Discovery vs. Optimization Marketing: Why Most Startups Get It Wrong | Libby Weissman (Caviar, DoorDash)

In this episode of ExperiMENTAL, Sundar Swaminathan sits down with Libby Weissman (Caviar, Square, DoorDash) to unpack why so many startups fail to tell the difference between discovery and optimization marketing, and what it costs them.

You’ll learn:
✔ How to tell if you're in discovery or optimization
✔ Why unrealistic CAC targets derail your growth
✔ How to use experiments to build marketing conviction
✔ What “price is too high” usually means
✔ How to hire the right marketer for your stage
✔ Real examples from healthtech, food, and services

Libby brings structured thinking and sharp insight for early-stage B2C founders navigating growth. If you’re building in a noisy space, this is your blueprint.

🎧 ExperiMENTAL is hosted by Sundar Swaminathan, Head of Data Science at Bounce and former Uber leader. This show is your behind-the-scenes look at how top marketers and data scientists make smarter decisions.

🧠 Expect unfiltered conversations, mental models, and case studies that help you cut waste, build conviction, and grow your B2C business.

📬 Subscribe to the ExperiMENTAL newsletter for deep dives and frameworks: https://experimental.beehiiv.com/

The Future of Growth Marketing Is Cross-Disciplinary | Sunil Subhedar (Uber, Canva, Anthropic)

Welcome to the very first episode of ExperiMENTAL, the podcast for marketers and data scientists who are done with fluff and ready to go deep.

In this debut episode, host Sundar Swaminathan sits down with Sunil Subhedar, Growth Marketing Lead at Anthropic, and former head of growth at Canva and Uber, to unpack what modern growth marketing actually looks like when you’re building at scale.

You’ll learn:
✔ How to build a growth team that works like a product team
✔ Why the best marketers today think in systems, not channels
✔ The power of cross-functional collaboration with product, data, and engineering
✔ How to align with finance and data science before you run experiments
✔ Real use cases of AI for content, SEO, testing, and ops
✔ Why dashboards are broken and how to fix your reporting mindset

Sunil shares practical frameworks, team design insights, and real lessons from scaling at some of the world’s top tech companies. This is where B2C marketers go to learn what actually works.

🎧 ExperiMENTAL is hosted by Sundar Swaminathan, Head of Data Science at Bounce and former Uber leader. This show is your behind-the-scenes look at how top marketers and data scientists make smarter decisions.

🧠 Expect unfiltered conversations, mental models, and case studies that help you cut waste, build conviction, and grow your B2C business.

📬 Subscribe to the ExperiMENTAL newsletter for deep dives and frameworks: https://experimental.beehiiv.com/

Welcome to ExperiMENTAL, the podcast for B2C marketers, founders, and analysts who are done with surface-level advice and ready to make smarter, data-informed decisions.

Hosted by Sundar Swaminathan, former Head of Brand Data Science at Uber and creator of the ExperiMENTAL newsletter, this show is your go-to space for cutting through noise and building high-impact marketing strategies that actually work.

If you’ve ever wondered whether your best marketing move is to stop spending, or how to prove ROI beyond the usual metrics, you’re not alone. Sundar brings clarity, curiosity, and real experience to every episode, with honest conversations and practical frameworks from leaders at companies like Uber, Faire, and Google.

Expect sharp insights, thought-provoking questions, and strategies you can actually use.

🎙️ Ready to stop guessing and start experimenting?
Subscribe to ExperiMENTAL and get bi-weekly episodes that help you think critically, test boldly, and lead with confidence.

📩 Join the newsletter: https://experimental.beehiiv.com

New episodes every second Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you listen.

🎧 ExperiMENTAL is hosted by Sundar Swaminathan, Head of Data Science at Bounce and former Uber leader. This show is your behind-the-scenes look at how top marketers and data scientists make smarter decisions.

🧠 Expect unfiltered conversations, mental models, and case studies that help you cut waste, build conviction, and grow your B2C business.

📬 Subscribe to the experiMENTAL newsletter for deep dives and frameworks: https://experimental.beehiiv.com/