Michael Luckey, MBA

Iterategy

Helping Startups make data-backed decisions to achieve sustainable growth

Founder

RevGenius

RevGenius is a trusted space where curious revenue professionals are collaborating on the future of B2B GTM

Member

Rally Corp

As a Co-Founder and Director of Operations, I had multiple roles and responsibilities; a few of those roles and responsibilities include:

• Led Project Management and Product Management, including managing the product roadmap and development team

• Established and scaled the first defined customer support system and process which led to an average time to first response of under 30 mins for support tickets

• Defined customer onboarding and lifecycle to ensure customer success, support, and the resolution of issues were completed in an efficient and timely manner

• Developed multiple outbound prospecting systems and channels including email and LinkedIn which led to organic growth and a decrease in customer acquisition costs 

• Managed the billing department and bookkeeping, including budgets, financial modeling, and growth forecasting

• Developed and implemented regular reporting of key performance metrics including forecasting, funnel analysis, and pipeline management and optimization

Co-Founder, Operations & Strategy

AARE - Real Estate

As Operations Director, I worked across departments to implement multiple processes and systems. Those systems and processes include:

• Launched a new internal communication system that reduced internal email volume by 50%, increased collaboration with the remote workforce, and created the capacity to handle external communications more efficiently

• Deployed a new project management system that identified potential overlapping initiatives and allowed better allocation of resources

• New CRM was the first standardized pipeline and process, thereby combining data/information from multiple disparate systems into one unified system
             • Dedicated pipeline and defined stages and processes
             • Deployed the first sales and marketing automation system

• Led the process of launching a new online community and learning management system, which allowed a central location for members to access information and engage with other members

Fractional Operations Director

Self-Employed

• Led two separate mobile app development teams simultaneously each developing two separate apps, each with their own iOS and Android versions from concept to listing on both the Apps Store and Google Play Store in under 60 days

• Consulted with clients on new business development opportunities

• Provided expertise for marketing campaigns in progress and planned for future campaigns. Developed promotional budgets and implementation plans  

• Conducted market research and advised on go-to-market plans

Product/Project Manager & Consultant

Markstein Beverage Co. of Sacramento

Served on a leadership team comprised of management staff from each department, tasked with creating an employee training program, business-improvement strategies, and product marketing ideas

Was part of a team that managed over $200,000,000 in sales annually

Leadership Team

Developed and implemented marketing and sales objectives for a portfolio of brands that did over $10 million in sales annually. Contributed expertise to successful product launches by educating the sales force about new products and creating product launch strategies. Participated in determining sales goals, developing budgets, and creating incentives sales representatives

Successful projects included:
• Collaborated with the IT department to develop the company’s first-ever digital pitch book for 200+ products, providing 24x7 access to all company product information via sales reps’ tablet computers. 
• Developed strategies and provided training to aid reps in selling new products for smaller brands not yet well established in the marketplace.
• Developed key account list for craft and import beer portfolio and provided account-level support, focused particularly on creating brand-specific promotions in the accounts.

Products worked with include:
Boston Beer, Sierra Nevada, Firestone Walker, Goose Island, Guinness, Speakeasy, Stella Artois, and many others.

Associate Brand Manager, High-End Brand Portfolio

Performed a similar role to High-End brand position, with a focus on lead generation. Additionally, managed and coordinated a product demonstration team for field marketing events.

Products worked with include: 
Monster Energy, Arizona Iced Teas, Perrier, San Pellegrino, Tampico, Nestle Pure  Life, Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water, Acqua Panna Water, Icelandic Glacial, Activate Drinks, illy issimo.

Non-Alcoholic Sales & Marketing Representative

Designed and implemented schematics for chain, independent grocery and convenience accounts. Partnered extensively with independent store owners to design effective, sales-generating beverage sections.

Category Development

Executed sales objectives through merchandising and maintained product quality control at the account level. Initially completed a 3-month internship by rotating through diverse company departments. Gained first experience with the company while still in high school, working summers as a warehouse helper and delivery helper.

Intern

Donaghy Sales, LLC

While completing my undergraduate degree I worked as part of the Contemporary Marketing Team where I initiated actions to develop and execute marketing plans for adults 21-35 years old. This included account management, field marketing, event planning, and customer engagement. In this position I gained both B2B and B2C experience.

