Building the PLG Team and Org
Start with a growth PM and an analyst, then formalize into a cross-functional PLG org with three growth heads
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 90%
Qu's playbook for staffing PLG: start with a core growth squad led by a growth PM, with a data analyst as arguably the very first hire, plus dedicated engineering and part-time design/research. Choose a dedicated squad for activation/conversion work or a temporary cross-functional 'tiger team' when the first focus is the cross-organizational PQL path. Seek early wins to build momentum, then formalize into a PLG org with three growth heads (product, marketing, sales) each owning stage-appropriate metrics.
Origin
Hila Qu's org-design guidance from advising B2B companies on standing up PLG teams, plus her own leadership roles at GitLab and Acorns.
Core principles
- 01The growth PM leads but is metrics- and funnel-focused, more like sales/marketing KPIs than feature work
- 02A data analyst may be the true first hire — without insight, experimentation is directionless
- 03Dedicated squads suit confined activation/conversion work; tiger teams suit cross-org PQL work
- 04Early wins build the organizational confidence needed to expand
- 05PLG is a motion, not a team — eventually build a cross-functional org, not just a squad
- 06Prefer promoting a growth PM internally, mapped to your chosen starting focus area
How to run it
- 1
Hire the core growth squad, analyst first
Lead with a head/director/lead growth PM. Hire a data analyst as arguably the very first hire (or a growth PM who can do end-to-end analysis), plus a dedicated engineer and a not-necessarily-dedicated designer and user researcher.
Pro tip Without insights and a data foundation, experimentation effort is directionless — that's why the analyst can precede even the growth PM.
- 2
Choose dedicated squad vs tiger team by focus area
Use a dedicated squad when the first focus is activation or conversion (confined work a growth PM, engineer, design, and data can own). Use a temporary cross-functional tiger team when the first focus is the PQL/PQA sales path, which needs deep data plus sales and marketing counterparts.
Pro tip A tiger team is often the step just prior to full commitment — a way to try the motion and earn final conviction before dedicating headcount.
Watch out A growth PM in the product org struggles to socialize the cross-functional resources a PQL project needs; forcing a dedicated squad onto PQL work makes it harder.
- 3
Give early focus, resources, and time to win
Give the new team a single focus area, real resources, and enough time to try things and land early wins — the biggest thing for a new growth team's momentum and organizational buy-in.
Pro tip Map the initial growth PM hire's background to your starting point — hire an activation-experienced PM if activation is the focus.
- 4
Formalize into a PLG org with three heads
After early wins, expand from a team to an org: a head of growth product (the center), a head of growth marketing, and a head of product-led sales, each reporting into their home org but collaborating on the shared funnel.
Pro tip Prefer an internal candidate for growth PM — even a non-PM like a head of investor relations succeeded because he was analytical and could socialize resources, with an advisor filling knowledge gaps.
- 5
Assign stage-appropriate metrics to each head
Give each head the funnel metric they own: top-of-funnel high-quality signups (not raw traffic), activated teams and PQLs for growth product, and conversion rate/efficiency/revenue for product-led sales.
Watch out PLG top-of-funnel is about high-quality signups meeting a quality bar, not just volume of traffic.
In the wild
One of Qu's advisory clients made their former head of investor relations the head of growth. He reported to the CEO/founder, had never been a PM, but was highly analytical and could socialize resources across product and marketing to launch experiments. Qu advised him in the areas he wasn't familiar with.
→ They drove pretty good results together — evidence that an analytical internal candidate who can mobilize cross-functional resources can lead growth even without a PM background.
Common mistakes
Assigning one borrowed person to run PLG
Expecting a single person to coordinate sales, marketing, and product by borrowing resources everywhere requires them to be 'a magician.' PLG needs a dedicated core squad with a data analyst, engineer, and growth PM.
Putting a product-org growth PM solo on the PQL path
The PQL/PQA path needs deep data work plus counterparts in sales and marketing. A growth PM sitting in the product org struggles to socialize those cross-functional resources — a tiger team fits better.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders and product leaders standing up their first PLG team and planning how it should evolve
Not ideal for
Companies not yet committed to PLG as a multi-year motion — staffing a full org prematurely wastes resources
From the transcript
“A common place to start is to hire a head of growth, or it can be a lead growth PM... and then they begin to…”
“I would often say actually a data analyst needs to be the very first hire”
“without insights, without a lot of foundation, is there's like your experimentation, your effort is really directionless”
“a cross-functional, almost like a tiger team”
“you should think about a PLG org... there is a head of growth product... head head of growth marketing... And then, head of product led…”
“prefer hiring internally if possible”
From the episode
The ultimate guide to adding a PLG motion
Hila Qu (Reforge, GitLab)