An inside look at Deel’s unprecedented growth | Meltem Kuran Berkowitz (Head of Growth)
Executive Summary
Meltem Kuran Berkowitz discusses helpful growth channels, audience ceilings, search intent, complete answers, awareness sequencing and relevant partnerships. Selected third-party transcript coverage excludes sponsor reads, compliance and payroll advice, numerical company results and later incident discussion. Deel examples are her accounts, unverified here. Untimed editorial topics are not video chapters.
Key Takeaways
Begin where people ask for help
Berkowitz describes low-cost channels as places where potential customers already ask questions about a problem. Useful answers can introduce a relevant solution without starting with an advertisement. This still takes staff time and should not be confused with a free, unlimited source of customers.
Estimate the audience ceiling
A small community cannot supply more relevant customers than it contains. She therefore considers the upper limit before investing heavily in a channel. Early traction in a niche is useful evidence, but the size of that niche limits the scale available there.
Check that search demand exists
She warns against writing content simply because a team has decided to do SEO. The intended audience must actually ask the question through search. The content plan should start with that behavior rather than assume articles will create demand by themselves.
Answer the question completely
Her content test asks whether the reader has the answer or needs to keep searching. Keywords alone do not make an article useful. Understanding follow-up questions helps a team produce a page that solves the problem rather than only repeats a search phrase.
Distinguish volume from intent
She describes ranking keywords by whether the person searching is likely to need the offered solution. A large audience may consist of people with a different purpose. Their traffic-light method separates stronger purchase intent from uncertain or unrelated searches.
Sequence awareness after immediate need
For early B2B growth, Berkowitz prefers reaching people actively looking for a solution before investing heavily in broad awareness. Creative campaigns can absorb time before the team understands its message. This is her sequencing advice, not a prohibition on all awareness work.
Choose partners people consult for the problem
Shared audiences are only one part of a partnership. She also asks whether customers turn to the partner for guidance on this particular need. A trusted source for the relevant question may be a better fit than another company that merely reaches similar people.
The Conversation Breakdown
Begin where people ask for help
⏱ Untimed topicBerkowitz describes low-cost channels as places where potential customers already ask questions about a problem. Useful answers can introduce a relevant solution without starting with an advertisement. This still takes staff time and should not be confused with a free, unlimited source of customers.
Estimate the audience ceiling
⏱ Untimed topicA small community cannot supply more relevant customers than it contains. She therefore considers the upper limit before investing heavily in a channel. Early traction in a niche is useful evidence, but the size of that niche limits the scale available there.
Check that search demand exists
⏱ Untimed topicShe warns against writing content simply because a team has decided to do SEO. The intended audience must actually ask the question through search. The content plan should start with that behavior rather than assume articles will create demand by themselves.
Answer the question completely
⏱ Untimed topicHer content test asks whether the reader has the answer or needs to keep searching. Keywords alone do not make an article useful. Understanding follow-up questions helps a team produce a page that solves the problem rather than only repeats a search phrase.
Distinguish volume from intent
⏱ Untimed topicShe describes ranking keywords by whether the person searching is likely to need the offered solution. A large audience may consist of people with a different purpose. Their traffic-light method separates stronger purchase intent from uncertain or unrelated searches.
Sequence awareness after immediate need
⏱ Untimed topicFor early B2B growth, Berkowitz prefers reaching people actively looking for a solution before investing heavily in broad awareness. Creative campaigns can absorb time before the team understands its message. This is her sequencing advice, not a prohibition on all awareness work.
Choose partners people consult for the problem
⏱ Untimed topicShared audiences are only one part of a partnership. She also asks whether customers turn to the partner for guidance on this particular need. A trusted source for the relevant question may be a better fit than another company that merely reaches similar people.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Question-first channel choice
Look for where relevant customers already ask about the problem.
Traffic-light search intent
Separate strong solution-seeking intent from uncertain or unrelated search demand.
Partner relevance
Check both audience overlap and whether the partner is consulted for the specific problem.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓List where potential customers ask about the problem you solve.
- ✓Estimate the relevant audience ceiling before investing in a channel.
- ✓Classify keywords by intent as well as volume.
- ✓Ask whether a proposed partner is trusted for the relevant question.
Notable Quotes
“So it's very important when investing in these cheap channels to focus on what's the upper limit of the audience size.”
“So asking that question of, is the search over is a really good place to start, instead of just shoving keywords.”
“So it's important to not only recognize the importance of an audience overlap as well as whether or not those people are seen as a trusted resource for the solution you are putting out there.”
The One Thing to Remember
Start with the customer's question, the channel's actual audience and the intent behind the search.