Schedule a personalized demo with VWO: https://bit.ly/4tXw61JThe Initial: https://the-initial.com/Lucia's Quarterly Impact Calculator: https://the-initial.com/impact-calculatorIn this episode, host Shilpa Bharti sits down with Lucia van den Brink, who has spent over a decade helping teams figure out how to conduct experimentation effectively, not just more frequently.Lucia has worked with teams running anywhere from one test a month to hundreds, helping them improve both velocity and quality. But after years as both an in-house practitioner and agency leader, Lucia realized something critical: You can't rent a data-driven cultureNow, through The Initial, she's focused on helping organizations make the shift from dependency to ownership.In this conversation, Lucia shares why external help has its limits, how to transition teams from guided support to independence, and what it actually takes to sustain experimentation when leadership changes or budgets shift.Lucia shares insights on:✅ Transitioning teams from close guidance to independent ownership ✅ Common concerns leaders raise about owning experimentation in-house ✅ Building systems and habits vs. running isolated tests ✅ How teams can quantify the value of their CRO program with the Quarterly Impact CalculatorChapters:[00:00] A quick sneak peek into the episode [01:57] Shilpa and Lucia kickstart the conversation [05:08] What led Lucia to start The Initial after years as a consultant and agency leader [09:10] Transitioning from closely guiding teams to stepping back [11:23] Common concerns leaders raise when hearing "own experimentation." [13:35] Dependency patterns teams need to unlearn before building in-house capability [15:49] Building an experimentation culture within different teams[19:11] Reactions from the CRO community[21:37] Does in-house ownership change how teams think about metrics and accountability?[23:40] Where advanced experiments fit in and common pitfalls when teams start too big [27:04] What teams should expect tools to handle and where capability takes over [30:00] Does AI add value beyond automation in experimentation?[31:52] One piece of advice for sustaining ownership long-term [35:30] Final thoughts[37:16] Rapid fire round: One thing Lucia would do differently starting in CRO today [38:30] What Lucia's non-industry friends don't understand about her job [39:14] CRO professionals to follow[40:11] Go-to travel destination[40:30] What AI will take over in the next 3 years [41:04] If not CRO, what alternative profession would Lucia have chosen?[41:43] One CRO metric people should stop obsessing over[00:00] Shilpa and Lucia sign off

Most teams think behavioral analytics is just for pre-test research. Kandeel Chauhan reveals why post-test analysis is where the real learning begins. :bulb:

In this episode, host Niti Sharma sits down with Kandeel Chauhan, Director of Product & Engineering at VWO, who has been instrumental in spearheading VWO Insights into one of the flagship products.

From leading Quality Assurance to now shaping enterprise-grade products, Kandeel shares what it takes to build products customers trust and love.

He's passionate about creating tools that help businesses deeply understand user behavior and drive measurable impact on growth and revenue.

Kandeel shares insights on:

✅ Moving from fragmented feature development to building a unified enterprise platform

✅ Why behavioral analysis delivers value at every stage: pre-test, mid-test, and post-test

✅ Understanding the customer awareness spectrum and why CRO maturity matters

✅ A top-down approach to behavioral insights

✅ How VWO Copilot came to life and what it means for teams of all sizes

✅ The human elements AI will never replace in behavioral analysis

✅ How experimentation has been democratized and where the industry is headed next

Chapters:

[00:00] A quick sneak peek into the episode

[01:51] Niti and Kandeel kickstart the conversation

[04:29] Something exciting Kandeel is working on

[05:53] Moments and decisions that defined Kandeel's growth from QA to product leader

[10:45] Strategic turning points in building VWO Insights as a flagship product

[16:40] Using behavioral analysis before, during, and after A/B tests

[20:44] How customers across the awareness spectrum understand behavioral analytics

[27:00] Behavioral analysis as an empathy engine

[29:50] Advice for teams starting with behavioral insights

[32:40] AI's future in behavioral insights

[38:20] What AI can't replace: Human judgment, empathy, and strategic vision

[38:20] One change in how people look at experimentation and learning today

[46:22]  Message for listeners

[47:37] Rapid fire round: One thing Kandeel would do differently starting in CRO today

[47:56] What non-industry friends don't understand about Kandeel's job

[48:17] A CRO professional that everyone must follow

[48:56] Kandeel's book recommendations

[49:47] Go-to travel destination

[50:16]  If not CRO, what other profession would Kandeel have chosen?

[50:39] Dream or goal Kandeel wants to achieve in the next 3 years

[51:26] Niti and Kandeel sign off

Most companies treat CRO as just another conversion tactic.

