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Explore every episode of the podcast Future Fuzz - The Digital Marketing Podcast

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TitlePub. DateDuration
Ep. 178 - Ai won't Replace Bad Strategy - Chad de Lisle30 Mar 202600:22:53

In this episode, Vince Quinn is joined by Chad De Lisle, VP of Marketing at Disruptive, to unpack what happens when you stop chasing more clients, and start working with the right ones. Chad shares the story of how Disruptive transformed its business during COVID, cutting its client base dramatically to focus only on brands they truly believe in.

The conversation dives into the power of alignment, why it’s the foundation for better performance, happier teams, and stronger client outcomes. Chad also introduces the VSET framework (Vision, Strategy, Execution, Team) as a practical way to evaluate client fit, and explains why AI can either amplify clarity or create chaos depending on how aligned your brand really is. This episode is a must-listen for agencies, marketers, and leaders looking to build more meaningful, effective client relationships.


Guest Bio

Chad De Lisle is the VP of Marketing at Disruptive, a performance marketing agency founded in 2012. With over a decade at the company and nearly two decades in digital marketing, Chad has played a key role in shaping Disruptive’s evolution toward a more intentional, alignment-driven client model.

Disruptive specializes in helping brands grow through performance marketing, with a focus on vertical expertise and strategic clarity. Chad is passionate about building marketing systems that are rooted in purpose, alignment, and measurable impact, helping both teams and clients unlock their full potential.


Takeaways

  • Working with clients you believe in transforms both performance and job satisfaction.
  • More clients doesn’t equal better results—alignment matters more than scale.
  • Burnout often comes from misalignment, not workload alone.
  • A strong “why” is more motivating than financial goals alone.
  • The VSET framework helps evaluate true client fit.
  • AI amplifies whatever foundation you give it—clarity or chaos.
  • Vertical specialization leads to better results and efficiency.
  • Aligned teams produce exponential output, not linear growth.
  • Great marketing starts with deeply understanding the brand.


Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Building a Client Base You Believe In

00:35 What Disruptive Does

01:11 The Shift to Aligned Clients

02:50 The Emotional Impact of Alignment

04:08 What Alignment Really Means

05:08 Why Alignment Is Elusive

05:57 Beyond Financial Goals: Finding a Deeper Why

06:53 Disruptive’s Mission: Activate Greatness

07:53 The Challenge of Supporting Clients

08:53 The VSET Framework Explained

10:09 Alignment and Exponential Growth

10:45 Trust and Execution in Marketing

11:49 AI as a Noise Amplifier

12:18 Training AI to Match Your Brand

13:45 Avoiding “AI Breath” in Content

16:01 Impact on Teams and Burnout

17:00 Growth Environments: The Trade-Off

18:08 The Power of Vertical Specialization

19:42 Why Specialization Wins in Modern Marketing

20:22 The Risk of Agencies Learning on Your Dollar

20:53 Where to Find Disruptive


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Ep. 177 - Core Values Drive Real Culture - Jeff Perkins27 Mar 202600:23:09

In this episode, Vince Quinn sits down with Jeff Perkins, CEO of Soundstripe, to explore how music shapes storytelling and why customer obsession is a true competitive advantage. Jeff explains how Soundstripe empowers creators with high-quality, human-made music and innovative tools like AI-powered editing and track customization.

Beyond the product, Jeff shares his leadership philosophy as a CEO, emphasizing the importance of core values, alignment, and culture. He dives deep into what it really means to “obsess over customers”—from white-glove service to personally responding to complaints—and how empathy can turn frustrated users into loyal advocates. This episode is a masterclass in blending creativity, technology, and human connection to build a standout brand.


Guest Bio

Jeff Perkins is the CEO of Soundstripe, a leading music marketplace providing high-quality, artist-made tracks for creators across film, television, advertising, and digital content. With a catalog of over 58,000 songs and partnerships with Grammy award-winning musicians and engineers, Soundstripe helps creators elevate their storytelling through music.

Prior to Soundstripe, Jeff served as CEO of ParkMobile, where he led one of the most widely used parking apps in the U.S. Known for his customer-first mindset and leadership approach rooted in empathy and core values, Jeff focuses on building strong teams, fostering culture, and creating meaningful customer experiences.

Takeaways

  • Music drives emotional connection and can elevate or diminish a story.
  • Customization (stems + AI editing) allows creators to perfectly match music to content.
  • The CEO’s role is to act as a coach, ensuring alignment and clarity across teams.
  • Core values must be reinforced daily—not just defined.
  • Hiring, promotions, and rewards should all align with company values.
  • Customer obsession is built through responsiveness, empathy, and human connection.
  • Negative feedback is a powerful tool for learning and improvement.
  • Responding directly to customers can turn detractors into loyal advocates.
  • Small, unexpected gestures can significantly strengthen customer relationships.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and “Making Beautiful Music”

01:00 What Soundstripe Does and Why Music Matters

02:30 The Emotional Power of Music in Content

03:12 Customization: Stems and AI Song Editing

04:25 CEO Mindset: Being the Head Coach

05:30 The Power of Core Values in Organizations

07:19 Soundstripe’s Six Core Values Explained

10:43 Hiring and Reinforcing Culture Through Values

12:23 Obsessing Over Customers in Practice

13:32 Humanizing Customer Experience (and Coco the Dog)

14:49 Surprise & Delight: Going Beyond Expectations

16:27 Turning Feedback Into Advocacy

17:35 Learning From Customer Complaints

18:57 Responding to Negative Feedback as CEO

20:04 Empathy as a Customer Strategy

22:06 Human Connection Builds Loyalty

22:57 Where to Find Soundstripe

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Ep. 176 - AI Is Changing Student Discovery - Kathleen Stockham25 Mar 202600:40:22

In this episode of the Future Files Podcast powered by Silver Fox, Kathleen Stockham, Chief Marketing Officer at South College, shares how decades of experience in e-commerce shaped her approach to marketing in higher education. Kathleen explains how the fundamentals of digital marketing—meeting the right audience at the right time with the right message—apply just as much to education as they do to retail, but with far greater life impact.

She discusses the complexity of marketing to diverse student audiences—from 18-year-old first-time college students to working professionals and career changers—and why authentic storytelling from students and faculty is far more powerful than traditional institutional messaging. Kathleen also explains how podcasting has become a key content channel for South College, enabling real conversations with students, alumni, and faculty while generating repurposable content across the marketing ecosystem.

The conversation also explores the rapidly evolving role of AI in marketing. Kathleen shares how marketers should think about answer engines, AI-driven discovery, and the shift toward more informed consumers who arrive already educated about their options. Drawing parallels to the early days of e-commerce, she emphasizes that the marketers who thrive will be the ones who embrace change, experiment quickly, and focus on relevance rather than relying on outdated marketing playbooks.


Guest Bio

Kathleen Stockham is the Chief Marketing Officer at South College, where she leads digital marketing, web strategy, public relations, and content initiatives across the institution’s national footprint. With over 28 years of experience in digital marketing and e-commerce, Kathleen has worked with major brands across industries including electronics, jewelry, and telecommunications before transitioning into higher education.

At South College, she applies her deep expertise in martech, customer acquisition, and digital merchandising to help prospective students discover educational opportunities that can transform their careers and lives. Kathleen also hosts the South College podcast, where she highlights student journeys, faculty insights, and program opportunities across the institution’s ten campuses and online programs.


Takeaways

  • Marketing principles translate across industries when focused on meeting the right audience with the right message at the right time.
  • Higher education marketing requires communicating differently with multiple audiences, from teenagers to mid-career professionals.
  • Authentic student and alumni voices create far stronger engagement than traditional institutional messaging.
  • Podcasting can become a powerful storytelling and content engine for institutions.
  • AI is reshaping how people research and discover education programs.
  • Consumers are arriving more informed than ever, requiring marketers to shift from leading conversations to participating in them.
  • Marketers should embrace AI as a strategic partner rather than fear it as a replacement.
  • Successful marketers must continuously adapt as discovery platforms and consumer behavior evolve.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Kathleen Stockham and South College

01:16 Transitioning from E-commerce to Higher Education

03:49 Applying Digital Marketing Principles to Education

06:50 Marketing to Multiple Student Demographics

10:15 How Podcasting Became a Strategic Content Channel

13:05 Repurposing Podcast Content Across Marketing Channels

17:00 AI, Search Evolution, and Answer Engines

21:51 How AI Is Changing Education Discovery

24:27 Applying E-commerce “Merchandising” to Education Marketing

27:33 Building a Mobile-First Website for Modern Students

29:14 The Emotional Impact of Marketing Education

32:35 Advice for Marketers Navigating AI and Industry Change

37:55 Lessons from the Early Days of E-commerce


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Ep. 175 - The Human Side of Infrastructure - Roy Alexander23 Mar 202600:42:01

In this episode of the Future Fuzz Podcast, Harry Duran speaks with Roy Alexander, Chief Revenue Officer at VisionNet, about leadership, infrastructure, and what it takes to build meaningful customer relationships in the telecommunications industry.

Roy shares how stepping away from technology—through woodworking, hiking, and hands-on projects—helps him stay grounded and return to leadership with a clearer perspective. That philosophy of slowing down and focusing on people carries through to his work at VisionNet, where he emphasizes empathy, trust, and long-term relationship building as essential components of revenue growth.

The conversation explores VisionNet’s unique origins, created by rural telecom providers in Montana to solve education access challenges through video connectivity. Today, the company operates one of the largest privately owned middle-mile networks in the state and delivers managed services, data center infrastructure, and network connectivity across the country.

Roy also explains how enterprise infrastructure is evolving toward distributed networks, why managed services often succeed quietly in the background, and how organizations can stay visible to customers even when everything is running perfectly. Throughout the episode, Roy highlights a leadership philosophy rooted in empathy, accountability, and the belief that technology ultimately exists to serve people.

Guest Bio

Roy Alexander is the Chief Revenue Officer at VisionNet, where he oversees sales, marketing, and customer-facing operations for the telecommunications and managed services provider.

With more than 30 years of experience in telecommunications, Roy has held leadership roles across sales, operations, and customer service organizations. His work focuses on aligning revenue strategy with customer experience, ensuring that network infrastructure and managed services support the real-world needs of the businesses that depend on them.

At VisionNet, Roy leads efforts to expand enterprise connectivity, managed network services, and data center capabilities across the United States while helping organizations navigate increasingly complex infrastructure environments.

Takeaways

  • Technology infrastructure ultimately exists to serve people, not just platforms.
  • Empathy is essential in customer-facing operations, especially when services are critical to business continuity.
  • Managed services succeed when customers forget about them—but that also makes value communication essential.
  • Distributed infrastructure is becoming increasingly important as AI and low-latency applications grow.
  • Enterprise buyers face overwhelming complexity and need partners who simplify decisions.
  • Trust in enterprise sales builds slowly through consistent delivery on commitments.
  • Organizations should align messaging across every customer interaction, not just marketing.
  • Leaders should step away from technology periodically to reconnect with the human impact of their work.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Roy Alexander

01:00 Why Disconnecting from Technology Matters

03:00 Leadership, Empathy, and Customer Experience

04:30 VisionNet’s Origin Story and Rural Connectivity

06:30 Bringing Customer Operations Under Revenue Leadership

08:10 What a Network Operations Center (NOC) Does

09:15 Why People Often Get Lost Behind Technology

12:00 Lessons from Early Career Mentors

15:00 VisionNet’s Ownership Model and Growth Strategy

17:30 Navigating Pipeline Growth in Noisy Markets

19:00 Why Managed Services Often Go Unnoticed

22:00 Data Centers and VisionNet’s Infrastructure Strategy

24:00 The Case for Distributed Infrastructure

28:00 Helping Customers Navigate Infrastructure Complexity

32:00 Privacy, Data, and Technology Tradeoffs

36:30 What 30 Years in Telecom Has Taught Roy

39:00 Advice for Revenue Leaders in Complex Markets

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Ep. 174 - The Human Side of AI Marketing - Rob Rankin20 Mar 202600:38:21

In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Harry Duran speaks with Rob Rankin, President of Clarity Coverdale Fury (CCF), about why emotional connection remains the most powerful force in marketing, even as technology and AI reshape the industry. Rob shares how CCF helps brands “throw a big rock” in crowded markets by creating creative communications that demand attention while building genuine emotional resonance with audiences.

The conversation explores how fragmented media landscapes have changed the way brands reach consumers, why presence and attention are prerequisites for performance marketing, and how experiential moments can amplify brand storytelling. Rob also discusses how agencies should approach AI adoption—experimenting first, then embedding it strategically into operations—without losing the human touch that drives trust and loyalty.

Guest Bio

Rob Rankin is the President of Clarity Coverdale Fury (CCF), a creative communications agency known for building emotionally resonant brand campaigns that demand attention and drive connection. Under his leadership, CCF delivers full-service marketing solutions including strategy, creative development, and media planning, with a strong focus on healthcare and financial services.

Rob began his career at BBDO, working on major consumer packaged goods brands and developing a strong foundation in data-driven marketing. Since joining CCF in 1998 and later helping lead the agency’s transition to new ownership, he has helped evolve the firm’s signature approach—leveraging the emotional catalyst between brands and audiences to build trust and long-term brand value.

Takeaways

  • Emotional connection remains the most powerful driver of brand trust and memorability.
  • In a fragmented media environment, brands must demand attention before delivering their message.
  • Experiential marketing combined with digital amplification can dramatically expand reach.
  • AI will transform agency workflows but should enhance, not replace, human creativity.
  • Leaders must balance involvement with trust, empowering teams while staying strategically present.
  • Long-term brand positioning built around authentic emotional insights can last for decades.
  • Effective planning means defining long-term vision and chunking goals down into actionable steps.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Rob Rankin and Clarity Coverdale Fury

00:14 A proud parent moment and life outside the office

01:04 What Clarity Coverdale Fury does and the power of emotional marketing

01:37 Rob’s role as President and leading a 20-person agency team

02:42 Why healthcare became a core focus for the agency

03:12 The importance of emotional catalysts in marketing

04:37 Media fragmentation and the challenge of capturing attention

06:12 “Throwing a big rock”: Creating campaigns that demand attention

08:20 How brands can create modern “water cooler” moments

11:05 Presence vs. performance in marketing strategy

12:21 Marketing fundamentals that still hold true today

13:45 How agencies are experimenting with AI tools

16:17 The rise of AI skills and prompt-driven workflows

18:04 Keeping up with AI trends and industry learning

19:38 Encouraging teams to experiment and share AI use cases

20:21 Leadership lessons about delegation and trust

23:11 The emotional catalyst framework explained

25:34 Building brand positioning that stands the test of time

25:51 Planning strategy: thinking in three-year and quarterly horizons

27:27 Recognizing when priorities drift and staying accountable

29:04 The importance of being fully present with clients

30:26 The future of marketing and the risk of losing human connection

32:27 Rob’s unexpected path into advertising

34:39 A classic marketing book that still holds up today

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Ep. 173 - AI won't Replace Marketers - Bianca Bruno18 Mar 202600:43:01

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Harry Duran sits down with Bianca Bruno, Associate VP of Paid Search at Good Apple, to unpack what marketing leadership actually looks like in the age of AI, automation, and rapidly evolving search behavior. Bianca explains why AI isn’t replacing marketers—but instead pushing them to become more analytical, strategic, and business-minded.

The conversation dives into how modern search teams are shifting away from manual optimization toward deeper data analysis, how agencies should think about AI as a co-pilot rather than a replacement, and why fundamentals like keyword strategy, audience targeting, and business context still matter more than ever.

Bianca also shares how she maintains a remarkable 97% team retention rate by prioritizing mental health, communication, and real human connection in a hybrid work environment. From AI-driven media planning tools to the rise of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and changing consumer search behavior, this episode explores how agencies can adapt while staying grounded in the fundamentals that actually drive results.

Guest Bio

Bianca Bruno is the Associate Vice President of Paid Search at Good Apple, an independent media agency known for its data-driven marketing strategies. With over a decade of experience in paid search and performance marketing, Bianca leads teams responsible for optimizing complex campaigns across industries including retail and pharmaceutical.

At Good Apple, Bianca focuses on combining human expertise with AI-powered tools to improve campaign performance, streamline media planning, and uncover new audience insights. She is particularly passionate about building strong teams, maintaining a people-first leadership approach, and helping marketers adapt to the rapidly evolving landscape of search, automation, and AI-driven marketing.

Takeaways

  • AI is changing how marketers work—but not replacing them.
  • Search marketers are shifting from manual optimization to analytical strategy and business thinking.
  • The fundamentals of paid search—keywords, audience targeting, and campaign structure—still matter.
  • AI works best as a co-pilot that enhances human expertise rather than replacing it.
  • Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is growing but brands shouldn’t chase every AI query.
  • Successful teams balance automation with human oversight and data validation.
  • Retention and team health improve when leaders prioritize communication and mental wellness.
  • Marketing innovation often comes from solving real workflow problems before they become major issues.
  • Influencer marketing is evolving into a more structured ecosystem with specialized negotiation roles.
  • Future marketing success will depend on adapting to changing consumer search behaviors and privacy expectations.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Bianca Bruno

00:25 The Bears Win and Chicago Sports Energy

02:02 What Leading Paid Search Looks Like in the AI Era

03:46 How AI Is Changing the Daily Work of Search Marketers

06:12 Why Marketers Need to Think More Like CEOs

07:24 Building a Team That Thrives in a Rapidly Changing Industry

09:27 How Bianca Maintains a 97% Team Retention Rate

11:18 Preventing Burnout in High-Pressure Marketing Roles

12:42 Innovation as Solving Problems Before They Exist

14:05 How Teams Are Actually Using AI Tools Today

16:30 Is Google Search Really Losing Relevance?

