Darren Chait is the CMO at beehiiv and ex-Head of Growth at Calendly. He joins the show to share how an Australian corporate lawyer ended up co-founding Hugo, leading growth at Calendly, and now shaping the playbook at one of the fastest-growing creator platforms. Along the way, he explains why the best CMOs think like CFOs, how the role of a marketer has shifted in 2026, and what actually makes a newsletter worth subscribing to.

Tune in to this episode as we explore:

• (00:34) The beehiiv philosophy: why creators should own their audience, not rent it
• (06:35) From corporate lawyer in Australia to co-founding Hugo and joining Calendly
• (08:26) What four years at Calendly taught Darren about growth at real volume
• (11:23) Why there's no traditional marketer archetype left in 2026
• (15:41) The best CMOs are actually CFOs: understanding every lever in your business
• (19:33) A three-step playbook for the first weeks in a new marketing leadership role
• (22:12) Calendly vs beehiiv: incremental experiments vs big swings
• (28:35) How AI changes the job of a marketer without replacing judgment
• (34:25) What makes a newsletter genuinely work: trust, consistency, and multi-channel reach
• (45:53) Newsletter vs email marketing: the two-way relationship that changes everything
• (49:28) Darren's dream campaign: dominating cities with out-of-home advertising
• (53:17) Final recommendation: Growth Daily by Marketing Max

Links:

• Darren Chait's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenchait/ 
• beehiiv: https://www.beehiiv.com/ 
• Calendly: https://calendly.com/ 
• Kyle Poyar: https://www.growthunhinged.com/ 
• Growth Daily by Marketing Max: https://www.marketingmax.com/