But what if CRO could be your tool for capital allocation decisions?

In this episode, Arshdeep Singh, Former Senior Director of Technology at Kapiva, sits down with our host Niti Sharma for an in-depth conversation.

He shares how he transformed experimentation from isolated AB tests into a strategic growth engine that helped scale the company to multimillion-dollar revenue.

Arshdeep has nearly two decades of experience scaling platforms, leading high-performing engineering teams, and driving AI-led transformation.

During the episode, Arshdeep also reveals the frameworks, mindsets, and guardrails needed to make experimentation work across product, engineering, data, and CX teams.

Key insights from this conversation:

- How to identify and operationalize compounding loops for exponential growth

- Why experimentation should drive capital allocation decisions, not just conversion uplift

- Setting North Star metrics and guardrails to prevent siloed optimization

- Building a culture of testing that celebrates learning, not just wins

- Democratizing CRO across non-tech teams without compromising quality

Chapters:

00:00 - Episode trailer

01:54 - Niti and Arshdeep kick off the conversation

04:09 - Scaling from early stage to multimillion-dollar revenue through CRO

06:30 - What are compounding loops in experimentation?

07:27 - Essential cultural traits for cross-functional experimentation

09:00 - How AI is reshaping experimentation speed and quality

11:08 - Using AI to safeguard reliability in customer experiences

12:45 - Mobile-first experimentation: Beyond transactions to habit loops

14:40 - The ICE Framework for experiment prioritization

17:07 - Why data-driven decisions beat intuition (but intuition still matters)

19:53 - Setting guardrails: Shared objectives and North Star metrics

22:06 - Moving from conversion tactics to strategic growth enabler

25:15 - Getting CRO buy-in from leadership and stakeholders

26:49 - How VWO helped democratize experimentation at Kapiva

29:00 - Why some companies succeed at experimentation (and others fail)

31:42 - Best advice Arshdeep has received

33:50 - Rapid Fire:  If you were starting a career in CRO today, what would you do differently?

34:13 -  One thing your non-industry friends don't understand about your job.

35:06 - Book recommendations

36:06 - Go-to travel destination

36:52 -   One thing AI will take over in the next 3 years

37:42 - If not tech, what other profession would you have chosen?

38:50 -  Dream or goal you want to accomplish in the next 3 years

39:59 - Advice for listeners

40:38 - Niti and Arshdeep sign off

Most product leaders can easily test and roll back failures. But May Chin builds for live events where a global audience sees every mistake. 🎯

In the latest episode of the VWO podcast, our host Bhavan Kochhar is in conversation with May Chin, Product Leader at Token 2049 and Super AI, two of the world's most prominent tech conferences.

With a track record of scaling consumer platforms across Southeast Asia at Zalora, Mindvalley, Lazada, and iProperty, May now orchestrates end-to-end technology strategy for global events, delivering seamless experiences for attendees and sponsors at a massive scale.

In this conversation, May opens up about building products when timelines are fixed and AI features need to be shipped in days. 

This episode is packed with hard-won insights and a fresh perspective on building great products. 🚀

Chapters: 

[00:00] A quick sneak peek into the episode 

[01:54] Bhavan and May kickstart the conversation 

[03:35] May's pre-podcast and pre-event rituals

[04:48] Building for global conferences vs. consumer platforms 

[08:37] Defining product success when serving both attendees and sponsors 

[11:56] Prioritization under tight timelines and high-stakes environments 

[15:13] Using low-code and AI-driven tools to reduce complexity and empower non-technical teams 

[17:56] Where human discretion becomes essential despite automation and AI 

[20:28] Practical approaches to democratizing experimentation across functions 

[24:05] Aligning cross-functional teams around shared priorities despite competing KPIs 

[29:13] Biggest opportunities for product leaders combining AI and experimentation 

[32:14] May's biggest mindset shift as a product leader 

[35:14] Early career advice that shaped May's journey 

[37:02] Rapid fire round: One thing May would do differently starting in CRO today 

[37:29] The CRO metric people should stop obsessing over 

[37:58] What AI will replace in the next 3 years 

[38:44] Three Book recommendations

[39:47] May's dream goal for the next 3 years 

[40:37] Bhavan and May sign off

In the fast-moving Fintech space, a single wrong experiment can shatter user trust, but staying safe could mean missing huge growth opportunities. ⚡

In the new episode of the VWO podcast, Vinayak Purshan sits down with our host Niti Sharma.

