World Model · podcast knowledge graph

Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman

2025-05-25 · 74 min · 58 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

  • 0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005
  • → references Circe Madeline Miller book
    0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://amazon.com/Circe-Madeline-Miller/dp/0316556327
  • → references Hackpad concept
    0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackpad
  • 0.62
    evidence rules-v4
    author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch)
  • → hosted by Lenny Rachitsky person
    0.55
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed author/publisher: Lenny Rachitsky
  • → recommended Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch book
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch)
  • 0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005
  • → recommended Circe Madeline Miller book
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://amazon.com/Circe-Madeline-Miller/dp/0316556327
  • → works at Stripe company
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    COO of Stripe
  • → works at Shopify company
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    CEO of Shopify
  • → works at Vercel company
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    CEO of Vercel
  • → works at OpenAI company
    0.48
    evidence rules-v4
    working at OpenAI
  • → discusses Technology company
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Technology
  • → discusses Business concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Business
  • → discusses Entrepreneurship concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Entrepreneurship
  • → references penname.co website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://penname.co/
  • → references chatgpt.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://chatgpt.com/
  • → references openai.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://openai.com/
  • → references stripe.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://stripe.com/
  • → references databricks.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://databricks.com/
  • → references granola.ai website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://granola.ai/
  • → references dropbox.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://dropbox.com/
  • → references retool.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://retool.com/
  • → references wiz.io website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://wiz.io/
  • → references Severance website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://tv.apple.com/us/show/severance
  • → references Connect website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://stripe.com/connect
  • → references thrivecap.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://thrivecap.com/
  • → references krithix.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://krithix.com/
  • → references netflix.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://netflix.com/
  • 0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/04/09/ai-em-dash-writing-punctuation-chatgpt

Entities found in this episode

websites 30

  • mentioned penname.co website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://penname.co/
  • mentioned chatgpt.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://chatgpt.com/
  • mentioned openai.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://openai.com/
  • mentioned stripe.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://stripe.com/
  • mentioned databricks.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://databricks.com/
  • mentioned granola.ai website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://granola.ai/
  • mentioned dropbox.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://dropbox.com/
  • mentioned retool.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://retool.com/
  • mentioned wiz.io website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://wiz.io/
  • mentioned Severance website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://tv.apple.com/us/show/severance
  • mentioned Connect website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://stripe.com/connect
  • mentioned thrivecap.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://thrivecap.com/
  • mentioned krithix.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://krithix.com/
  • mentioned netflix.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://netflix.com/
  • 0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/04/09/ai-em-dash-writing-punctuation-chatgpt
  • references penname.co website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://penname.co/
  • references chatgpt.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://chatgpt.com/
  • references openai.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://openai.com/
  • references stripe.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://stripe.com/
  • references databricks.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://databricks.com/
  • references granola.ai website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://granola.ai/
  • references dropbox.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://dropbox.com/
  • references retool.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://retool.com/
  • references wiz.io website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://wiz.io/
  • references Severance website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://tv.apple.com/us/show/severance
  • references Connect website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://stripe.com/connect
  • references thrivecap.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://thrivecap.com/
  • references krithix.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://krithix.com/
  • references netflix.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://netflix.com/
  • 0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/04/09/ai-em-dash-writing-punctuation-chatgpt

companys 10

  • mentioned Stripe company
    0.62
    evidence rules-v4
    COO of Stripe
  • mentioned Shopify company
    0.62
    evidence rules-v4
    CEO of Shopify
  • mentioned Vercel company
    0.62
    evidence rules-v4
    CEO of Vercel
  • mentioned OpenAI company
    0.60
    evidence rules-v4
    working at OpenAI
  • mentioned Technology company
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Technology
  • works at Stripe company
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    COO of Stripe
  • works at Shopify company
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    CEO of Shopify
  • works at Vercel company
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    CEO of Vercel
  • works at OpenAI company
    0.48
    evidence rules-v4
    working at OpenAI
  • discusses Technology company
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Technology

