Russell
Paulson
I BUILD COMMUNITIES AND GROWTH ENGINES FOR CONSUMER PLATFORMS.At Autograph, I led growth from 0 to 100K users in 9 months and improved day-7 retention from 10% to 35%. I built and managed a 60K-member Discord community and a network of 4,000+ content creators and influencers.Before that, I founded Essential Travel Design, a luxury travel consultancy that generated $1M+ in annual bookings through systematic content marketing, email automation, and client relationship systems.
WHAT I DO:Community Building - Design and scale engagement systems that turn users into advocatesGrowth Marketing - Multi-channel lifecycle campaigns, influencer partnerships, and data-driven acquisition strategiesContent & Brand - Create editorial presence that drives organic growth and builds cultural capital
SELECT WORK:Autograph (2022-2025)
Growth & Community Lead
- Scaled platform from 0→100K users in 9 months
- Improved retention from 10% → 35% through systematic engagement strategies
- Managed 60K Discord community and 4K+ creator network
- 55% email open rates through segmented lifecycle campaignsEssential Travel Design (2017-2023)
Founder- Built $1M+ annual booking business from scratch
- Developed automated client acquisition and retention systems
- Created original content series featuring industry partnersRP WEEKLY (2025)
Creator-Newsletter documenting the art of Human-Proof Experience Design across Tech, Hospitality, Sports & Media.Based in Los Angeles