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What is marketing, really? If your answer is “social media” or “getting more leads,” this conversation will reset your perspective.

On this episode of the Growth Department podcast, Chelsey sits down with marketing strategist Tamara Ceman to unpack the invisible side of marketing. This is the foundational work that makes campaigns stick and businesses grow. They dive into audience research, positioning, go-to-market strategy, and how to make your first marketing hire with confidence.

If you’ve ever said “I need more leads” without building a marketing foundation, OR if you’re a marketer struggling to explain your value to skeptical leaders, this episode is for you.

Here’s what you’ll hear inside:

• Why most founders misunderstand marketing and how to reframe it
  
  
• The invisible work behind messaging, positioning, and customer research
  
  
• Signs it’s time to hire your first marketing role and what to look for
  
  
• Why tactics by themselves rarely lead to sustainable growth
  
  
• How marketers can rebuild trust with leadership teams
  
  
• Why marketing is a cost of doing business, not an optional extra
  
  

This episode blends tough love with practical advice, giving founders and marketers a clear path to building systems that create growth.

🎧 Tune in if you’re ready to stop throwing spaghetti at the wall and start building real marketing that works.

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Each week, we interview founders, business leaders, and experts in their field about how to grow a business and the personal growth that comes with the journey. #LetsGrow !

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What happens when you buy a mic before you have a plan? 

If you're Logan Lewis, taking a risk, willingness to learn on-the-job, and a heavy dose of perseverance means you end up with 7+ years of podcasting experience, 450 episodes, a brand built on storytelling, and a marketing agency to match.

In this episode of Growth Department, Chelsey sits down with Logan Lewis — founder of Hammerhead Creations marketing agency and host of the podcast Your Morning Drive — to talk about the messy, magical reality of starting before you're ready. They unpack the power of brand storytelling, the truth about entrepreneurial ADHD, and why showing up consistently matters more than having it all figured out.

Whether you're a business owner, marketer, or aspiring podcaster, you'll walk away from this conversation with tactical ideas and a serious dose of motivation to just start.

We cover:

• How Logan turned a Barstool podcast binge into a lifelong passion
  
  
• Why storytelling is the most underrated growth strategy
  
  
• The difference between content and connection
  
  
• Building a brand when you have entrepreneurial ADHD
  
  
• How to pitch yourself as a podcast guest (and get booked)
  
  
• What small businesses get wrong about marketing and how to fix it
  
  

🎙️ This is your sign to stop overthinking and start the damn thing.

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Each week, we interview founders, business leaders, and experts in their field about how to grow a business and the personal growth that comes with the journey. #LetsGrow !

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What if AI isn’t just another tech tool, but the next great utility, as foundational as electricity? That’s the bold prediction made by Dr. Andrew Ng, one of the leading voices in artificial intelligence. 

And in this episode, Daniel Friker breaks down how companies are already proving him right.

Daniel recently hosted a packed AI adoption workshop at Target Field, bringing together leaders from Fortune 100s, regional powerhouses, and scrappy small businesses. What they all had in common? Curiosity about AI and confusion on what to actually do with it.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What Daniel’s pre-event survey revealed about real-world AI usage today
  
  
• How IT, HR, sales, and marketing teams are quietly reshaping workflows
  
  
• Why data security is the top concern (and what to do about it)
  
  
• What small business owners (yes, even plumbers) can do with AI right now
  
  
• Why Shopify’s controversial hiring policy might actually be a masterclass in leadership

& ... How to move from AI dabbling to deployment (with ethical guardrails).

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to AI Adoption in Business
01:57 Survey Insights from the AI Workshop
04:59 AI's Impact on Different Business Sizes
07:42 Understanding AI as a New Way to Work
10:23 Data Security Concerns in AI Implementation
13:08 AI for Small Businesses: Leveling the Playing Field
16:01 Training and Upskilling for AI Adoption
18:52 The Human Element in AI Integration
21:46 The Rapid Evolution of AI and Its Impact
25:28 Upskilling for AI: Tools and Techniques
30:06 Ethics and Policies in AI Implementation
36:33 Building a Framework for AI Integration
40:34 Embracing Change: The Future of Work with AI

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Each week, we interview founders, business leaders, and experts in their field about how to grow a business and the personal growth that comes with the journey. #LetsGrow !