Contemporary Marketing Team

Sales & Marketing Operations Expert | Founder @ Rally Corp

As a co-founder and director of operations and strategy at rallycorp.com, I am passionate about empowering communities and causes to rally and mobilize people to change the world. Our mission is to help purpose-driven leaders get results with mobile technology by providing them with innovative tools such as Text-to-Donate, Text-to-RSVP, Ringless Voicemail, and smart Texting Campaigns through our Rally Platform.

With my background in sales and marketing for top consumer packaged goods brands and an MBA in marketing and international business, I have leveraged my skills to build rallycorp.com from the ground up, serving 6 out of 10 of the world's top non-profits and top US hospital networks. My responsibilities include sales and marketing operations, go-to-market strategy, and deploying sales and marketing analytics and automation, allowing us to automate processes and make educated business decisions.

As a B2B SaaS founder, I understand founders' challenges in balancing growth strategy and execution. I offer my expertise as a fractional sales and marketing operations expert, helping visionary B2B SaaS startup founders optimize their sales growth while reducing cost per lead. My services include robust marketing and sales analytics dashboards, sales automation, and designing and executing projects that align with your business goals.

Outside of work, I believe in doing good while also doing well. I enjoy spending time with my family, exploring the great outdoors through golf, hiking, skiing, and fly fishing, and traveling as much as possible.

Let's connect if you're interested in learning more about rallycorp.com, discussing how I can help your B2B SaaS startup as a fractional sales and marketing operations expert, or simply sharing insights and experiences in the world of purpose-driven business.

I was early Marketing at Uber spending 5 years building Brand, Performance, and Lifecycle Marketing Data Science teams. I got to work with & learn from world-class marketing, data science, and martech leaders. Over the course of my career there I've measured over $1Bn in Marketing Spend and estimate that I've helped drive $200M+ in incremental revenue and cost savings . 

Then I moved on to a few early stage startups and scaleups (both as a FTE and Consultant) where I learned how to be even scrappier when building Marketing. 

Now I help Marketers make smarter decisions through my newsletter & podcast on Consumer Tech Marketing with how-to guides, case studies, and stories. 

I'm doing this because I love the marketing stories and people behind it in a world where Product seems to get most of the credit. There's so much magic in Marketing and I want to share more about it. 

Check it out here → https://experimental.beehiiv.com/

Outside of my newsletter and podcast, I love spending time with my 2 beautiful kids and my incredible wife in Amsterdam. We used to love traveling and eating out but you know... kids ...  so now I love cooking and exploring all the fun things little kids can do!

Sundar Swaminathan

One of the hardest things about having kids has been reconciling my professional identity before vs after. 

Before, I cared so much about my career. 

Being raised Indian and American, what I did defined who I was.

Even as a kid, you’re asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” 

“Doctor. President. Astronaut”

What you wanted to BE was what you DID. 

Early career, I’d chase promotions and titles and cared about so many small things. 

Post kids, I couldn’t give a sh*t. 

And I don’t mean I want to do sh*t work. 

I still have pride in my work. 

I mean I don’t care whether I get that next promotion or whether I am “changing the world” or working on something cool. 

I don’t have career ambitions. 

I just want to hang out with my kids. 

And I am working to live not living to work. 

But the gap between how much I care about my kids vs my career is widening. 

So much so that I now have an aversion to the idea of going back to a job. 

Like actually disgusted. 

Lol my friends have described this as me just having a “mid life crisis” but I think it’s something deeper.

It’s an existential one. 

One where everything I had been working for 15 years towards now carries zero meaning and significance in my current view of life.

Former Head of Marketing Science at Uber where I optimized $1Bn+ in spend across Brand, Performance, and Lifecycle → ✏️ & 🎙️ on Growth and Marketing in Consumer Tech

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CEO: Simple question.Should we do brand marketing?

CMO: Simple answer. Will you give me 6 months without pulling the plug?

CEO: That's a long time.

CMO: That's likely how long it takes to see brand impact compound. If you'll panic before then I'm not going to even bother. 

CEO: What happens at month 6?

CMO: Your performance CAC will do one of two things:
1. We either keep the same volume and lower CAC 
OR
2. We keep the same CAC and do higher volume. 

Depends on what our strategy and goals are.

CEO: How do we know it's working before? 

CMO: Proxy metrics, share of search starting to go up, increased "direct" traffic.

CEO: Those sound fluffy...

CMO: This is exactly why I asked for 6 months of you backing off, but here's another question for you that might change your mind. 

