesto: I’m doing great. It’s been a long time coming connecting, so I’m glad we’re able to connect with you. Well, excited to learn a little bit more about Growth Hackers.

Jonathan: Awesome. Let’s start whenever you’re ready.

Ernesto: Yeah, so, let’s kick it off with that. In your own words, Jonathan, can you tell us a little bit more about what Growth Hackers is all about?

Jonathan: Okay, maybe let me tell you a little bit about myself and why we created Growth Hackers. Over the past 15 or 20 years, I’ve traveled around the world and worked in many different places—US, UK, Australia, Spain, etc. I’ve always worked with startups and small businesses. What I noticed was that people were really good at building products, apps, or tech, but they didn’t know how to market them, generate leads, or get users and customers. So, I created Growth Hackers around seven years ago to help companies with what really moves the needle: lead generation and sales.

I’m originally from France, as you can probably hear, but I’m based in Taiwan. My team, however, is spread out across the globe—in North America, Europe, and Asia. Most of our customers are from the “West”—by that, I mean North America, Europe, and the UAE. That’s what we focus on: tailoring strategies to businesses and helping them grow.

Ernesto: Awesome to hear that. I think everybody struggles with growth at the beginning, so it’s great that there’s a company out there to help businesses at that stage. For our listeners, what would you say is the key problem you solve for clients?

Jonathan: For us, it’s really about generating leads. We focus on results. A lot of agencies talk about followers, likes, impressions, or brand awareness. Those might be nice if you’re Nike or an Instagram influencer, but for most companies, that’s not what really matters. Companies want leads and sales. So, everything we do is focused on achieving real growth.

Ernesto: All right, awesome. So then, who would your ideal ICP be? Is it only startups, or do you focus on another vertical as well?

Jonathan: Great question. Actually, we don’t work as much with startups anymore. Now, we focus more on small to medium businesses. When we started, we worked with early-stage startups, but over time, we found that advanced startups or SMEs were a better fit for us. Early-stage startups are still building and testing their products, which is a bit too early for us. We prefer to work with businesses that already have a product or service and are ready to scale. We’re not industry-specific, but we do work a lot with e-commerce, healthcare, education, and manufacturing companies.

Ernesto: Awesome. Great to hear about that shift and how you’ve set up your focus. So how do these SMEs find out about Growth Hackers? What’s your top client acquisition channel?

Jonathan: It’s changed over the years. When we started, we focused a lot on Twitter because it was easy to automate. But things have changed. Since around 2020, we’ve pivoted to SEO as our main channel. About 50-60% of our leads now come from SEO. Another 20-30% comes from social media—mainly organic posts on LinkedIn and Twitter. The rest comes from referrals or email marketing. So, SEO and organic channels are our main focus.

Ernesto: Great to hear about the evolution in your approach. For our listeners, you can check them out at growth-hackers.net. Jonathan, what role does the website play in client acquisition?

Jonathan: The website is absolutely critical. Whether it’s through SEO or social media, everything leads back to the website. We’ve designed our website to reflect our brand—approachable, not too formal. We use pop-ups and content to guide visitors, and everything is aimed at providing a great experience. A website is often the first impression people have of your business, so it has to be excellent.

Ernesto: That’s so true. Well, let’s switch gears a bit, Jonathan, and talk about you as a leader. What are some key tasks you focus on in your day-to-day work?

Jonathan: Over the years, my role has changed. In the beginning, I was doing everything—accounting, lead generation, customer support—you name it. Now, I focus a lot on problem-solving. I address issues within the team, with clients, or in strategies. I encourage my team to come to me with not just problems but also potential solutions. It’s all about creating a problem-solving mindset.

Ernesto: Awesome. Thank you for sharing that. Let’s jump into our rapid-fire question round. Are you ready?

Jonathan: Go for it.

Ernesto: What’s the last book you read?

Jonathan: It’s called I Am Here. It’s about mindfulness—focusing on the present moment rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.

Ernesto: Great. What’s one thing your company is focused on the most right now?

Jonathan: Customer retention. Last year, we focused on AI, but this year, we’re prioritizing delivering the best customer experience.

Ernesto: If there were no boundaries in technology, what’s one thing you’d fix for your role?

Jonathan: I’d love a tool that could create a foolproof strategy in seconds. It would save us so much time and effort.

Ernesto: If you could automate one repetitive task, what would it be?

Jonathan: Accounting. Even with tools, it’s still time-consuming.

Ernesto: Lastly, what advice would you give yourself if you were to restart your journey as a marketer?

Jonathan: Start building processes and SOPs earlier. It saves so much time when you’re scaling and hiring.

Ernesto: Fantastic advice. Thanks for being on the show, Jonathan. What’s one thing listeners should remember about Growth Hackers?

Jonathan: It’s all about people. If you take care of your team, they’ll take care of your clients. A positive mindset internally creates a better experience externally.

Ernesto: Great message. For our listeners, check them out at growth-hackers.net. Jonathan, thanks so much for being on the show. To our listeners, thanks for tuning in. Looking forward to the next episode of Pathmonk Presents.

Jonathan: Thank you, Ernesto.