Not a tool. Not a hire. The whole department.
A tool, an agency, an in-house hire, or a department.
Four honest ways to get growth work done, laid out on the same lines. Where another option is the better choice, we say so. The install call is wasted otherwise.
Who looked at your ads this week
A typical week. Filled squares are days someone actually made a decision.
A tool
Only when you remember to ask
An agency
A weekly check-in, business hours
A department
6:00 brief, hourly checks, every day
- A tool· Only when you remember to ask
- An agency· A weekly check-in, business hours
- A department· 6:00 brief, hourly checks, every day
An example week. Your AI team posts the morning brief at 6:00 and a change summary every hour, seven days a week.
vs hiring in-house
Three good hires, or the department they would have built.
An in-house growth team is the right call for some brands, and the Department package sits happily alongside one. Some brands plan to hire three people so that one day they have daily media buying, Amazon covered and one place for their numbers. Here is what the two paths look like side by side.
People
Hiring in-house
Three searches, three offers, three onboardingsGrowth Dept
Your AI team on the day-to-day, one named executive on the numbersTools on top
Hiring in-house
Attribution, reporting, creative tools: typically a few thousand a monthGrowth Dept
Software subscriptions and AI usage are paid directly by you, in addition to the service fee. We do not mark up provider bills.First morning report
Hiring in-house
Typically four to seven months from the first job postGrowth Dept
Within a week of the first callHours covered
Hiring in-house
Business hours, five days a weekGrowth Dept
Every day, every hour, including weekendsAmazon
Hiring in-house
Usually a fourth hire or an outside vendorGrowth Dept
Listings, ads, rank, Buy Box, stock and reviews includedWhen the engagement changes
Hiring in-house
The knowledge leaves with themGrowth Dept
The machine, your AI team, the data and the playbooks stay with you
Weeks until the first morning report
Three in-house hires, a typical agency and the package
Typical hiring, onboarding and ramp times, not a guarantee. Your AI team is in your Slack within a week.
Your market and the seniority you hire at will move the in-house numbers; the shape of the comparison does not change much. The Department price is on the written plan you get after the install call, before you sign anything.
vs an agency, vs a tool
Fourteen lines. Three very different answers.
A tool answers when you ask and keeps your data in its cloud. An agency gives you people and a monthly deck, billed as a percentage of ad spend. A department is there every day, on a machine you own, and has posted before you wake up.
| Line | A tool | An agency | A department |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | An assistant you have to remember to ask | A team and a monthly deck | Your AI team every day, plus a human executive |
| Who does the work | You, typing prompts | Their account team, on their schedule | Your AI team, on a schedule you can see, with your approval |
| Your time each week | Hours: you brief it and check it | A weekly call and a monthly deck to read | Taps in Slack plus one 45-minute review |
| Getting started | Sign up in minutes | A kickoff deck, then four to eight weeks | In your Slack in a week, everything running in thirty days |
| Your data | In their cloud | In their tools and spreadsheets | In one place, on a machine you own |
| Ask Claude | Chat only | No | Claude connected to your real numbers |
| Media buying | Meta and Google, when you ask | Human buyers, checked weekly | Six platforms, every ad judged daily |
| Optimizes to | The platform's number | Platform return, in a deck | What the ad actually brought in across every store, counted by the tracking tool you already trust |
| Amazon | Not covered | Usually a separate vendor | Listings, ads, rank, Buy Box, stock and reviews |
| Creators and creative | Copy on request | A creative retainer on top | Creator outreach and new ads staged every week |
| Email and SMS | A draft when you ask | Usually a separate retainer | Six flows built and tested; campaigns on your calendar |
| Approvals | Confirm in the chat | Trust | Before and after in Slack; you tap Approve |
| Reports | When you ask | A monthly deck | Morning brief, hourly change log, weekly review |
| If you leave | Export your chats | An offboarding call | Everything keeps running. It is yours. |
What you get
A tool
An assistant you have to remember to askDepartment
Your AI team every day, plus a human executiveWho does the work
A tool
You, typing promptsDepartment
Your AI team, on a schedule you can see, with your approvalYour time each week
A tool
Hours: you brief it and check itDepartment
Taps in Slack plus one 45-minute reviewGetting started
A tool
Sign up in minutesDepartment
In your Slack in a week, everything running in thirty daysYour data
A tool
In their cloudDepartment
In one place, on a machine you ownAsk Claude
A tool
Chat onlyDepartment
Claude connected to your real numbersMedia buying
A tool
Meta and Google, when you askDepartment
Six platforms, every ad judged dailyOptimizes to
A tool
The platform's numberDepartment
What the ad actually brought in across every store, counted by the tracking tool you already trustAmazon
A tool
Not coveredDepartment
Listings, ads, rank, Buy Box, stock and reviewsCreators and creative
A tool
Copy on requestDepartment
Creator outreach and new ads staged every weekEmail and SMS
A tool
A draft when you askDepartment
Six flows built and tested; campaigns on your calendarApprovals
A tool
Confirm in the chatDepartment
Before and after in Slack; you tap ApproveReports
A tool
When you askDepartment
Morning brief, hourly change log, weekly reviewIf you leave
A tool
Export your chatsDepartment
Everything keeps running. It is yours.