Are you happy with the current performance?

CEO: HECK NO! 1. We're burning profit 2. Our CACs are skyrocketing 3. The quality of users is really going down. 

CMO: And why do you think that is?

CEO: Idk.

CMO: I do. We ran out of people that know about our product after we picked all the low hanging fruit. 

CEO: Ugh that sounds right. We've been in market for a few years.

CMO: Exactly, but our product is awesome and we love it and we need more people to know about it.

CEO: Hmmm that makes sense to me.

CMO: Here's the best part... our competitors aren't doing this which means we can get a head start and start building a moat that both improves our growth AND slows theres down.

CEO: Ohhhhhh siiiiiick! Okay, you're right! Let's f*cking go! 

CMO: Heck yes... just remember...6 months. 

--
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Former Head of Marketing Science at Uber where I optimized $1Bn+ in spend across Brand, Performance, and Lifecycle → Sharing how top Consumer Techs prove, optimize, and scale Marketing ROI

CEO: Revenue is up but margins are down?!

New CMO: Yup, we’re just renting growth.

CEO: Explain. 

CMO: There’s a difference between earning growth and renting it.

When you started, CAC was $50 and customers had strong word-of-mouth. We were earning growth. Now CAC is $120 and referrals are flat. We’re renting it and paying the paid tax. 

CEO: So we’re spending more to acquire customers?

CMO: Worse. We’re spending more to acquire lower-quality customers. The easy audience is tapped out.

CEO: How do you know they’re lower quality?

CMO: Day 30 retention dropped from 60% to 45%. LTV is down 25%. We’re hitting diminishing returns on paid channels.

CEO: What happens if we keep scaling spend?

CMO: Revenue goes up. Profitability goes down. Eventually, we’re growing unprofitably, and the board pulls the plug.

CEO: So we stop spending?

CMO: No. We need to slow down marketing. We fix the unit economics first. Better onboarding, improved retention, stronger referral mechanics. We also need to invest in Brand Marketinf after. Then we scale again. 

CEO: Why can’t we do both at the same time?

CMO: Because resources, priorities, and bad growth masks the problem. If revenue is climbing, no one feels urgency to fix retention. Then one day, the channels stop working and we realize we built on sand.

CEO: How do we know when we’ve hit this wall?

CMO: When CAC is rising faster than LTV. When our payback period gets too long. That’s the signal.
–
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Jr Marketer: Hey, I'd love to become more data driven 
Manager: *slacks 10 articles below*
Jr Marketer: *1 day later...* Whoa. 🤯. IQ +1000

--

1. Everyone tells Marketers to be more data-driven, but not everyone knows where to start. Here are 10 of the most common analytics terms that's a good starting place.
https://lnkd.in/gZA9-wce

2. We need to get smarter about measuring marketing and here are 5 different tactics we can use to measure what we're doing.
https://lnkd.in/gw3mXHGh

3. MAU is a KPI for us but we've been measuring it all wrong. This is one of my favorites on hwo to properly calculate MAU.
https://lnkd.in/g9MEku7h

4. As we transition to increasing personalization and need smarter segmentation, I really reading how Uber did it with their 600M+ customers.
https://lnkd.in/gHXiYMSg

5. We're coming up in 2026 planning and this one helped me shape how we're going to be doing planning and target setting for our team. 
https://lnkd.in/gmH8VV8T

6. Given we don't always have analytics resources at our disposal this one is great for when we need to run a pre / post analysis ourselves. It's not about perfection but just slightly smarter decisions.
https://lnkd.in/gbbw4yz7

7. We know how important LTV is to everything we're doing but turns out we had been doing it all wrong. I took this article to our Finance team and we've rebuilt it.
https://lnkd.in/gxUqcxcw

8. This one is just WHOA! This article is why we've added a measurement strategy to our campaign briefs and why our data science team loves working with us again.
https://lnkd.in/gPrr-tAF

9. This is a complement to the LTV article above but it's how we're defining CAC moving forward. It helped me align with Finance and why we're now BFFS.
https://lnkd.in/gmvsqxvF

10. This is just a fun article on how Duolingo turned around slow growth and grew 900% by being more data driven
https://lnkd.in/gWDnDj9X

Former Head of Brand Science at Uber | Author and host of experiMENTAL ✏️ & 🎙️ on Growth and Marketing in Consumer Tech

Who reads my newsletter on Marketing in Consumer tech? 