Vinayak is the Associate Marketing Director at Cashfree Payments, India's leading payments technology company, powering over 800,000 businesses. 🎙️

With expertise in social media, paid acquisition, analytics, and multiple tech platforms, Vinayak builds integrated, data-driven marketing systems that enhance Cashfree’s presence and accelerate growth.

In this engaging conversation, Vinayak opens up about his proven strategies for optimizing in a high-trust, high-speed environment where every test is crucial.

Tune in now! 🎙️

Chapters:

[00:00] - A quick sneak peek into the episode 

[01:48] - Niti and Vinayak kickstart the conversation 

[05:06] - Choose marketing and CRO as a career path

[06:33] - Balancing experimentation with speed, trust, and security in Fintech 

[08:51] - Combining quantitative and qualitative data for impactful experiments 

[13:13] - A failed or surprising experiment that changed how Vinayak understands user behavior

[16:20] - Extracting learnings from experiments to shape long-term website strategy

[18:19] - Building cross-team collaboration and celebrating failures

[20:23] - Key metrics used to measure CRO success at Cashfree Payments

[23:21] - Mindset shifts that need to happen in experimentation

[25:46] - How VWO supports Cashfree’s experimentation process and their most used features

[29:31] -  Using multi-channel insights to improve website testing and drive innovation continuously

[32:07] - Navigating SEO in the age of AI and zero-click searches 

[37:22] - The future of experimentation and marketing in Fintech with AI-driven changes

[40:30] - Advice for teams trying to build a CRO culture

[42:50] - Rapid-fire: One thing to do differently when starting a career in CRO today

[43:16] - One thing your non-industry friends still don't understand about your job.

[44:07] - Book recommendations for VWO Podcast listeners

[44:30] - Go-to travel destination

[45:19] - One thing AI will replace in the next 3 years 

[45:42] - If not a CRO specialist, another profession you would have chosen

[46:02] - One CRO metric people should stop obsessing over

[46:48] - A dream or goal to achieve in the next 3 years

[47:15] - Niti and Vinayak sign off

In this episode of the VWO Podcast, host Aanchal Mahajan sits down with April Hung, digital consultant and founder of Four Digital.

With 6+ years of experience across New Zealand and Taiwan, April shares how she helps brands turn insights into action and build stronger experimentation cultures.

April’s journey started in New Zealand’s media industry, leading data-driven strategies for one of the country’s largest entertainment groups.

Now in Taiwan, she’s driving the adoption of CRO in an emerging digital market. 🚀

In this episode, you’ll learn about:

✅ Transitioning from a mature to an emerging CRO market

✅ Cultural & organizational factors that shape experimentation in Asia

✅ Which Taiwanese industries are embracing CRO

✅ Overcoming psychological blockers to testing adoption

✅ How AI tools lower barriers for hesitant brands

✅ April’s vision for Taiwan as a future CRO powerhouse

Whether you’re scaling CRO in emerging markets or curious about Asia’s digital optimization landscape, this episode is packed with insights you can act on. 💡

Tune in now and subscribe for more conversations with CRO leaders.

#VWOPodcast #ExperimentationCulture #DigitalExperimentation #APACMarketing #TaiwanDigital #OptimizationStrategy #UserExperienceDesign #AIinMarketing #FourDigital

Design is not just about moving pixels around.

True UX designers know it’s about using the right methods to solve the right problems.

That’s the focus of this brand-new VWO Podcast episode with UX research veteran Nick Cawthon.

In this hour-long conversation with Vikas Gupta, Director of Product Design at VWO, Nick digs into:

✅ A repeatable path from problem statement to validated solution

✅ Choosing qualitative vs. quantitative methods without guesswork

✅ Spotting deeper, system‑level issues that UI tweaks can’t fix

✅ Linking research findings to growth, efficiency, and risk metrics

✅ Teaching teams to turn raw data into stories people act on

✅ Proven tips for earning C‑suite buy‑in, even in regulation‑heavy sectors

Hit 'Follow' to stay updated on all new conversations from us.

#VWOPodcast #ProductDesign #UXResearch #UserDesign #B2BPodcast #DesignPodcast #CustomerExperience

In this episode, we sit down with Sanmaya Biswal, the Growth Marketing lead at What's Up Wellness – the health and fitness brand that made waves on Shark Tank India.

Sanmaya's journey is remarkable, starting as an intern at just 17 years old and rising to drive growth for renowned D2C brands like Neeman's and Bummer. Throughout his career, he has tackled critical challenges, including:

🔹 Retaining customers in a competitive market

🔹 Converting COD orders to prepaid

🔹 Increasing average order value

🔹 Enhancing customer lifetime value

His data-driven approach and innovative frameworks have delivered exceptional results, making him a valuable voice in the D2C growth conversation.