20:17 Why Marketing Fundamentals Still Matter in the Age of Automation

21:33 Helping Clients Focus on the Right AEO Metrics

24:03 What Brands Get Wrong About AI Search Visibility

29:31 Why Modern Media Planners Must Become More Analytical

32:19 The Rise of Influencer Negotiation as a Marketing Discipline

35:05 How Consumer Search Behavior May Change Next

36:03 Career Advice for Marketers Entering the AI Era

39:20 Why Analog Experiences Are Making a Comeback

42:23 Closing Thoughts: Work Well With People First

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Ep. 17 - From Chaos to Brand Control - Michelle Brammer16 Mar 202600:28:26

In this episode of the Future Fuzz Podcast, Michelle Brammer, Director of Growth Marketing at Lingo, shares what it’s like to step into a company with no formal marketing function and build the growth engine from scratch. Michelle explains how she approached the challenge of creating systems, defining the ideal customer profile, and prioritizing marketing initiatives in a small team environment.

She also explores the often-overlooked problem of digital asset chaos inside organizations—how scattered files, endless “final-final” versions, and inconsistent branding slow teams down and erode brand trust. Michelle discusses how Lingo’s digital asset management platform helps teams centralize brand assets, maintain consistency, and scale across complex industries like cannabis, where strict regulations and multi-state operations create unique challenges.

The conversation dives into the importance of niche positioning, owning the narrative in a crowded category, and why brand governance is becoming even more critical in an AI-driven world where content can be generated instantly—but not always on brand.


Guest Bio

Michelle Brammer is the Director of Growth Marketing at Lingo, a digital asset management platform that helps organizations organize, manage, and share brand assets more effectively. With over a decade of experience in B2B SaaS marketing, Michelle has previously worked in areas including employee advocacy platforms and ad fraud prevention.

Before moving into SaaS, Michelle built her marketing career in CPG and food marketing, giving her a strong perspective on brand management and distribution. At Lingo, she leads growth strategy, marketing infrastructure, and go-to-market initiatives, helping position the company in specialized industries like cannabis where asset management, compliance, and brand consistency are critical.


Takeaways

  • Building marketing from scratch requires prioritizing infrastructure such as CRM, customer data, and messaging before scaling lead generation.
  • Niche positioning allows smaller companies to compete effectively in crowded markets.
  • Digital asset chaos—duplicate files, version confusion, and scattered storage—creates major operational bottlenecks for marketing teams.
  • Centralized digital asset management helps maintain brand consistency across teams, vendors, and agencies.
  • Industries like cannabis require specialized asset distribution because products, names, and marketing materials must change across states.
  • Word-of-mouth growth can become a powerful acquisition channel when products solve industry-specific problems.
  • Owning a category narrative is often more powerful than competing solely on features.
  • Brand governance is becoming increasingly important as AI-generated content makes it easier to create off-brand assets quickly.


Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Michelle Brammer and Lingo

00:46 Michelle’s Background in SaaS and Marketing

01:24 Joining Lingo and Building Marketing from Scratch

02:24 Prioritizing Systems, CRM, and Early Marketing Strategy

04:14 Identifying Lingo’s Ideal Customer Profile

05:22 Why Lingo Focused on the Cannabis Industry

06:25 The Hidden Problem of Digital Asset Chaos

08:58 When Asset Management Becomes a Business Bottleneck

10:42 How Centralized Brand Assets Improve Team Efficiency

11:36 Standing Out in a Crowded Asset Management Market

12:43 Cannabis Regulations and Multi-State Asset Challenges

14:00 Partnerships, Referrals, and Industry Events

15:05 Speaking the Language of the Customer

17:06 Case Study: Scaling Asset Management for Curaleaf

19:47 Competing Through Narrative Instead of Features

21:27 The Future of Brand Governance in the AI Era

24:16 Building Industry Voice Through Thought Leadership

25:35 Why Brand Consistency Matters More Than Ever

27:10 Where to Connect with Michelle


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Ep. 171 - The Long Game in Sales - Glenn S. Phillips13 Mar 202600:22:45

Podcast Summary

In this episode of the Future Fuzz Podcast, Vince Quinn sits down with Glenn S. Phillips, CEO of Lake Homes Realty, to explore the realities of qualifying leads and managing extremely long sales cycles. Glenn shares how his company has built a thriving niche real estate brokerage focused specifically on lakefront, beach, and mountain properties—markets where the buying process can take years rather than months.

Glenn explains why discretionary real estate purchases behave differently from traditional home sales, how Lake Homes Realty uses niche positioning to attract highly engaged buyers, and why expertise matters when selling unique properties. The conversation dives into strategies for nurturing long-term leads, delivering value instead of constant sales pressure, and helping agents stay patient through multi-year buying journeys.

Listeners will also learn how Glenn’s team combines data, digital platforms, and experienced agents to guide buyers through complex property decisions, while building a defensible sales process designed for long timelines and high-value purchases.


Guest Bio

Glenn S. Phillips is the CEO of Lake Homes Realty, a rapidly growing real estate brokerage specializing in lakefront properties across the United States. Under Glenn’s leadership, the company has appeared seven times on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies.

Lake Homes Realty operates a unique niche-focused model that combines specialized agents with highly targeted digital platforms, including LakeHomes.com. The company has expanded its niche strategy into additional markets with Beach Homes Realty and Mountain Homes Realty, continuing to focus on experiential properties that serve as lifestyle destinations rather than primary residences.

Glenn is known for pioneering niche real estate brokerage at scale, combining deep market expertise with long-cycle sales strategies that help buyers navigate complex, discretionary property purchases.


Takeaways

  • Niche specialization creates stronger engagement than broad real estate platforms.
  • Discretionary real estate purchases often have sales cycles that average two years or longer.
  • Buyers frequently research properties online for years before ever speaking with an agent.
  • Providing value—market insights, education, and expertise—is more effective than aggressive selling.
  • Experienced agents are better equipped to handle long-term relationship building with buyers.
  • Qualifying leads often focuses on protecting time rather than determining financial capacity.
  • Buyers today are more informed than ever and can quickly recognize overpriced properties.
  • Unique property markets require local expertise because pricing can vary dramatically based on location and features.


Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Glenn S. Phillips and Lake Homes Realty

01:02 What Makes Lake Homes Realty Different

01:39 The Niche Strategy Behind Lake, Beach, and Mountain Homes

02:03 Understanding Discretionary Real Estate Purchases

02:22 Why the Sales Cycle Can Last Years

03:11 Managing Long Sales Cycles in Real Estate

04:14 The Power of Niche Traffic and Buyer Intent

04:52 Why Experienced Agents Perform Better

06:22 How Leads Move from Website to Agent

07:11 Delivering Value Instead of Sales Pressure

09:02 Examples of Value-Driven Client Engagement

10:39 Building Relationships Through Experiences and Events

11:04 Aligning Brand Power with Individual Agent Relationships

12:59 Using Data to Help Agents Win Listings

13:26 Maintaining Patience in Long Sales Cycles

15:34 Helping Buyers Discover What They Actually Want

18:03 Why Today’s Buyers Are More Informed Than Ever

19:10 Why Distressed Deals Rarely Exist in Niche Markets

20:24 Pricing Strategy and Market Signals

21:27 The Importance of Local Expertise in Unique Property Markets

22:02 Where to Find Lake Homes Realty


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Ep. 170 - Finding Stories in New Markets - Kim Nguyen11 Mar 202600:21:20

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn sits down with Kim Nguyen, Head of Marketing at TreeRing, to explore how storytelling and problem-solving can unlock entirely new business verticals.

Kim shares the origin story of TreeRing, a company that disrupted the traditional yearbook industry with a print-on-demand model, eliminating waste, administrative burden, and unsold inventory for schools. She then explains how the company applied the same philosophy to the travel industry, using AI to transform thousands of travel photos into curated physical keepsakes.

The conversation dives into how marketers can enter new industries with curiosity, identify real customer pain points, and build partnerships that scale globally. Kim also highlights the power of listening—using open conversations with cruise operators and travel agents to uncover opportunities like gifting personalized photo books to travelers.

For marketers exploring new markets, this episode is a masterclass in customer discovery, storytelling, and building solutions around real human experiences.

Guest Bio

Kim Nguyen is the Head of Marketing at TreeRing, a company that revolutionized the traditional yearbook industry with a sustainable, print-on-demand model that eliminates waste and administrative burden for schools.

With over 16 years of experience supporting TreeRing’s growth, Kim has helped lead the company’s expansion into new verticals, including the travel industry. By leveraging AI-driven photo curation, TreeRing enables travelers to transform hundreds of digital photos into meaningful physical keepsakes in minutes.

Kim specializes in storytelling, customer discovery, and market expansion, helping organizations identify hidden opportunities by deeply understanding customer pain points and behaviors.

Takeaways

  • Identify real problems first. TreeRing’s success comes from spotting inefficiencies—first in yearbooks, then in travel memories.
  • Print-on-demand changed yearbooks. Schools no longer need to pre-order inventory or deal with unsold books.
  • AI reduces friction. AI-powered photo curation can transform hours of manual work into minutes.
  • Storytelling starts with truth. The best marketing highlights a real problem customers already feel.
  • Customer discovery requires curiosity. Open-ended conversations often reveal opportunities you didn’t anticipate.
  • Partnerships unlock scale. Collaborations with cruise lines like Norwegian and Carnival opened access to thousands of travelers.
  • Focus on the “last mile” of experiences. Many travel brands neglect what happens after the trip ends—where memories are relived.
  • Entering new verticals requires humility. Approaching industries with a blank-slate mindset helps uncover insights faster.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Kim Nguyen and TreeRing

01:16 How TreeRing Disrupted the Traditional Yearbook Model

03:22 Identifying a New Opportunity in Travel Memories

04:49 Why AI Makes Photo Book Creation Frictionless

07:51 Expanding from Education to Travel Markets

10:00 Building Partnerships with Cruise Lines

11:53 Scaling Through Enterprise Travel Partnerships

13:00 Learning Customer Pain Points Across Travel Businesses

15:21 Discovering the Travel Agent Photo Book Opportunity

18:46 The Power of Curiosity When Entering New Industries

20:02 Why Listening Beats Being the “Know-It-All” Marketer

20:11 Where to Learn More About TreeRing

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Ep. 169 - AI, Influence & Brand Survival - Dan Lowden09 Mar 202600:20:32

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn sits down with Dan Lowden, Chief Marketing Officer at Blackbird.ai, to unpack one of the fastest-growing threats facing organizations today: narrative attacks driven by disinformation, misinformation, and deepfakes.

Dan explains how AI has dramatically lowered the barrier to creating convincing false content that can manipulate stock prices, damage brand reputation, target executives, and even threaten national security. He introduces the concept of Narrative Intelligence—a new category identified by Gartner—as a proactive way for companies to detect harmful narratives before they spiral out of control.

The conversation explores how organizations should respond when false narratives gain traction, why real-time data is critical for crisis decisions, and how cross-functional “fusion centers” are becoming essential in managing modern reputation risk. They also discuss the upside: how brands can identify and amplify positive narratives to build trust and loyalty.

If you care about brand protection, crisis management, AI risk, or the future of trust in the digital age, this episode is essential listening.

Guest Bio

Dan Lowden is the Chief Marketing Officer at Blackbird.ai, a leading Narrative Intelligence company that helps organizations detect and mitigate disinformation-driven narrative attacks.

With over two and a half years at Blackbird.ai, Dan plays a key role in educating enterprises, government agencies, and global organizations about the emerging threat of AI-powered misinformation, deepfakes, and coordinated narrative manipulation.

Under his leadership, Blackbird.ai has helped define and lead the newly recognized category of Disinformation Narrative Intelligence, empowering companies to proactively identify harmful narratives across social media, news, and the dark web—before they cause financial, operational, reputational, or physical harm.

Takeaways

  • AI has dramatically lowered the barrier to creating convincing deepfakes and disinformation.
  • Narrative attacks can cause financial, reputational, operational, and even physical harm.
  • A single post can evolve into a large-scale narrative across multiple platforms.
  • You cannot rely on social platforms to “take it down” once a narrative spreads.
  • Real-time narrative intelligence enables faster, more strategic crisis decisions.
  • Companies are forming cross-functional “fusion centers” to respond to modern reputation threats.
  • Authenticity and trust are fragile—one bad narrative can undo years of brand equity.
  • Positive narratives should be identified and amplified strategically.
  • Brands must earn trust consistently; inauthentic behavior gets exposed quickly.
  • Knowing the full narrative landscape (positive, neutral, negative, harmful) creates both protection and opportunity.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Dan Lowden and Blackbird.ai

00:34 What Is Narrative Intelligence?

02:18 Why Disinformation and Deepfakes Are Exploding

03:56 The Rise of AI-Powered Narrative Attacks

05:30 Why Companies Must Take This Threat Seriously

07:29 How Organizations Should Respond to False Narratives

09:48 The Importance of Real Data in Crisis Decisions

10:46 Identifying and Leveraging Positive Narratives

13:37 Authenticity, Trust, and Brand Vulnerability

16:38 The “Fusion Center” Approach to Crisis Management

18:13 How to Learn More About Blackbird.ai

19:14 Final Thoughts on Trust in the AI Era

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Ep. 168 - The Real ROI of Experiential - Erica Wiggins06 Mar 202600:21:34

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn sits down with Erica Wiggins, Director of Marketing and Communications at George P. Johnson (GPJ), to unpack what it really takes to stand out at major global events like CES and South by Southwest.

Erica shares how brands can move beyond surface-level activations and photo ops to create meaningful, measurable experiential marketing strategies. From setting clear goals and defining audience segments to building attendee journeys and leveraging new measurement technologies, she explains why strategy must come before spectacle.

They explore the realities of planning timelines, budgets ranging from guerrilla activations to multi-million-dollar campaigns, and how GPJ audits events to bring competitive intelligence back to clients. Erica also makes the case for why in-person experiences are becoming even more critical in an AI-driven, increasingly mistrusted digital world.

If you’re considering investing in a major event—or wondering how to prove ROI from experiential marketing—this episode is packed with practical insight.


Guest Bio

Erica Wiggins is the Director of Marketing and Communications at George P. Johnson (GPJ), a global strategic experiential marketing agency with over 111 years of history. Headquartered in Detroit, GPJ began in the automotive space and has since expanded to serve leading B2B and B2C brands across technology, retail, CPG, insurance, and beyond.

At GPJ, Erica helps shape how brands connect with audiences through world-class live experiences at major global events. She works closely with strategy, creative, and new business teams to ensure experiential campaigns align with brand objectives, drive measurable results, and deliver meaningful attendee journeys.


Takeaways

  • Start with clear goals before committing to any event.
  • Define your segmented audience and understand why they’re attending.
  • Align your activation with the event’s vibe and structure.
  • Build a strategic attendee journey—not just a booth.
  • Measurement is critical—track leads, engagement, sentiment, and behavior.
  • Smaller budgets require bigger creativity.
  • Photo ops alone aren’t enough—especially for B2B brands.
  • Experiential marketing is becoming more important in an AI-driven world.
  • Auditing events provides competitive intelligence and future opportunity.
  • In-person brand experiences build trust in ways digital alone cannot.


Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Erica Wiggins and GPJ

01:16 What GPJ Does and Its 111-Year Legacy

02:16 How Brands Stand Out at Major Events

03:28 Why You Must Understand the Event Before Showing Up

05:10 South by Southwest vs. CES Strategy Differences

06:28 Parallel Events and Creative Event Positioning

07:49 How GPJ Approaches Client Strategy

08:54 Planning Timelines: 6–12 Months in Advance

11:55 Budget Ranges: Guerrilla to Multi-Million-Dollar Campaigns

14:10 How GPJ Promotes Itself at Events

16:11 What an Event Audit Actually Looks Like

17:01 Common Mistakes Brands Make

18:30 Why Photo Ops Aren’t Enough

19:24 The Case for Experiential in an AI World

20:39 Where to Learn More About GPJ


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Ep. 167 - Helping First Wins Every Time - Nic Banting04 Mar 202600:27:04

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn sits down with Nic Banting, CMO at Roselion, to explore how strong relationships and intentional service can scale trust in a digital-first world. While marketers obsess over tactics, attribution, and AI-driven performance, Nic makes the case that trust is the ultimate growth lever—and it doesn’t scale the way ads do.

Nic shares his philosophy of “helping first,” why reciprocity is wired into human behaviour, and how dedicating intentional time each week to meeting new people can compound into career-defining opportunities. From lessons learned in corporate environments to the power of going deep quickly in conversations, this episode reframes networking as an act of service rather than self-promotion.

If you care about building meaningful connections, creating leverage through trust, and standing out in an increasingly automated world, this conversation is for you.

Guest Bio

Nic Banting is the Chief Marketing Officer at Roselion and a passionate advocate for relationship-led growth. With a career built on trust, service, and strategic connection, Nic believes that the strongest marketing outcomes stem from deep human relationships—not just tactical execution.