books 9

  • 0.90
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005
  • mentioned Circe Madeline Miller book
    0.90
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://amazon.com/Circe-Madeline-Miller/dp/0316556327
  • 0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005
  • references Circe Madeline Miller book
    0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://amazon.com/Circe-Madeline-Miller/dp/0316556327
  • 0.72
    evidence rules-v4
    author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch)
  • 0.62
    evidence rules-v4
    author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch)
  • 0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch)
  • 0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005
  • recommended Circe Madeline Miller book
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://amazon.com/Circe-Madeline-Miller/dp/0316556327

concepts 7

  • mentioned Hackpad concept
    0.90
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackpad
  • references Hackpad concept
    0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackpad
  • mentioned Business concept
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Business
  • mentioned Entrepreneurship concept
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Entrepreneurship
  • mentioned Krithika Shankarraman concept
    0.42
    evidence rules-v4
    Growth tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman
  • discusses Business concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Business
  • discusses Entrepreneurship concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Entrepreneurship

persons 2

  • mentioned Lenny Rachitsky person
    0.70
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed author/publisher: Lenny Rachitsky
  • hosted by Lenny Rachitsky person
    0.55
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed author/publisher: Lenny Rachitsky
Episode description as stored
Krithika Shankarraman was the first marketing hire at OpenAI and Stripe and led marketing at Retool. At OpenAI, she established marketing foundations for ChatGPT for consumers and enterprises, as well as their developer API platform. While at Stripe, she spent over eight years building and scaling their marketing function from scratch. An engineer turned marketer, Krithika brings a uniquely analytical approach to marketing. She currently serves as Entrepreneur in Residence at Thrive Capital, where she helps portfolio companies on all things marketing. What you will learn: 1. Why do most marketing playbooks often fail, and what’s a better way? 2. Which marketing lever should I pull first? 3. Why is trying to be better than competitors usually a losing strategy? 4. How do I craft positioning that actually converts? 5. What makes messaging stick with developers, enterprises, and consumers? 6. What pricing experiments actually move revenue? 7. What is working at OpenAI really like? 8. Why does consistency and quality matter more than speed? — Brought to you by: Eppo — Run reliable, impactful experiments Airtable ProductCentral —Launch to new heights with a unified system for product development LinkedIn Ads —Reach professionals and drive results for your business — Where to find Krithika Shankarraman: • X: https://x.com/krithix • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krithix/ • Website: https://krithix.com/ — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction to Krithika (04:22) Early marketing lessons from OpenAI (11:17) Diagnosing marketing needs (15:06) The DATE framework and why being cheaper is a race to the bottom (17:11) Marketing strategies at Retool (22:29) Insights from marketing at Stripe (32:33) The importance of consistent marketing communication (39:55) Criteria for hiring a marketing expert (41:43) “Capital M” vs. “lowercase m” marketing (43:05) ChatGPT vs. Claude: market dominance (45:31) The future of AI and its societal impact (47:09) Work-life balance (48:41) Transitioning to Thrive (52:35) Career advice for marketers (55:00) The importance of taste and creativity in the AI era (01:00:04) AI product pricing (01:03:21) AI tools in marketing (01:05:17) Failure corner (01:08:46) Lightning round and final thoughts — Referenced: • OpenAI: https://openai.com/ • Stripe: https://stripe.com/ • Retool: https://retool.com/ • Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/ • Sam Altman talks about his business model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLnyjxgFxew • The art and science of pricing | Madhavan Ramanujam (Monetizing Innovation, Simon-Kucher): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-art-and-science-of-pricing-madhavan • Pricing your SaaS product: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/saas-pricing-strategy • Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/ • Stripe Connect: https://stripe.com/connect • John Collison on X: https://x.com/collision • Patrick Collison on X: https://x.com/patrickc • Cristina Cordova on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristinajcordova/ • Hackpad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackpad • Building Wiz: the fastest-growing startup in history | Raaz Herzberg (CMO and VP Product Strategy): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-wiz-raaz-herzberg • Wiz: https://www.wiz.io/ • Thrive Capital: https://thrivecap.com/ • Brian Chesky’s new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach • Claude: https://claude.ai/new • ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/ • Lessons from scaling Stripe | Claire Hughes Johnson (former COO of Stripe): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-scaling-stripe-tactics • Databricks: https://www.databricks.com/ • Everyone’s an engineer now: Inside v0’s mission to create a hundred million builders | Guillermo Rauch (founder and CEO of Vercel, creators of v0 and Next.js): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/everyones