The goal of this interview series is to inspire and help people to transition their career into a new or next experimentation related role. In this edition Carlos Trujillo shares his journey. You can contact Carlos via his website or LinkedIn.
Everything, from optimizing my health and schedule to enhancing productivity and even parenting, takes on an experimental approach in some shape or form.
Carlos Trujillo
Please introduce yourself to our readers
Hello fellow experimenters! I’m Carlos, an experimentation strategist based in Colombia. I’ve been building websites since 2007 and before transitioning to a full-time experimentation role, I founded an agency that successfully launched and optimized over a hundred marketing and e-commerce sites for companies across the Americas.
Apart from my fascination for building and optimizing digital experiences, I’m also passionate about music production and traveling around the world.
What is your current experimentation role and what do you do?
I currently work as a Senior Experimentation Strategist at Speero Agency. This is a highly varied role where I work on everything from conducting research and analyzing data, prioritizing hypotheses, defining test treatments, and consulting with clients on the learnings and results they achieve with their online experiments.
At Speero, I’ve been actively involved in setting up, running, and scaling the Experimentation and CRO programs of growing D2C ecommerce brands, hyper-growth startups, and enterprises such as Nasdaq, Miro, Gympass, Procore, The Bouqs, and Naked & Thriving.
In addition to client-facing responsibilities, I’m also engaged in other activities to elevate the industry, such as the creation of an A/B Testing Tools Comparison, developing Blueprints for experimentation, and the creation of online courses.
How did you enter the experimentation space? What was your first experimentation-related role?
I started putting into practice some of the experimentation principles (most of which I learned from CXL and some other leading voices in the space) while working at my agency. However, it wasn’t until I joined Speero that I began working on experimentation and CRO full-time.
I initially took on the role of an Experimentation Program Manager at Speero and progressed from Junior to Senior Strategist over a two-year period.
How did you start to learn experimentation?
After running my agency for four years (at which point we were focused on implementing and optimizing Shopify stores), I was looking to upskill to offer more value to my clients.
This led me to discover CXL, an online institute providing in-depth training on experimentation and CRO, where I enrolled as a student in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Although I had some surface-level understanding of digital experimentation and conversion optimization, the level of detail in these courses truly impressed me and, quite literally, changed my career.
From the outset, I recognized this as a field I wanted to specialize in, driven by the opportunity to blend creativity and applied science (that’s how I see it) for business decision-making. I became so engrossed in the subject that I completed all available pieces of training on the platform in just 11 months (curious fact: that’s how I got hired by Speero).
How do you apply experimentation in your personal life?
I believe the experimental mindset has become a way of life for me. It’s now impossible not to consider hypothesis formulation, prioritization, and the overarching concept of continuous optimization in my personal decisions.
Everything, from optimizing my health and schedule to enhancing productivity and even parenting, takes on an experimental approach in some shape or form.
Additionally, I’ve recently been incorporating the concept of “Thinking in Bets,” inspired by the book of the same name. This perspective suggests that even the best decisions don’t always result in the best outcome. Embracing this concept has made me more comfortable with managing uncertainty to make better decisions.
What are you currently doing to keep up with the ever-changing industry?
This is still a relatively small industry, which has its pros and cons. On the positive side, it’s easy to identify leading voices for active learning (a great place to get to know some of these voices is the interviews directory here at Experimentation Jobs). However, a drawback is the limited exposure to diverse perspectives.
So, what I try to do is to listen and learn from individuals in other areas—perhaps those focused on specific components of experimentation or CRO, or even entirely unrelated fields. This approach has proven effective for me. Some voices outside of the experimentation world I actively learn from and recommend following are Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson (both from 37 signals), as well as Chris Do.
Additionally, I make an effort to attend a few industry conferences throughout the year (often involving traveling in my case). This provides a great opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals and build a network of individuals I can consistently reach out to with questions. I’ve heard the saying that a 15-minute face-to-face conversation is equivalent to two years of direct messaging, and I agree with that. However, on-site events are not the sole option; there are also online communities that can aid in building a network for professional growth. Experiment Nation, Conversion World, and the CXL Community are great examples.
What recommendations would you give to someone who is looking to join the experimentation industry and get their first full-time position?
I would advise that she shouldn’t hesitate to reach out directly to known voices in the field. Many individuals I know have landed their first job in the industry simply by asking for an internship or sending a DM to someone.
Building on my earlier point, given the relatively small size of this industry, most people are approachable and friendly. Those looking to start a career in it should leverage this and actively seek connections.
Finally, it’s crucial to recognize that it’s okay not to know everything. Many of us have learned the craft along the way, but it starts with the willingness to enter the industry and the commitment to continuous learning.
Which developments in experimentation excite you? How do you see the field changing in the next 5 to 10 years?
At this point, it’s impossible not to think about all the changes that are coming with the widespread adoption of AI and Large Language Models (LLMs). This not only changes our work processes but fundamentally will alter how people engage with websites and digital products. Exciting and revolutionary times ahead!
Bringing the focus closer to the present, two AI use cases that truly excite me are the systematic codification of qualitative data and advanced automated test analysis. These applications have the potential to not only detect anomalies but also reveal opportunities for personalization and more.
Is there anything people reading this can help you with? Or any parting words?
Something I consistently emphasize whenever I have the opportunity is that there’s still more demand than supply for talent in this field, presenting a significant opportunity for professionals interested in building a career in experimentation.
Take my case as an example: I work with a global agency serving American clients while being based in Colombia (Latin America). This isn’t because of my location or fees but because I happened to be the best fit for the position. I’m aware of many people in similar situations.
My message then is for companies not to hesitate in hiring talent remotely and, conversely, for professionals to apply for jobs or find clients beyond their geographical scope. You might be surprised at how effective this approach can be. Of course, Experimentation Jobs is a great platform for both cases!
Which other experimenters would you love to read an interview by?
Paul Randall, Emma Travis, and Jeff Kellner are colleagues and friends with great stories to share!
Thank you Carlos for sharing your journey and insights with the community.
