Adam VanBibber — DTC Growth & Lifecycle Marketing Executive

The Method

Five stages, one instrumented path.

Most teams over-invest in the first stage and under-invest in the last three. I work the whole path and instrument every handoff, so we can see where customers actually fall out instead of guessing.

01Reach

Performance media, paid social, publisher and native, television, partnerships. Finding the audience where the economics still work.

02Educate

Cross-channel content that answers a buyer's questions before they're ready, and segments them by what they engage with.

03Acquire

Offer and acquisition-path architecture, funnel and landing optimization, multivariate testing across every step.

04Retain

Lifecycle email and SMS, onboarding, segmentation, subscription health. Retention is where lifetime value is actually made.

05Expand

New revenue streams, pricing and packaging, partnerships. Growing the customers you already have instead of only buying new ones.

The layer under all five

Every stage runs on the same instrumentation. Without it you are optimizing a sequence you cannot actually see.

Attribution

Spend tied to outcomes, so channel decisions survive scrutiny.

BI infrastructure

One source of truth, so the numbers hold up under pressure.

Predictive models

Forecasting and segmentation, so the next move is chosen rather than guessed.

Evidence

The work.

One discipline across every engagement: find the constraint, instrument it, remove it.

Select an engagement

Path Theory Consulting

Principal
Fractional growth
2023–Present

Current

Latest client growth metrics

CAC down 44%. A channel scaled 30x+ to 37% of gross volume.

CAC −44% Cost per click −67% Down-funnel event cost −43% Down-funnel conversion 62% → 75% Channel share 37% of gross volume

The rebuild

Took over paid acquisition and rebuilt it across three reporting cycles. A full keyword, budget, and creative overhaul cut cost per click by two thirds and CAC by nearly half, with blended cost per checkout landing under benchmark.

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Efficiency that held

The gains didn't spike and revert. They held as spend scaled — which is the harder problem, and the one that separates a lucky month from a working system.

A channel built from nothing

One channel grew more than 30x from a rounding error at takeover to 37% of gross volume, without eroding the efficiency gains above it.

A wider distribution mix

Fixing one channel was never the objective. I opened and qualified additional acquisition and distribution channels so the business isn't dependent on any single platform, brought reputation and review generation under active management, and moved third-party tracking to a hashed, HIPAA-compliant implementation — so new channels can be added without inheriting compliance risk.

Watch Gang

SVP, Growth Marketing
2018–2023

1,500% growth in the member base, self-funded, at 10x the spend.

Member base +1,500% Spend scaled <$100K → $1M+/mo Blended ROAS ~1.3x fully baked New business unit $15M+/yr Q4 acquisition 2xGross sales volume 2xDynamic sales logic 56% of gross revenue

Scale without outside capital

No venture backing. Growth was funded entirely from internally generated cash flow, so every acquisition dollar had to earn its place. Spend grew more than 10x while blended ROAS baked out to roughly 1.3x as cohorts matured, and conversion roughly doubled over the scaling period.

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The UFC partnership

I identified the opportunity and led the negotiations, restructuring a standard annual sponsorship into a fight-by-fight model that proved profitability event by event before expanding. 1.7x ROAS inside three days, branding rights secured at no additional cost, and a multi-year relationship. The UFC adopted my reporting framework as a template for its other D2C partners.

Q4 as an engine, not a defense

Most brands pull back when CPMs spike. I built segmented campaigns across five seasonal windows instead, doubling Q4 acquisition against historical trends and entering Q1 with larger first-party audiences and better unit economics.

A feature turned into a business unit

Grew a gamified store experience into thewheel.com — a standalone unit generating more than $15M annually, with new customer revenue up over 300%.

Sales logic across the journey

Developed dynamic sales logic across multiple touchpoints in the customer journey, which came to represent 56% of the business's gross revenue — the offer architecture, not the media, doing the work.

Publisher partnerships

Structured Forbes, USA Today, Uncrate, and Gear Patrol placements around performance accountability rather than impressions. ~1.5x initial ROAS, and the content kept producing organic acquisition long after the campaigns ended.

1 / 6

In their words

What people say.

Recommendations from managers, colleagues, and clients across the last decade.

Scott

I've had the privilege of working alongside Adam VanBibber for several years, and it's no exaggeration to say he's one of the most astute marketing leaders I've ever met.

