MBA Candidate, Ivey Business School | Class of 2026

Astitva Sawhney

Growth Architect • Marketing Systems • Scaling Business

"I design growth systems that survive scale, volatility, and uncertainty"

Proven marketing leader with 7+ years scaling growth across India, Europe, and US markets. Currently completing my MBA at Ivey Business School, recruiting for senior marketing leadership roles in Canada where I can apply systems-thinking to drive scalable, sustainable business growth.

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Years Experience
0
Continents
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$M+ Managed
0
% YoY Growth
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How I Think About Marketing

Marketing as a Decision System

Marketing is not the act of promotion—it is the act of reducing uncertainty in business growth. My work sits between human behavior, product experience, and data integrity, so growth stays repeatable.

I don't optimize campaigns, I design systems; treat constraints as inputs, not blockers; and care about what still works after scale.

Architecture > Tactics

Attribution ≠ causation. Scale without structure is noise.

  • I look for interaction effects and incrementality, not just last-click reporting
  • Channels amplify structure. If account structure is weak, scale magnifies inefficiency
  • I build fail-safes before turning up spend: Segmentation, Measurement & Stability
  • Moving from "What happened?" to "Why it happened"

Signal > Volume

High-volume noise kills machine learning

  • I prioritize clean signals through isolated account architecture
  • I protect CAC, learning integrity, and repeatable processes over short-term spikes
  • Control beats vanity metrics every time
  • Quality data compounds; noise destroys predictability

Survivability

Fix the system before the campaign

  • If tracking or UX is broken, optimization amplifies bad decisions
  • Speed is dangerous without control
  • My systems are stress-tested to handle 400% budget surges in 48 hours
  • Build for resilience, not just immediate performance

"Marketing is the bridge between data and human behavior—not a channel, not a tactic."

Professional Journey

From Agency Foundation to Founder—With Increasing Ownership & Complexity

01
2018-2019 • Agency Foundation

Merkle Sokrati

Business Analyst

India's largest performance marketing agency. Building analytical rigor, experimentation discipline, and measurement depth. Managed high-spend accounts across entertainment, retail, and luxury sectors.

  • Key Clients: Fox Star Studios, Max Fashion, Helios
  • Core Focus: Experimentation frameworks, attribution modeling, measurement systems
  • Impact: Built custom MDP, achieved 93% reach increase, 11.7× revenue growth
Key Learning: "Experimentation must be systematic, not opportunistic. Measurement systems shape strategic behavior."
02
2019-2020 • Platform Mastery

GOMO Group

Google Ads Analyst

European digital agency (Sweden, Norway, Denmark). Rapid adaptation: Transitioned to Google Ads expertise in 10 days. Growth ownership and system-level intervention under ambiguity.

  • Key Clients: Sendify, Dina Möbler, GOMO HQ
  • Core Focus: Behavioral optimization, CAC constraints, channel expansion
  • Impact: 5× scale at 700 SEK CAC, built first Meta service line, selected for HQ growth
Key Learning: "Intervention and capability building under pressure. Take ownership without formal authority."
03
2020-2022 • In-House Scale

Purplle.com

Assistant Manager, Digital Marketing

India's 102nd unicorn, beauty & cosmetics marketplace. Managed $1.5M+ monthly budgets with zero historical data. Reported directly to CXO level. Longest-retained marketer at the company.

  • Scope: End-to-end paid growth, multi-account architecture, CXO reporting
  • Achievements: Launched 7 in-house brands, Elite international segment
  • Impact: ₹70L stress test (35% CAC reduction), 400% surge capacity, Superstar Award
Key Learning: "Structure creates optionality under pressure. Growth is a system, not a set of campaigns."
04
2021-2025 • Founder Era

ABaCUS Imperials

Founder & CEO

Full-stack growth consultancy across India, US, Europe. 127% YoY revenue growth, 100% referral-driven (no outbound marketing). Scaled to ~30 employees. Expanded from marketing agency to full growth ecosystem (marketing + web dev + CRO).

