An Honest Convo About a Challenging 2025 (with Navattic’s Head of Growth) (Natalie Marcotullio)

In this episode, Natalie Marcotullio, Head of Growth & Operations at Navattic, looks back on a “rollercoaster” year and what it taught her about role fit, energy management, and leading through constant change. She traces the shift from growth to product marketing amid a noisy AI landscape, a new product line, and a leaner team, and how those forces sparked both imposter syndrome and new clarity about what work fuels her.

Natalie opens up about the anxiety of the AI hype cycle, why chasing every new tactic eroded quality and enjoyment, and the candid conversation with her founder that helped reset expectations. She shares how she separates signal from noise, stops pegging self-worth to dashboards, and designs a job around customer proximity, evangelism, and community.

Looking ahead, Natalie is doubling down on in-person energy: speaking, hosting, and building fandom around Navattic, including a new customer portal that rewards participation and connection. She offers practical advice for naming burnout early, restructuring scope without guilt, and making mid-term career bets even if you don’t plan to stay in tech forever.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• How to tell “energizing change” from “draining change,” and reshape your role around the former without dropping the ball
• A simple script for the hard talk with your exec: mapping “gives energy / drains energy” into concrete scope and support changes
• How to build product fandom (not just leads): customer proximity, IRL touchpoints, and a portal play that compounds community

Things to listen for:

(00:00) Intro

(01:37) Role shifts and team dynamics

(02:17) Personal and professional challenges

(03:42) Filtering AI hype after SaaStr

(04:58) Launching a new product line and persona

(11:45) Context switching and the 60% problem

(14:03) When work bleeds into life (injury, decompression)

(19:09) Q3 burnout and the hard conversation

(22:00) The power of honesty in the workplace

(22:40) Naming limits, resetting priorities, and role design

(27:01) Dreams beyond the tech industry

(36:24) Building community and looking ahead

A huge thanks to this episode’s sponsor:

Navattic: Interactive Product Demo Software - https://navattic.com/value

Check out the Behind the Scenes deep dive with the Navattic growth team:

Episode 0: Introducing the miniseries featuring the Navattic growth team - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4MSAgQcR0mkUjmmLl8fXx0?si=88211b89550c4261

Episode 1: The size and stage of the Navattic business - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5ArIOcGmcLPUowPXqxU6Yr?si=510ce12c47734f13

Episode 2: What does growth look like at Navattic? - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4rfP8yQu9nVveOQaxqJ06s?si=24c463778d4c4214

Episode 3: What goes into Navattic’s growth strategy? - https://open.spotify.com/episode/3GrtQw0Kx1fntD4IBTudb7?si=2847fcce8da4496e

Episode 4: Navattic’s growth operating system - https://open.spotify.com/episode/6oJRINQlBby7kLFTxcrvY6?si=eebebb0033234ff8

Episode 5: The specific KPIs & dashboards that drive Navattic’s success - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5wOunwgXy0AMRsODloAbD3?si=46b9f4e42f754a77

Episode 6: The biggest challenges Natalie and Raman face working in growth at Navattic - https://open.spotify.com/episode/3CJmSh7XqFakyxfgotjABg?si=3284a52fc9e64aca

Episode 7: How Navattic’s growth team stays aligned and manages expectations internally - https://open.spotify.com/episode/7CX7DBGR0VYpEsnXd7rYbj?si=0b1e1729a6404903

Episode 8: Big beats in 2024 and series takeaways - https://open.spotify.com/episode/0cxo9wtMJEZqQxCBiSEHdf?si=f91f566ac8f24a6e

Check out Natalie’s previous Delivering Value episode:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6kQx1DTHdPpGUlY33fHeqK?si=6fd1de234fa84436

Website: https://deliveringvalue.co/pod/navigating-speed-bumps-and-communication-challenges-as-a-one-person-growth-team-with-natalie-marcotullio

Resources:

Connect with Natalie:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-marcotullio/

Navattic: https://navattic.com/value

Connect with Andrew:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcapland/

Substack: https://media.deliveringvalue.co

Hire Andrew as your coach: https://deliveringvalue.co/coaching

Join Growth OS: https://deliveringvalue.co/growth-operating-system