🎧 In this episode, Sanmaya shares:

✅ Unique challenges and opportunities facing D2C brands in today's landscape

✅ Key metrics to focus on when running tests and how to prioritize them

✅ Methods for gathering and utilizing customer behavior data

✅ The story behind his 22X ROI campaign using the Sandwich Framework

✅ Experiments that successfully converted first-time buyers into repeat customers

✅ Experimentation maturity in India

✅ The impact of Generative AI on D2C growth strategies

Tune in now! 🎧

Chapters:

[00:00] A quick sneak peek into the episode

[01:50] Sanmaya and Gaurav kickstart the conversation

[03:22] Something exciting in the works for Sanmaya

[05:01] Unique challenges and opportunities for D2C brands today

[13:20] Key metrics to focus on and how to prioritize them

[16:33] Gathering and utilizing customer behavior data

[23:25] The 22X ROI campaign: "The Sandwich Framework" explained

[37:00] How D2C brands can compete against marketplaces

[40:20] Real examples of converting first-time buyers into repeat customers

[49:30] Experimentation maturity among Indian brands

[55:52] Balancing experimentation and personalization

[57:00] Common myths about D2C that need debunking

[1:02:00] The impact of Generative AI on D2C growth

[1:06:55] Best piece of advice Sanmaya has received

[1:08:42] Rapid-fire round - One thing you would do differently if starting a career in Growth Marketing today

[1:09:16] A newsletter that every CRO professional must follow

[1:10:32] Books that you would recommend to our listeners

[1:11:25] Go-to travel destination

[1:11:45] One thing AI will replace in the next 3 years

[1:12:55] If not a Growth Marketer, what other profession would you have chosen?

[1:13:30] One CRO metric people should stop obsessing over

[1:13:57] A dream or goal you want to achieve in the next 3 years

[1:14:18] Sanmaya and Gaurav sign off

Welcome to another exciting episode of CRO Wizards - Season 2, brought to you by VWO! 🎉

In this episode, our host Shaveethira Gopi sits down with Ravi Raj, an experienced product strategist who has been at the helm of building and scaling innovative platforms. 

Currently serving as Head of Product at WOO TV, Ravi is shaping a global hub for creators and enhancing live-streaming experiences.

His impressive journey spans leading the development of several groundbreaking products, revolutionizing school communication with the myU App, building Sheroes into a thriving social network for women, and driving innovation at Woo, one of India’s top dating apps. 

He later expanded into the world of esports and casual gaming with Mojo Gaming, creating fresh and engaging experiences in this rapidly evolving space.

With his deep expertise in product strategy and growth, Ravi brings invaluable insights into what makes products win in competitive digital landscapes.

In this episode, Ravi shares:

✅ How the product management space has evolved over the years

✅ Essential data points for monitoring product optimization

✅ Strategies for prioritizing features based on business goals and stakeholder input

✅ Methods for fostering an experimentation mindset within product teams

✅ Approaches to personalization in live-streaming experiences

✅ Use cases of experimentation for OTT apps

✅ The relationship between product management and CRO

✅ Common misconceptions about product management

Tune in now to learn from one of the finest product leaders! 🎧

In the latest episode of the CRO Wizards Season 2, our host Piyush Sharma, sits down with Shobhit Garg, Senior Product Manager at Microsoft. 

Shobhit brings a diverse wealth of experience across multiple app categories. His expertise spans eCommerce with ShopClues, real estate with Magicbricks, and food delivery with Zomato. 🎉

With his computer science engineering background and over a decade of experience in product development and management, Shobhit offers a unique perspective on the technical and strategic aspects of mobile app optimization.

In this episode, Shobhit shares:

✅ How product management has evolved in the mobile app space over the past decade

✅ The unique challenges of managing different categories of apps

✅ Experience working at Zomato during its rapid growth phase

✅ A case study of UX improvement in the Magicbricks app

✅ Systematic approach to mobile app optimization

✅ Methods for collecting insights to build feature roadmaps

✅ Common user struggles across consumer apps and how to address them

✅ Essential tools for an effective product management workflow

✅ Balancing stakeholder expectations with team management

✅ Key learnings from experiments and personalization campaigns

✅ How Gen AI is changing mobile app product management 

This episode is packed with practical advice for product managers, UX designers, app developers, and anyone interested in mobile app growth and optimization!

Tune in now to learn actionable strategies from one of the industry's experienced practitioners!