S5E2: Why Most Experimentation Programs Fail featuring Manuel Da Costa

In this episode of the Experiment Nation Podcast, host Richard Joe welcomes Manuel Da Costa, founder of Effective Experiments and now Efestra, to unpack a critical issue in the experimentation industry: the trust gap between practitioners and business decision-makers.🎯 Manuel shares how running more experiments isn’t the goal—making better decisions is. He introduces the Learning Loop, explains why most experimentation programs stall, and gives practical strategies for connecting experimentation insights to executive decisions.🔍 Whether you’re in CRO, product experimentation, or experimentation governance, this is a must-watch for moving beyond vanity metrics and toward real impact.📌 Connect with Manuel:📍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manueldacosta/#CRO #Experimentation #ABTesting #EffectiveExperiments #ProductManagement #DigitalMarketingChapter00:00 – Experiments don't matter unless they drive decisions 00:30 – Meet Manuel Da Costa, founder of Effective Experiments 01:45 – Manuel’s journey: from web design to CRO and Lean Startup 03:00 – How experimentation became his product 05:20 – The limitations of spreadsheets in experimentation 06:45 – Building Effective Experiments to streamline the workflow 09:10 – What is the "Trust Gap" in experimentation? 11:30 – Why 88% of experimentation programs aren’t transformative 13:00 – The survival mindset vs. strategic experimentation 16:00 – The echo chamber of experimentation advice 17:40 – Why velocity and win rate are not the real success metrics 19:00 – The problem with how learnings are shared 21:00 – How to communicate insights in one powerful slide 23:00 – Building organizational learning with the “Learning Loop” 25:00 – Step-by-step breakdown of the Learning Loop framework 27:15 – Why experimentation needs executive alignment 29:00 – How to reset a tactical experimentation program 30:40 – Introducing Efestra: a governance platform for experimentation 32:00 – Final thoughts and how to get in touch with Manuel 33:14 – About the book: *Prove It or Lose It*