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Sippd

Building a metric-driven growth engine

A top-three wine app was running plenty of growth experiments without a clear way to tell which ones mattered. With shared metrics and a weekly rhythm, new-user acquisition tripled in three months.

The problem

Sippd, an AI-powered wine discovery startup, had built a highly rated consumer app that ranked among the top three Alcohol & Beverage apps on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. The company was running multiple growth experiments but needed a clearer framework for deciding which initiatives could materially improve performance.

What I did

  • Defined the number. I partnered with the founder and the data science team to define the acquisition metrics every experiment would be judged against.
  • Made results measurable. We restructured the app’s analytics events so results could be measured consistently and trusted.
  • Changed the rhythm. We replaced a biweekly experiment review with a disciplined weekly cadence for analyzing results, selecting tests, and prioritizing product investments.
  • Worked across the growth funnel. My work extended across feature discovery, product-led growth, user acquisition, and retention strategy.
  • Helped design a new AI product. I helped design Sippd’s AI-enabled wine subscription program.
  • Advised on the big decisions. I advised the founder on broader growth decisions, including the evaluation of an inbound acquisition offer.

What changed

  • New-user acquisition tripled in three months.
  • Cost per acquisition declined over the same period.
  • Product and growth decisions ran on a weekly, metric-driven rhythm the founder could repeat without me.

In their words

At Sippd, we built an AI-powered wine discovery platform that ranked among the top three Alcohol & Beverage apps in both the Apple App Store and Google Play. We had strong product momentum and were running numerous growth experiments, but we needed greater clarity around what to test, how to measure it, and where to focus our resources for user acquisition, CAC and revenue generation.

Ben brought that clarity quickly. He worked closely with our data scientist to define the metrics that mattered, improve our analytics tracking so we could trust the results, and establish a disciplined weekly cadence for reviewing experiments and prioritizing what to test next. He also helped shape our feature discovery, product-led growth, user acquisition and retention strategies, and the design of our AI-enabled wine subscription program.

During his engagement, new-user acquisition tripled in three months while our cost per acquisition declined. Just as importantly, Ben became a trusted advisor on the most consequential decisions I faced as a founder, including how to evaluate inbound acquisition interest and navigate the broader challenges of building and scaling a startup. He combined analytical rigor with sound strategic judgment and made both our growth engine and our decision-making stronger.

Blake HersheyFounder and CEO, Sippd
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