He is a firm believer in intentional network building, helping without expectation, and going beyond surface-level interactions to build meaningful bonds. Through his work and personal philosophy, Nic champions the idea that trust compounds—and that helping others is one of the most scalable strategies in business.

Takeaways

  • Trust is the foundation of effective marketing and strong partnerships.
  • Helping others first creates compounding opportunities through reciprocity.
  • Intentional networking (dedicating time weekly) drives long-term growth.
  • Deep conversations build stronger bonds than surface-level small talk.
  • The most valuable opportunities often come from unexpected connections.
  • Relationship building should be prioritized as highly as skill development.
  • Emotional moments in conversations are what people remember most.
  • In an AI-driven world, human trust is a differentiator.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Nic Banting

01:21 Why Trust Is the Foundation of Marketing

02:24 Helping First as a Core Principle

03:40 The Challenge of Maintaining Relationships

06:07 Scaling Trust Through Strategic Partnerships

07:11 Lessons from Isolation Early in Vince’s Career

08:42 The Power of Unexpected Connections

10:29 Building Rapport and Trust Quickly

12:44 Curiosity as a Relationship Tool

14:37 Intentional Networking: Blocking Time Weekly

16:49 Turning Conversations Into Value

20:00 Going Deep vs. Surface-Level Small Talk

22:39 Being a Student of People

23:49 Systems for Remembering and Reconnecting

25:22 Final Advice: Invest in Relationships Over Tactics

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Ep. 166 - From Blog Posts to Pipeline - Sara Ceballos02 Mar 202600:20:32

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn sits down with Sara Ceballos, Director of Marketing at Inspectiv, to explore how content can intentionally support every stage of the buyer journey.

Sara breaks down why content isn’t just blogs and white papers—it’s a strategic system designed to move prospects from awareness to revenue. From mapping content to funnel stages, to identifying gaps through data analysis, to partnering closely with sales for real-world insights, Sara shares a practical framework for building content that converts.

The conversation dives into attribution, dark funnel realities, empathetic marketing, and why content strategy must be both analytical and adaptable. If you’re creating content without a clear path to pipeline, this episode will help you rethink your approach.

Guest Bio

Sara Ceballos is the Director of Marketing at Inspectiv, a company providing continuous security testing solutions that help organizations launch applications securely and protect their digital environments.

With a strong focus on data-driven strategy, attribution modeling, and cross-functional collaboration, Sara specializes in aligning marketing content with sales insights to drive measurable business impact. She is passionate about empathetic marketing, buyer journey mapping, and creating content ecosystems that influence pipeline and revenue.

Takeaways

  • Content must align intentionally with stages of the buyer journey.
  • Data should guide content strategy—but sales conversations provide critical qualitative insight.
  • The buyer journey is not linear; prospects may disappear and resurface months later.
  • Dark funnel influence is real—attribution won’t always capture everything.
  • Mapping existing content to funnel stages helps identify strategic gaps.North Star metrics should tie back to meetings, pipeline, and revenue.
  • One core piece of content can be repurposed across multiple channels.
  • Empathetic marketing builds trust by addressing real pain points.
  • Optimization requires fast pivots when content doesn’t resonate.
  • Distribution matters as much as creation—meet buyers where they already spend time.


Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Sara Ceballos

00:46 What Inspectiv Does

01:27 Building Strategic Content Campaigns

03:46 Mapping Content to Buyer Intent

05:18 Charting the Buyer Journey

07:20 Content Ecosystems and Repurposing

09:28 Attribution and Measuring Impact

10:44 The Non-Linear Buyer Journey

12:08 Aligning with Sales for Insight

13:54 Listening to Real Customer Conversations

15:45 Choosing the Right Content Formats

16:41 Empathetic Marketing in Action

17:41 Pivoting and Optimizing Strategy

18:53 Where to Find Inspectiv

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Ep. 165 - Frameworks Win with Ai Marketing - Kyle Shurtz27 Feb 202600:29:35

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Harry Duran sits down with Kyle Shurtz, Fractional CMO at Avalaunch Media, to talk strategy, risk-taking, and why marketing is a lot like playing blackjack.

Kyle shares how frameworks, not guesswork, drive better decisions in both cards and campaigns. From Google’s 70-20-10 “wild bets” philosophy to Avalanche’s structured Strategic Sprint process, the conversation explores how disciplined risk-taking separates winning brands from stagnant ones.

They dive deep into the role of AI in marketing, why strategic leadership won’t be replaced by automation, and how agencies must evolve beyond tactics into true fractional executive partnerships. Kyle also breaks down Avalanche’s nine-square marketing framework (inspired by The One Page Marketing Plan), explaining how aligning ICP, messaging, media, customer journey, and lifetime value creates scalable growth.

If you’re a founder or executive tired of reactive marketing and looking for structured, strategic growth—this episode delivers practical insight.

Guest Bio

Kyle Shurtz is the Fractional CMO at Avalaunch Media, a full-service digital marketing agency focused on strategic leadership backed by execution.

At Avalanche, Kyle helps companies move beyond disconnected marketing tactics by implementing structured frameworks that align revenue goals, customer acquisition, and brand positioning. The agency specializes in building fractional in-house marketing teams—combining executive-level strategy with tactical delivery across content, paid media, analytics, and creative.

Kyle is passionate about risk-taking, innovation, and what he calls “wild bets”—intentional experimentation designed to drive breakthrough growth. Through structured planning and disciplined execution, he helps businesses scale sustainably in an AI-driven marketing landscape.

Takeaways

  • Marketing, like blackjack, requires strategic decision-making based on known variables.
  • AI enhances execution but cannot replace strategic leadership.
  • The 70-20-10 model (core, adjacent, wild bets) can be applied to marketing budgets.
  • Companies should allocate 10% of their marketing efforts to experimentation.
  • 90% of marketing dollars go toward acquisition, but 65% of revenue often comes from existing customers.
  • Strong sales infrastructure is critical before scaling marketing efforts.
  • Strategic planning must precede tactical execution.
  • Content creation at scale is one of the biggest friction points in modern marketing.
  • Human-led, founder-driven content will become increasingly important in an AI-saturated world.
  • Fractional executive marketing teams can provide stability in a role with high turnover.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Kyle Shurtz

00:28 AI Tools and the Gemini vs. ChatGPT Debate

01:23 Marketing as Blackjack: The Framework Mindset

03:11 AI’s Role in Strategic Marketing

04:24 The 70-20-10 Wild Bets Philosophy

06:01 Risk-Taking and Iconic Brand Growth

07:16 What Makes a Great Avalaunch Client

08:35 The Strategic Sprint Framework

10:46 Bringing Stability to Marketing Leadership

12:23 Content Strategy and AI-Driven Research

13:49 Content Creation Friction

15:21 The Importance of Human-Led Branding

17:59 The Fractional In-House Team Model

19:26 Rebuilding Trust in Digital Marketing

21:48 LinkedIn as a Growth Engine

26:29 Case Study: 45% Growth in 90 Days

28:24 Where to Connect with Kyle

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Ep. 164 - The Power of Founder Networks - Michelle Breyer25 Feb 202600:23:35

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn sits down with Michelle Breyer, Chief Marketing Officer at SKU, to explore the powerful ecosystem at the center of a consumer product accelerator.

Founded in Austin 15 years ago, SKU was built specifically to support emerging consumer product brands with education, mentorship, and meaningful connections. Michelle shares how the accelerator evolved from an in-person, Austin-focused program into a national hybrid model—unlocking access to top-tier mentors from companies like Coke, Mars, Pepsi, Whole Foods, L’Oréal, and more.

The conversation dives into what makes mentorship truly transformative, how SKU intentionally builds seven-to-nine person mentor teams around each founder, and why community—not curriculum—is the real secret sauce.

Michelle also shares her own entrepreneurial journey, including building and selling NaturallyCurly.com, one of the first online communities for textured hair. Her firsthand experience as a founder shapes how she supports brands navigating fundraising, scaling, and sustainable growth today.

If you’re interested in accelerators, community-building, or scaling consumer brands the right way, this episode is packed with insight.

Guest Bio

Michelle Breyer is the Chief Marketing Officer at SKU, a leading accelerator dedicated to consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands.

Before joining SKU, Michelle co-founded NaturallyCurly.com in 1998, one of the earliest online communities and e-commerce platforms dedicated to textured hair. What began as a passion project grew into a media, e-commerce, and market research powerhouse serving millions of users monthly. In 2018, the company was acquired by Richelieu Dennis, founder of SheaMoisture, following SheaMoisture’s billion-dollar sale to Unilever.

At SKU, Michelle leverages her entrepreneurial experience to help emerging brands scale sustainably through education, mentorship, and strategic connections.

Takeaways

  • SKU was built specifically to serve the unique needs of consumer product brands.
  • The accelerator model combines structured education with highly curated mentorship teams.
  • Each brand receives 7–9 mentors with specific subject matter expertise.
  • Community and connection are the true long-term value of accelerator programs.
  • The pandemic accelerated SKU’s shift to a hybrid model, expanding access nationally.
  • Sustainable growth requires strong unit economics and operational clarity.
  • Authenticity is essential when building a community—audiences can sense when it’s forced.
  • The best communities are built around real pain points, not trends.
  • Founders benefit most when they don’t have to “recreate the wheel.”
  • Alumni engagement strengthens and perpetuates the ecosystem.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Michelle Breyer

00:34 What SKU Is and How It Started

02:00 The Pivot to a Hybrid Accelerator Model

03:02 How SKU Builds Mentor Teams

04:35 The Power of Long-Term Community

06:36 Michelle’s Role as a Connector

07:52 The NaturallyCurly.com Origin Story

09:52 Scaling a Community into a Business

11:28 What Makes a Community Thrive

14:20 Authenticity vs. Opportunism in Community Building

17:41 Scaling SKU’s Impact

18:00 Why Unit Economics Matter for Founders

19:59 The Ongoing Power of the SKU Network

21:15 Mentor Culture and Alumni Engagement

23:00 How to Get Involved with SKU

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Ep. 163 - The Hidden Risks of Ai - Mike Rotondo23 Feb 202600:20:40

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn sits down with Mike Rotondo, Founder of RITC Cybersecurity, to unpack the growing cybersecurity risks facing modern marketing teams.

From phishing scams and business email compromise to AI vulnerabilities and data leakage, Mike explains why marketers are prime targets for cybercriminals—and why being “in the cloud” doesn’t automatically mean you’re secure.

The conversation dives into how cybercriminals operate like full-scale corporations, why user training is the single most important defense, and how simple mistakes—like shared logins or unsecured home routers—can expose entire organizations. Mike also explores emerging threats like “quishing” (QR code phishing), AI exploitation, and the hidden risks of feeding sensitive data into large AI tools.

If you’re managing customer data, email lists, or AI-powered marketing tools, this episode is a must-listen.

Guest Bio

Mike Rotondo is the Founder of RITC Cybersecurity, a consulting firm focused exclusively on cybersecurity strategy, compliance, and risk mitigation.

RITC provides services including penetration testing, security framework analysis, SOC 2 audit preparation, HIPAA and PCI compliance consulting, and virtual CISO (vCISO) services. Rather than hands-on IT implementation, Mike and his team specialize in advisory, governance, and security architecture—helping organizations build secure systems from the inside out.

With decades of experience in cybersecurity dating back to the 1990s, Mike works with organizations to prevent breaches, reduce liability, and strengthen internal defenses against evolving cyber threats.

Takeaways

  • Being in the cloud does not mean you’re secure.
  • Most breaches start with users—not firewalls.
  • Cybercriminals operate like corporations, with R&D and strategy teams.
  • Phishing and business email compromise (BEC) are still the top threats.
  • Shared logins and admin access for everyday users create major vulnerabilities.
  • Remote work requires secured routers, patched systems, and enforced device standards.
  • “Quishing” (QR code phishing) is an emerging attack vector.
  • AI tools can create data leakage risks if policies aren’t in place.
  • Personally identifiable information (PII) exposure can financially destroy small companies.
  • Cybersecurity training is the most effective prevention strategy.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Mike Rotondo

00:28 What RITC Cybersecurity Does

01:31 Why Businesses Are More Vulnerable Than They Think

03:01 How Cybercriminals Actually Operate

04:10 Real-World Impact of Phishing Attacks

06:30 Building Strong Cyber Defenses

07:57 Remote Work Security Risks

09:42 QR Code Phishing (“Quishing”)

10:45 Why Cybersecurity Feels Overwhelming

11:05 The Importance of Employee Training

12:26 AI’s Role in Cybersecurity Threats

14:53 AI Server Vulnerabilities

15:15 How Marketers Should Approach AI Security

17:08 Data Leakage and PII Risks

18:31 The Financial Fallout of a Breach

19:08 The Ciphered Reality Podcast

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Ep. 162 - Marketing Beyond the Funnel - Katie Morrow20 Feb 202600:20:14

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn sits down with Katie Morrow, Head of Marketing at Tire Tutor, to unpack what customer lifecycle marketing really looks like in a specialized B2B environment.

Katie shares how Tire Tutor—the first AI-powered, all-in-one shop management system for independent tire dealers—supports customers from awareness to advocacy. She explains why lifecycle marketing must extend beyond lead generation and sales conversion to include onboarding, feature adoption, retention, and long-term value.

The conversation dives into breaking down silos between marketing, product, sales, and customer success; why content plays a critical role beyond lead magnets; and how timing and channel strategy shift when your audience is busy running service businesses—not sitting at desks all day.

If you want to build stronger customer retention, improve feature adoption, and create true product advocates, this episode is packed with practical insight.

Guest Bio

Katie Morrow is the Head of Marketing at Tire Tutor, an AI-powered, all-in-one shop management platform built specifically for independent tire dealers. Tire Tutor powers everything from e-commerce and supply chain management to point of sale, helping business owners streamline operations through a single platform.

With a strong background in startup marketing and the automotive space, Katie specializes in customer lifecycle strategy, cross-functional alignment, and data-driven content. She works closely with product, sales, and customer success teams to ensure consistent messaging, feature adoption, and long-term customer retention.

Takeaways

  • Customer lifecycle marketing goes far beyond awareness and conversion—it should end in advocacy.
  • Marketing must align closely with product, sales, and customer success to create a seamless customer experience.
  • Content is not just a lead magnet—it supports onboarding, feature adoption, and retention.
  • Retention and product usage are critical KPIs for lifecycle marketing.
  • Marketing should partner with product on feature adoption and with customer success on retention metrics.
  • Persona development is foundational to effective lifecycle marketing.
  • Timing matters—B2B audiences don’t always operate on traditional 9–5 schedules.
  • AI enables marketers to scale content creation and repurpose assets efficiently.
  • Mapping lifecycle touchpoints collaboratively prevents siloed communication.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Katie Morrow

00:32 What Tire Tutor Does and Who It Serves

02:14 Defining Customer Lifecycle Marketing

03:32 Breaking Down Silos Between Departments

04:53 Content Beyond Lead Generation

07:30 Video, AI, and Feature Rollouts

10:10 KPIs: Retention, Usage, and Adoption

11:39 Cross-Functional Collaboration in Practice

13:51 Common Lifecycle Marketing Mistakes

14:52 The Importance of Persona Development

16:57 Marketing to Service-Based Businesses

17:27 Why Timing Beats Assumptions

19:12 Closing and Where to Connect

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Ep. 161 - SEO is Dead - Long Live GEO - Jaime Gastelle18 Feb 202600:23:22

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn is joined by Jaime Gastelle, Senior Director of Marketing at Landgate, for a deep dive into the rapidly shifting AI landscape. Together, they unpack the rise of AI browsers, the battle between Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity, and what these changes mean for digital marketers heading into 2026 and beyond.

Jaime breaks down real usage data across consumer and enterprise AI tools, explains why traditional SEO is giving way to GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), and outlines how brands can stay visible as traffic increasingly stays inside AI interfaces. The conversation also explores the massive infrastructure demands behind AI—data centers, energy grids, and land siting—and why AI’s growth is as much a physical challenge as a digital one.

A must-listen for marketers, tech leaders, and anyone trying to understand where AI, search, and digital strategy are headed next.


Guest Bio

Jaime Gastelle is the Senior Director of Marketing at Landgate, a data intelligence platform that helps energy developers, real estate professionals, and investors make smarter land siting decisions. Landgate provides deep analytics for data centers, renewable energy, oil and gas, and other large-scale infrastructure projects, bridging the worlds of real estate and energy development.

With experience marketing to both enterprise and consumer audiences, Jaime brings a unique perspective on AI adoption, digital strategy, and how emerging technologies are reshaping marketing, search, and infrastructure planning.


