A product growth studio · Led by Manali HanamsagarSmall Table Studio
Helping growth and product teams acquire users, understand why they don’t convert, and build the trust that moves them from free to paid.
The studio What Small Table does
I lead every project, and bring in a bench of specialists when the work calls for it.
Product growth
Acquisition, conversion, and retention for consumer software: first session, paywall, email, push, and product loops.
Behavioral design
Product journeys that build the trust that moves people from free to paid, especially in AI products.
Product growth Numbers the studio has moved
Creator platform. Shifted acquisition onto in-product loops and referral.
FinTech. In-product loops plus a referral program that stuck.
SaaS. Messaging and pricing aligned to the buying moment.
AI FinTech. Stacked from activation and pricing work, month over month.
Free trial plan. Onboarding rebuilt around the first real moment of value.
Prosumer AI. Trial repackaged, paywall moved to match user readiness.
Case studies Selected growth work
01 · Paid · Organic · Lifecycle · ReportingBuilding the growth system behind an AI interview diagnostic launch
A more integrated growth model around a live diagnostic offer, with clearer ownership, a shared experimentation process, and better visibility into what to test next.
Building the growth system behind an AI interview diagnostic launch
A more integrated growth model around a live diagnostic offer, with clearer ownership, a shared experimentation process, and better visibility into what to test next.
Challenge
An interview-prep platform was preparing to launch a paid diagnostic offer. Product, paid acquisition, organic distribution, lifecycle, reporting, and attribution all needed to work as one system.
What I owned
- Mapped the user journey from first interaction through booking, purchase, and post-purchase upsell
- Built and iterated lifecycle workflows around page views, sign-up behavior, drop-off points, and upsell triggers
- Defined launch measurement, UTM structure, and experiment tracking
- Supported Google and LinkedIn paid-growth experiments
- Developed paid creative and contributed to conversation-ad testing
- Built organic distribution strategy and a content calendar around the new offer
- Created reporting structures that connected campaign data, insights, decisions, and next bets
- Enabled team ownership through documentation, platform walkthroughs, and handoff support
Key experiments and systems
- Google target-CPA test using a controlled 50/50 split
- Conversation-ad testing across audience and messaging variations
- Paid campaign structure spanning awareness, thought leadership, and retargeting
- Product-led lifecycle instrumentation for the diagnostic experience
- CRM workflow and reporting improvements
- UTM-based experiment tracker with one row per test
- A launch model connecting paid, organic, product, and lifecycle activity
How I use AI
AI accelerated the operating system around the launch:
- Structuring experiment plans, launch workflows, and documentation
- Generating and refining content and creative directions
- Synthesizing performance inputs into clearer reporting and recommendations
- Automating a weekly channel-level traffic scorecard
- Turning scattered activity into a consistent launch, learn, and track cadence
02 · Onboarding · Email · Triggers · Founder contentCreating a lifecycle and retention system for a career product
A practical framework for onboarding, engagement, and trigger-based retention.
Creating a lifecycle and retention system for a career product
A practical framework for onboarding, engagement, and trigger-based retention.
Challenge
The team needed a retention approach that went beyond product announcements and connected emails to meaningful customer actions.
What I did
- Mapped timed onboarding education
- Designed an evergreen founder-newsletter layer
- Identified behavioral triggers such as goal setting and deadline proximity
- Created a visual lifecycle map before content production
How I use AI
Used AI to organize journey logic, draft and iterate content concepts, and turn lifecycle inputs into a structured operating plan.
03 · Events · Outreach · Partnerships · ReferralTurning curated events into an acquisition system for a tax and wealth platform
A more intentional acquisition and follow-up system around events, partnerships, and word of mouth.
Turning curated events into an acquisition system for a tax and wealth platform
A more intentional acquisition and follow-up system around events, partnerships, and word of mouth.
Challenge
An AI-powered tax and wealth platform needed to translate event attendance into qualified follow-up, partnerships, and referrals.
