Most important take away

Anthropic’s unprecedented growth (1B to 19B+ ARR in 14 months) is driven by a combination of world-class research, laser focus on coding and B2B, and a deeply mission-driven culture. The growth team is already automating parts of the growth experimentation loop using Claude itself, signaling a near-future where AI handles opportunity identification, building, testing, and analysis — with humans remaining essential primarily for cross-functional alignment and stakeholder management.

Summary

Amol Avasare, Head of Growth at Anthropic, shares an inside look at operating within the fastest-growing company in history. Key themes include:

Growth strategy at hyperspeed: Anthropic’s 10x year-over-year revenue growth has held steady across multiple years. The growth team (~40 people) is structured with horizontal functions (growth platform, monetization) and audience-focused pods (API, Claude Code, knowledge workers, B2B). They deliberately skew toward larger bets (50-70% of effort) rather than micro-optimizations because the exponential improvement in AI model capabilities means future product value will be 100-1000x today’s, making small incremental wins relatively less important.

Activation and onboarding: The biggest challenge in AI products is “capability overhang” — models improve faster than users can discover what they can do. Amol advocates for adding strategic friction in onboarding flows (quizzes, questions about user identity and goals) to better route users to the right features. This approach consistently outperforms the instinct to minimize steps and rush users into the product. He saw similar results at Mercury and Masterclass.

Automating growth with AI (CASH): Anthropic’s growth platform team is running an initiative called CASH (Claude Accelerates Sustainable Hypergrowth) that uses Claude to automate the growth experimentation loop: identifying opportunities, building features, testing quality/brand compliance, and analyzing results. Currently performing at a junior PM level with improving win rates. The main gap AI cannot yet fill is cross-functional stakeholder management.

The evolving PM role: Engineers are getting the most leverage from AI tools (2-3x productivity via Claude Code), which is squeezing PM and design capacity. Anthropic’s approach: projects under two engineering weeks are engineer-led (the engineer acts as PM); larger projects still need dedicated PMs. Product-minded engineers are becoming unicorn hires. PMs should focus less on shipping code themselves and more on guiding teams on the “why” and “what.”

Career advice: Use the latest AI tools relentlessly and re-test capabilities with each model release. Lean into your interdisciplinary strengths and unique spikes rather than shoring up weaknesses. Be adaptable — 50-70% of past operating playbooks may not apply in AI-first environments. Cold emailing works if you perfect the subject line, choose the right channel, keep it short, and follow up persistently.

Culture and focus as competitive advantage: Anthropic’s culture of radical transparency (internal “notebook channels” as personal feeds), mission-driven intensity, and willingness to leave money on the table for safety and brand integrity is described as the company’s true secret weapon. Their early bet on coding was strategic — better coding models accelerate research, creating a virtuous flywheel.

Personal resilience: Amol suffered a severe traumatic brain injury from martial arts in 2022, spending nine months unable to work and relearning basic functions. He applies the principle of “freedom through constraints” — forced breaks, meditation, no alcohol or caffeine — which he credits with making him more effective. His motto: “She’ll be right” (Australian for “it’ll work out”).

Chapter Summaries

How Amol Got the Job at Anthropic

Amol cold-emailed CPO Mike Krieger as a Claude user, pitching that Anthropic needed a growth team. He shares his framework for effective cold emails: high-converting subject lines, reaching people on less-saturated channels (personal email over LinkedIn), keeping messages short, and persistent follow-up.

What It’s Like Leading Growth at the Fastest-Growing Company in History

Anthropic’s revenue trajectory (0 to 100M, 100M to 1B, 1B to ~10B, now 19B+) has consistently exceeded even aggressive internal forecasts. About 70% of Amol’s time is spent on “success disasters” — things going so well that other systems break. The remaining 30% is proactive growth work like pricing, packaging, and new product launches.

Activation and the Cold-Start Problem

Capability overhang is the industry’s biggest challenge: models improve faster than users discover new abilities. Amol advocates for adding intentional friction in onboarding to understand users and route them to the right features. The ChatGPT memory import feature was one tactical example of solving the cold-start problem for new users switching to Claude.

Growth Team Structure and Big Bets vs. Small Optimizations

The ~40-person growth team has horizontals (platform, monetization) and vertical pods by audience. They flip the traditional ratio, spending 50-70% on larger swings rather than incremental optimizations. The rationale: exponential product value growth means the future opportunity dwarfs today’s, so positioning for larger shifts matters more than squeezing current metrics.

Automating Growth with CASH

The growth platform team is piloting CASH (Claude Accelerates Sustainable Hypergrowth), using Claude to automate the experimentation loop across four stages: opportunity identification, building, quality/brand testing, and data analysis. Currently delivering results at a junior PM level with improving accuracy week over week. Human-in-the-loop review is still used but decreasing over time.

The Future of PM, Engineering, and Design Roles

Engineers are getting the most AI leverage (2-3x via Claude Code), creating capacity imbalance. Anthropic’s solution: engineers own PM duties for projects under two weeks; dedicated PMs handle larger efforts. Product-minded engineers are the most valuable hires. PMs should focus on strategic guidance rather than shipping code themselves, though prototyping remains valuable for learning.

How Amol Uses AI Daily

Amol has Cowork run scheduled tasks: daily metric summaries across 20-25 charts, weekly misalignment detection across Slack channels, automated expense filing and email triage. He uses Claude with the Slack MCP to model his manager’s priorities and get simulated feedback weekly. PRDs are largely replaced by quick Slack conversations or rapid Cowork-generated docs.

Anthropic’s Strategic Focus on Coding and B2B

The coding bet dates to a 2021 internal doc by co-founder Ben Mann. The rationale is dual: large commercial TAM and a research flywheel where better coding models accelerate AI research itself. Anthropic’s underdog position (less funding, no distribution, no first-mover advantage) forced disciplined focus that proved to be a major advantage.

AI Safety as a Growth Driver

As a Public Benefit Corporation, Anthropic legally prioritizes public benefit over shareholder returns. The growth team operates with the principle of being “comfortable leaving money on the table” for safety, brand, and user experience. Amol argues this is a long-term competitive advantage as AI stakes increase. Internally, the team believes in AI risks more strongly than they communicate externally.

Career Advice for the AI Era

Use AI tools constantly and re-evaluate with each model release. Develop interdisciplinary spikes (e.g., finance + product, engineering + design). Be adaptable — most legacy playbooks need to be discarded. Amol’s own path (founder, investment banker, near-sales career) created a unique combination that gives him outsized impact in specific situations.

Brain Injury, Resilience, and Personal Philosophy

Amol’s 2022 traumatic brain injury from Muay Thai sparring left him unable to work for nine months. He was re-injured in 2023 and still manages residual symptoms. The experience taught him “freedom through constraints” — forced habits (meditation, breaks, no alcohol/caffeine) made him more effective. His daily practice includes mandatory breaks even on the most intense days and regular meditation retreats.

Book Recommendations and Closing

Books: “Joy of Living” by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, “Awareness” by Anthony de Mello, and “Thinking in Bets” by Annie Duke. Amol encourages listeners to try Anthropic’s products, give harsh feedback, and refer great people for open growth roles.