How I Grew This
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Dive into the dynamic world of digital marketing with Amanda Vandiver and Adam Landis in “How I Grew This,” where we invite leaders in the space to explore how they overcome industry challenges to achieve growth. Expect insightful conversations that uncover the secrets of our guest’s success in the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 14, 2023 • 19min
[Greatest Hits] VP of Customer Experience at Resy: Eddie Christian - The 100% Commitment Approach to Building a Thriving Customer Success Career
This episode of How I Grew This is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Dec 7, 2023 • 31min
VP of Marketing and Communications at Ledger: Ariel Wengroff - When Marketing Meets Blockchain and Digital Security
In this episode of How I Grew This, Ariel Wengroff, VP of Marketing and Communications at Ledger, joins Mada Seghete to share thoughts on the intersection of blockchain, security, and marketing. They share how Ledger revolutionizes the digital asset security landscape, strategies for digital success, and the future of blockchain technology.
In her role at Ledger, Ariel leads global marketing and communications, focusing on educating and culturally integrating people into the world of digital asset security. She is also the Founder of Culture's Last Stand, a strategic partner to businesses and individuals, putting the consumer at the center of their practice.
Before that, Ariel was the Co-Founder and Chief Content and Community Officer at arfa and worked at VICE Media, where she was an Executive Producer of the Emmy nominated VICELAND show WOMAN with Gloria Steinem.

Nov 30, 2023 • 29min
[Greatest Hits] Product Lead at ZipRecruiter: Akio Bandle - Mobile Product Management Foundations
In this episode of How I Grew This, Akio Bandle joins Mada Seghete to discuss ZipRecruiter's growth journey, the company's experience with user acquisition for mobile apps, transitioning to remote work and getting into product management.
Akio is currently the Product Lead at ZipRecruiter. Before joining the company, he worked in various organizations, from small startups to large enterprises. Akio is an experienced product manager, product advisor, and marketing analyst.

Nov 21, 2023 • 27min
CEO, Chairman, and Co-Founder of TodayTix Group: Brian Fenty - Mixing E-commerce and Culture
In this episode of How I Grew This, Brian Fenty, CEO, Chairman, and Co-Founder of TodayTix Group, joins Mada Seghete to explore how the company disrupted the ticket-buying experience with their mobile-first platform. Brian also shares the importance of listening to their audience, constantly innovating, and his personal journey and love for theater.
Brian stands at the forefront of integrating technology, commerce, and culture with a decade of expertise. As the visionary behind a suite of brands and platforms, he leads a global audience toward premier live entertainment experiences offered by TodayTix, Secret Cinema, and Goldstar, among others.
Brian's contributions haven't gone unnoticed as he has earned a spot on Crain's "30 under 30," graced Variety's "Dealmakers List," has been honored on the Broadway Impact List, and has been further crowned by the Dramatists Guild Fund award. Moreover, under his leadership, TTG secured a place in The Andreessen Horowitz Marketplace 100.

Nov 16, 2023 • 25min
Co-Founder and Chief Organizational Plumber of FlixBus: Daniel Krauss - How FlixBus Is Driving Sustainable Transportation While Expanding Internationally
In this episode of How I Grew This, Daniel Krauss, Founder and Chief Organizational Plumber of Flix, joins Mada Seghete to unveil the world's leading ground transportation platform growth strategy, future expansion plans, and commitment to sustainability by expanding a battery-powered electric fleet.
Daniel Krauss has vast experience in IT, having worked with companies like Marquardt Group, IFS, and Siemens. Before starting FlixBus with his school friend, André Schwämmlein, Daniel worked as a Technical Account Manager at Microsoft for three years, where he gained valuable insights from the corporate world.

