Agentic Shift

We talked to Steve Weiss, founder of MuteSix, a performance marketing agency that is now part of iProspect and Dentsu. Steve tells us how he was borderline homeless when he started learning Facebook ads to promote his standup comedy with jeans in LA, why he invented a holiday called National Dry Cleaning Day for one of his clients, how a vacation convinced him to make his first hire, and how sneaking into a Facebook party in Las Vegas eventually led to his company's acquisition. 

Links

Steve Weiss LinkedIn

MuteSix Website

Daniel Rutberg LinkedIn

Jesse Pujji is  Co-founder of Ampush, and Jon Oberlander is CEO of Ampush. Jesse and Jon tell us how they scaled their agency to $25 million in revenue in five years, why Jesse decided to step down as CEO, and how he chose Jon to replace him, how they utilized their 427-person-strong alumni network, why discovering your zone of genius is so important, and why they like their team to always be on a light, uncomfortable learning curve.

Links

Jessi Pujji LinkedIn

Jon Oberlander LinkedIn

Ampush Media Website

Tim Ringel is Founder and CEO of Meet the People, a 500+ person agency group that started in late 2021. Tim tells us why working at a boring job at a German bank inspired him to become a startup founder, why he believes in-housing comes in waves, why he gives all of his employees equity, why he believes agency should go after the next 500 companies after the Fortune 500, how to build a great culture in large organizations, and why he believes agencies will never die.

Tim Ringel LinkedIn

Meet the People Website

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, a book by Seth Godin

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, a book by Marshall Goldsmith

We talk to Tim Ash, founder of TimAsh.com. Tim tells us about the pros and cons of being 10 years ahead of key marketing trends, why working with clients sometimes feels like marrying an insane person, why one of his clients turned down a clear $17 million optimization opportunity, what his time as a child in the Soviet Union taught him about account management, and why he believes ageism is a problem in online marketing.

Janel Laravie is Founder of Chacka Marketing, a performance marketing agency based in Tampa, Florida. Janel tells us about some of her unusual, but effective hiring questions, why she thinks Zoom calls are beautiful, how the ugly side of business prompted her to start her agency, how her agency work directly led to 50 new jobs in a small Ohio town, and what exactly Chacka means. Sadly, it’s not a reference to the ‘70s TV show Land Of The Lost.

Links

Janel Laravie LinkedIn

Chacka Marketing Website

Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business, a book by Gino Wickman

Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business, a book by Gino Wickman and Mack C. Winters

Alex Porter is CEO of Location3, an 80-person Denver-based agency that helps franchises with their online marketing. Alex tells us how he went from snowboarding bum to CEO, how he overcame digital advertising skepticism in the franchise space, why he wants to make sure his clients’ kids can go to summer camp, why he applies his company's core values to clients, what a TSS budget is and why it's so important, and why he takes tart cherry supplements

Alex Porter LinkedIn

Location3 Website

Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business, a book by Gino Wickman

Simple Habits for Complex Times, a book by Jennifer Garvey Berger and Keith Johnston

Organizational Physics, a book by Lex Sisney

What Got You Here Won't Get You There, a book by Marshall Goldsmith

Joe Lakin is a partner with Victory Enterprises. Victory does online marketing for political campaigns and social causes and is based in Davenport, Iowa. Joe tells us why he calls his clients guaranteed to go broke startups, the similarity between a startup’s founder story, and that of a politician, how his agency helped defeat Steve king, the controversial longstanding Iowa Congressman, and why he values being Midwestern nice. I also share a story about a guy who told me back in college not to act like Bill Clinton who was eventually pardoned by President Trump last year. Enjoy the show. 

Links

Joe Lakin LinkedIn

Victory Enterprises Website

David Canington is co-founder of Ardent Creative, a web design and creative agency based in Fort Worth, Texas. David tells us how past jobs as a car salesman and Christian rock musician influenced his career, why he believes process is more important than the product, why he hires for fit over talent, why he calls back inbound leads within five minutes, and why a prospective employee showed up for an interview in an apron and sent the office fresh cookies.

Links

David Canington LinkedIn

Ardent Creative Website

The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding—book by Al Ries and Laura Ries

Isaac Rudansky is founder of Adventure Media Group, a 40 person performance agency based in New York City and Philadelphia. Isaac tells us how his challenges selling his impressionist art led him to discover online marketing, why he covered his ceiling with tinfoil in the name of marketing education, what he means by idiotic optimism, the difference between giving everyone a voice and valuing experience, how content marketing has fueled his growth, and how he responded when a client called him at 11pm and lobbed personal attacks against him.  

Lance Loveday is the founder of Closed Loop, a performance marketing agency based in Sacramento, CA. Lance tells us why he decided to build his own technology, what it means to have an anti-fragile organization, why he believes in the power of no, how assuming the best in people reduces his stress, and how he evaluates candidates based on the GWC methodology from the Entrepreneur’s Operating System.

Lance Loveday LinkedIn

Closed Loop Website

Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business, book by Gino Wickman

Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business, book by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters

Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!: 4 Keys to Unlock Your Business Potential, a book by Greg Crabtree