  • Key Clients: Diamond Domain (US), Posh Puppies, Filter Works (B2B)
  • Core Innovation: Full-stack integration (strategy, media, UX, dev)
  • Impact: 5× revenue scales, 76% CAC reductions, $500K/mo achievements
Key Learning: "Owning strategy, execution, and outcomes end-to-end. P&L thinking and capability expansion."
05
2025-Present • MBA & Canadian Transition

Ivey Business School, Western University

MBA Candidate

Class of 2026. Synthesizing technical, operational, and strategic experience into executive leadership. Recruiting for senior marketing leadership roles in Canada.

  • Focus: Strategic marketing, data-driven decision-making, growth systems
  • Goal: Transition from founder to senior marketing leader in Canadian market
  • Status: Actively recruiting for Director, VP, CMO roles

Case Studies: Systems That Scale

Deep dives into strategic decision-making, system architecture, and measurable business impact

Purplle: Engineering a Unicorn's Growth Engine

Company: Purplle.com (India's 102nd Unicorn)
Industry: Beauty & Cosmetics Marketplace
Role: Asst. Manager, Digital Marketing (CXO Reporting)
Timeline: October 2020 - September 2022
Budget: $1.5M+ monthly
Market: India (500+ brands, 70K+ SKUs)

The Challenge

"Joined during COVID hyper-growth with aggressive quarterly targets from foreign investors. The fundamental challenge wasn't performance—it was building scalable infrastructure where none existed."

No Historical Data

Digital marketing only 4 months old when I joined

High Team Churn

Average tenure <8 months (I became longest-retained)

Aggressive Sales Calendar

Multiple major + frequent minor sales created volatility

Learning Pollution

Mixing easy retention with hard acquisition corrupted ML

Strategic Diagnosis

"The core question wasn't 'how do we optimize?' but 'how do we build a system that can scale aggressively across unpredictable sales cycles without destroying learning?'"

Key Insight 1: Cohort Behavior Pattern

Analysis revealed that ~70% of repeat buyers converted again within 30 days, largely driven by heavy sales cadence. Beyond this window, most RB came through organic/direct channels.

Conclusion: Paid marketing should focus on First Transactions (FT), not blended LTV optimization.
Key Insight 2: Signal Pollution Discovery

"Meta's ML internalizes account-level history, not just campaign-level signals. Mixing objectives within one account made the algorithm 'lazy'—it optimized for easy wins (retention) instead of hard acquisition."

Strategic Solution: Multi-Account Architecture

❌ Before: Single Account Chaos
Single Meta Account
↓
App Install FT - App FT - Web Retention
↓

Result: Learning conflicts, scale volatility, recovery takes weeks

✅ After: Multi-Account Architecture

Result: Isolated learning, independent scaling, fast recovery (2-3 days)

Why Multi-Account Architecture Won
Metric Before (Single Account) After (Multi-Account)
Learning Stability ❌ Volatile ✅ Stable
Scale Capacity ❌ Breaks at 200% ✅ Handles 400%
Recovery Time ❌ 2-3 weeks ✅ 2-3 days
CAC Control ❌ Unpredictable ✅ Predictable

The Stress Test: I ❤️ BEAUTY (IHB) Sale

Challenge: Mega sale requiring ₹70 Lakh spend in 5-6 days (400% budget surge)

₹70L
Spent in 6 days
35%
CAC Reduction
3-4×
Transaction Volume
Zero
Learning Resets
Architect's Note

"Scale isn't about spending more. It's about breaking less while spending more. This structure didn't just handle growth—it enabled strategic expansion into new verticals."

Organizational Impact & Recognition

In-House Brands Launch

Enabled launch of 7 in-house brands (higher margin) with isolated systems

Elite Segment

Built compliance-first system for international brands entering India

Leadership Continuity

Longest-retained marketer during high-churn period

Superstar Award

Organization-wide recognition for exceptional impact

Quantified Business Impact
400%
Budget surge capacity
35%
CAC reduction at scale
2-3 days
Recovery time (vs 2-3 weeks)
Zero
Account rebuilds required
7
In-house brands launched
Longest
Tenure during churn period

Key Learnings & Principles

01
"Separate intent before optimizing efficiency"

Don't mix easy wins with hard challenges in the same system

02
"Treat learning as a first-class asset"

Protect ML signals with same rigor as budget

03
"Design for volatility, not averages"

Build systems that survive 400% surges, not just steady state

04
"Structure creates optionality"

Good architecture enables experimentation without risk