Takeaways

  • AI browser adoption is accelerating, with Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic competing for long-term user attention
  • ChatGPT dominates consumer usage, while Claude leads in enterprise adoption
  • AI interfaces will increasingly keep users from leaving platforms, reducing traditional website traffic
  • Digital marketers must shift from SEO to GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
  • Being cited, recommended, and referenced by AI models will matter more than rankings alone
  • AI chips consume significantly more energy, putting major strain on the U.S. power grid
  • Data center growth is driving massive land, energy, and infrastructure demand—especially in Virginia and Texas
  • Platform consolidation will favor mega brands unless marketers adapt quickly

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Introduction

00:30 Meet Jaime Gastelle and Landgate

01:40 How AI Is Driving Data Center Growth

02:09 The AI Browser Battle Explained

03:26 Google, Gemini, and the Future of Search

04:29 Experimenting With AI Browsers Like Comet

05:14 Black Hat Marketing and Misspelled Domains

06:42 Authenticity vs. AI-Perfect Content

08:28 LLM Usage: Consumer vs. Enterprise Data

10:26 Why Claude Leads Enterprise Adoption

11:09 Daily Searches Across Major Platforms

12:19 The Coming Traffic Shift to AI Interfaces

14:26 Cultural Impact of ChatGPT as a Brand

15:08 SEO vs. GEO: What Marketers Must Change

18:48 Energy Demands of AI and Data Centers

20:11 Land Siting, Power Grids, and Infrastructure

21:12 How to Connect With Landgate

21:34 Final Predictions for AI and Marketing in 2026


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Ep. 160 - Why Vague Language Kills Growth - Ray Huang16 Feb 202600:22:34

In this episode, Vince talks with Ray Huang, VP of Marketing at Canopy Connect, about category creation, defining new market language, and building momentum around immaterial but critical processes like insurance intake. Ray explains how Canopy Connect simplifies insurance data intake, why establishing clear terminology matters for both customers and competitors, and the strategic mindset behind positioning a company in a nascent category. They also discuss the parallels between category creation in insurance tech and other emerging spaces like branded podcasting — where messaging confusion creates drag on adoption. A rich conversation for founders, marketers, and builders thinking about how to make people understand what they do, not just like it.

Guest Bio

Ray Huang is Vice President of Marketing at Canopy Connect, an insurtech company focused on streamlining the insurance intake experience for agencies and customers alike. With years of startup experience and a deep understanding of what makes category positioning resonate, Ray leads Go‑to‑Market strategy, messaging, and the effort to define an emerging space in insurance technology that didn’t have a name — until now.

Takeaways

  • Problem first, product second: The best solutions solve real, felt pain — not imagined ones. Canopy Connect emerged from an actual agent’s nightmare intake process.
  • Category creation matters: Giving a name to the task you solve (insurance intake) helps customers articulate what you do — and increases adoption and advocacy.
  • Terminology influences adoption: When competitors start using your category language, it validates that the category has traction.
  • Competition is healthy: You want alternatives in the category because it proves market demand — not that you’re alone.
  • Naming matters: Clear, concrete terms (“insurance intake platform”) outperform fuzzy marketer language that sounds cool but doesn’t convey meaning.
  • Category leadership strategy: You don’t have to be the only player — just the one that sets the rules and becomes the default first choice.
  • Clear messaging accelerates growth: Shared language helps SEO, sales conversations, customer success, and overall brand momentum.


Chapters

00:00 – Welcome & Introduction to Ray Huang

00:23 – What Canopy Connect Does

01:00 – The Problem of Insurance Intake

03:10 – Origin Story: How Canopy Connect Started

04:49 – Scaling Connections: From 30 to 300 Carriers

06:06 – Category Challenges & Messaging

06:22 – Defining a New Category: “Insurance Intake”

08:48 – Borrowing Language & Building Terminology

10:07 – Framing Alternatives and Competitive Landscape

11:14 – Why “Fluffy” Category Names Fail

12:00 – Competitors & The Status Quo as Alternatives

14:47 – Rules of Category Positioning

15:16 – The Realities of Buyer Evaluation

17:23 – Market Reaction & Terminology Adoption

18:50 – Competitive Structures (CRM Analogy)

20:31 – Importance of Shared Terminology

21:38 – How to Connect With Ray

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Ep. 159 - How to Build a Viral Story - Amos Bar-Joseph13 Feb 202600:24:48

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Swann Co-Founder and CEO Amos Bar-Joseph joins Vince Quinn to unpack the power of narrative in a noisy, AI-native B2B world. Amos explains how Swann is building the world’s first autonomous business, designed from the ground up for human-AI collaboration, and how telling the right story can create instant credibility, virality, and trust with your audience. He breaks down what makes a good story, why product features no longer matter, and how a viral narrative paired with a credible narrator is the ultimate growth lever in today's saturated market.

Guest Bio

Amos Bar-Joseph is the Co-Founder and CEO of Swann, the first autonomous business platform built for human-AI collaboration. Before Swann, Amos founded two startups that followed the traditional unicorn playbook, raising money and scaling fast, but ultimately revealed the flaws in that model. At Swann, he’s pioneering a new go-to-market approach that scales with intelligence, not headcount. Amos has built a personal brand of over 70,000 followers on LinkedIn in just six months and generates $1.5M in pipeline monthly through content alone.

Takeaways

  • Features don’t matter, transformation does
  • Build trust by leading with vision, not product
  • A great story starts with defining a clear “from → to” transformation
  • Challenge the status quo and the challenger narratives
  • Viral narratives provoke positive emotions, not fear
  • A viral narrator must earn the right to be heard
  • In an AI-native world, brand and distribution > product
  • Content isn’t a side hustle, it’s a full-time GTM strategy

Chapters

00:00 Intro to Amos Bar-Joseph and Swann

01:00 What Makes a Compelling Story

02:45 Swann’s Mission: The First Autonomous Business

04:00 Why Transformation Beats Features Every Time

07:10 The Power of Viral Narratives

09:45 Challenging the Challenger: Creating Market Differentiation

11:00 Positive Emotion > FOMO in Storytelling

13:35 What Makes a Viral Narrator

15:45 Why Swann’s Story Resonates

17:10 Helping Your Audience vs. Selling Your Product

19:20 The Business Impact of a Strong Story

21:40 Daily Commitment to Content Creation

23:15 How to Follow Amos and Swann’s Journey

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Ep. 158 - The Psychology of Office Vibes - Santiago Martinez11 Feb 202600:18:39

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn sits down with Santiago Martinez, Partner and CMO at Nikos Media, to explore how physical environments influence creativity, productivity, and brand storytelling. They discuss why office design is a key element in reinforcing company culture, how subtle design cues affect human psychology, and the ROI of investing in spaces that align with your brand values. Santiago also shares firsthand insights from working with brands like Google and explains how intentional design choices can help businesses foster innovation, boost morale, and increase performance.

Guest Bio

Santiago Martinez is Partner and Chief Marketing Officer at Nikos Media, a creative agency with over 20 years of experience in design and brand storytelling. At Nikos, Santiago specializes in crafting immersive brand experiences—ranging from brand identity systems to physical environments—that captivate audiences and drive results. A proponent of human-centered design, Santiago brings strategic insight and creativity to every project, helping brands communicate visually and emotionally through their physical spaces. His work spans industries and has included collaborations with companies like Google.

Takeaways

  • Office design is a physical expression of your brand identity.
  • Intentional environments can boost employee morale and creativity.
  • Subtle design elements (like lighting, materials, and layout) influence subconscious perceptions.
  • Creative spaces can revitalize a team’s energy and performance.
  • Human-centered design prioritizes the experience of every person interacting with a space.
  • Even small, low-budget changes can have a big impact (like adding a mirror by an elevator).
  • Routine creative activities help maintain passion and prevent burnout.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Santiago Martinez

01:15 What Nikos Media Does and Its Creative Focus

02:30 From Brand Identity to Immersive Spaces

04:03 Why Office Design Matters for Creativity

05:33 Seeing Through the Visitor's Perspective

06:36 Bar Rescue and Designing Human Interaction

07:18 Storytelling, Strategy, and Psychology in Space Design

08:30 Mirrors and Elevators: Small Fixes with Big Impact

09:47 How Environments Reflect Company Values

11:10 Pixar, Google, and Cultivating Creativity Through Design

14:35 Transforming Their Own Office Sparked a Creative Revival

15:58 Staying Creative: Routines, Breaks, and Resetting the Mind

17:50 Writing, Gaming, and Finding Personal Creative Outlets

18:44 How to Connect with Santiago and Nikos Media

LinkedIn

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Ep. 157 - Reshaping Redemption Through Revenue - Kellie Walenciak09 Feb 202600:21:03

In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Vince Quinn speaks with Kellie Walenciak, Head of Corporate Communications at Televerde — a global revenue creation partner with a bold mission: to deliver world-class marketing and sales results and transform lives. Kellie shares how Televerde’s unique workforce — made up of both incarcerated and non‑incarcerated professionals — builds revenue for leading B2B companies while providing women in prison with critical training, experience, and second‑chance opportunities. They explore the business impact, social mission, storytelling strategy, and the Televerde Foundation’s role in supporting women through reentry and lifelong career success.

Guest Bio

Kellie Walenciak is the Head of Corporate Communications at Televerde, a global revenue solutions partner specializing in demand generation, lead qualification, and customer success for B2B clients. With over 30 years of experience in corporate marketing and communications, Kellie leads the storytelling and brand mission for a company that uniquely blends purpose with performance. She advocates for redefining narratives around incarceration, reshaping perceptions, and unlocking overlooked talent through second‑chance opportunities.

Takeaways

  • Purpose + Performance Can Coexist

Televerde proves that mission‑driven companies can deliver measurable business results — high engagement, low turnover, and strong client ROI — while changing lives.

  • Second Chances Change Trajectories

Over 4,700 women have passed through Televerde’s Prison to Workforce program, with a recidivism rate of ~5% — dramatically below national averages.

  • Real Skills = Real Opportunities

Women in the program gain marketable sales and marketing skills, build professional networks, and often transition into roles at major companies like SAP and Salesforce after release.

  • Storytelling Builds Understanding

Public storytelling — including TEDx events, virtual roundtables, and personal narratives — helps Televerde break down stigma and build empathy and support for its mission.

  • Holistic Support Matters

Televerde’s Foundation expands impact by offering life skills training, transitional mentoring, and job placement services to women reentering society.

Chapters

00:48 – Introduction to Future Fuzz & Kellie Walenciak

01:22 – What is Televerde? Company overview and mission

03:12 – Inside Televerde’s workforce & prison office model

05:18 – The drive and resilience of the learning workforce

05:59 – Recidivism impact & outcomes

06:21 – Career pathways and success stories

09:39 – Communicating Televerde’s mission externally

12:06 – Public perception and stigma around prison labor

14:09 – How Televerde tells the women’s stories

16:04 – Virtual roundtable storytelling initiative

17:33 – Mission meeting business: Televerde Foundation

19:52 – Holistic reentry support and impact

20:21 – Final thoughts & how to connect with Kellie

20:50 – Contact info and LinkedIn reminders

21:09 – Closing

Connect & Follow

Kellie Walenciak

LinkedIn:

Email: Kellie.Walenciak@televerde.com

Vince Quinn


Ep. 156 - AI Personas Are Your New Mirror - Zac Engler06 Feb 202600:21:47

In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Vince Quinn dives deep with Zac Engler, author of Turning on Machines and Chief AI Officer at C4 Tech Services. Zac reveals how building virtual personas with AI can transform everything from sales calls to board presentations. Drawing on years of experience in AI implementation, Zac shares practical strategies for simulating target audiences, decision-makers, or even difficult colleagues—before stepping into high-stakes conversations.

They explore how executives and marketers alike can use AI personas to gain sharper insights, practice critical meetings, accelerate market testing, and avoid common pitfalls. With his trademark energy and clarity, Zac walks through frameworks, ethical safeguards, and the shift from AI replacing humans to AI enhancing human capability.

Guest Bio

Zac Engler is the author of Turning on Machines and the Chief AI Officer at C4 Tech Services, where he advises executives on practical AI implementation across industries. He’s been writing about the future of AI since 2016, and now helps companies build custom AI agents, simulate internal and external stakeholders, and unlock the next level of strategic decision-making through applied AI. Known for his pragmatic mindset and clear frameworks, Zac is on a mission to help businesses understand, trust, and responsibly scale AI.

Takeaways

  • Virtual personas simulate your customers, board members, or tough conversations to help you prepare smarter.
  • AI can be used to build synthetic focus groups or recreate target markets—fast and cheaply.
  • Don’t chase tools—master one platform (Claude, GPT, Copilot, or Gemini) based on your needs.
  • The future of work is trified: AI-only, AI+Human, and Human-only.
  • AI is best at removing friction, not replacing the human connection.
  • Using tools like Claude and NotebookLM, you can generate podcast-style recaps to absorb info fast.
  • Be cautious with sensitive data: avoid uploading personal or proprietary information into public LLMs.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome & Zac’s Wild Preparation with Claude

02:47 What Are Virtual Personas?

04:55 Simulating Conversations Before They Happen

06:19 Using NotebookLM for Executive Briefings

07:55 Tool Fatigue? How to Pick the Right AI

10:15 How Companies Are Reshaping Work with AI

12:41 Cutting Too Deep: The Risks of Over-Automation

14:16 Personas as Virtual Focus Groups

15:27 Staying Safe: Data, Privacy, and Boundaries

17:23 When NOT to Use AI (Real Story)

19:39 Book Plug: Turning on Machines

21:03 Final Thoughts & Where to Find Zac


LinkedIn

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Ep. 155 - Building Marketing Departments from Zero in Staffing - Heidi Howell04 Feb 202600:22:31

In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Vince Quinn talks with Heidi Howell, Director of Marketing at Core Medical Group, about building marketing departments from the ground up — especially in an industry like staffing, where marketing has historically been under‑developed. Heidi shares her unique journey from early beginnings in recruitment and staffing marketing to leading teams, her philosophy on personal grounding and growth, and how she structures training and skill‑building to create high‑performing teams. This conversation explores balancing B2B and B2C marketing needs, prioritizing hires, and cultivating an adaptive, learning‑first culture.

Guest Bio

Heidi Howell is the Director of Marketing at Core Medical Group, bringing over a decade of experience in staffing marketing. She has built marketing functions from scratch across multiple organizations and holds deep expertise in both client acquisition and recruitment (B2B and B2C) strategies. Heidi’s passion lies in continuous learning, team development, and building marketing operations that generate revenue and empower people to grow professionally.

Key Takeaways

  • Marketing in staffing — especially recruitment marketing — is a relatively new discipline that’s rapidly growing.
  • Balancing B2B (clients) and B2C (candidates) requires clear prioritization and flexibility.
  • Knowing who you are — both as a person and as a marketer — helps ground you amid fast‑changing demands.
  • Training isn’t optional — Heidi embeds ongoing learning into weekly routines to upskill her team.
  • Strong collaborative team structures — where the leader works with the team — unlock sustained performance and growth.
  • Empowering team members to learn, present, and implement new skills drives both individual careers and organizational success.

Chapters

00:00 — Intro + Welcome to Heidi

00:27 — What is Core Medical Group & Heidi’s Role

01:02 — Evolution of Marketing in Staffing

02:28 — B2B vs. B2C Marketing Challenges

02:53 — Starting a Marketing Department from Scratch

04:11 — Chaos + Adaptability in Marketing

04:48 — Grounding Strategies for Marketers

07:09 — Knowing Yourself + Personal Development

08:50 — Hiring First Roles in a New Team

10:05 — Training & Upskilling Culture

12:32 — Friday Learning + Tuesday Sharing Routine

14:44 — Why Structured Training Matters

16:56 — Recruitment Marketing Origins

18:24 — Early Work in Recruitment Marketing

19:20 — Team Success Outcomes

21:36 — How to Connect with Heidi

LinkedIn

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𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 KEYWORDS: #MarketingLeadership #MarketingStrategy #StaffingMarketing #RecruitmentMarketing #TeamDevelopment #ProfessionalGrowth #ContinuousLearning #B2B #B2C #MarketingDepartment #CareerGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment

Ep. 154 - How Broken Yolk Became a Brand - Conner Gossel30 Jan 202600:21:39

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn chats with Conner Gossel, Director of Marketing for Broken Yolk Cafe, about bridging the gap between grassroots local engagement and national brand recognition. Conner shares how the breakfast chain grew from a single San Diego location into a 41-store regional powerhouse—all while preserving its community-first roots. From egg shortages to earned media strategies, this is a masterclass in modern marketing with personality and heart.


Guest Bio

Conner Gossel is the Director of Marketing for Broken Yolk Cafe, a 46-year-old breakfast institution with over 40 locations across five states. With a background in franchise marketing and PR, Conner has led successful earned media campaigns for brands across multiple sectors. At Broken Yolk, he combines hyperlocal grassroots marketing with national media strategy, helping the brand tell authentic stories, deepen community roots, and grow its reputation as a legacy breakfast chain.


Takeaways

  • Grassroots marketing is still powerful—consistency and community involvement matter.
  • “People attract people”—Conner explains how Broken Yolk’s founder built early buzz by comping meals.
  • Small local acts (like dropping off food at schools or parades) build long-term loyalty.
  • National PR works when it's honest, timely, and relevant—like during the egg shortage.
  • Tone matters—successful media relations come from genuine value, not opportunism.
  • Telling your brand’s story builds identity, even 40+ years into the business.


Chapters

00:00 – Welcome & Broken Yolk Intro

00:54 – From One Cafe to 41 Locations

02:01 – Grassroots Marketing Across States

03:23 – The “People Attract People” Story

04:48 – How to Be the Mayor of Your Town

07:07 – Why Consistency Wins in Local Markets

08:24 – Conner’s Background in Brand PR

09:58 – Merging Local Stories with National Reach

10:25 – Building Brand Legacy Through Earned Media

12:14 – Founder Story: From Greece to $110M Brand

14:08 – National Hooks That Work: Egg Crisis Example

16:05 – Broken Yolk Featured in NYT & Business Insider

17:24 – Do Turkeys Lay Eggs? (Yes.)