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Henry Woodman’s story reads like a screenplay, which makes this episode feel like it comes full circle, because a screenplay is exactly what he’s working on now. 

In this episode, Henry takes us on a wild ride through his entrepreneurial journey: from smuggling and reselling switchblades at 13, to launching a virtual tour company, to building and selling his startup to a global tech platform used by hotels around the world, and lots of lessons in between.

But this isn’t your typical startup success story. Along the way, Henry battled burnout, bootstrapped through trade show hustle, learned hard lessons in business discipline, and ultimately sold his company right before the pandemic decimated the travel industry. Now? He’s back to his creative roots turning a forgotten family manuscript into a feature film and tv show about reincarnated love.

We talk about:

• Spotting opportunities (even when you’re broke and lost)
  
  
• What founders get wrong about traction, vision, and culture
  
  
• Why "wash, rinse, repeat" is the real secret to growth
  
  
• How to hire when you can’t afford top talent
  
  
• Why timing is luck but staying in the game is everything
  
  
• How Henry’s latest venture blends romance, time travel, and the very real future of AI-powered storytelling
  
  

If you’ve ever wondered what happens after the exit or how to keep reinventing yourself across decades, this one’s for you.

Check out The Reincarnation of Marie

Connect with Henry on LinkedIn

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Each week, we interview founders, business leaders, and experts in their field about how to grow a business and the personal growth that comes with the journey. #LetsGrow !

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Business funding doesn’t have to feel like a mystery or a trap. In this episode of the Growth Department podcast, Chelsey Reynolds sits down with Devin Gambino, founder and CEO of Lendefied, to unpack what founders really need to know about business credit, lending strategy, and long-term financial health.

Devin shares the mistakes he sees early-stage companies make, how to avoid getting stuck in a bad lending cycle, and the simple moves that can unlock better credit products and long-term wealth. From understanding your Experian BIN and building tradelines to tapping into the infinite banking concept, this episode is packed with insights you won’t hear from your average CPA.

You’ll learn:

• What to prioritize in your first three years of business to set yourself up for better funding later
• Why most founders overextend their resources, and how to avoid it
• The difference between using lending to survive and using it to scale
• How to shift from reactive decision-making to proactive financial growth

If you’ve ever wondered whether to use personal cards for business expenses, how to qualify for better credit, or when to bring in a fractional CFO, this episode is your financial cheat code.

Note* we had some technical difficulties in recording this episode, but the lessons were too juicy to scrap it! If you experience poor audio quality, we have added the transcript here or you can visit our youtube for the video version with subtitles.

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Each week, we interview founders, business leaders, and experts in their field about how to grow a business and the personal growth that comes with the journey. #LetsGrow !

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Are your sales incentives actually helping you hit your business goals...or are they quietly working against you?

In this episode, I’m joined by RevOps and incentive plan strategist Bryant Krieger, founder of Optimi5e, to break down how to design compensation plans that actually drive scalable revenue growth.

We talk about what most companies get wrong about comp plans (hint: it starts at the planning table), why aligning incentives to company goals is non-negotiable, and how even small tweaks to your commission structure can make a massive difference in both performance and morale. 

Bryant also shares stories from working with fast-growing companies, including what they consistently get right when it comes to building effective, motivating pay structures for revenue teams.

Whether you're designing your first comp plan, revamping one that’s no longer working, or just want to make sure your team is focused on the right revenue-driving behavior — this episode is for you.

