Community | University 

Sep 30, 2025

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. YouTube Answers Creator Questions On Profanity Monetization
   (Monetization rules are the growth guardrails creators want clarity, not guesswork.)

2. Facebook Adds Challenges for Fan Pages
   ( Sounds like gamification time)

3. Hinge is taking a fairer approach to account banning
   (Platforms are learning: transparency in moderation isn’t just ethics, it’s retention)

The Growth joke of the day

How do SEO experts celebrate improved search rankings?
SERP-rise parties. 🎊

What's New in Growth Hacking/Growth Marketing?

Strategies

• OpenAI takes on Google, Amazon with new agentic shopping system

  ChatGPT users in the U.S. can now make Etsy and Shopify purchases within conversations, marking a next step toward the future of online shopping  both for consumers and the platforms that control product discovery, recommendation, and payments.

• Google Launches New Small-Business Resource Hub

  Google has launched a small-business resource hub, positioning it as a single starting point for setup, advertising, measurement, and support.

• Snapchat Shares Data on the Effectiveness of its First Impression Ads

  Snapchat reports that its First Impression Ads significantly increase reach and conversions, showing lower CPM for many brands. The premium placement supports campaign awareness and can be a high-value tool for growth marketers targeting Snap's audience.

• YouTube Enables Users to Generate Alternative Endings for Shorts with AI

  YouTube launches "Extend with AI," enabling users to create alternative endings for Shorts by generating segments with AI prompts, increasing remixing and content generation. This may boost video engagement and new viral behaviors, changing short-form video growth tactics and creator opportunities.

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  People

  Marissa Mayer will close her old AI startup, sell assets to her new AI startup

  Marissa Mayer is shutting down her startup Sunshine and transferring assets and staff to her new AI assistant company, Dazzle. Investors have approved the asset move. Sunshine struggled with adoption, leading Mayer to pivot toward fresh AI ambitions in the digital assistant space.

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What's New in Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• OpenAI rolls out safety routing system, parental controls on ChatGPT

  OpenAI is testing a new safety routing system in ChatGPT to detect emotionally sensitive chats, switching to GPT-5 for high-stakes situations. Parental controls have been added to customize teen accounts, with features like quiet hours and content protections. Reactions are mixed as experts praise safety but users raise quality concerns.

• The startup behind open source tool Polars raises $21M from Accel

  Amsterdam-based Polars, which provides high-speed data processing tools targeting Pandas and Spark, raises $21M to expand into scalable cloud offerings. The move aims to help enterprises handle petabyte-scale datasets more efficiently, offering new solutions for data-driven growth.

Find your customers on Roku this Black Friday

As with any digital ad campaign, the important thing is to reach streaming audiences who will convert. To that end, Roku’s self-service Ads Manager stands ready with powerful segmentation and targeting options. After all, you know your customers, and we know our streaming audience.

Worried it’s too late to spin up new Black Friday creative? With Roku Ads Manager, you can easily import and augment existing creative assets from your social channels. We also have AI-assisted upscaling, so every ad is primed for CTV.

Once you’ve done this, then you can easily set up A/B tests to flight different creative variants and Black Friday offers. If you’re a Shopify brand, you can even run shoppable ads directly on-screen so viewers can purchase with just a click of their Roku remote.

Bonus: we’re gifting you $5K in ad credits when you spend your first $5K on Roku Ads Manager. Just sign up and use code GET5K. Terms apply.

Use code GET5K now