18:17 – Content Hooks & Thought Leadership

19:23 – Avoiding Tone-Deaf PR Pitches

20:12 – Where to Find Conner and Broken Yolk


LinkedIn

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KeyWords:

#BreakfastBrand #GrassrootsMarketing #CommunityEngagement #PRStrategy #FranchiseMarketing #BrandStorytelling #RestaurantMarketing #LocalMarketing #HospitalityMarketing #EarnedMedia #Marketing #Branding #Franchise #Restaurant #Media #Strategy #Growth #Community #Breakfast #PR

Ep. 153 - Autism, Agency Life, and Leadership - Craig Murphy28 Jan 202600:18:39

In this episode of FutureFuzz, Vince Quinn speaks with Craig Murphy, Managing Director of ALT Agency, about his journey from hands-on web developer to strategic leader and thought influencer. Craig shares how stepping back from daily operations allowed him to scale his agency, reflect on his leadership style, and open up about his experience with autism—becoming a relatable voice for neurodivergent professionals. The conversation explores agency growth, personal evolution, content creation, and the surprising power of authenticity in business.


Guest Bio

Craig Murphy is the Managing Director of ALT Agency, a Birmingham-based digital agency founded in 2005. Starting as a self-taught web developer at age 13, Craig built ALT into a full-service agency that now includes departments for design, development, SEO, paid media, and project management. With a passion for continuous improvement and systems thinking, Craig has recently embraced a more public-facing role, using his platform to share insights on neurodiversity in entrepreneurship and the challenges of leading as an autistic founder.


Takeaways

  • Founders must eventually “get out of their own way” to scale effectively.
  • Shifting from doing to leading requires trust in your team and letting go.
  • Sharing personal experiences, like neurodiversity, builds stronger connections and authentic brand presence.
  • Planning in 12-week increments drives better strategic focus than annual plans.
  • Perfection is the enemy of progress—launch first, optimize later using real data.
  • Great websites evolve—"Ready, Fire, Aim" is better than perfection paralysis.


Chapters

00:00 – Intro to FutureFuzz & Craig Murphy

00:31 – Starting ALT Agency and Early Hustle

01:30 – Growing from Freelancer to Full Agency

02:04 – The Evolution of Craig’s Role

03:27 – Letting Go: The Founder Mindset Shift

05:31 – What Happens When You Step Back

06:56 – 12-Week Year: Strategic Planning

07:36 – Becoming a Public Voice for ALT

08:42 – Autism, Neurodiversity & Personal Branding

09:59 – Building Community Through Honest Content

11:27 – Why Craig Began Posting on Autism

12:28 – Professional Outcomes from Personal Stories

13:38 – Trust, Connection, and the Business Ripple

14:45 – Web Design Advice: Progress Over Perfection

16:27 – Data-Led Optimizations vs. Perfectionism

17:17 – Where to Find Craig Online


LinkedIn

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KeyWords:

#DigitalMarketing #WebDevelopment #Leadership #AgencyGrowth #Neurodiversity #AutismInBusiness #Entrepreneurship #MarketingStrategy #WebsiteDesign #ContentMarketing #Marketing #Leadership #Autism #Entrepreneurship #Design #Strategy #Growth #Content #Agency #Digital


EP. 152 - Match your Message to the Medium - Jocelyn Sexton23 Jan 202600:21:41

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn chats with Jocelyn Sexton, VP of Marketing at Growth Acceleration Partners (GAP), about the importance of aligning message and medium in B2B marketing. Jocelyn shares how to craft purposeful, authentic content that resonates with the right audience at the right time. From establishing a consistent brand voice to selecting the best channels for distribution, Jocelyn breaks down the nuances of content strategy in the age of AI-generated noise.

Guest Bio

Jocelyn Sexton is the Vice President of Marketing at Growth Acceleration Partners (GAP), a consulting and technology services firm specializing in software engineering, data science, AI, and nearshore outsourcing. With a journalism background and a lifelong passion for storytelling, Jocelyn brings a human-centric approach to B2B content marketing. At GAP, she leads content and communication strategies that connect deeply with technical audiences, ensuring clarity, authenticity, and consistency across platforms. She’s an advocate for form-fitting function in marketing and believes great content must be intentional, engaging, and aligned with business goals.

Takeaways

  • A strong brand voice should be consistent but adaptable across platforms.
  • Content must be purpose-driven: educational, inspirational, or actionable.
  • Messaging should align with audience needs and where they are in the buying journey.
  • AI content can’t replace thoughtfulness—authenticity and point of view matter more than ever.
  • Test new ideas quietly with pilots before scaling (bullets before cannonballs).
  • Your website should be SEO-optimized and not gimmicky—it's your digital storefront.
  • Each platform (LinkedIn, email, video, podcast, etc.) requires different messaging strategies.


Chapters

00:00 Welcome & Introduction to Jocelyn Sexton

01:00 Jocelyn’s Role at Growth Acceleration Partners

02:30 Early Challenges with GAP’s Messaging

04:00 Jocelyn’s Content Philosophy & Strategy

05:15 Why Targeting is Crucial in B2B Content

07:00 The Power of Brand Voice and Storytelling

09:15 Matching the Message to the Medium

12:00 LinkedIn vs. Website vs. Email vs. Video

15:00 Why Video Must Be Visual—And Inclusive

17:30 Podcasting Mistakes: Overlooking Audio-Only Audiences

18:45 Creating Inclusive, Intentional Content

19:50 How to Connect with Jocelyn and GAP

LinkedIn

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Hashtags

#ContentMarketing #B2BMarketing #BrandVoice #DigitalMarketing #Storytelling #MarketingStrategy #GrowthMarketing #MarketingLeadership #FutureFuzz #AuthenticMarketing #AIContent #MarketingTips #MarketingPodcasts #JocelynSexton #GrowthAccelerationPartners


Ep. 151 - Think you Know Your Customer? - Hector Barresi21 Jan 202600:21:15


Guest Bio

Hector Barresi is a fractional Chief Product Officer at CXO Partners, with a deep background in launching innovative B2B technologies across global industrial giants including Honeywell, GE, and Danaher. With a focus on automation, AI, IoT, and wireless technologies, Hector has led the development of multiple products that went on to become billion-dollar businesses. Known for creating new categories from scratch, Hector now works with mid-market companies to drive innovation and go-to-market strategy, leveraging cutting-edge tools like AI to fine-tune product messaging, identify market opportunities, and scale efficiently.

Takeaways

  • Breakthrough products must solve real, validated customer problems.
  • Success begins at product inception—with deep customer conversations.
  • New tech markets require education, storytelling, and demonstration.
  • A superior product still needs the right audience and message fit.
  • AI accelerates customer research and message personalization.
  • Trust is essential: avoid over-automated, generic AI outreach.
  • Tailoring your message to each persona and market is critical.
  • Avoid common launch failures by aligning product, message, and target.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to FutureFuzz and Intro to Hector

00:40 Hector’s Background at Honeywell, GE, and CXO Partners

01:40 The Challenge of Launching New Tech Products

02:16 The Right Way to Launch Breakthrough Innovation

04:45 Creating Demand When Customers Don’t Know They Need It

06:04 Case Study: Wireless Sensors at Honeywell

07:26 Common Mistakes When Launching Tech Products

08:00 Importance of Targeting the Right Persona with the Right Message

10:55 How AI is Reshaping Product Marketing

13:20 Humanizing AI Use in B2B Storytelling

16:30 Why AI-Generated Messaging Can Backfire

17:40 When AI Helps vs. When It Hurts

20:13 How to Connect with Hector

LinkedIn

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Hashtags

#CreatingMarkets #EmergingTech #ProductInnovation #FractionalCPO #AIInMarketing #WirelessSensors #HoneywellSuccess #B2BStrategy #GoToMarket #CustomerCentricDesign #FutureFuzz #TechLeadership #CXOPartners #TrustInTech #IndustrialInnovation #AIandProductMarketing

#Innovation #Marketing #Technology #AI #Product #Leadership

Ep. 150 - Build People, Not Just the Business - Emeric Ernoult16 Jan 202600:25:20

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn sits down with Emeric Ernoult, Co-Founder and CEO of Agorapulse, to explore the art of empowering teams, defining expectations, and transitioning from a hands-on founder to a team-building CEO. Emeric shares how he scaled Agorapulse from a scrappy 5-person startup to a 165-person global company—without external funding. He introduces a simple but powerful framework called “What Success Looks Like” and explains how it helps teams grow, align, and self-regulate. The episode also touches on big shifts in social media content and what’s ahead for 2025-2026.

Guest Bio

Emeric Ernoult is the Co-Founder and CEO of Agorapulse, a leading social media management platform serving businesses and agencies worldwide. With over a decade of experience in SaaS and social media, Emeric built Agorapulse as a bootstrapped company—scaling it from a small team to over 165 employees globally. Under his leadership, Agorapulse has become a trusted solution for managing content, engagement, and performance analytics across multiple social channels. Emeric is known for his transparent leadership style, clear frameworks, and commitment to growing people as much as growing business.

Takeaways

  • Clear expectations are the foundation of empowered teams.
  • Weekly 1:1s drive alignment, growth, and course correction.
  • Success in leadership is about "building through people."
  • Bootstrapping forces focus, discipline, and long-term thinking.
  • Letting go of control is a process—and a necessary evolution for leaders.
  • Defining "What Success Looks Like" eliminates confusion and boosts autonomy.
  • Self-awareness and transparency reduce the pain of hard conversations.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Intro to Emeric Ernoult

00:26 What Agorapulse Does & Why It Matters

01:36 Scaling Without Funding: The Bootstrapped Journey

03:04 Shifting from Doing to Leading Through People

06:14 The Mindset Shift: Player to Coach to GM

08:00 Emeric’s Leadership Framework: What Success Looks Like

10:31 Real Examples of Feedback and Expectation Setting

15:10 Impact of Clarity: Growth and Self-Correction

18:30 How to Handle When Things Don’t Work Out

21:22 Work Relationships Are Like Personal Ones

23:05 Where to Follow Emeric and Agorapulse

LinkedIn

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Ep.149 - How to Build a New Category - Paul Nicholson14 Jan 202600:38:05

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Harry Duran speaks with Paul Nicholson, Marketing Strategy Consultant at HeroWear, about what it takes to launch a radically new product and create an entirely new category from scratch. Paul shares how HeroWear’s soft, assistive exosuits are transforming the way industrial workers avoid injury—and how his team built credibility in a market that barely existed. From earned media tactics to old-school trade shows and in-person marketing, Paul walks through the smart, scrappy strategies that helped HeroWear rise to the top of the exosuit space. It’s a masterclass in trust, authenticity, and effective go-to-market strategy.

Guest Bio

Paul Nicholson is a seasoned marketing strategist and category creator with over 20 years of experience in digital and brand marketing. Most recently, Paul served as Marketing Strategy Consultant at HeroWear, where he helped define and lead go-to-market efforts for one of the world’s first practical industrial exosuits. With a background spanning Dell, healthcare, restaurants, and emerging tech, Paul blends deep digital expertise with a knack for creating new markets. He’s known for his strategic use of earned media, authentic storytelling, and building trust-first marketing programs in B2B environments.

Takeaways

  • Building a new category requires education before promotion.
  • Don’t overpromise—trust is built on real data and repeatable results.
  • Trade publications and earned media outperform flashy headlines.
  • In-person marketing is making a powerful comeback in the AI era.
  • Authenticity in founder storytelling builds brand credibility.
  • Marketing strategies must adapt to a world questioning what's real.
  • You don’t need Forbes—industry trade pubs are gold.
  • Repurpose podcast content and expert voices across channels.

Chapters

00:00 Intro and Career Reflections

01:47 HeroWear’s Mission and Product Overview

02:31 Creating a New Market Category

04:26 Shifting Perception: From Sci-Fi to Real-World Tool

06:49 Explaining the Suit: Functionality and Comfort

08:16 Building Authenticity with Real-World Media

09:13 Why Earned Media and PR Matter

12:18 Building the "Avengers" of Communication at HeroWear

14:44 Repurposing Founder Content Across Channels

15:07 Misconceptions About Exosuits

16:34 The "Nothing Beats" Moment for New Users

17:42 In-Person Marketing in the Age of AI

20:31 ROI of Trade Shows vs Digital Campaigns

23:13 Rebuilding Trust in Marketing

24:59 Why Old-School Tactics Still Work

29:20 AI Loves Brand-Neutral, Third-Party Content

30:43 Trade Publications > Mainstream PR

31:58 Final Advice: Don’t Overpromise, Share Confidently

34:26 Clever Tactics to Celebrate Clients Without Breaking NDAs

37:38 Where to Find Paul and HeroWear

LinkedIn

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Website: https://HeroWearxo.com

Ep. 148 - White-Label Strategy That Actually Works - John Rarrick09 Jan 202600:18:23

In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Vince Quinn sits down with John Rarrick, Head of Global Marketing at Movius, to unpack how they run ABM (Account-Based Marketing) for enterprise-level accounts via carrier partnerships. John explains the genesis and value proposition of Movius’s flagship product, Multiline by Movius, and walks through how their ABM strategy works at the enterprise and telco scale. The conversation delves into partner‑first white‑label campaigns, compliance-heavy industries (like banking, healthcare, education), and the unique challenges and tactics required when marketing to global, highly regulated organizations.

Guest Bio

John Rarrick is the Head of Global Marketing at Movius, the company behind Multiline, a secure communications solution that adds a second business identity to employees’ personal mobile devices without requiring a separate SIM or hardware. With extensive experience on both the telco side and product-marketing side, John leads Movius’s marketing and sales‑enablement efforts globally, particularly focusing on enterprise clients in regulated industries and forging channel partnerships with tier‑one carriers worldwide.

Takeaways

  • Secure Communications As a Service (SCaaS) addresses a critical gap: Multiline offers a cloud‑based second business number on personal devices, enabling compliant employee-to-customer communication without issuing corporate phones.
  • ABM for enterprise accounts works differently from mid-market approaches: Success depends on heavy upfront research, targeting the right decision-makers, and preparing personalized outreach — not blasting generic emails.
  • Channel partnerships and co‑marketing via carriers scale better for global reach: Working with major carriers (like in the US, Europe, Canada) enables broader access, but requires sales enablement and marketing support tailored to the partner’s workflow and pace.
  • White-label campaigns must balance branding and authenticity: Letting a major carrier front the product (e.g. “T‑Mobile Multiline powered by Movius”) can accelerate adoption — but it’s vital to preserve “powered by” attribution to retain Movius’s identity.
  • Deep industry and operational understanding create trust: Having team members who know the telco world and regulated industries helps enormously — you know what prospects care about, and you speak their language.
  • Ease-of-use for partners is a competitive advantage: When you deliver near-complete co‑marketing/campaign assets (creative, branding, compliance‑ready materials), partner teams are far more likely to engage and activate.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction — host Vince Quinn welcomes John Rarrick

00:34 What is Movius and what problems are they solving?

02:13 How Multiline works, delivering business identity on personal devices without hardware or SIMs.

03:23 Movius’s marketplace: bridging software and telecom; working with tier-one carriers globally.

05:24 Why ABM and enterprise-level accounts matter for Movius.

06:37 Starting an ABM approach..

08:15 How outreach works..

09:31 The value of telecom and industry experience

10:38 What marketers often get wrong

12:23 White-label campaigns..

14:50 Challenges of partnering with big enterprises

16:37 Talking global: operating across continents, ..

17:37 Where to learn more: Movius website and contact via LinkedIn. Closing thanks.

LinkedIn

Connect with John Rarrick on LinkedIn

or visit movius.ai to learn more about Movius and their Multiline solution.

Connect with Vince Quinn

Ep.147 - Culture Is Your Best Content Engine - Gabe Lullo07 Jan 202600:19:58

In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Vince Quinn sits down with Gabe Lullo — CEO of Alleyoop and host of Do Hard Things — to explore how empowering employees to create and share content can transform a company’s culture, attract talent and clients, and build trust. Gabe explains how Alleyoop’s “employee‑as‑creator” model gives staff a platform to tell real stories, which in turn strengthens the business’s credibility and opens new opportunities. The conversation breaks down how this approach evolved from humble beginnings into a powerful, organic marketing engine.

Guest Bio

Gabe Lullo is the CEO of Alleyoop, a B2B sales‑development company that handles outbound sales functions for clients ranging from massive enterprises to early‑stage startups. He also hosts Do Hard Things, a podcast spotlighting people who came from humble beginnings and found success in sales, marketing, or entrepreneurship. Gabe combines hands‑on experience running a large SDR team with a passion for storytelling to help illustrate how hard work, vulnerability, and consistency can fuel business growth and personal branding.

Takeaways

  • Empowering employees to create content (“employee‑as‑creator” or “ambassador” model) turns staff into authentic storytellers — building trust with prospects, clients, and recruits.
  • Content created by real employees provides a cumulative reach across many LinkedIn profiles, giving a broader, more human, and more varied voice than a centralized corporate channel.
  • The benefit isn’t immediate viral success — it shows up in sales conversations: prospects recognize the voices and trust builds faster, allowing demos to jump straight to tactical, high-trust discussions.
  • The model supports strong company culture: a team‑oriented, sports‑team mentality fosters collaboration, transparency, shared wins, and better employee retention.
  • Consistency matters: by documenting real, day‑to‑day experiences — wins, failures, market observations — you avoid “content droughts” and keep the narrative genuine and engaging
  • Content becomes a competitive differentiator: clients and partners are drawn not just to services, but to people and culture — and that emotional connection strengthens long-term relationships.

