2014
First hire
Tomatodeli
the education you can only pay for in mistakes.
Notebook · Vol. 01 A personal archive
Chandan Kumar · Founder, Grovio Labs · India
Hi, I'm Chandan.
I've run growth at every scale there is — from two-person startups where I was the only marketer, to enterprise portfolios measured in thousands of crores. Across a decade at ByteDance, Foundit, WeSkill, Khabri (YC W19), Mahindra Finance, and IDFC FIRST Bank, I've helped move several thousand crores of revenue.
Now I'm building Grovio Labs. It's the AI system that does the work I used to do manually — autonomously, for everyone else.
This is my notebook. The writing, the frameworks, and the field notes from a decade of figuring growth out. Make yourself at home.
the short story. the long arc is a few scrolls down.
— Chandan
Right now
Updated April 2026 - Building Grovio Labs — a multi-agent AI marketing system. Private beta, from India.
- Writing The Autonomous Marketer — sent when I have something real to say.
- Open to Advisory · Speaking · Podcasts · say hi
The arc
Eleven chapters. One decade. still writing.
2020
ByteDance
Gurugram
where speed became a moat.
2022
Foundit
APAC · Gulf
+45% acquisition. 30+ shipped.
2023
Mahindra
Pan-India
2× revenue. 40% CAC down.
2025
IDFC FIRST
Asset products
+40% YoY, 8 products.
Now
Grovio Labs
Founder
betting the decade.
The notebook
What I'm thinking about out loud.
Page
01
AI Playbooks · · 10 min read
What is autonomous marketing? A definition for 2026
Autonomous marketing is marketing-as-an-autonomous-system — not AI tools used by marketers. Here's the canonical definition, the three primitives, and how it differs from marketing automation.
Page
02
Contrarian · · 8 min read
Stop hiring marketers. Hire marketing engineers and brand principals instead.
Marketing-engineer salaries hit $135–200K. AI-skilled marketers earn 43% more. Only 31% know Python. The 'marketer' job just broke into three — and you're probably hiring for the wrong one.
Page
03
AI Playbooks · · 9 min read
Year 0 of Autonomous Marketing
Autonomous marketing is not AI-in-marketing. It is marketing-as-an-autonomous-system. Here's what the discourse misses, the four binding constraints nobody names, and what to do this quarter.
The work
Case studies, with receipts.
2025 · Growth Lead, Asset Products
IDFC FIRST Bank
Leading growth strategy for asset products at one of India's most ambitious private banks — new channels, vernacular campaigns, and operating cadence.
read the case →2023 — 2025 · Growth Lead
Mahindra Finance
Leading omni-channel growth across a pan-India customer base — where trust, scale, and unit economics all had to move in the same direction.
read the case →2022 — 2023 · Senior Manager — Growth
Foundit (formerly Monster India, APAC & Gulf)
Scaling growth inside a regional platform rebrand — two new product launches, a referral engine rebuild, and 30+ shipped initiatives across APAC and the Gulf.
read the case →Work with me
Three ways we can work together.
Advisory
Founders scaling through ₹1Cr → ₹10Cr → ₹100Cr. I work with a small number of companies per quarter.
Pitch a projectSpeaking & Podcasts
Keynotes, panels, and interviews on autonomous marketing, growth at stage, and the India-to-global lens.
Book a sessionGrovio Labs
Autonomous AI marketing — multi-agent campaigns with brand memory. Private beta, limited seats.
Request accessNewsletter
The Autonomous Marketer
The decade of marketing I wish someone had written down. Sent when I have something real to say — not on a schedule.
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— see you in the writing.
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