Every line in the department column is work our AI employees already do for the six brands we run.
Growth Dept vs Viktor
Compare who runs the work.
Compare the work you need covered and who answers for the result. Growth Dept includes a growth executive and an agreed ecommerce program. Viktor is an AI employee your team briefs and works with.
| Line | Viktor | Growth Dept |
|---|---|---|
| Service | An AI employee your team briefs and works with. | Your AI team plus a growth executive responsible for your ecommerce program and weekly review. |
| Recurring work | Scheduled automations run on credits too. | Daily media buying, Amazon, creators, email and SMS, with priorities and approvals agreed with you. |
| Human support | Enterprise lists onboarding and training; it does not list a dedicated ecommerce growth executive. | A named growth executive runs the weekly review and answers for the numbers. |
See all 5 lines
| Getting started | Self-serve; enterprise includes onboarding and training. | We set up the accounts, connections and playbooks with you. Your AI team joins Slack within a week. |
|---|---|---|
| AI costs | Work, including scheduled automations, is paid for in credits on your Viktor plan. | You pay AI providers directly under your own accounts. Those bills vary with your subscriptions and usage. |
Service
Viktor
An AI employee your team briefs and works with.
Growth Dept
Your AI team plus a growth executive responsible for your ecommerce program and weekly review.
Getting started
Viktor
Self-serve; enterprise includes onboarding and training.
Growth Dept
We set up the accounts, connections and playbooks with you. Your AI team joins Slack within a week.
Recurring work
Viktor
Scheduled automations run on credits too.
Growth Dept
Daily media buying, Amazon, creators, email and SMS, with priorities and approvals agreed with you.
AI costs
Viktor
Work, including scheduled automations, is paid for in credits on your Viktor plan.
Growth Dept
You pay AI providers directly under your own accounts. Those bills vary with your subscriptions and usage.
Human support
Viktor
Enterprise lists onboarding and training; it does not list a dedicated ecommerce growth executive.
Growth Dept
A named growth executive runs the weekly review and answers for the numbers.
Plan details checked September 11, 2026: Viktor plans · Credits and billing. A service not listed in a plan is not a claim that the software cannot do it.
A Tuesday with your AI team
- 6:00 AMMorning brief posted
- 9:00 AMFive ad changes proposed, before and after
- 9:04 AMApproved
- 10:00 AMEmail test ready for approval
- 2:00 PMSix new ads staged
- 5:30 PMEnd-of-day digest
An agreed daily program, reviewed with your growth executive.
Illustrative day and names. Actual work follows your agreed plan.
What only a department has
Six things you do not get from a tool, an agency or a hire.
Each of these runs today for the six brands we manage. They are the reason the tables above read the way they do.
Six ad platforms, every day
Meta, Google, Amazon, TikTok, Snapchat and AppLovin. Every ad judged every morning; budget moved to what is working.
Best-seller rank, 8 months
Amazon, fully handled
Listings kept healthy, ads run daily, best-seller rank and Buy Box watched every hour, restocks planned, reviews read. Nine marketplaces.
Creators and the creative bridge
Creators found and paid on TikTok Shop; their winning videos re-cut into ads on Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, AppLovin and YouTube.
Your numbers in one place, on your machine
Every store, marketplace, ad account and email tool in one place, on a machine we build and ship to you. Yours outright.
Repeat customers were 31% of orders last month, up from 26%. Email drove most of the lift.
Claude, connected to your business
Anyone on your team asks Claude a plain question and gets an answer from your real numbers. Same numbers your AI team uses in Slack.
Your growth executive
Weekly review, Mondays 9:00
A human on the hook
A named growth executive sets and reviews your AI team's limits, runs the weekly review, replies the same day on weekdays and answers for the numbers. Not a support inbox.
Meet the team
The people behind your department.
Growth Dept brings growth strategy, implementation and day-to-day support together. Your engagement has a named growth executive, with the team behind them.
Holden Russell
CEO
CEO of Growth Dept. Holden built the Growth Dept operating system around the day-to-day work of running ecommerce growth across paid media, Amazon, creative, retention and analytics.
Eli Lazar
Sales and partnerships
Works with brands to understand the business, discuss the scope and find the right fit for Growth Dept.
Matt Block
Engineering and implementation
Works on client setup, connections and ongoing maintenance, and the systems that support each department.
Next step
Forty-five minutes with our team. Your AI team in your Slack a week later.
Bring your store URL and the numbers you already trust. You'll leave with a written plan: what your AI team takes on first, what it costs, and when it's in your Slack.
- Johnson
- Nova
- Emily
- Carley
growth-dept
Your department's first week. Roles are examples.