Chapters

00:00 – Intro: Welcome from Vince Quinn

00:18 – Introduction to Gabe Lullo and Alleyoop

01:17 – What Alleyoop does: Outsourced SDR + outbound campaigns

02:25 – Rock-solid B2B focus and scale of operations

03:01 – Origin of the content‑creator (employee ambassador) program

04:50 – What sparked the decision: from agency to in‑house content team

05:58 – Early results: LinkedIn reach growth from 25k to 1.2M followers

06:54 – Employee empowerment, culture building, and team dynamics

09:56 – The “team‑sport” approach to remote sales culture

12:05 – How content keeps flowing: leveraging everyday work stories

13:29 – Client perspective: how content influences trust in sales cycle

15:46 – Overview of the Do Hard Things podcast: mission and stories

18:25 – Evolution of the show and growing interest from guests

19:02 – Where to find the show and closing remarks

LinkedIn

Connect with Gabe Lullo on LinkedIn

Connect with Vince Quinn


Ep. 146 - Influencer Playbooks for B2B Brands - Amy Warren04 Jan 202600:22:18

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn sits down with Amy Warren, VP of Marketing at Fama, to unpack the real power behind thoughtful influencer marketing. Amy shares how Fama—an industry leader in social media screening—uses data-backed, long-term influencer relationships to grow pipeline, cut customer acquisition costs, and build brand equity in a complex B2B environment. From identifying ideal voices to measuring ROI down to the demo request, this episode is packed with practical advice on how to turn influencers into revenue engines.

Guest Bio

Amy Warren is the Vice President of Marketing at Fama, the category leader in social media screening. Amy blends deep industry knowledge in HR tech with a laser-sharp approach to B2B marketing, leveraging influencer partnerships to build pipeline and protect revenue streams. A true data-driven strategist, Amy has led Fama through transformational growth, using smart marketing operations and authentic thought leadership relationships to evangelize a new category of risk mitigation.

Takeaways

  • Influencer marketing isn’t just for B2C—done right, it’s a B2B powerhouse.
  • SparkToro is a key tool for identifying micro-influencers in your niche.
  • Measure success by tracking daily demo requests against influencer activity.
  • Personal relationships lead to more authentic, effective partnerships.
  • Influencers help brands stay top-of-mind during market disruptions.
  • Category creation requires both education and evangelism—especially in regulated spaces.

Chapters

00:00 – Intro: Amy Warren and Fama

00:54 – What Fama Actually Does (And Why It Matters)

02:10 – Real-World Impact: From Fraud to Preventing Violence

03:26 – How Fama Became the Anti-Risk Platform

03:53 – What Counts as an Influencer in B2B

05:39 – Mapping Buyer Behavior to Influencer Strategy

07:29 – Co-Creating Content: Reports, Podcasts, and Personalization

08:40 – Measuring Success: The Manual but Worthwhile Method

09:59 – Demo Spikes, Attribution, and ROI

11:27 – Navigating Algorithm Hits with Influencer Support

13:55 – The Power of Genuine Relationships with Thought Leaders

16:19 – Resilience Through Brand Equity and Direct Traffic

17:15 – This Strategy Won’t Work for Everyone

18:49 – Influencers as Market Pulse and Sounding Boards

21:05 – Final Thoughts: Be the Brand That Gets Referred

LinkedIn

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Amy Warren on LinkedIn here

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Vince Quinn on LinkedIn here


Ep. 145 - Why Clinical Trials Stay Broken - Shawn Malloy19 Dec 202500:20:11

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn dives into counter positioning with Shawn Malloy, VP of Marketing at Lindus Health, a company challenging the norms of clinical trials. Shawn unpacks what it means to be an "anti-CRO" in a highly regulated, legacy-dominated industry. He shares how Lindus is transforming clinical research by integrating technology, aligning incentives, and cutting out outdated inefficiencies. This conversation is a must-listen for marketers interested in challenger brand strategy, healthcare disruption, or just building something radically better.

Guest Bio

Shawn Malloy is the VP of Marketing at Lindus Health, a company redefining how clinical trials are run by taking on legacy CROs with speed, transparency, and integrated tech. With a background in engineering and late-stage drug development, Shawn brings deep industry experience from his time at large pharmaceutical companies. His unique perspective, having worked both in product development and now on the marketing frontlines, fuels his passion for creating meaningful, customer-centric change in the healthcare space.

Takeaways

  • Legacy clinical research organizations (CROs) are ripe for disruption.
  • Lindus Health aligns incentives through performance-based pricing.
  • Owning the tech stack reduces delays and improves trial outcomes.
  • Challenger brands must deeply understand customer pain points.
  • Experience on “the other side” boosts credibility and marketing empathy.
  • Education is key when reintroducing a new category or anti-position.

Chapters

00:00 – Intro: What is an Anti-CRO?

01:32 – Why CROs are Broken

03:45 – Stagnation in Clinical Trial Methods

05:30 – Counter Positioning: Shaking Up the Industry

07:19 – Educating the Market on New Models

08:25 – Broken Incentives and Overruns

09:40 – Vertical Integration: Lindus’s Full Tech Stack

11:00 – Shawn’s Shift from Engineering to Marketing

13:45 – Empathy Through Firsthand Experience

16:30 – Building a Challenger Brand: Where to Start

18:38 – Connect with Shawn

LinkedIn

⁠⁠Follow Shawn Malloy on LinkedIn here

Follow Vince Quinn on LinkedIn here

Ep.144 - Fix the Disconnect. Unlock Growth. - Eric Herzog17 Dec 202500:22:01

In this episode of FutureFuzz, Vince Quinn and veteran CMO Eric Herzog dive into one of the most under‑rated — yet business‑critical — topics: the alignment (or misalignment) of sales and marketing teams. They unpack the telltale signs teams are out of sync, why that quietly drains budget and opportunity, and how companies, from scrappy startups to established enterprises, can build disciplined but culture‑driven processes to ensure marketing and sales act as one high‑performing “team.”


Guest Bio

Eric Herzog is a multiple‑time award-winning CMO, currently leading marketing at enterprise storage company Infinidat. Over his career, he has held senior marketing leadership roles at major firms such as IBM and EMC, giving him deep experience running global, cross-functional teams. Known for his old-school belief in clear communication and structure, Eric brings a wealth of practical, real-world wisdom for anyone looking to close the gap between marketing and sales.

Takeaways

  • Misalignment shows up in obvious, but sometimes overlooked, symptoms: trade shows where the “wrong” people show up; lead‑gen campaigns with no follow‑up; or marketing activities with no resulting revenue.
  • Poor ROI isn’t always about a bad strategy, sometimes it’s just bad alignment. Wasted budget is often the result of marketing and sales operating in silos rather than in tandem.
  • Fixing it requires both culture and systems. It’s not enough to want alignment, you must build repeatable processes (meetings, newsletters, communication cadences) and embed a shared sense of ownership across teams.
  • Frequent communication is key. Eric recommends regular meetings (weekly or bi‑weekly), public readouts from every functional team, and a shared “company‑wide newsletter” that covers updates across marketing, sales, product, and more.
  • Transparency and inclusion boost buy-in, engagement and retention. When people across sales and marketing know what others are doing, they feel more connected to the company’s purpose, and are more likely to speak up, contribute insight, or flag risks early.
  • Alignment benefits far more than the bottom line. When done well, teams work more efficiently, budgets stretch further, employees feel invested and engaged, attrition drops, and the company becomes cohesive, purposeful, and resilient.

Chapters

00:00 Intro: FutureFuzz & guest Eric Herzog

01:03 Symptoms of bad sales‑marketing alignment

04:49 Cultural vs. systemic causes of misalignment

05:13 First steps toward repair, communication & structure

07:23 Weekly marketing-team meetings: ensuring visibility across functions

09:05 Monthly companywide sales‑marketing newsletters

13:49 Impact on team morale, employee engagement & retention

16:56 The power of shared culture, reference to cross‑department collaboration (like in creative industries)

19:58 Treating business like a team sport: psychological and financial benefits of alignment

21:08 Closing thoughts & how to connect with Eric

LinkedIn

Connect with Eric Herzog

Connect with Vince Quinn

Ep. 143 - The Quiet Crisis in Leadership - Pete Gosling 12 Dec 202500:23:57

In this episode, Vince Quinn sits down with Pete Gosling — founder of Gosling Media (also known as Gosling Design Studio) and author of Relentless Impact: Continuous Results in Business and Life — to talk about how AI is reshaping leadership and management in modern workplaces. Pete argues that AI is replacing many entry-level roles, which means leaders now need to know how to manage both people and AI tools. He explores the dangers of “delinquent leadership” — promoting technically-skilled individuals into leadership roles without equipping them with real management and people‑skills — and offers a framework (rooted in constant feedback loops and self‑awareness) for leaders to stay effective in a rapidly evolving business environment.

Guest Bio

Pete Gosling is a seasoned creative professional turned agency founder. With over two decades of experience — from junior designer to creative director and now agency principal — he has guided B2B clients with graphic design and growth marketing through the shifting landscape of technology and market demands. As author of Relentless Impact, Pete writes about maintaining consistency, clarity, and leadership integrity in business and life, especially during times of rapid change driven by AI and digital disruption.


Takeaways

  • AI is increasingly replacing junior / entry-level roles — meaning mid‑ and senior-level team members must now manage both people and AI systems.
  • Many companies suffer from “delinquent leadership”: technically capable founders or employees become managers despite lacking people-management skills — leading to miscommunication and failure.
  • Traditional leadership training (e.g. occasional workshops) is insufficient: leadership needs to be built through day-to-day processes, communication, and consistent feedback, not one-off seminars or personality tests.
  • In today’s fast-changing environment, leaders need an adaptive mindset: stay curious, constantly learn, and be ready to lead humans and machines.
  • The routine of self-awareness and reflection helps: Pete recommends a simple “STOP” framework — Stop, Take a breath, Observe, Proceed — to manage anxiety, react thoughtfully, and avoid burnout.
  • Leaders should build systems for continuous observation of industry and internal changes: track what’s shifting in tech, tools, competitors — then allocate time to reflect and make decisions, rather than reacting to every update.
  • Creativity and strategic thinking — qualities that AI can’t fully replicate — are the most lasting value humans bring to businesses. Those who lean into those skills can stay relevant.
  • The disruption caused by AI is similar to historical technological shifts (like the rise of the camera or printing press): while some traditional roles vanish, entirely new forms of creative and strategic work emerge — and leaders should orient themselves toward those.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome & intro of Pete Gosling and Gosling Media / Relentless Impact

00:45 How AI is changing the entry-level job landscape and first-level tasks

02:09 The concept of managing people and AI — new leadership reality

03:08 What “delinquent leadership” means and why skill ≠ leadership

05:00 Why traditional leadership training often fails

07:34 The “STOP” framework for handling stress, change and decision fatigue

09:48 How to build feedback loops and observation habits for business and AI changes

12:06 The added complexity of remote work, dispersed teams, and managing digital workflows

14:19 The importance of senior decision‑makers understanding and embracing new tools

17:16 Why human creativity and adaptability remain crucial despite AI advances

20:05 Historical parallels — AI’s disruption as a repeat of past paradigm shifts

22:53 Where to find Pete’s work and book: Gosling Media & Relentless Impact

Where to Follow / Learn More

Agency & services: goslingmedia / Gosling Design Studio (gds.pro)

LinkedIn

Follow ⁠Pete Gosling ⁠Book & resources: relentless-impact.com

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Ep. 142 - Why Growth starts with Letting Go - Jesse P Gilmore10 Dec 202500:22:57

In this episode, Vince Quinn talks with Jesse P. Gilmore — founder of Niche in Control and author of The Agency Owner’s Guide to Freedom — about how agency owners (or solo entrepreneurs) can move from being the bottleneck in their business to building scalable systems. Jesse explains the concept of “single points of failure,” why it’s common among service‑based founders, and walks through a five‑step “Leverage for Growth” framework to help transition from doing all the work yourself to becoming a leader who builds systems, packages value‑priced offers, attracts clients, and empowers a team. He also reflects on how launching his own podcast — Leverage for Growth — helped him refine his methods, attract the right clients, and systemize content creation in a repeatable way.

Guest Bio

Jesse P. Gilmore is the CEO and founder of Niche in Control, a firm dedicated to helping marketing‑agency owners grow and scale their agencies. He authored The Agency Owner’s Guide to Freedom and hosts the podcast Leverage for Growth, where he documents both his personal business transformation and interviews other agency founders to surface proven growth strategies.

Takeaways

  • A single point of failure happens when the business depends too heavily on one person — often the founder — making growth unstable and risky if that person is unavailable.
  • To scale, you must systemize everything: document processes, delegate work, and make the business operate independently of any one individual.
  • The shift from “doer” to “leader” usually happens when monthly revenue reaches roughly $15,000–$20,000 — that’s when it becomes worthwhile to build leverage through systems rather than more hours.
  • The “Leverage for Growth” framework’s first step: free up time — track how you spend your time for 7 days, then apply “Eliminate, Automate, Delegate, or Time‑block” to reclaim hours.
  • Next, systemize work and document procedures so that tasks can be handed off without disruption.
  • Then, build a minimum‑viable, high‑value offer priced based on value, not effort — this helps you move up‑market as clients increasingly value strategy over execution.
  • After that, create a client attraction system — combining inbound, outbound, and referral mechanisms — to keep the pipeline flowing.
  • Finally, empower your team to own major parts of the business, enabling you to run the firm instead of doing the work.
  • Leveraging content (like podcasting) isn’t just marketing — it’s also business validation, market research, and lead generation — and when done with systems, it can run predictably.
  • Consistency, authenticity, and leading by example matter: sharing personal stories (like sobriety) can attract clients and collaborators who resonate with your values.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome & Intro to Jesse P. Gilmore

00:50 What is a “Single Point of Failure”?

03:28 How to identify single points of failure in your agency

06:27 Overview: The 5‑step “Leverage for Growth” method & role transition (doer → operator → manager → leader → CEO)

10:26 How the Leverage for Growth podcast and book came about

14:48 How authenticity and values have shaped Jesse’s clients & business philosophy

17:48 How to systemize content production: from 12 hrs to 30 min per episode

20:21 Where to follow Jesse & what’s next (Scalable Agency Accelerator)


LinkedIn & Where to Follow

Follow Jesse P. Gilmore on LinkedIn:

You can also check out Niche in Control or learn about the Scalable Agency Accelerator via nicheincontrol.com

Follow Vince Quinn



Ep.141 - Conversation First. Pipeline Follows. - Evan Dunn05 Dec 202500:25:12

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn dives into the power of experimentation with Evan Dunn, Head of Marketing at Titan X. Evan shares why embracing strategic failure is essential to sharpening your go-to-market approach, and how most companies rely too heavily on assumptions and stale ICPs instead of real-time feedback. The conversation unpacks how founders can adopt a scientific mindset to sales and marketing, the underestimated power of cold calling, and why building tight feedback loops through direct human conversation is more vital than ever in an AI-heavy world. If you're tired of vague vibes and want a structured way to win faster—this episode delivers.

Guest Bio

Evan Dunn is the Head of Marketing at Titan X, a company redefining cold outreach through data-driven phone intent. With a background spanning SEO, paid media, and growth strategy, Evan is known for bringing scientific rigor to go-to-market models. He previously led segmented experimentation at a FinTech unicorn, helping disqualify inefficient segments and dramatically improve SDR performance. A passionate advocate for conversation-first growth, Evan helps companies eliminate guesswork and embrace failure as a catalyst for clarity. He’s also a frequent voice on LinkedIn, championing bold ideas about sales, marketing, and experimentation.

Takeaways

  • Experimentation is strategic failure in pursuit of clarity.
  • Most ICPs are outdated and lack feedback loops.
  • Cold calling yields rapid feedback and accelerates understanding.
  • Founders naturally thrive in sales because of tight feedback cycles.
  • Segment disqualification is as important as identification.
  • Paid media and content should follow, not precede, segment validation.
  • Direct human conversations uncover real buyer sentiment.
  • Modern GTM needs conversation-first strategies before automation.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Intro to Evan Dunn

01:02 What “Go-To-Market Scientist” Really Means

02:05 Why Embracing Failure Leads to Success

03:11 Breaking Down Product-Message-Segment Fit

05:00 Common Flaws in Sales Targeting and ICPs

06:09 The Power of Founder-Led Sales

08:50 How to Build a Go-To-Market Feedback Loop

10:30 Real Case Study: Industry Experiments in FinTech

12:00 The True Cost of Not Experimenting

13:22 Why Most Marketing Playbooks Fail

14:40 Social Media as a Rented Growth Channel

16:00 What Google, LinkedIn, and Twitter Changes Mean for Marketers

17:00 Why Cold Calling Works in 2025

18:58 The Value of Human Conversations

20:01 Certainty, Testing, and the $10K Guarantee

22:00 Morale Boosts From Real Conversations

23:05 How to Learn More About Titan X

LinkedIn

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Evan Dunn on LinkedIn here

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Vince Quinn on LinkedIn here

Ep. 140 - Treat Pricing Like Product Strategy - Chris Mele03 Dec 202500:21:34

In this episode, Chris Mele, CEO of Software Pricing Partners (SPP), dives into why pricing is often the most overlooked yet critical lever in software businesses. He shares how pricing decisions can carry enormous financial impact (he cites an $8.5 million case), why so many companies delegate pricing and treat it as a “black box”, and how turning pricing into a disciplined, data‑driven process can drive profitable growth, not just acquisition. A must‑listen for SaaS leaders who are ready to move from gut feel to clarity in pricing strategy.