Marketers in consumer tech. 
Also data scientist.
And founders. 

When I set out to write this newsletter, the biggest doubt I had (which is most people’s fear) is that no one would read it.

I’d just be writing into a void and while it gave me joy, it wouldn’t be a business. 

Almost 50 articles later and a year into it, I know that’s no longer true. 

50+ articles. 
2,800 readers.
60% open rate. 

And most importantly?! 

The audience I’m writing for is who reads it.

Marketing leaders across the funnel from Brand to lifecycle at companies like Uber, DoorDash, Apple, AirBNB, Spotify, Google and so many more. 

It’s just motivating to be able to take a step back and see the daily efforts translate to something. 

Anyway, Im excited and think my best work is yet to come. 

Thank you to everyone that supports me! 

Onwards and upwards.

New CMO: Why do we separate brand and performance?

CEO: Because they’re different things.

CMO: How so?

CEO: Brand is long-term and hard to measure. Performance is short-term and drives revenue. We split the budget 30/70 to keep it clean.

CMO: That’s the problem. You’re acting like they work in isolation.

CEO: They don’t?

CMO: Our performance channels work better when brand awareness is high. And brand campaigns drive some immediate conversions. They’re not separate games.

CEO: So how should we think about them?

CMO: Stop asking “is this brand or performance?” Start asking “what’s the full impact of this investment?”

CEO: That sounds complicated.

CMO: It is. But pretending they’re separate is why companies think brand doesn’t work.

CEO: Explain.

CMO: We run a brand campaign. Performance metrics don’t move much immediately. You call it a failure. But we didn’t measure if it lowered our CAC or improved conversion rates on paid channels.

CEO: How would we measure that?

CMO: Geo holdouts. Test brand in some markets and not others. Then measure the impact on all channels, not just brand-attributed conversions.

CEO: Why doesn’t every company do this?

CMO: Because it’s easier to keep them in silos. Brand team reports on awareness. Performance team reports on ROAS. No one connects the dots.

CEO: We’ve been doing exactly that.

CMO: I know. Time to change it up. 
–
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CMO: We need to A/B test this launch!

Me: We can't. But here's what we can do...

Propensity matching.

CMO: Wait, why can't we A/B test?

Me: I don't think we want to hide the launch of our loyalty program from 50% of our users. 

CMO: Fair point. But, I'm being asked to show the ROI of the loyalty program. Will we be able to do that?

Me: Yes! We can use propensity matching.

CMO: Say more fam.

Me: So in a normal A/B test, we randomize users before and then measure the difference. 

Propensity matching is the opposite.

We start by looking at the users we want to analyze, which in this case is everyone who signed up for the loyalty program.

Then we look at everyone who USED to behave the same but didn't sign up for the loyalty program.

Then we measure the difference in their behaviors. 

Here's an example:
User 1 starts as an X then becomes a O.
User 2 starts as an X and stays as an X. 
We measure the difference between O and X. 

X → O (Treatment)
X → X (Control)

CMO: Woah! Basically it's a way for us to compare more apples to apples without an A/B test.

Me: Yes, exactly. 

CMO: This is awesome. Thanks for saving my a*s

Me: No problem. If you want to read more check out this article I sent to 2,800+ Marketers → https://lnkd.in/gcHsSpqy

CMO: Damn, we are not data driven at all.

CEO: What do you mean?! I've tried to be since day 1!

CMO: Because no one changes their mind based on the data.

CEO: I don't understand. We hired data scientists. We have dashboards everywhere. How are we not data-driven?

CMO: Again, because no one changes their mind based on the data.

CEO: That's not true. We look at reports every week.

CMO: Looking at data isn't the same as being driven by it.

CEO: What's the difference?

CMO: Last month, we tested two pricing models. The data showed Model B was 8% better. We still went with Model A.

CEO: We had strategic reasons for that.

CMO: Exactly. That's being opinion-driven with data decoration. Nothing wrong with it, but let's not pretend it's something else.

CEO: So what does data-driven actually look like?

CMO: It means you make the uncomfortable decision when data contradicts your intuition. Most companies can't stomach that.

CEO: Give me another example.

CMO: Our best performing acquisition channel according to dashboards? I wanted to cut it. You pushed back because "it's always worked." That's not data-driven.

CEO: But you didn't have proof it wasn't working.

