If you’ve ever waited days (or weeks) for a data pull to launch a CRM experiment or wait months before the data team can prioritise CRM analysis and data deepdives — this one’s for you.
I’ve just released Episode #31 of LTV Talks, and it’s a conversation that gave me a glimpse into the future of how AI will shape our lives as lifecycle marketers. I’m joined by Ishan Rakshit, the co-founder of Sortment — an AI Data Engineer built for lifecycle marketers that’s quietly reimagining how we access and activate customer data.
Ishan is no stranger to building for marketers. You might know him from Shopflo, the checkout optimization startup that raised $2.6M from Tiger Global and TQ Ventures before they even had a product. With Sortment, he's now tackling something even more ambitious:
Giving CRM teams their own AI-powered data engineer — one who understands the business, knows the data warehouse inside out, and helps you move at the speed of thought.
Enjoy the episode! In case you’d like -
Here are some highlights from the conversation
The AI Hype has promised to transform So far, for lifecycle marketers it has mostly meant subject line generators or image variations. The enterprise level adoption hasn’t been there yet - but it’s happening.
Data access to lifecycle marketing teams represent a big opportunity. And Sortment is building an AI Data Engineer that promises to be that data team mate that every lifecycle marketing team has longed for. It’s that 1 hire that every lifecycle marketing team has been looking for.
This episode is especially relevant if you're a:
Head of CRM frustrated by slow testing cycles
Lifecycle marketer looking for tools that actually help you think better
CMO evaluating how to integrate AI into your marketing stack
Growth lead wondering what the next evolution of marketing ops will look like
Personalization Isn’t a Solved Problem — It’s an Evolving One
“Ten years ago, personalization was using a first name in a subject line. Five years ago, it was segmentation. Today, it's about delivering a different message to every individual based on tone, past behavior, and intent. And ten years from now, we’ll still be chasing a new definition of personalization.”
Personalization is a constantly moving bar. Many lifecycle teams feel like they’re always behind on this front. The teams need tools that evolve with user expectations to keep up.
The Data Warehouse Is the New Foundation of Lifecycle Marketing
“Data warehouses used to be an enterprise luxury. Today, we see mid-market — even small — companies adopt Snowflake or BigQuery. The real question now isn’t ‘do you have the data?’ It’s ‘can your marketers actually use it to build better experiences?’”
This flips the conversation from infrastructure to usability. Lifecycle teams who are sitting on rich customer data but still struggle to activate it effectively across channels. AI-native interfaces like Sortment now make that power accessible.
AI Data Agents Help You Find What You Wouldn’t Even Think to Ask
“A customer ran an A/B test that came back inconclusive. But with Sortment, they kept playing — and discovered that variant A actually performed 10% better for users under 25. That insight would've been lost without an AI agent to help them explore.”
I believe this will be the "aha moment" for many CRM teams — AI isn't just speeding up workflows; it's expanding the kind of analysis you can do. It invites curiosity, encourages more exploration, and unlocks nuanced insights without bottlenecks.
I hope this episode gets you as excited about the future as I am.
P.S: I've been trying to organise these focussed conversations around AI <> CRM with operators & builders. Not influencers or one-off use-cases but real conversations on how lifecycle marketing will be influenced with AI.
If you're interested in joining the list for the next convo live and contribute, please add your details here: https://lnkd.in/dkyZYkgn
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