How to Get the Most From a First Call With a Growth Advisor
A first call is most useful when it starts from one number you cannot explain. Here is what to bring, what to expect, and what a good advisor should tell you — including when you do not need them.
What should I bring to a first call?
One number you cannot explain, and the decision it is blocking. “ARPDAU dropped 10% in September and we cannot agree whether to roll back the new placement” is a far better starting point than “we want to grow”.
Helpful context, if you have it:
- A cohort table: installs, D1/D7/D30 retention and ROAS by month, split by your main source or country.
- Your revenue mix: ads vs IAP vs subscriptions, and the main formats and placements.
- Your stack: mediation platform, MMP, analytics tools.
- What you have already tried, and what happened.
Nothing confidential is needed for a first conversation; directional numbers are enough.
What should I expect from the call?
- Questions before answers. A good advisor spends most of the first half understanding how the number is defined and what changed around it.
- A framing. By the end, the problem should be clearer: is it product, monetization, acquisition, measurement — or the way decisions are made?
- An honest recommendation. Sometimes that is “your team can solve this; here is how I would approach it”. That is a good outcome too.
- If there is a fit, a scope. What decision the work will support, what it will produce, how long it takes. Pricing follows the scope, not the other way round.
What should make me cautious?
- Answers before questions.
- A generic playbook that could apply to any game.
- Promised uplifts before anyone has seen your data.
- A scope defined by hours rather than by the decision it supports.
How do I book one?
My first calls are 30 minutes, no pitch: bring one number you cannot explain and I will bring the lens. Start here.