CMO: Our team had a solid analysis that suggested it was plus experience. We wanted to run an incrementality test proving it out. You wanted more proof. That's the problem. Data-driven companies trust the data AND run tests to confirm hypotheses. You just wanted a narrative that felt right.

CEO: This is uncomfortable to hear.

CMO: I know. It’s not easy for me to says That's how we know we're getting somewhere. We say we want data-driven culture but actually want data-supported decisions.

CEO: What's it take to actually become data-driven?

CMO: Start saying "the data changed my mind" more than "the data confirms what I thought." Been reading Sundar's posts on this. He calls out the theater constantly.

CEO: This Sundar guy is on to something. Send me his LI profile.

CMO: Sent below 
--
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Marketer: We're launching tomorrow! Let's measure

Data Science (DS): We can't. Sorry 😢 

Marketer: Why not?!

DS: Because we need time to set up measurement and it's too late. The measurement will be crap and we don't feel comfortable with it.

Marketer: Uh oh. This is no beuno. 

DS: We agree. Moving forward PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE involve us at least a few weeks before. The more time the better. 

Marketer: Donezo!

This is a Marketing situation that happened a thousand times at Uber which left everyone with a bitter taste in their mouth.

As you go into 2026 and have your campaign ideas ready, please please please involve your Marketing Data Science team as early as possible. 

We want to make better decisions with you so please work with us.

--
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Here are 4 stories from my time leading Uber's Brand Data Science team that will change your mind about the impact of Brand Marketing:

All of these stories are empirical with data backed causal studies and not theoretical. 

1. DoorDash kicks our b*tt
In 2018, UberEATS and DoorDash were neck in neck in the US. 

Now? It has 66% marketshare.

The most readily obvious reasons are selection and focusing on suburbs. These are definitely primary reasons but they also outspent us on Brand Marketing early. 

They were on TV and OOH faster and bigger which is exactly where suburban audiences consume and it made them the entrenched preference.

The UberEATS team is world class but once that brand moat sets in it becomes a tough uphill battle. 

2. Needing to be always on

We ran a brand campaign in the UK where we were testing a new concept for Uber as a whole.

During the campaign, awareness went up massively. 

Think XX%. Signups did too across Rides and Eats.

But we then had to pause the campaign and within a month that awareness came plummeting back to the pre campaign base line. 

And signups? You guessed it. 📉

We then advocated for always on budget. 

3. Know where your audience is

In India, we were launching a new campaign around women's safety in Uber Auto.

The classic perf marketing channels work but not as well as other channels especially in dense cities in India and we wanted the message to be more public.

So OOH and TV were where we invested and we saw Auto trips go up by 6% within a short period. 

4. In Australia, we went all in with a campaign called "Tonight I'll be Eating" for UberEATS that featured Kim Kardashian and a well known Australian comedian. 

The campaign took off! 

We were hitting record bests and the impact was immediate cementing our place as the #1 app in Australia.

I've got a dozen more stories, but the point is as someone who was lucky enough to causally measure these campaigns, I got to see the impact of Brand at a scale that no other marketing type can touch. 

Brand campaigns have massive impact.

You just need to figure out how.
--
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The hardest part of building Uber's Brand Marketing Data Science was the initial awkwardness.

Because honestly, nobody wanted that team.

Brand Marketers had already been running marketing for years without having to prove ROI.

Data Science didn't love having to spread resources. 

Ops and Product already wrote off Brand Marketing so there really wasn't a ton of love anywhere.

What made it work (at first) was a forced top down mandate of having to measure over a Billion in spend.

Over time things got easier when teams realized my team was there to be an ally instead of an auditor. And since then the team has been able to prove countless times the value of Brand Marketing which is why you see Uber doubling down on it. 

Looking back I completely get why the teams felt the way they did. 

What I admire even more is how much we were willing to work together and experiment to find a partnership that worked.

That's where most companies fail: the cultural ability to stand things up just to see what happens. 

–
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Sebastian Hewing 🚀 is my next guest on experiMENTAL Newsletter & Podcast! 

He's a data and AI advisor to VC and PE-backed startups after working at some of the fastest growing startups ever with Rocket Internet SE.

On today's episode we chat about: 
• how to build data setups that empower, not babysit, your stakeholders
• a three-step framework that’s helped 40+ companies
• best traits of high-leverage your first analytics hire
• why solution-first thinking fails data teams

My favorite quotes from our conversation:

"I always implement a role that I call the super user, which
is a role that that I think is lacking in a lot of data setups and causes all kinds of problems."