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Adam possesses an unparalleled ability to not only spearhead a company's growth initiatives but also to deeply understand and influence its overall strategy. His work ethic is nothing short of incredible—always going above and beyond to ensure that projects not only meet but exceed expectations. Adam has an innate talent for balancing the analytical and creative aspects of marketing, making him an invaluable asset to any team.

Beyond his professional expertise, Adam is also an exceptional human being and a great friend. His leadership extends beyond the boardroom, fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation among his team members. Anyone who has worked with Adam can vouch for his dedication, strategic insight, and the positive trajectory he brings to any organization. I wholeheartedly recommend Adam VanBibber for any marketing leadership role—he will undoubtedly bring a transformative impact wherever he goes.

Scott M.

Chief Marketing Officer · Startup Growth Strategist
Managed Adam directly · 2023

Matthew

Adam is one of the most intelligent and data driven marketers I know.

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Adam has a unique ability to breakdown the entire lifecycle of a customer and create actionable optimizations to consistently make a business better. Adam is a "doer" and overall one of my all-time favorite people to work with.

Matthew S.

Healthcare Executive & Entrepreneur
Managed Adam directly · 2018

Matthew

Adam is one of the smartest and most thorough people I have ever worked with.

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He is a wide range of analytical skills to help answer critical questions about your business and has the experience to drill right to the important facts and cut through the excess info. I have had the pleasure of working with Adam for give or take 10 years and he is always someone you want in your corner and on your team. Adam has the very rare skill of being able to take complex ideas and communicate them in simple and easy to understand terms. I would consider Adam as key piece of any executive team I am putting together.

Matthew D.

Head of Advertising
Worked with Adam on the same team · 2018

Chris

Adam is the type of Marketing Director that company's must have in mind when they say they are looking for someone to move the needle.

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He has proven very effective at helping the organization develop solid marketing strategies. His marketing prowess has helped guide creative, IT, brand management, and other support services to develop very strong campaigns. This guy enjoys a challenge and believes that life is boring without one. He doesn't just rest on the past but believes in making informed decisions with solid rationale. He is a Marketing Ninja who brings together a solid understanding of marketing strategy, creative, website development, research, online and offline media. Working with Adam is a real pleasure! His enthusiasm infuses an energy in the office that inspires teams to do their best everyday!

Chris H.

Marketing Executive · Growth Strategist
Worked with Adam on the same team · 2013

Pat

Adam managed all of our online testing.

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He's an incredibly focused worker with a keen analytical mind and a tremendous work ethic. His drive and focus lead to consistent and significant improvements in our conversion rates and underlying sales. Adam would prove a valuable asset for any company looking to improve their online results.

Pat D.

President & CFO
Managed Adam directly · 2013

Andrea

It was a pleasure collaborating with Adam to drive retention in the company.

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Adam was instrumental in creating solid offers for the call center to use as retention tools. He put together programs that drove a 50% increase in AOV on the front end, and then made sure we had the right down-sell offers in place to save the customers who decided they didn't need quite as much as they ordered. That's great marketing foresight and teamwork!

Andrea O.

Customer Support & Customer Experience Professional
Worked with Adam on a different team · 2013

Josh

Adam has a passion for analytics and numbers that most people cannot understand.

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Approaching every campaign with infectious enthusiasm. From a creative's perspective he clearly outlines the goals for each campaign/test and then presents the data that informs designs going forward. Adam is a pleasure to work with daily.

Josh S.

Marketing Director
Worked with Adam on a different team · 2013

Sheila

Adam is highly analytical, intelligent, and capable marketing professional.

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It was always a pleasure working with him in coming up with creative testing ideas and campaigns. He provided valuable insights throughout the entire process ensuring a well thought-out and successful campaign. While at [a previous company], Adam's contribution to the success of [a DTC skincare brand] cannot be underestimated as he played a key role in improving AOV to some of the highest levels the brand has ever seen. I would welcome the opportunity to work with Adam again in any capacity.

Sheila M.

Product Manager, Medical Devices
Worked with Adam on a different team · 2013

Growth isn't a channel.It's a sequence.system.

I lead from inside the work, not above it.

Five stages, one instrumented path.

01Reach

02Educate

03Acquire

04Retain

05Expand

The work.

CAC down 44%. A channel scaled 30x+ to 37% of gross volume.

1,500% growth in the member base, self-funded, at 10x the spend.

Built to operational readiness, then exited before launch.

4x revenue in 16 months, on infrastructure built from nothing.

200% enrollment lift. Acquisition cost cut in half.

50% higher conversion. 40% more revenue per visitor.

What people say.

Career history.

Define the path.