AI Growth Marketing MBA Roadmap : Watching Sunil Sahani evolve from a frustrated Jharkhand marketer scraping ₹3 LPA gigs to securing a 27 LPA AI Growth role at a Gurgaon SaaS giant felt like witnessing magic—but it was a ruthless, tested roadmap mimicking top MBA programs. I shadowed his journey, enrolled in the same courses, ran parallel campaigns, and burned ₹30k on dead-end alternatives before validating every step. This isn’t hype; it’s the exact 18-month blueprint that outpaced IIM grads, blending AI tools with growth hacking for explosive results.
Phase 1: Foundations—Digital Marketing Core (Months 1-3)
Sunil ditched generic YouTube rants for Google’s Digital Garage—free, Google-certified modules on Analytics, Ads, SEO. I tried HubSpot first; too salesy. He mastered GA4 events tracking, running ₹1k test campaigns yielding 3x ROAS on gadget keywords like “AI laptops India.”
Next, SEMrush Academy SEO cert: on-page audits boosted his blog to 10k monthly traffic. Daily: 2h courses, 2h execution on a WordPress test site. Portfolio starter: Case study PDF with metrics. Hooked when first organic leads rolled in—urgency to scale gripped him.
Phase 2: SEO Mastery with AI Acceleration (Months 4-5)
Frustrated with manual keyword hunts, Sunil leveraged Ahrefs + ChatGPT for clusters: “app developer roadmap” variants drove 5k visits. I tested SurferSEO ₹10k—overkill; free Frase.io won.
Technical SEO: Screaming Frog crawls fixed 200 issues, Core Web Vitals greenlit. AI twist: Jasper.ai drafts optimized outlines, human-edited for 2% bounce. Built authority site ranking #3 nationally. 150 hours; live rankings pulled deeper dives.
Phase 3: Paid Ads Wizardry—Google and Meta AI (Months 6-7)
Google Ads Skillshop advanced: Performance Max campaigns auto-optimized via AI, scaling ₹5k budget to ₹50k revenue. Sunil A/B’d creatives with Midjourney images—CTR 8%.
Meta Blueprint: Advantage+ shopping ads for e-com niches. Tested TikTok Ads ₹2k flops first; Meta’s lookalikes converted 15%. Portfolio: ROAS dashboards. Certifications stacked resume. Ad profits funded next phases—addictive momentum.
Phase 4: Content and Social Growth Hacking (Months 8-9)
Notion + Canva for content calendars: 50 LinkedIn posts on “AI in marketing” garnered 20k impressions. Sunil used Buffer AI scheduler; I tried Hootsuite—clunky.
YouTube SEO: TubeBuddy for “growth marketing roadmaps”—10k subs. Viral Reels via CapCut AI effects. Collaborations doubled reach. 200 hours; audience growth hooked virality chases.
Phase 5: Email and Automation Mastery (Months 10-11)
Klaviyo free tier: Lead magnets like “AI Marketing Playbook” built 5k list, 28% opens. Sunil automated nurtures with Zapier AI triggers—conversions 12%.
ConvertKit tests failed segmentation; Klaviyo won personalization. Integrated Razorpay for courses. Revenue ₹1L/month passive. Funnels obsessed him.
Phase 6: Data Analytics and AI Insights (Months 12-13)
BigQuery + Looker Studio dashboards: Predicted churn 85% accuracy. Sunil’s Python via Google Colab analyzed campaigns—outliers spotted.
Tableau Public viz portfolio. A/B stats via Optimizely. MBA-level quant skills sans degree. Data unlocked predictions.
Phase 7: AI Tools Deep Dive—Generative Edge (Month 14)
Perplexity.ai for research, Claude for copy, RunwayML for video ads. Sunil built custom GPTs for persona targeting—campaigns 40% efficient.
Tested 20 tools; stack refined. Prompt engineering course on Udemy ₹500. AI amplified output 5x.
Phase 8: Growth Hacking Experiments (Month 15)
Dropbox-style referrals: 30% user acquisition. Sunil’s Airbnb AARRR framework on SaaS mock—MRR simulated ₹5L.
Hotjar heatmaps optimized LPs. Viral loops coded simple. Experiments yielded 200% growth hacks.
Portfolio and Personal Brand Explosion (Month 16)
Carrd site: 10 case studies, “27% CAC reduction via AI.” LinkedIn 10k followers via daily value threads. Sunil’s Medium 50k reads.
Guest posts on YourStory. TEDx-style talks recorded. Brand magnetized recruiters.
Job Hunt Strategy: 27 LPA Landing (Months 17-18)
Naukri/LinkedIn 200 apps: Keywords “AI Growth Marketer.” Tailored stories: “Scaled traffic 10x AI.”
Mock interviews Pramp; negotiated via levels.fyi—27L CTC (18L fixed). Gurgaon offer week 72. I prepped his behavioral—sealed.
Sunil’s Daily Discipline: MBA Mimic Routine
4 AM rise: 1h AI learning, 3h execution. Notion OKRs tracked. Weekends hackathons. Networking: GrowthHackers Discord.
Gym, meditation sustained. No social doomscroll—focus laser-sharp.
Tool Stack: Lean ₹20k/Year Powerhouse
Free: Google suite, Notion. Paid: Ahrefs ₹12k, Klaviyo ₹5k, Jasper ₹3k. Alternatives benchmarked.
ROI tracked; cut losers quarterly.
Pitfalls Dodged: 15 Failed Experiments Lessons
Shiny AI sans basics—master core first. Over-testing ads—cap budgets. Ignoring soft skills—storytell metrics.
Sunil journaled ROI; pivoted fast. Avoided via weekly reviews.
Milestones Tracking: From Zero to 27L
Month 3: First ₹10k revenue. 9: 10k followers. 15: ₹2L/month freelance. 18: Offer.
KPIs dashboard motivated relentlessly.
Scaling Secrets: Post-Job Empire Building
Sunil’s agency: 5 clients ₹10L ARR. Courses on Teachable. AI agency pivot planned.
Mentorship via LinkedIn. Network compounds.
Inspiration Fuel: Sunil’s Dhanbad to Delhi Grind
Rejected by agencies, night shifts coding campaigns. First AI win: 500% ROI. “Data + AI = unstoppable.”
Your grind starts now—27L awaits execution.
