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At ConstantHire, we try to go deeper than just filling roles. If we’re going to recruit the best growth talent for consumer brands, we need to actually understand how growth works today. That’s why we bring in people who are in the trenches.
This week, we sat down with Maz Malakouti, who’s been in growth for close to a decade. He’s done time at MuteSix, worked in-house at Easy Street Brands, and now consults directly with founders. We spent an hour with him digging into what’s working in DTC right now, how he thinks about testing, and what makes a good growth hire.
Here's what's working in DTC in 2025.
The market’s tougher this year with higher costs, weaker consumer spending. That's why Maz kept coming back to one theme: your offer is everything.
Not just the product + discount, but the reason someone says yes. For one brand, he recently helped shift to a buy one, get one free structure. It made the first product more expensive, but overall boosted perceived value and still worked for margins.
When we’re vetting growth candidates, digging into how they think about offers is key. If they can tie it back to contribution margin and P&L impact, that’s usually a sign they get the bigger picture.
Media buying tricks aren’t what they used to be. Platforms want you to go broad and let AI handle the targeting. That means creative and messaging carry more weight than ever.
Maz explained it simply:
If you’re interviewing a growth hire, ask how they’d structure those tests. Do they know tools like Replo, Motion, Foreplay, or Intelligems?
One practical rule Maz shared: test budgets should roughly line up with Average Order Value (AOV).
Example: if your AOV is $80, spend at least $80/day per creative so you can get one purchase and actually judge performance. Run that for about 1–2 weeks before deciding to scale.
It’s a simple framework, but a great way to filter candidates. Ask how they’d budget a test and you’ll quickly know if they’ve done it before.
Everyone talks about CAC and ROAS, but the better operators go further:
Maz was clear: platform dashboards like Northbeam, TripleWhale, etc. are only directional. The best people always tie back to topline business health.
Hard skills aside, Maz put a big emphasis on soft skills:
He also flagged a common red flag: candidates who only want to “do strategy” and avoid execution. In 2025, most brands still need growth leaders who can roll up their sleeves.
A couple of hiring insights worth noting:
Growth marketing in 2025 isn’t about hacks. Focus on fundamentals done really well: strong offers, creative + landing page cohesion, disciplined testing, and operators who are genuinely invested in the craft.
These conversations are why we run sessions like this one. It makes us better recruiters, but hopefully also gives you a sense of what to look for when you’re thinking about your own growth team.
If you’re scaling a DTC brand and need to hire growth talent, that’s what we do at ConstantHire.
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