When Apple Made App Tracking Harder, AppsFlyer Rose to the Challenge

In this week’s episode of The Breakout Growth Podcast Sean Ellis and Ethan Garr chat with Oren Kaniel, AppsFlyer’s CEO and cofounder. AppsFlyer is a mobile marketing analytics and attribution platform. When Apple announced the vast app tracking transparency changes it deployed in 2021 it shook the Mobile Marketing Partner (MMP) ecosystem. So we wanted to learn from Oren how a fast-growing company like his was able to navigate and lead through this massive sea change. One of the standout moments from our conversation was when Oren explained that as these external forces of change began to manifest around him, he asked the question, “What do we know won’t change?” With so much uncertainty in the industry, knowing what he and his team could safely rely on to stay the same helped define the starting point from which they could meet the challenges and embrace new opportunities as they emerged. This was quite instructive and fits in with the longer view of the world Oren takes. Rather than getting hung up on what will happen in the next year or two, he tries to look at the world through the lens of ‘where are we going,’ five years, ten years, and even beyond. In the startup world, it is often difficult to expand one’s view beyond the urgency of the moment, but AppsFlyer’s success demonstrates the importance of balancing that urgency with what will be important to the business over the longer term. Google recently announced its own round of privacy changes, similar to what Apple has instituted. Undoubtedly, this will further impact AppsFlyer and the entire mobile ecosystem. Despite the chaos this creates, companies like AppsFlyer will find ways to continue to thrive and grow.   Dive in with us and find out how to lead growth when the world around you is in flux, and please subscribe to our new Breakout Growth Podcast YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-K_CY4-IrZ_auEIs0j97zAWe discussed:* The beginning of AppsFlyer; noticing an imbalance in 2010 (06:14)* The business of enabling businesses; 10,000 partners from Salesforce to Facebook (10:21)* Apple and IDFA; staying focused through challenge and change (24:52)* “What we know won’t change” (28:44)*  A future with winners and more complex solutions (56:07)And much, much, more . . . Get full access to Sean’s Substack at seanellis.substack.com/subscribe