The Initial

Lucia ran 1000+ A/B tests and worked for 20+ leading brands,together: we learn from mistakes made,the nitty-gritty of how brands started, and their unique perspectives.each episode is a candid convo with the people who build, break, and rebuild: product leaders, experimentation experts, founders, cmo’s, investors, analysts and morewe talk about their first experiment, when and how the company started,how they grew to be more data-drivenand where they are now

The Initial is a business podcast hosted by Lucia van den Brink, with 15 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Lucia van den Brink hosts The Initial, a business show with 15 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  The Initial

  You're Already in Love With the Solution (That's the Problem)

  Aug 10, 202630 min

  Daniël Granja Baltazar⁠ is a CRO Specialist at one of the Netherlands' biggest telecoms VodafoneZiggo, and proving that CRO goes way beyond A/B testing. If you enjoy learning about these topics, follow our newsletter to get all the frameworks and insights: ⁠https://increaseconversionrate.substack.com/⁠ in this episode… → what a 300+ experiments per year experimentation program looks like → why B2B experimentation can't just copy B2C playbooks → the MVP mindset: stop falling in love with solutions, start defining the problem → how qualitative research fills the gap when traffic is too low to test → using sales knowledge to rewrite product pages (and 10x your leads) → building an AI-powered experiment library so no learning ever gets lost Find Daniël on Linkedin: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/dgbaltazar/

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  The Initial

  Stop Testing Only Your Website — There's a Whole World Out There

  Jul 29, 202643 min

  Gabriel Marçal⁠ is a growth PM at AIOS Medical, and one of the quietest, sharpest minds in experimentation. Solving bigger problems than just running A/B tests for checkouts. follow our newsletter to learn all his frameworks and insights: ⁠⁠https://increaseconversionrate.substack.com/⁠⁠ in this episode… from his early days at a CRO agency in Brazil to running experiments on sales call scripts, physical medication boxes, and mobile apps, Gabriel refuses to stay in a box. it's about: → why your website isn't the only surface worth testing (and what to do when you're blocked) → how a lean 2-person team scaled to 10x growth without scaling headcount → the no-show rate problem: how experimenting with sales reminders moved the needle from 70% to 80%+ → subscriptions as a retention game-changer — and why 90%+ adoption doesn't happen by accident → Bayesian vs. frequentist? the answer that will surprise you Find Gabriel on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabmarcal/

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  The Initial

  I Do Stand-Up Comedy and A/B Testing (Turns Out They're the Same Thing)

  Jun 22, 202642 min

  Get David's prioritization framework in this month's newsletter: ⁠ https://increaseconversionrate.substack.com/⁠ David Swinstead spent 10 years inside the Booking.com bubble, and came out with some of the sharpest, most contrarian takes in the experimentation space. in this episode… he is now running experimentation programs at e-clerks, and doing stand-up comedy on the side, he treats both the same way: test everything, surrender to the data, and never assume you know the answer. it's about: → the "no-brainer" test on his first day at Booking.com that completely tanked → why PIE, ICE, RICE and every off-the-shelf framework is setting your team up to fail→ the 5-criteria prioritization framework he's been refining for 15+ years→ 1 pixel. 1 underline. and why everything on your site can make a difference→ CRO is easy, people are hard. how to actually build a culture that lasts Find David on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-swinstead-09267030/

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  The Initial

  Blinkist: 'Onboarding Best Practice' failed 😳

  Jun 1, 202634 minS0

  <p>Proven at brands like Kia, Montblanc, Blinkist, and Blacklane, Ioana’s framework shows how to implement experimentation that actually scales. Find it in this month’s newsletter: ⁠https://increaseconversionrate.substack.com/⁠</p><p><br></p><p>in this episode...</p><p><br></p><p>Ioana has built experimentation programs across industries (from automotive to luxury to tech) and she’s not just running tests, she’s building systems that scale learning. </p><p><br></p><p>currently working as a product growth consultant at Blinkist, she turns experimentation into a true growth engine. </p><p><br></p><p>this conversation...

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  The Initial

  My Job Title is ‘Head of Failure’ (& we do 50 Experiments /Month)

  May 18, 202646 minS0

  <p>How do you pitch 50 experiments a month? ...by making them impossible to refuse. </p><p><br></p><p>Steal Grace Miller’s framework for "tiny loss" proposals that guarantee a "Yes" from even the most risk-averse clients, it's in this month's newsletter: https://increaseconversionrate.substack.com/</p><p><br></p><p>in this episode…</p><p><br></p><p>Grace Miller is building one of the most advanced experimentation cultures in media.</p><p><br>she doesn’t just run tests; she turns entire teams into experimenters.</p><p><br></p><p>as head of experimentation and failure at Flight...

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