Guest Bio

Chris Mele is CEO of Software Pricing Partners, a firm founded in 1982 that has pioneered pricing strategy specifically for B2B software companies. softwarepricing.com+2Executive Board | Fast Company+2 Before taking his role at SPP, Chris founded and led a SaaS company through cloud transition and has experience at Ernst & Young and in launching the first online banking solutions in the U.S. Forbes Councils+1 At SPP, he helps software companies build pricing as a repeatable, defendable discipline rather than an afterthought.

Takeaways

  • Pricing decisions—even small tweaks—can have massive financial consequences. Chris mentions a decision shift equating to $8.5 million in impact.
  • Many companies treat pricing as a meeting topic (“let’s change this discount moment”) rather than a process grounded in data.
  • Frequently pricing is delegated to mid‑level teams (deal desk, Excel jockeys) rather than owned by the CEO or leadership — that delegating weakens accountability and rigour.
  • The absence of clear transaction‑level deal data (net vs list price, discounting patterns, product SKUs) makes it extremely difficult to diagnose pricing leaks.
  • The starting point: get clean deal‑data, understand what you sold, at what list price, discounts, net price, term lengths; this produces “low‑hanging fruit” to fix.
  • Pricing must be treated like product management: continuously iterated, measured, governed — not just set once and forgotten.
  • When done well, pricing becomes a major profit driver and business value creator — many software companies leave enormous value on the table by not treating pricing properly.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction – Vince welcomes Chris Mele of Software Pricing Partners

00:20 Chris gives background on his firm and how he came to pricing

01:01 The moment he realised pricing was the missing piece (deal closed for 1/10th value)

02:24 Why pricing is so hard: small decisions carry big risk

03:54 Typical scenarios where SPP engages (PE investment, new exec team, profitability focus)

05:18 Why many software companies ignore pricing as discipline

07:42 How pricing decisions are made (executive meetings, delegation, lack of tools)

09:25 The “fear” factor—lack of data, complexity, hidden risks

13:05 How to begin when your pricing is a mess: start with transaction‑level data

16:25 The upside: what happens when you get pricing right

19:08 Example: university dev‑license turned into a $300k per year deal

20:43 How to connect with Chris/Software Pricing Partners

LinkedIn

Follow Chris Mele on LinkedIn.

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As Promised :

Software Pricing 3 Business Strategy Pivots for Evaluating your Pricing

Software Pricing - 4 Pivotal GTM Moments for Evaluating Your Pricing

Hashtags

#SoftwarePricing #PricingStrategy #SaaS #Monetization #ValueBasedPricing #Profitability #PricingProcess #PricingOptimization #PricingScience


Ep. 139 - From Stage to Strategy: ABM Unlocked - Brianna Miller28 Nov 202500:23:32

In this episode, Vince Quinn sits down with Brianna Miller, Director of Demand Generation at Cohere Health, to break down what really makes ABM campaigns effective in long-cycle, high-stakes B2B healthcare. Brianna shares how she segments a tiny, complex market of health insurers, balances deep personalization with scalable strategy, and builds ABM programs that influence pipeline—without annoying decision-makers.

They also dive into Brianna’s public speaking journey, why she believes in teaching what you love, and how being an adjunct professor has sharpened her skills on and off the stage.

Guest Bio

Brianna Miller is the Director of Demand Generation at Cohere Health, a healthcare technology company focused on improving collaboration between payers and providers through AI-powered clinical intelligence. With over a decade of experience in healthcare tech and a specialty in account-based marketing (ABM), Brianna builds highly-targeted multi-channel campaigns that drive real engagement with key stakeholders in complex markets.

She’s also an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, where she teaches foundational marketing to undergraduates and shares her deep industry insights from the field to the classroom.

Takeaways

  • ABM is about precision: segment by tech stack, persona, and sales stage.
  • One-to-few ABM balances personalization and efficiency.
  • Cohere’s dual-audience model (payers buy, providers use) requires nuanced messaging.
  • You don’t need the biggest budget—you need the right intent signals.
  • Collaboration with sales is non-negotiable: shared dashboards and insights drive success.
  • Public speaking is easier when you share what you love.
  • Great content = something your audience can take home and use immediately.

Chapters

00:00 Intro: Meet Brianna Miller from Cohere Health

01:25 What Cohere Does and Its Unique Buyer/User Split

03:03 Brianna’s Multi-Channel ABM Playbook

04:18 Tools, Data Sources, and the "Know One Payer" Rule

06:23 Why Bad Personalization Is Worse Than None

07:10 What Is ABM? Brianna’s Definition

08:21 One-to-One vs. One-to-Few vs. One-to-Many

10:13 How to Execute One-to-Few Campaigns Step-by-Step

12:34 Measuring Account Engagement and Marketing Influence

13:11 Sales Collaboration: Account Picks, Messaging, and Dashboards

14:57 What Pipeline Influence Looks Like in Long Sales Cycles

16:29 From Stage to Classroom: Brianna’s Approach to Teaching

18:39 What Makes a Great Talk? Think Tangible Takeaways

20:25 Being Yourself on Stage = Content That Connects

22:27 Where to Find and Follow Brianna

LinkedIn

Follow Brianna Miller on LinkedIn

Check out her website: https://beingyourbrand.com

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Ep. 138 - Global Growth starts with Local Trust - Wally Pinkard26 Nov 202500:21:15

In this episode, Vince Quinn chats with Wally Pinkard, Vice President of Marketing at the World Trade Center Institute (WTCI) in Baltimore, about how international business really happens — not just via websites but through deep networks, human connections and cultural fluency. Wally breaks down how his team helps local mid‑Atlantic businesses tap global opportunities, why soft skills and relationships matter in trade, and how you build a global outlook without losing local relevance.

Guest Bio

Wally Pinkard is the Vice President of Marketing at the World Trade Center Institute (WTCI), a nonprofit global business network based in Baltimore, Maryland. WTCI works with around 130 corporate members (and many more firms) to support international trade activity in the mid‑Atlantic region through events, fellowships, speaker series and connection‑making. Wally has been with WTCI for over 14 – 15 years, helping build its culture, programs and network.

(Note: Wally also has a fun earlier career note — he created a hip‑hop song that got international distribution.)

Takeaways

  • International business isn’t just about exporting goods or sourcing online — it’s about understanding legal, cultural and relational nuances.
  • A strong local network + global perspective can give companies an edge: one connection you make today may pay off years later.
  • Intentionality beats scale when building networks: smaller, highly connected groups often create deeper value.
  • Culture and patience matter: slow, steady growth and purposeful relationship‑building beat rapid but shallow expansion.
  • Non‑profit networks like WTCI thrive when members genuinely want to share knowledge (even with “competitors”) — and that spirit enables global good.
  • Human conversations still beat generic online research when you’re trying to figure out “what to ask” in new markets.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Wally Pinkard & WTCI

02:22 WTCI’s role in international business and the mid‑Atlantic region

04:26 Why soft, human connections matter more than just digital presence

06:14 Learning from others: avoiding costly international mistakes

07:16 The challenge (and advantage) of serving many industries and companies

09:28 Cross‑industry learning: e.g., defence industry learning from apparel industry

10:45 Building relationships intentionally — not just mass invites

12:23 The culture at WTCI that enables collaboration over competition

15:00 The value of incremental progress instead of rapid scaling

17:33 Keeping network intimacy while still driving impact

18:12 Wally’s earlier hip‑hop track “Land of the Gun” and its story

19:47 Where to find WTCI online and how to get involved

20:23 Closing and thanks

LinkedIn

Follow Wally Pinkard on LinkedIn

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Explore the World Trade Center Institute here:


Ep. 137 - Rap, Revenue, and Real Discovery - David Morse21 Nov 202500:23:03

In this episode, host Vince Quinn welcomes David Morse, CEO of DMo Worldwide, former Chief Revenue Officer of Cambridge Mobile Telematics, and author of The Heart of the Sale, to explore how marketing and sales should connect through the funnel. David explains why effective discovery is the foundation of complex enterprise sales, how marketing can deliver 80% of what sales needs (leaving the personalization to sales), and how “signal‑management” (market, account, person‑level signals) is critical in today’s data‑rich B2B environment. He also drops a surprise: he’s a comedian/rapper releasing an album called “Crowbars” that re‑imagines hip‑hop instrumentals with sales/marketing lyrics. A lively, insightful look at aligning marketing and sales in a modern enterprise world.

Guest Bio

David Morse is the CEO of DMo Worldwide, a company that helps B2B organisations with pipeline development, aligning marketing and sales around discovery and pain‑based personalization. Previously, he was the Chief Revenue Officer at Cambridge Mobile Telematics, where he built global enterprise sales teams. He is the author of The Heart of the Sale, which grew out of his 20‑year career navigating complex, high‑value deals. On top of his business credentials, David is also a comedian and rapper, launching an album titled “Crowbars” with sales‑themed hip‑hop tracks—Demonstrating his unique blend of professional rigor and playful creativity.

Takeaways

  • Effective discovery is the engine of enterprise sales: uncovering the real problem, the people behind it, the priorities, the business case, and the process drives higher close rates and more value.
  • When marketing and sales collaborate deeply (particularly in Account Based Marketing + Sales setups), marketing should deliver ~80% of the funnel content (messages, tools, research) and sales should handle the final 20% personalization and relationship nuance.
  • Marketing can deliver PSP‑POVs (Pain‑based, Specific, Personalized Points of View): messages that centre the customer’s pain not the product; that are specific to their situation; and that are personalized by persona or industry.
  • Signal management is a vital discipline: monitor market‑level signals (e.g., regulatory shifts, industry dynamics), account‑level signals (firmographics, technographics, events, engagement) and person‑level signals (job changes, content downloads, social engagement). Use these to inform outreach and pipeline generation.
  • The “poison the well” risk: if your outreach shows no understanding of the prospect, you may not only lose the deal—you may damage future referral or reputation chances.
  • Injecting personality and creativity into professional domains (e.g., David’s rap project) can differentiate you and create memorable connections.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction: Vince Quinn welcomes David Morse

00:44 – David introduces The Heart of the Sale and why he wrote it

02:19 – Challenges in enterprise sales: deals evaporating, inadequate discovery

03:26 – How marketing + sales should work together in complex enterprise deals

04:08 – The 80 / 20 rule: marketing delivers majority, sales customise the rest

05:34 – Deep dive into PSP‑POVs: Pain, Specificity, Personalization

07:22 – Importance of knowing the personas & industry context

09:04 – Discovery: what great salespeople do when they walk into a meeting

11:01 – Relating sales discovery to networking & relationship building

13:52 – Buyers are overwhelmed; you can’t afford to “poison the well”

14:17 – Signal management explained: market, account, person signals

18:48 – Surprise: David’s rap/album project “Crowbars”

21:24 – Where to find the book and music; closing remarks

Linkedin

Follow David Morse on LinkedIn

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Ep. 136 - New Customers, Not New Tricks - Sam Piliero19 Nov 202500:23:47

In this episode, host Vince Quinn welcomes Sam Piliero to explore how advertising strategy must evolve to serve today’s digital‑brands. Sam explains his agency’s focus on one‑to‑$10 million e‑commerce companies, how his three‑step “M3 Method” underpins their media buying and execution, and why spending ad budget on new customer acquisition (rather than over‑servicing existing/engaged audiences) is a critical shift. He also discusses how founder‑led content drives growth, how he built his agency culture to support performance, and how aligning content, strategy and operations pays off for both clients and team.

Guest Bio

Sam Piliero is the Founder and CEO of The Moonlighters, a performance‑marketing agency that specialises in Facebook and Google advertising for e‑commerce brands in the $1 million‑to‑$10 million revenue range. Previously he worked at VaynerMedia (on the e‑commerce team) and at BarkBox (helping scale the business). He built The Moonlighters around a senior‑only team and a growth‑director model, emphasizing profitability, customer acquisition, modular campaign structures, and founder‑driven content.

Takeaways

  • Focusing the majority of ad spend on new customer acquisition rather than existing/engaged audiences can unlock growth and avoid diminishing returns from high‑frequency retargeting.
  • The “M3 Method” (strategy/structure + “bet the fastest horse” + cost controls/caps) provides a simplified but actionable framework for scaling performance campaigns.
  • A modular campaign structure (e.g., separating new customers vs. engaged vs. existing) improves clarity and performance — instead of simply “top‑mid‑bottom funnel.”
  • Time‑of‑day and day‑of‑week analysis (“betting on the fastest horse”) remains a highly under‑leveraged lever in ad strategy: shifting spend into high‑conversion days/times can improve ROI without new creative.
  • Founder‑led content creates authenticity, builds trust, and serves as a valuable lead‑generation engine when aligned with the business model (not chasing vanity metrics).
  • Building a strong agency culture (paying above market, hiring senior people, giving them skin‑in‑the‑game) reduces churn and drives client results.
  • Content strategy should prioritise value to the ideal audience, not just the highest view‑counts.
  • Many “easy mode” advertising tactics (e.g., broad only audiences, 24/7 uniform spend, ignoring segmentation) still persist — but advanced performance requires going back to fundamentals.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome & Intro

00:17 Background of The Moonlighters

01:14 Explanation of the M3 Method (Strategy Structure / Betting the Fastest Horse / Cost Controls)

02:05 Modular ad account structure: new customers vs engaged vs existing

03:05 Why many businesses overspend on existing/engaged audiences

04:34 Why audiences aren’t focusing enough on new customer acquisition

04:50 Sam’s background: media buying over the past 12+ years, VaynerMedia & BarkBox

06:44 How The Moonlighters built the team & culture (growth directors, senior staff)

08:38 Why culture and team matters for client performance

09:32 Client results: average 41% profit improvement in first 90 days

10:35 Sam’s content journey: YouTube, building an audience, leveraging his agency insight

11:48 Content strategy: focusing on value, not just views

13:30 Deep dive into M2 (“betting the fastest horse”) — day of week/time of day optimisation

15:36 Specific examples of power of shifting ad spend timing

16:12 Discussion of founder‑led content and alignment with business model

17:08 New one‑on‑one coaching program: demand from audience, pilot launch

18:50 Program launch / closing thoughts

19:38 How Sam balances agency leadership + content creation

21:32 Why content is the #1 focus (leads, education, positioning)

22:34 Closing: Where to find Sam & how to work with The Moonlighters

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Ep. 135 - How Consultants Diagnose Business Blind Spots - Stuart Jackson14 Nov 202500:21:25

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn speaks with Stuart Jackson, Vice Chairman of L.E.K. Consulting, about the intersection of problem-solving and people skills in consulting. Stuart shares insights from his four-decade journey at L.E.K., from joining when it was a 10-person startup to helping it become a global force. He breaks down how L.E.K. identifies critical moments in a business, crafts tailored solutions, and fosters internal trust and collaboration. The episode also dives into L.E.K.'s unique approach to marketing professional services and why in-person connections still matter in the digital age.

Guest Bio

Stuart Jackson is Vice Chairman of L.E.K. Consulting, a global strategy consultancy that helps businesses tackle mission-critical decisions. With over 40 years at the firm, Stuart has held roles spanning from office leader to head of the U.S. and global managing partner. Under his leadership, L.E.K. tripled both revenue and profitability. He is the author of Predictable Winners, a book focused on what it takes for companies to consistently innovate successfully. Stuart is passionate about problem-solving, business diagnostics, and mentoring the next generation of consultants.

Takeaways

  • The hardest part of problem-solving is often figuring out the right question to ask.
  • L.E.K. helps clients during “critical moments” like stalled growth or declining profitability.
  • Deep client relationships and face-to-face interactions still matter—even in a digital world.
  • L.E.K. transformed its business development by embedding structured outreach into its marketing operations.
  • Trust across global offices enables seamless collaboration and high performance.
  • Professional services must balance client delivery with proactive relationship management to avoid feast-or-famine cycles.
  • Programs like international staff swaps build institutional knowledge and foster a “one firm” culture.

Chapters

00:00 Intro: Vince Quinn Welcomes Stuart Jackson

00:32 What L.E.K. Consulting Does and Stuart's Career Journey

02:37 Diagnosing Business Problems Like a Doctor

04:51 Growth Case Study: From $10M to $700M in Revenue

06:37 Profitability Case Study: Samsonite’s Global Restructuring

08:07 Why Consulting at L.E.K. Is Like Solving a Puzzle

10:28 How L.E.K. Approaches Marketing in Professional Services

12:50 Building Client Relationships Beyond Projects

14:12 The Power of FaceTime in Client Retention

15:27 A Hunting Trip that Built Deeper Client Trust

17:11 Referrals and Staying Top of Mind

18:21 How Global Collaboration Works at L.E.K.

19:45 The Swap Program and Cross-Office Learning

20:46 Where to Learn More About L.E.K.