"I think it's a very poetic point. The data advisor is not coming in for the data analyst they're coming for to help out another function."

"I think there's the pre AI problems and then there's the pre AI challenges and then there's the additional challenges that come with everything that's happening around AI."

Sebastian is by far one of the best data leaders I've had the pleasure of chatting with and if you're either a data leader looking to uplevel or a stakeholder looking to learn how to best implement data practices, this one's for you.

Tune in wherever you love listening to podcasts:
Listen: https://lnkd.in/ebSGnypU
Watch: https://lnkd.in/gPacUgjP
Subscribe: https://lnkd.in/gPacUgjP

Head of Marketing Data Science at Uber where I optimized $1Bn+ in spend across Brand, Performance, and Lifecycle → Sharing the playbooks top Consumer Tech Marketers use to prove, optimize, and scale ROI

New playbook dropping tomorrow: How to scale Meta 

But I'm going beyond the normal tactics.

Most "playbooks" I see only talk about account changes from within the Meta platform focusing on ad and campaign structures.

That's fine, but that doesn't let you scale to the full potential.

You have to also include:
1. Full funnel campaigns
2. Product improvements
3. MarTech investments
4. Foundational experiments

Without these building blocks, you hamstring your ability to scale Meta. 

And for most companies, Meta is the #1 ad channel.

So, tomorrow I'm dropping the playbook top Consumer Techs use to prove, optimize, and scale Marketing ROI on Meta. 

Join 2.6K+ other Marketing leaders from companies like Uber, DoorDash, Amazon, Spotify, and more by subscribing here → https://lnkd.in/gxR5c4Xd

CMO: I need better data to prove Marketing ROI! 

Head of Analytics: What data are you missing?

CMO: Better attribution. Cleaner tracking. More sophisticated modeling.

Head of Analytics: We have all of that. You're not using it.

CMO: What do you mean?

Head of Analytics: I've sent you two incrementality test results in the last two months. You haven't acted on any of them.

CMO: Because the results didn't make sense.

Head of Analytics: They didn't match your intuition. That's different.

CMO: One test said our biggest channel had zero incremental lift. That can't be right.

Head of Analytics: Why not?

CMO: Because we've been investing in it for years. The attribution shows strong performance.

Head of Analytics: And there's your problem. You don't have a data problem. You have a "willing to be wrong" problem.

CMO: That's harsh.

Head of Analytics: But accurate. Every exec says they want proof. What they really want is validation.

CMO: So what do I do?

Head of Analytics: Start by defining what result would change your mind. If no answer would make you cut that channel, stop asking for data.

CMO:  You know CEO won't accept that.

Head of Analytics: Then get aligned on decision criteria before you ask for my team to put together something or work with me more. 

CMO: How do other companies do this?

Head of Analytics: The good ones decide what they'll do if the test shows X, Y, or Z before running it. Been reading Sundar's posts and it's something we need to commit to in the briefing phase. What metric do we want to measure and what decisions would we make?

CMO: Okay, I can accept that. I want to get better!

--
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Measuring marketing is NOT about the latest and greatest tools.

A successful strategy has 4 components: 

1. Goals
2. People
3. Culture
4. Channels

Goals 
⮑ What is the business trying to accomplish? 
⮑ How does Marketing fit in?

People
⮑ What skillsets do you have?
⮑ What's the hiring roadmap look like? 

Culture
⮑ Are you willing to experiment?
⮑ Does leadership understand the risks?

Channels
⮑ What are the main channels used?
⮑ Are we launching new ones?

If you find yourself struggling to prove the ROI of Marketing, take a step back and figure out which of these 4 places is lacking. 

The most successful Marketing Science teams start at the top. 

The tools are never the answer. 

What’s the number one thing you focus on to implement an effective measurement strategy? 

--
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This visual perfectly captures what building experiMENTAL Newsletter & Podcast has felt like.

After my short stint as an FTE this year, I was super stoked to go full steam ahead on my newsletter and podcast about Marketing in Consumer Tech. 

It let me chase the joy of sharing everything I've learned in my career while having the ultimate flexibility to hang out with my kids and wife.

But then you run your family's financial model.

And reality sets in that your passion has to be a business.

Writing an article goes from shipping for fun to shipping and tracking if people opened, read, and converted. I'm microanalyzing every survey response or piece of feedback. 

