The CMO Who Scaled to 120 Million Users on a Shoestring Budge - Ep 60

He scaled a mission-led brand from 50 million to 120 million users. Now he’s revealing the truth behind it all. Former Too Good To Go CMO Ivo van den Brand opens up about imposter syndrome, emotional leadership, and why most people misunderstand what a CMO actually does. Bold, honest and essential listening for anyone building a brand.

Welcome to the Marketing Hustle - a podcast about the real work behind building bold brands. We go behind the scenes with founders and marketing leaders to hear honest, unfiltered stories of what actually drives growth and cuts through the noise to build something that lasts. Today’s guest is someone you may not know by name, but you’ve almost certainly used the app he helped scale to over 120 million users across 19 countries: Too Good To Go.

Ivo van den Brand is the outgoing CMO of one of the most successful mission-driven brands in Europe and in this episode, he opens up about what it really took to lead a business at that scale - what worked, what didn’t and what he wishes more marketers understood.

But this conversation goes way beyond food waste or app growth.

It’s about the real job of being a CMO - why it’s more about leadership than marketing and how to stay grounded in a mission-led business without burning out. Ivo speaks candidly about imposter syndrome, pressure and navigating company-wide change while still showing up with empathy.

It’s honest, it’s sharp and it’s full of insights for anyone growing a career - or a brand - with purpose.

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