What I did
- Recommended small, outcome-specific events
- Designed an offline-to-online follow-up approach using personalized founder outreach and LinkedIn sequences
- Identified adjacent partnership communities
- Connected post-service communication to referral opportunities
How I use AI
Used AI to speed up attendee research, personalize outreach preparation, and synthesize event learnings into improved follow-up flows.
04 · Creators · LinkedIn · Revenue share · CommunityBuilding a micro-influencer and partnership playbook for a workplace product
A clearer framework for influencer, partnership, and community-led growth experiments.
Building a micro-influencer and partnership playbook for a workplace product
A clearer framework for influencer, partnership, and community-led growth experiments.
Challenge
The team wanted awareness with HR leaders while developing a more structured partnership model.
What I did
- Developed a micro-influencer brief with rationale, offer structure, and tracking metrics
- Defined a targeted LinkedIn creator approach
- Supported revenue-share partnership structures
- Connected awareness work to event and community strategy
How I use AI
Used AI to accelerate research, draft briefs, generate outreach angles, and structure tracking and reporting.
How I work with AI Moving growth faster
AI is part of my operating system across growth strategy and execution. Customer behavior, business context, and strategic judgment stay at the center.
Research and strategy
Messy inputs in, clear hypotheses and a roadmap out.
- Analyze customer segments, retention patterns, channel performance, and competitive context
- Turn messy inputs into clear hypotheses and prioritized experiment plans
- Build 30/60/90-day growth roadmaps faster
Creative and content
More variations to test, without losing strategic direction.
- Develop ad concepts, messaging angles, organic content prompts, and lifecycle email drafts
- Turn founder voice notes and subject-matter expertise into usable content
- Create more creative variations for testing without sacrificing strategic direction
Measurement and learning
Data becomes decisions, and decisions become institutional knowledge.
- Synthesize campaign and channel data into clearer insights
- Compare performance against benchmarks where useful
- Document learnings, decisions, and next experiments so teams can build institutional knowledge
Systems and execution
Less manual overhead, more time shipping and iterating.
- Map product funnels, lifecycle journeys, CRM workflows, and experiment trackers
- Draft briefs, operating documents, reporting structures, and launch checklists
- Reduce manual overhead so more time goes into execution and iteration
AI is leverage, not autopilot. I use it to increase speed and output, but strategy still comes from customer behavior, business context, and informed decision-making.
Client proof Small Table is good, here’s proof
“Manali embedded herself into Liscio and sat in on sprint meetings, wrote growth PRDs, ran user cohorts with customers and defined and built our initial activation and onboarding architecture. If you’re a founder who needs someone who thinks in outcomes and executes to match, she’s your person.”
“Manali is truly a GTM force. She helped craft and execute our GTM and PLG strategy and played a pivotal role in bringing our performance marketing in-house. The results speak for themselves: a remarkable 60% month-over-month reduction in CAC.”
“Manali helped us architect our entire PLG motion from start to finish and we could not be happier. Not only did we see a 15% jump in revenue from our new onboarding but we also saw a major spike in D60 + D90 retention.”
“Possessing a 360-degree growth vision, she has a very good understanding of subscription models, is very comfortable discussing products, business models, and acquisition levers, and is a good communicator, pragmatic, and gets straight to the point.”
“She showed her ability to start with strategy, climb the ladder down to execution and tactics and then climb back up to strategy. I hope that I have another chance to work with Manali in the near future.”
“Manali challenged me to think bigger, reframing business resources not just as a lead magnet but as a true business growth asset. Her insight helped me shift from ‘what looks better’ to ‘what performs better’ as a function of growth, and that clarity is already shaping how I move forward. I am grateful for her strategic lens and generous advice. I’d recommend connecting with Manali if you’re looking to grow.”
Free resources Want to see how I think?
The diagnostic tools and breakdowns I use with clients, as guides you can read and Claude skills you can install.