It sucks the fun out of writing and I couldn't put my finger on why until I saw this chart from Peter Walker.

Simply, the largest change in happiness happens after "Initial Enthusiasm" when it becomes "Reality sets in". 

It has by far the steepest slope (1st derivative for you math nerds). 

And that's where I'm at.

It's scary. 

And the only thing that gets me through? 

Unwavering faith in my work. 

Faking it til I'm making it. 

Experimenting. Pivoting. Grinding.

And now I get why founders have this insane ability to force visions and missions because that's what's required.

Not only do I want to believe I produce the best content on Marketing Strategy & Science in Consumer Tech, but I have to. 

I have to believe my sh*t is worth reading.

I have to believe it's worth buying.

I have to believe it's worth it.

Because then everyone else will too.

Love, 
Sundar

Dear post reader, 

Happy Thanksgiving from 0-3 weeks ago! 

I can not control when this surfaces, but I hope you have fully recovered from the binge eating, career sh*t talking, and your football team’s loss. 

I also hope that you were able to celebrate with everyone you were thankful for and that you recognize the good things going on in your life even if it’s surrounded by some other bad. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 🍽 🦃 🥘 🌽 

Sincerely,
Sundar

My next podcast guest is Mattia Santin, Senior VP of Marketing at Contentsquare (ex Hotjar, Uber)! 

On today's episode we chat about: 
• the career leaps that shaped his approach 
• what happens when CMOs get their hands dirty 
• why too many marketing teams mistake motion for progress 

and much more.

My favorite quotes from our conversation:

"The first thing I do is spend as much time as possible talking to people"

"You have to go down, into the trenches also in the numbers and understanding, making your own assessment of what, what you're seeing"

"Everybody was pushing me to spend more. It, it didn't feel right, in part because I never had that experience, in part because I didn't feel comfortable in our measurement and our ability to understand truly ROI."

Mattia is a brilliant strategist AND executor knowing how to drop in and build impactful Marketing teams. If you’re looking to get a leg up on how to navigate strategy, scale, or structure inside a fast-growing company, this one’s for you.

Tune in wherever you love listening to podcasts:
Listen: https://lnkd.in/gFGjqJ3e
Watch: https://lnkd.in/gueY5bYq
Subscribe: https://lnkd.in/gxR5c4Xd

‼️Launching accelerator: babY Combinator

Focused on seed and preseed stage for founders aged 7 and below. 

The new generation is born with AI from day 1 and understand the technology better than anyone.

In addition, when they build products for their peers, that demographic will have the highest LTV with an average of 75-80 years ahead of them. 

The math is undeniable. 

There of course will be some challenges:
- Additional facilities for diapers
- Cofounder tantrums 
- Naps 

But we believe we can over come them and create the next generation of truly generational founders. 

It is never too young to ride the AI wave. 

DM me if you want to be an LP. 

If you’re sold, skip the convo and Venmo me

When I built Uber's Brand Data science team, I knew NOTHING about Brand. Looking back it was the most eye opening experience in Marketing I've ever had. 

Like most Marketers, I had an upbringing in Performance Marketing.

1. Highly measurable 
2. Rapid execution
3. Easily testable

So, when I took the role, I felt like I was giving away all of the things I loved being a data scientist.

Boy, was I wrong. 

First, I got to work with world class Brand Marketers who had this amazing ability to tell complex stories with a simple image. I learned so much. 

Then, I had to partner with them to prove ROI on a BILLION+ dollars of spend. The impact of what I was working on was immense. 

Finally, I was part of a handful of Consumer Techs using modern techniques to measure Brand Marketing ROI. I was at the cutting edge causal inference techniques and econometric modeling. 

The next wave of Consumer Tech marketing is already seeing more focus on Brand Marketing.

We've seen campaigns from OpenAI and Anthropic and scaleups we wouldn't normally see.

If you're on the edge, here's what I can tell you from empirical evidence:

Do it.
Invest in it.
Stay consistent.

The impact is tangible.
The impact is measurable.
The impact is eye opening.

–
👉 Join 2.6K+ Marketing leaders who read my weekly playbooks on how to prove, optimize, and scale ROI: https://lnkd.in/gxR5c4Xd

taplio

The Battle

Michael Luckey, MBA

Sundar Swaminathan

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taplio

The Battle

Michael Luckey, MBA

Sundar Swaminathan

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Sundar Swaminathan's LinkedIn Performance

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