Community | University 

Feb 18, 2026

Hello, GrowthHackers! 

Welcome to your daily unfair advantage.

Every morning, we cut through the noise to bring you sharp insights, fast news, and fresh sparks to light up your brain and fuel your hustle. From scrappy hacks to big tech moves, AI shifts to culture flips this is your intel to stay ahead, move fast, and break boring.

Think of it as your growth-fueled espresso shot.
Short. Smart. Addictive.

Let’s dive in.👇

Quick Hits

1. Google Says Links Will Be More Visible In AI Overviews
   (Backlinks fighting for their lives)

2. Are Your Google Ads Gen Z Proof?
   (Gen Z scrolls faster than your CPM strategy)

3. Yes, YouTube was actually down for millions
   (Nothing unites humanity like a streaming outage)

The Growth joke of the day

Why did YouTube going down feel like a crisis?
Because millions realized they didn’t actually have a backup plan for boredom.

What's New in Growth Hacking/Growth Marketing?

Strategies

• WooCommerce May Gain Sidekick-Type AI Through Extensions
  Automattic's James LePage shares AI features coming soon to WooCommerce, including Sidekick-type functionality delivered via extensions.

• ActiveCampaign’s latest move signals the era of self-driving campaigns
  The purchase of Feedback Intelligence shows that learning, self-correcting AI agents are redefining how modern campaigns are built and measured.

• Ford turns to F1 and bounties to build a $30,000 electric truck
  Ford is promising to deliver an EV truck next year that starts at $30,000 and can compete with Chinese automakers without undermining profit margins. A combination of 3D-printed Lego-like parts, Formula 1 thinking, and a bounty program will help the company hit that target

• The GTM spending problem no one wants to admit
  New data shows more than half of enterprise GTM spend is ineffective while PR quietly delivers the highest return.

• Canva gets to $4B in revenue as LLM referral traffic rises
  Creative company Canva ended 2025 on a high note with a 20% increase in monthly active users, growth that was partially propelled by adoption of its AI tools.

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People

• Jack Altman joins Benchmark as GP
  Jack Altman and Benchmark announced today that he would be joining the firm as a general partner.

Did you hear?
The GrowthHackers New Podcast is live!🎙️

A Founder’s Journey in Microscope

In this episode, we sit down with Jack, the 22-year-old founder of ARK-STEM — the global community and marketplace built by STEM lovers, for STEM lovers.

ARK-STEM is a dedicated platform where makers, engineers, and innovators can share projects, collaborate, sell inventions, and preserve what they build in a way that’s deeper and more enduring than fleeting social posts or video snippets.

Jack opens up about his journey from a young tinkerer to launching a platform that bridges community, creativity, and commerce.

Are you ready?

What's New in Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

• How AI Changes Where Marketing Budgets Are Spent
  Transform your PPC budgeting approach with rebalancing based on buyer intent signals for effective media spending.

• 5 Ways Emerging Businesses Can Show up in ChatGPT, Gemini & Perplexity
  When ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity mention a company, these large language models (LLMs) are deciding whether that business is safe to reference, not how long it has existed.

Coupon Extensions Hate Us (And You’ll Love Why)

Coupon Protection partners with DTC brands like Quince, Blueland, Vessi and more to stop coupon extensions from auto-applying unwanted codes in your checkout.

Overpaid commissions to affiliates and influencers add up fast – Take back your margin.

After months of using KeepCart, Mando says “It has paid for itself multiple times over.”

Now it’s your turn to see how much more profit you can keep.

Try it 2 months free – No risk, Cancel anytime.