We cover:
✔️ What a scalable incentive plan really looks like
✔️ The biggest mistakes founders and finance leaders make
✔️ How to avoid over-complicating your comp
✔️ The role of RevOps in aligning pay with company strategy
✔️ The psychology of motivation — and how it shows up in comp design
✔️ Real-life examples of comp tweaks that changed performance overnight

If you’ve ever wondered:
– “Why are my reps chasing deals that don’t help us grow?”
– “What’s the right structure for hunters vs. farmers?”
– “How do I balance fairness, clarity, and aggressive targets?”
– “Is now the time to split out account management?”
You’ll find answers inside.

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Each week, we interview founders, business leaders, and experts in their field about how to grow a business and the personal growth that comes with the journey. #LetsGrow !

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Being great at what you do isn’t enough anymore. If you want to stand out, get hired, and grow your business, you have to become known for something. In this episode, digital content futurist and five-time author Lisa Apolinski joins Chelsey to talk about the difference between expertise and true authority — and how to make the leap.

They break down:

• The signs you’re almost an authority (but not quite)
• How to discover and own your area of genius
• Why narrowing your focus actually expands your opportunities
• Simple ways to start building authority (without dancing on TikTok)

Whether you're a founder, consultant, or corporate leader, this conversation will help you claim your space, communicate your value, and step into next-level visibility.

👉 Learn more about Lisa at www.linkedin.com/in/lisaapolinski

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Each week, we interview founders, business leaders, and experts in their field about how to grow a business and the personal growth that comes with the journey. #LetsGrow !

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Think a CPA is just for taxes? Think again. In this episode of the Growth Department podcast, Marcus Rien explains the different ways someone with a certified CPA background can help your business and why every growing company needs a fractional CFO. 

From startup to scaling, to looking to sell your business, Marcus shares how financial oversight at each stage in a company's journey impacts growth, prevents costly mistakes, and even boosts valuation.

What you’ll learn:
 ✔ Why QuickBooks isn’t enough
 ✔ How to know when you need a CFO
 ✔ Fractional vs. full-time vs. big firms
 ✔ Common financial pitfalls to avoid

Whether you’re starting up or scaling big, this conversation will change the way you think about finance.

Stay in the know with all-things Growth Department:

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Each week, we interview founders, business leaders, and experts in their field about how to grow a business and the personal growth that comes with the journey. #LetsGrow !

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Ever crushed a product demo… only to hear crickets afterward? You’re not alone. In this episode, John Kennelly breaks down why founders and sales teams often get ghosted after the demo... and it has nothing to do with your software’s features.

John shares why discovery is the unsung hero of every sales cycle, the questions that uncover real buying intent, and how to build trust before you ever share your screen.

If you’ve been losing deals after what felt like a “perfect demo,” this is your playbook to fix it.

What you’ll learn in this episode:
✔ The most common mistake founders make before the demo
✔ Why asking better questions beats pitching harder
✔ How to create alignment so prospects don’t disappear
✔ The #1 mindset shift to stop ghosting before it starts

🎧 Listen now to start winning deals before you even click “Share Screen.”

Stay in the know with all-things Growth Department:

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Each week, we interview founders, business leaders, and experts in their field about how to grow a business and the personal growth that comes with the journey. #LetsGrow !

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Why do 35% of new products fail, wasting over a trillion dollars every year? 

According to Dave Fradin, former Apple and HP product leader, the answer is simple: most companies skip the fundamentals. In this episode, Dave shares the SPICE Framework, a battle-tested blueprint for product success that works for hardware, software, and services alike.

You’ll learn:
✅ The five keys to product success (and how to apply them today)
✅ How to avoid the costly mistakes most companies make
✅ The one question every founder should ask before building
✅ Lessons from Apple, HP, and 75+ product launches from the man who wrote the book on product success

If you want to stop gambling with your next launch and start building insanely great products, this episode is your roadmap.

🎧 Listen now to discover why Strategy, Process, Information, Customer, and Expertise can make or break your product.

Where to find David:  LinkedIn | Website | Dave's Books

Stay in the know with all-things Growth Department:

Website | LinkedIn | TikTok | YouTube | X

Each week, we interview founders, business leaders, and experts in their field about how to grow a business and the personal growth that comes with the journey. #LetsGrow !