Designing Growth

With all hype around generative AI over the past year, sometimes it can feel like you're falling behind if you're not using it in every aspect of your business's day-to-day operations. In this episode, Motion.io Co-Founder Sam Chlebowski explains the ways he's using AI in his work at Motion.io, going into detail about where he thinks tools like ChatGPT really shine (and where they fall flat) to provide practical suggestions for ways agencies can use generative AI.

In episode 47 of Designing Growth, host Sam Chlebowski answers a few of the most common he's seen agency owners ask over the last six months in the various online communities and discussion boards he's a part of.

In a rare solo episode, podcast host Sam Chlebowski shares the behind-the-scenes details about what a week in his life as Co-Founder of Motion.io looks like. Sam explains why Motion.io's full product release last week was so exciting, the things he did to support the release, and the top lessons he's learned after one full year of working full-time on Motion.io.

Sam speaks with Creative Agency Founder and former classmate at the University of Colorado, Jake Hurwitz. Jake shares the story of how he came to start Thursday Labs, a Creative Agency specializing in the startup space, and together, Sam & Jake dig into 3 lessons that freelancers and creative agencies can learn from startups when it comes to growth. 

In episode 1 of Designing Growth's "Go Build It!" miniseries, Sam speaks to photographer, business owner, and friend Sean Greene. Sean explains his recent decision to jump into running his business full-time and Sam shares his tips for systems & processes Sean can implement to avoid cycles of boom & bust and consistently bring in new clients.

Sam speaks with the Founder & CEO of 8-Figure Agency, Jordan Ross. Jordan shares the story of how he intentionally took a role at Amazon to gain the experience necessary for achieving his ultimate goal: running a multi-million dollar business of his own. In addition to Jordan telling the story of how went on to start 8 Figure Agency, Jordan and Sam discuss common roadblocks that prevent agencies from scaling, tips for improving your agency's onboarding process, and how to lead high-performing teams even when it's no longer possible for every new hire you to be an "A" player.

Sam talks with the Founder & CEO of TDG Visual Solutions, XayLi Barclay. In the episode, XayLi explains why you don't need a huge audience to build a successful business by sharing the story of how her small but dedicated community on YouTube enabled her to pivot her fashion business to a visual content creation consulting agency that she has since scaled to five full-time employees.

Later in the episode, XayLi shares her experience immigrating from Trinidad to the United States at 18 and explains why she thinks all entrepreneurs need therapy.

Sam chats with Silicon Valley veteran and CEO of ConnectAndSell, Chris Beall. During the episode, Chris shares his stories of bumping elbows with some of tech's most famous entrepreneurs and explains why it's so important for founders to surround themselves with people who not only have their backs in tough times; but who also make the day-to-day work of building a business fun.

Sam talks with Entrepreneur & Web Designer Tristan Parker. Tristan tells the story of how after being let go from 2 different roles as an in-house designer, he decided to launch a web design agency that he has since grown to well over 6-figures in annual revenue. Tristan shares advice for anyone considering taking the leap from Freelancer to Web Design Agency Owner and explains why growing a Web Design Agency to 7- or 8-figures might not be all it's cracked up to be.

Sam talks with Business Process Consultant, Entrepreneur, and Agency Founder Marquis Murray. Marquis shares the story of his business getting acquired in 2020 and provides tips for how Agency owners can go about developing the systems and processes necessary for a sustainable and scalable business.