LinkedIn

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Ep. 134 - Creating a Category from Scratch - Vidya Drego12 Nov 202500:23:10

In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Vince Quinn sits down with Vidya Drego (VP of Marketing at SmithRx) to explore how you create a new category in a highly regulated, complex industry. Vidya shares how SmithRx is positioning itself as the alternative to legacy pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), how she transitioned from big‑company marketing roles to a smaller challenger brand, and how the marketing team is educating the market from scratch—starting with explaining problems people didn’t even know they had. Along the way you’ll learn how content, video, analogies and internal collaboration all drive the category‑creation process.

Guest Bio

Vidya Drego is the Vice President of Marketing at SmithRx, a modern pharmacy benefits manager focused on radical transparency and real cost savings in the PBM market. Prior to SmithRx, Vidya held leadership marketing roles at major tech and SaaS companies including HubSpot, LinkedIn, and Salesforce. Her diverse experience equips her with a deep marketing toolkit, which she now applies in a more entrepreneurial, category‑defining setting. (Vidya holds advanced academic credentials and has a track record of building marketing organizations from scratch.)

At SmithRx, she leads strategy, content, brand development and demand generation to position the company not just as “another PBM” but as the modern alternative.

Takeaways

  • You’re not just competin — you’re recasting the conversation. Vidya emphasises that to create a category you must show your audience that the problem they thought they were solving is actually the wrong problem.
  • Big‑company experience gives you tools, but smaller challenger brands give you freedom. Vidya shares how she moved from large organisations to SmithRx to “actually apply the toolkit” and run with bigger responsibility.
  • Teaching the market matters when the category is novel. SmithRx’s team invests heavily in educational content, blog posts, videos and analogies (e.g., the “$12 milk vs $5 milk” discount analogy) to help people grasp the mis‑framed problem.
  • Video and storytelling help simplify complexity. In a nuanced, technical industry like PBMs, visual and narrative tools help clarify the value proposition and cut through jargon.
  • Metrics beyond clicks count. In their context, success isn’t just about big audience numbers—but about trust, thought‑leadership, and influencing decision‑makers in the market.
  • Internal voices amplify external credibility. SmithRx intentionally involves team members from operations, contracting, pharmacy network etc to contribute their voices and drive authenticity in content.

Chapters

00:00 – Intro and setting the scene

00:57 – What is SmithRx and the PBM business explained

02:32 – Vidya’s background: from HubSpot/LinkedIn to SmithRx

04:49 – Why she chose a smaller company and the gap she saw to fill

07:12 – The market problem: how legacy PBMs aren’t delivering as advertised

09:58 – How to start educating the market when they don’t know the problem

12:35 – Content strategy: blogs, newsletters, videos, internal voices

14:52 – The “milk price” analogy: reframing discount vs actual cost

17:19 – Video as a tool: PBM 101 series and brand style

19:44 – The role of short video, webinars and multi‑format storytelling

20:47 – Experimentation and aligning tactics to business model

22:10 – Where to follow SmithRx and Vidya on LinkedIn

22:35 – Closing remarks

LinkedIn

Follow Vidya Drego on LinkedIn (you’ll find her at SmithRx and content on modern PBMs).

Company page: SmithRx on LinkedIn.

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Ep.133 - Digital Twins for Real‑World Airports - Arvindh Lalam08 Nov 202500:22:03
  • In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn is joined by Arvindh Lalam, CEO of nCorium, to explore how digital twins are transforming airport experiences. From reducing passenger stress to helping operators optimize service flow, Arvindh shares how real-time data and sensor fusion technology are reshaping physical environments—starting with some of the world’s most complex spaces: airports.
  • Discover how nCorium delivers predictive insights, enhances user journeys, and even guides passengers to the shortest Starbucks line. Whether you're designing large venues or just want to understand how digital twins can improve operational efficiency and customer satisfaction, this episode breaks it down in an engaging, human-centered way.
  • Guest Bio
  • Arvindh Lalam is the CEO of nCorium, a company pioneering the use of digital twins in airport environments. By blending real-time sensor data from LiDAR, cameras, and other inputs, nCorium creates live digital models of physical spaces, helping airports better manage traffic flows, reduce stress for passengers, and improve SLA compliance.
  • With a background in software engineering and systems thinking, Arvindh leads a team dedicated to mapping real-world movement and enhancing experiences for both travelers and airport operators. Under his leadership, nCorium’s “Travel Companion” app and backend tools are already making waves across major international transit hubs.
  • Takeaways
    • Airports are massive dynamic spaces—digital twins offer operators and passengers a new level of visibility.
    • Real-time data allows proactive adjustments to avoid congestion and delays.
    • Sensor fusion (cameras, LiDAR, etc.) powers detailed maps of people and vehicle movement.
    • Wait-time estimates aren’t just about line length—they’re about processing efficiency.
    • nCorium’s Travel Companion app acts like Google Maps for your airport journey.
    • Staff efficiency, user routing, and spatial planning all improve with historical and real-time insights.
    • Better facility flow = less travel stress + improved airport reputation.

    Chapters

    00:00 Intro to Arvindh Lalam & nCorium

    01:30 What nCorium Does for Airports & Passengers

    03:00 The Power of Sensor Fusion in Complex Spaces

    06:00 Case Study: Picking the Best Starbucks in the Terminal

    08:00 Rerouting Crowds and Preventing Congestion

    09:30 “Shortest Line” Isn’t Always the Fastest

    11:00 The Travel Companion App: Google Maps for Airports

    13:40 Measuring Staff Efficiency & Improving Service Counters

    16:00 Real-Time vs. 6-Month Flow Reports

    19:30 Metrics that Truly Matter: Wait Times, Missed Flights

    22:00 Enhancing Reputation Through Better Physical Experiences

    24:30 Vision: A Digital Twin of the Entire Airport

    25:40 How to Connect with Arvindh and Encoreum

    LinkedIn

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    Ep. 132 - From Webinar to Revenue Machine - Megan McDonagh05 Nov 202500:24:31

    In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Vince Quinn sits down with Megan McDonagh, Director of Revenue Marketing at Celigo, to unpack how virtual touchpoints, like webinars, newsletters, and gated content, can drive serious revenue when used right. Megan shares Celigo’s unique approach to planning and scaling content, how they repurpose webinars into multi-channel assets, and why it’s essential to understand the full customer journey rather than just the final click. Packed with real-life tactics, tech stack insights, and content strategy gold, this conversation is a must-listen for digital marketers aiming to do more with less.

    Guest Bio

    Megan McDonagh is the Director of Revenue Marketing at Celigo, an Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) company that helps businesses automate and connect their cloud applications. With deep expertise in campaign strategy, data-driven content planning, and revenue-focused marketing, Megan leads Celigo’s efforts to transform digital engagement into pipeline. She’s especially passionate about building repeatable frameworks for scaling content, leveraging tools like Goldcast, CalibreMind, and HubSpot, to drive better outcomes across the funnel.

    Takeaways

    • Don’t treat webinars as one-off events, design them to be repurposed across formats and channels.
    • Your best content should live across email, social, blogs, and more, because different audiences consume in different ways.
    • Use tools like CalibreMind to understand multi-touch attribution and buyer journeys, not just last-click conversions.
    • Content that doesn’t perform organically won’t perform when repurposed. Test before you scale.
    • “Collaboration with control” between IT and marketing creates autonomy without sacrificing governance.
    • A well-designed series page with multi-registration boosts webinar sign-ups and reduces email fatigue.

    Chapters

    00:00 Intro , Vince gets warmed up

    00:28 Welcome Megan McDonagh from Celigo

    01:10 What is Celigo and what is iPaaS?

    02:01 The beauty of automation and integration

    03:15 HubSpot + Salesforce: A common integration headache

    03:29 The luxury, and challenge, of a tool-rich marketing team

    04:36 Managing tech overwhelm and staying focused

    05:05 Webinars: Where Celigo’s content strategy starts

    05:36 Campaign planning across B2B, B2C, and NetSuite

    06:10 Why Goldcast is Megan’s favorite platform

    07:30 Building AI agent webinars into a live content series

    08:32 The hidden cost of poor webinar UX

    10:07 Goldcast content pages as resource hubs

    11:08 Don’t judge content by downloads alone

    12:00 Show up everywhere: gated, ungated, AI platforms, social

    13:04 Weekly “Program Pulse” meetings to guide planning

    13:44 Why multi-touch attribution matters more than ever

    15:11 Understanding buyer journeys across multiple platforms

    16:11 Stay top of mind through smart repurposing

    17:36 Use only content that works organically

    18:00 Test, iterate, and get honest feedback

    19:46 Newsletter spotlight: “Integration Bits” on LinkedIn

    21:00 Builders Hub: Quick-hit content for technical audiences

    22:41 Wrap-up and where to connect with Megan

    LinkedIn

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    Ep. 131 - Scale, Chill or Kill: Marketing Data - Scott Desgrosseilliers31 Oct 202500:21:35

    In this episode of Future Fuzz, we dive deep into marketing attribution with Scott Desgrosseilliers, Founder and CEO of Wicked Reports. With over a decade of experience and billions in ad spend analyzed, Scott reveals how most marketers are relying on broken data, and what to do about it. He introduces the Five Forces Framework, explains why ad platforms over-credit themselves, and breaks down his practical “Scale, Chill, or Kill” methodology to guide data-driven decisions that fuel real growth.

    If you’ve ever felt uncertain about which channels are actually driving your ROI, this episode is a must-listen.

    Guest Bio

    Scott Desgrosseilliers is the Founder and CEO of Wicked Reports, a leading first-party marketing attribution platform built for high-growth e-commerce brands. With more than 10 years in the attribution space, Scott has helped marketers track real customer journeys across platforms and channels, enabling smarter decisions and stronger returns. He’s known for making complex data actionable through frameworks like Scale, Chill, Kill and the Five Forces of Attribution. Scott is also a frequent speaker and advocate for measuring what matters, new customer growth.

    Takeaways

    • Most ad platforms over-inflate their contributions, especially at the bottom of the funnel.
    • “Scale, Chill, Kill” helps marketers make fast, confident budget decisions.
    • The Five Forces framework aligns strategy, intention, measurement, and optimization.
    • Attribution is about people, not just clicks, track real customer journeys with first-party data.
    • You can't improve what you can't measure accurately.
    • Don’t just trust ROAS dashboards, verify with neutral, consistent data.
    • AI is helpful, but attribution still requires human intelligence and context.
    • New customer acquisition must be measured differently than repeat sales.

    Chapters

    00:00 - Intro: Why Attribution Matters

    01:46 - What Wicked Reports Actually Does

    02:30 - The Problems with Ad Platform Reporting

    03:15 - Measuring, Signaling, and Acting on Data

    04:10 - “Scale, Chill, Kill” Simplified

    05:30 - Attribution vs. Strategy: Why Most Marketers Miss It

    07:00 - How Bad Attribution Hurts Real Growth

    08:00 - The Patriots vs. Eagles Scoreboard Analogy

    09:40 - The Five Forces Framework Overview

    11:00 - Why Intention Must Come Before Measurement

    12:30 - Setting Expectations with “Zones”

    14:00 - Why the Chill Zone Saves Time and Sanity

    15:20 - Pride vs. Results: Knowing When to Kill a Campaign

    16:00 - From Outcome to Optimization

    17:30 - Fishing in the Right Ad Sets

    18:30 - Dealing with Platform Changes and AI Shifts

    20:00 - First-Party Data is Your Lifeline

    21:45 - Building Content and Long-Term Attribution Assets

    23:00 - Where to Find Scott and Wicked Reports

    LinkedIn

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    Ep.130 - Bots Are Stealing Your Ad Budget - Rich Kahn29 Oct 202500:27:00

    In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Vince Quinn sits down with Rich Kahn, CEO and Co‑Founder of Anura.io — a leading ad‑fraud detection platform. Rich walks us through how ad fraud works (bots, malware, human fraud farms), the sheer scale of the problem (up to ~22% of digital ad spend is fraud), how marketing teams should recognise when they’re under attack, and practical steps to protect campaigns and restore clean data. A crucial listen for any marketer buying digital media who needs to get ahead of invisible waste.

    Guest Bio

    Rich Kahn is the CEO and Co‑Founder of Anura.io, a specialist ad‑fraud detection solution that emerged from his earlier experience running an ad‑network. After observing the damage fraud was doing in‑house, he built an anti‑fraud platform and spun it out in 2017. eMarketing Association+2ForthRight People+2

    Rich boasts nearly three decades in digital advertising and tech, and his mission is to ensure marketers aren’t paying for traffic that isn’t real.

    Takeaways

    • Ad fraud isn’t niche, across digital marketing, the average loss is ~20‑25% of ad spend (i.e., more than 1 in every 5 dollars) reclaimed by fraudsters. (Rich cites ~$140B stolen from ~$700B spent).
    • Fraud takes many forms: bot‑clicking ads, malware on devices chewing data & battery, human fraud farms clicking/ad farming, competitor attacks (clicking your ads to exhaust budget)
    • Blocking IP addresses alone no longer works: fraud networks exploit residential proxy networks, large pools of IPs refreshed constantly.
    • Channel matters for exposure: search ads ~10‑15% fraud, social ~8‑10%, native/affiliate ~20‑30%, programmatic can hit ~50%.
    • If you’re doing paid digital marketing, you have fraud (it’s not optional) , what matters is how much and what you do about it.
    • The upside: reducing fraud cleans up your data, improves ROI, clears wasted spend, and gives you more confidence in campaign performance.
    • For marketers working on tighter budgets (esp. bootstrapped companies), content marketing and appearing on podcasts (like this one!) are effective channels because you’re reaching new audiences rather than just retargeting the same crowd.

    Chapters

    00:00 – Welcome & Intro to Rich Kahn

    00:21 – What is ad fraud and what does Anura do

    01:21 – Who are the fraudsters and how do they operate

    02:33 – Case example: malware on phones drawing data & battery

    03:35 – Competitor fraud: clicking rivals’ ads to drive them off budget

    06:44 – Why IP‑blocking is outdated — discussion of proxy networks

    11:00 – How to figure out how much fraud you have (free scans, analytics)

    13:06 – From ad‑network to anti‑fraud spin‑out (Rich’s origin story)

    18:08 – Safest traffic: organic/earned, but still has some fraud

    19:42 – The ROI of cleaning your ad‑traffic: how big the gains can be

    21:54 – Fraud rates by channel (search, social, affiliate, programmatic)

    24:08 – Why Rich uses podcasting & content marketing for growth

    26:06 – How to follow Rich and Anura for more resources

    26:35 – Closing remarks

    LinkedIn

    – Follow Rich Kahn on LinkedIn

    – Connect with Anura.io → https://www.anura.io/

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    Ep. 129 - Trades + AI = Growth - Rachel Truair24 Oct 202500:23:57

    In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Vince Quinn welcomes Rachel Truair, CMO at Simpro, a leading field service management software company with over $200M in ARR. With 15+ years of marketing experience from startups to Fortune 100s, Rachel shares how Simpro is transforming the trades, like HVAC, plumbing, and electrical industries, into efficient, tech-enabled businesses. She discusses the impact of AI across operations and marketing, from AI-powered work notes and email agents to chatbots, and dives into Simpro’s flagship live event, Simproseum. Whether optimizing go-to-market strategies, creating a partner ecosystem, or delivering intentional content, Rachel emphasizes how efficiency, customer-centricity, and sustainable growth are reshaping modern marketing.


    Guest Bio

    Rachel Truair, Chief Marketing Officer at Simpro. She brings over 15 years of experience steering revenue and growth for a range of organizations, from nimble startups to Fortune 100 firms. At Simpro, she oversees global GTM strategy, leading efforts that drive approximately 90% of the company’s annual revenue.


    Takeaways

    -AI as a multiplier, not a replacement: Simpro uses AI-powered work notes to reduce manual data entry.

    -AI email agents outperform expectations: A pilot “AI BDR” named “Daniela” qualified two opportunities within two weeks and closed one in 30 days. -This initiative contributed to an estimated $1.8M ARR uplift since June.

    -AI chat enhances availability: Their AI chat function lifted meetings booked by 320%, giving teams flexibility and better customer experiences.

    -Human + AI = elevated roles: AI freed up BDR time, enabling full-cycle sales careers and deeper account work. Rachel shared a story of a BDR turned AI course creator, AI powered his career leap.

    -Intentional events and ecosystems: Simpro’s Simproseum (London in October, Sydney in November) unites customers, partners, and industry experts, highlighting AI, change management, labor challenges, and featuring IDC’s Ali Pinder.

    -Customer‑centric content fuels sustainable growth: Simpro’s marketing thrives on deep customer listening, strategic content creation, and doing fewer things, but doing them better and iterating based on feedback.


    Chapters

    00:00 – Introduction to Future Fuzz & Guest

    01:14 – What is Simpro: platform for trades

    03:12 – AI in Simpro: work notes & email agents

    05:12 – Revenue impact from AI email rollout

    06:00 – AI chat & meeting uplift

    10:03 – AI creating new BDR career paths

    11:12 – Custom GPTs & personal productivity

    12:30 – Simproseum: live event overview

    14:35 – Symposium themes & featured speaker

    16:01 – Building the ecosystem & Marketplace

    17:53 – How to determine event content needs

    20:25 – Intentional sustainable content strategy

    23:16 – Episode wrap-up

    LinkedIn

    ⁠⁠Follow Rachel Truair here

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