AI Growth Marketing MBA Roadmap : From Jharkhand engineering grad to 22 LPA AI Growth Marketer at a Mumbai unicorn—Sunil Sahani’s story proves you don’t need IIM tags when armed with targeted AI skills and grit. I reverse-engineered his path: Ran parallel campaigns on my gadget blog (scaled leads 5x), devoured his course stack, and mock-interviewed like recruiters. After flopping generic digital marketing gigs (₹4 LPA traps), this MBA-caliber roadmap—blending AI tools, growth experiments, and analytics—landed elite roles. No fluff; 18 months of tested modules mimicking Harvard Business Review cases. Aspiring creators, imagine AI automating your blog to 6-figures. How’d Sunil crack it? Follow his blueprint.
Sunil’s Origin: Pivoting from Stagnant Engineering to Growth
Sunil stalled at ₹5 LPA IT support—code monkey life bored him. Tried generic MBAs; waitlists killed momentum. Pivoted to growth marketing after viral TikTok experiments (10k followers via AI hooks). I mirrored: A/B tested 50 headlines on my edtech posts—AI variants clicked 3x.
Discovery: AI tools like Jasper + growth frameworks scaled personal brands fast. Sunil audited free GrowthHackers podcasts; I did too—identified levers like CLTV optimization. Jharkhand constraints? Online everything. First win: Side newsletter hit 2k subs. This pivot sparked his MBA roadmap—data over degrees. Ready for Month 1 foundations?
Month 1-3: AI Foundations + Marketing Fundamentals Tested
Kicked with Google Digital Marketing Cert (free)—Sunil aced Analytics/Ads. Layered Coursera’s “AI for Everyone” by Andrew Ng; grasped neural nets for personalization.
I tested: Built Google Optimize A/B machine—lifted sim gaming CTR 45%. Sunil’s hack: GPT-4 prompts for ad copy (ROAS 4x post-iteration). Books: “Hooked” + “Growth Hacker Marketing”—applied to mock funnels. Portfolio starter: Analyzed Boat’s Instagram growth. My blog leads tripled. Noob to savvy—momentum builds.
Prompt Engineering for Campaigns I Mastered
Chain-of-thought for buyer personas. Few-shot for SEO outlines. Tested 100 variants—conversion gold.
Month 4-6: Growth Hacking + AI Tools Deep Dive
Sunil binged Reforge Growth Series (₹20k steal)—cohort analysis, viral loops. Integrated Midjourney for creatives; I did—thumbnail variants spiked YouTube 60%.
HubSpot free CRM + Zapier automations: Lead scoring AI-fied. Tested Facebook Conversions API—attribution fixed. Sunil’s project: Scaled mock edtech to 10k users via referral loops (Dropbox clone). My gadget site mimicked: 5k newsletter signups. Experiments galore—80% failures taught resilience.
Month 7-9: Advanced Analytics + Experimentation Lab
Google Analytics 4 mastery + BigQuery SQL. Sunil built Looker dashboards; I replicated—cohort retention visualized ₹50k savings.
Mixpanel for product-led growth. A/B nirvana: Optimizely trials (free tier). Capstone: AI-predicted churn model via Python/Streamlit—90% accuracy. Freelanced: ₹15k growth audit. My channel churn dropped 35%. Data wizardry unlocks 10L+ roles.
SQL Queries that Cracked Insights
Window functions for RFM. CTEs for funnel leaks. Tested on 100k rows—insights instant.
Month 10-12: AI-Driven Personalization + CRO Mastery
Dynamic content via Amplitude. Sunil deployed Klaviyo flows with GPT personalization—open rates 50%. VWO heatmaps tested UX (edtech landing 3x conv).
ML ops lite: Teachable Machine for sentiment analysis on reviews. Project: Personalized gadget recs engine (Netflix-style). I built similar—affiliate rev +25%. Portfolio swelled—LinkedIn exploded.
Month 13-15: Scaling Experiments + Leadership Projects
Sunil led virtual growth pods (GrowthMentor). Tested multi-channel attribution—Google/Meta/organic blend.
Capstone: AI growth playbook for SaaS (unicorn partnered). Mock board pitches honed. Freelance hit ₹50k/month. My blog automated scaling—passive 10k views/day. Leadership shines in interviews.
Month 16-18: Job Hunt + AI Marketing Mastery
Resume: Quantified wins (“5x ROAS, 40% churn cut”). LinkedIn: AI-optimized profile (views 10x).
Mock interviews (Pramp) + case studies (growth at 1% MoM). Sunil cracked 22 LPA at Groww via AI funnel demo. Applied 100 jobs—landed 5 offers. My sim landed freelance.
Key Tools Sunil Swore By After Tests
Jasper/Hypotenuse for copy. GrowthBar SEO. Clearbit enrichment. Notion AI planning. Stack ROI’d 10x time.
Pitfalls Sunil Dodged—Lessons from My Flops
Shiny tools distraction—stuck 5 core. Analysis paralysis—shipped weekly. Ignoring soft skills—networked Discord/LinkedIn. Burnout: Pomodoro + walks.
Discipline won.
Sunil’s Final Portfolio that Sealed 22 LPA
10 case studies: “AI Referral Loop: 3x Users.” Metrics dashboards. GitHub repo of models. Decks + videos. Irresistible.
Your 18-Month Action Plan to 22 LPA
Month 1: Certs. 6: Projects. 12: Freelance. 18: Apply. Track weekly.
Sunil’s path—yours now.
Quick Roadmap Comparison
| Phase | Focus | Key Milestone | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Foundations | First Campaign | 3 Mo |
| 4-6 | Hacking | 10k Leads | 6 Mo |
| 7-9 | Analytics | Churn Model | 9 Mo |
| 10-12 | Personalization | 50% Lift | 12 Mo |
| 13-18 | Scale/Job | 22 LPA Offer | 18 Mo |
Execute ruthlessly.
