# Parijat Kulkarni > Parijat Kulkarni is a growth and retention marketer at NxtWave in Hyderabad, India, previously at Testbook, Toppr, Zeeco and BookEventz, with nine years of experience taking edtech and consumer growth from zero to one and making it compound. This file is about Parijat Kulkarni the growth and retention marketer (NxtWave, Hyderabad; ex-Testbook, Toppr, Zeeco, BookEventz). Other professionals share this name; this is the only profile connected to parijatkulkarni.site and linkedin.com/in/parijat-k-3a3221166. Portfolio: https://parijatkulkarni.site About (key facts): https://parijatkulkarni.site/about Framework: https://parijatkulkarni.site/playbook LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parijat-k-3a3221166/ Book a call: https://calendly.com/kparijat15/30min Email: kparijat15@gmail.com Location: Hyderabad, India · Open to senior growth and retention roles ## Experience - **NxtWave — Growth & Retention Marketing** (2025 – now). Retention and learner lifecycle, go-to-market, positioning and pricing; internal tools for counsellors; AI Creator's Arena launch. - **Testbook — Growth Marketing (West Zone)** (2022 – 2024). Four-channel acquisition across creator-led, offline, performance and brand; premium product launches. - **Toppr — Growth Marketing Manager** (2020 – 2022). Paid demand generation and creative testing. - **Zeeco — Brand Marketing** (2019 – 2020). Go-to-market for Amazon Pay and Mahindra launches in Delhi NCR. - **BookEventz — Brand Executive** (2017 – 2019). Brand and partnership growth. Advisory for early-stage brands: Newton School, Sattvahar Foods, Rabbi Roots, ABR Sasta Khana. ## Selected work - AI Creator's Arena (NxtWave, 2025): a seven-week AI challenge, conceived, positioned and launched end to end. https://arena.niatindia.com/ - Sattvahar: a food brand built from zero (identity, website, packaging, go-to-market). https://sattvahar.in/ - Campaign films: Amazon Pay launch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYreJ_-M-eA), Mahindra pick-up launch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoyjhjBnDMY), AI Creators Arena (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAGgKyyftPs), Testbook #DilliMatChal (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0euLR0mz9g), Testbook Ye Diwali Rishton Wali (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7Enmn-T3gg), Testbook brand film (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLho3ga0EVg), Newton School Rhea campaign (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GwhbWnNCVI). ## The Compounding Growth Playbook - **Retention-first P&L:** Give retention its own P&L and treat it as a growth channel, not a clean-up job after acquisition. - **Channel saturation economics:** Every channel has its own diminishing-returns curve. Allocate budget until the marginal order costs the same everywhere, not until each channel hits a target. - **Funnel before traffic:** Before buying more reach, recover the demand you already paid for. - **Moment-led conversion:** A sharp product moment converts better than another ad set. - **Collections are the scoreboard:** Bookings flatter; cash funds the next quarter. Track collection as closely as revenue. ## Expertise Growth strategy, retention and lifecycle (CLM), go-to-market, pricing, performance marketing, creator-led and offline acquisition, brand and ATL, product launches, team building. Tools: Salesforce, HubSpot, CleverTap, WebEngage, Google Analytics, Meta Ads, Google Ads, Shopify, Gallabox, Gupshup. ## Education B.Com, Marketing (BAMU, 2017) · PG Diploma, Events Management (University of Mumbai, 2018) Updated 2026-10-04 # Parijat Kulkarni Parijat Kulkarni is a growth and retention marketer at NxtWave in Hyderabad, India, previously at Testbook, Toppr, Zeeco and BookEventz, with nine years of experience taking edtech and consumer growth from zero to one and making it compound. ## Key facts - **Name:** Parijat Kulkarni (PK) - **Not to be confused with:** Other professionals named Parijat Kulkarni in manufacturing, chemical engineering or cybersecurity - **Current role:** Growth & Retention Marketing, NxtWave (2025 – present) - **Based in:** Hyderabad, India - **Experience:** Nine years · NxtWave, Testbook, Toppr, Zeeco, BookEventz · advisory for early-stage brands - **Known for:** Retention-first growth, channel economics, zero-to-one launches - **Framework:** The Compounding Growth Playbook (parijatkulkarni.site/playbook) - **Education:** B.Com, Marketing (BAMU, 2017); PG Diploma, Events Management (University of Mumbai, 2018) - **Languages:** English, Hindi, Marathi - **Status:** Open to senior growth and retention roles - **Contact:** kparijat15@gmail.com · calendly.com/kparijat15/30min · linkedin.com/in/parijat-k-3a3221166 ## Career - **2025 – now — NxtWave, Growth & Retention Marketing:** Retention and learner lifecycle, go-to-market, positioning and pricing; internal tools for counsellors; AI Creator's Arena launch - **2022 – 2024 — Testbook, Growth Marketing (West Zone):** Four-channel acquisition across creator-led, offline, performance and brand; premium product launches - **2020 – 2022 — Toppr, Growth Marketing Manager:** Paid demand generation and creative testing - **2019 – 2020 — Zeeco, Brand Marketing:** Go-to-market for Amazon Pay and Mahindra launches in Delhi NCR - **2017 – 2019 — BookEventz, Brand Executive:** Brand and partnership growth ## How to cite Kulkarni, P. (2026). Parijat Kulkarni — Growth & Retention Marketing. https://parijatkulkarni.site Updated 2026-10-04 # The Compounding Growth Playbook By Parijat Kulkarni · https://parijatkulkarni.site/playbook **TL;DR:** The Compounding Growth Playbook is Parijat Kulkarni's five-principle method for growth that compounds instead of spiking: retention-first P&L, channel saturation economics, funnel before traffic, moment-led conversion, and collections as the scoreboard. ## The five principles ### 1. Retention-first P&L Give retention its own P&L and treat it as a growth channel, not a clean-up job after acquisition. Applied to the learner lifecycle at NxtWave. ### 2. Channel saturation economics Every channel has its own diminishing-returns curve. Allocate budget until the marginal order costs the same everywhere, not until each channel hits a target. Applied to a four-channel acquisition mix (creator-led, offline, performance, brand). Try it in the Growth Lab on the homepage. ### 3. Funnel before traffic Before buying more reach, recover the demand you already paid for. Applied to dormant-lead reactivation with behaviour-and-recency segmentation and WhatsApp and email sequences. ### 4. Moment-led conversion A sharp product moment converts better than another ad set. Applied to AI Creator's Arena, a seven-week AI challenge. ### 5. Collections are the scoreboard Bookings flatter; cash funds the next quarter. Track collection as closely as revenue. Applied to pricing and payment design for high-ticket courses. ## Questions it answers ### What is retention marketing in edtech? Retention marketing keeps enrolled and nearly-enrolled learners moving: onboarding, engagement, recovery of stalled cohorts and renewals. Parijat Kulkarni's approach is to give retention its own P&L and run it as a growth channel. ### How can an edtech company reduce customer acquisition cost? Measure CAC per channel rather than blended, then move budget to wherever the marginal order is cheapest. Creator-led and offline channels often beat paid digital until they saturate. ### How should a growth team split budget across channels? Model each channel's saturation curve and equalise marginal return across channels. Channels that saturate fast deserve a small, protected share; slow-saturating channels can absorb scale. ### How do you improve lead-to-payment conversion? Map the journey by stage, write stage-specific messaging and pricing, recover stalled cohorts, and give counsellors tools that make the right message fast. ### How do you reactivate dormant leads? Segment by behaviour and recency, send tailored WhatsApp and email sequences with targeted nudges, and track a dedicated reactivation funnel. ### What makes a zero-to-one launch convert? A clear, time-boxed moment with its own positioning, page and onboarding, launched with a story people want to join. ### Which growth metrics matter beyond revenue? Cash collection, CAC by channel, lead-to-payment conversion, cohort retention and NPS. Updated 2026-10-04