Nov 9, 2023 • 38min
[Greatest Hits] Miguel Navarro - How to Build a Conversational AI for the Human Experience
Artificial Intelligence has become a game-changer for businesses and has opened new growth perspectives and possibilities. Today, customer success equals business success, so companies try leveraging AI features to deliver the best-in-class customer experience – for this, they need conversational AI.
In this episode of How I Grew This, Miguel Navarro joins Mada Seghete to define conversational AI, discuss how it differs from classic chatbots, and the functional benefits of conversational AI for businesses.
Miguel is currently SVP of Business Technology Executive at KeyBank, focusing on conversational AI enterprise delivery. He also has a plethora of experience building and growing mobile apps, voice platforms, chatbots, digital assistance, and more.

Nov 2, 2023 • 38min
[Greatest Hits] VP of Growth at Acorns: Anthony Scarpaci - Testing, Measurement, and Incrementality: The Pillars of Marketing Growth
Anthony Scarpaci, the VP of Growth at Acorns, brings over a decade of experience in performance marketing. He delves into the nuances of marketing measurement, focusing on the differences between attribution and incrementality. Scarpaci discusses the significance of precise targeting across multiple channels and advocates for a blend of statistical analysis with practical decision-making. He also shares a humorous viral prank story and highlights the synergy between music, teamwork, and marketing, illustrating how creativity fuels success.

Oct 26, 2023 • 16min
[Greatest Hits] Head Of Marketing @ MediBuddy: Ashish Bajaj- Balancing Growth & Values
Ashish Bajaj is the Head of Marketing at MediBuddy, which joined forces with DocsApp in 2020 to become India’s largest digital healthcare platform. Previously, he held roles as the Head of Media and Brand Alliance at Ola and as a Channel Marketing Manager with Microsoft.
In this episode, Ashish fondly shares warm anecdotes from his current and past work experience to highlight the positive impact those projects have had on the lives of their customers. Ashish believes that the impact their campaigns leave and the value they contribute to their customers’ lives provide a much greater high for marketers.
Ashish opens up about his outdoor sales experience working for his family in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and how that contributed to his growth story.
Finally, Ashish also shares potent advice for new startups who often get distracted by the hypergrowth of other startups in a race to achieve “unicorn” status.

Oct 19, 2023 • 38min
[Greatest Hits] CMO @ Deliveroo: Inés Ures - Taking an Unconventional Path to CMO
Inés Ures, CMO at Deliveroo, shares her views on growth when it comes to product and retention and how marketing strategies have changed in a post-COVID world. More on Inés’ story, including her unconventional path to becoming a CMO, how Deliveroo pivoted their marketing plans to support restaurants and frontline workers, and the increasingly prevalent shift from paid to organic growth strategies, are featured on this episode of How I Grew This. Listen now on Apple Podcasts Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher and more.

Oct 12, 2023 • 42min
[Greatest Hits] VP of Growth at Shopify: Morgan Brown - Shopify’s Greatest Secrets to Growth
Morgan Brown is the VP of Growth at Shopify and the author of the book “Hacking Growth: How Today's Fastest-Growing Companies Drive Breakout Success”. Prior to Shopify, Morgan led the product team at Facebook and was the Chief Operating Officer for Inman News - the leading news source for real estate and technology.
Given the size of the Shopify brand, they optimize metrics and data analytic processes from a “merchant-first” perspective. This helps guide them toward their mission of making online commerce easier and better for everyone. There's no value in a spiking lead conversion rate if they don’t become customers.
Shopify relies on its growth marketing team (which Morgan is the VP of) for user acquisition. They also have a growth product side that focuses on activation signup, activation trials, and success retention. Internally, growth goals are divided into “missions” and mission teams include channel experts, product leaders, data scientists, engineers, and other cross-functional roles. This decentralized split of marketing teams helps these growth pillars move forward without friction as self-contained units.
Commerce is no longer a discrete point where you drive customers from point A to point B, but it's really about being where that action is going to take place. Shopify recently partnered with TikTok to take their merchants where their customers are and bring the tools of giants like Instagram closer to their merchants.


