Masters of Service

Kurt interviews Onaisa Landis, VP of Marketing at Octane, who shares her journey from working at Fortune 500 companies to building the marketing function from scratch at Octane. They discuss Octane's lending solutions for the recreational goods market and how they are partnering with small business owners and dealerships to drive growth and provide a seamless customer experience.

Join Kurt as he talks to Jocelyn Sexton, VP of Marketing at Growth Acceleration Partners, about the challenges of brand awareness. Jocelyn explains how her team is working to stand out in a crowded market and showcase the unique qualities of their company. They also discuss the importance of culture in the workplace and how it can impact a company's success.

On this episode of Masters of Service, Kurt interviews Jane Crisan, CEO of Rain the Growth Agency, as they discuss the challenges of marketing in today's economy and the importance of brand awareness and differentiation in a crowded marketplace. Jane shares her journey from a technology background to digital marketing and how she landed at Rain the Growth Agency. They also talk about the job titles of the people they serve and the strategies Rain the Growth Agency employs to reach their audience.

Kurt sits down with Patrick Spencer, VP of Corporate Marketing & Research at Kiteworks. Patrick tells Kurt how they have adapted to new marketing strategies, using influencer marketing programs to expand their audience and engage with companies. Patrick also explains how Kiteworks strategically differentiated their brand by creating content pieces with less steep competition.

Kurt sits down with J.D. Collins, CEO & Executive Director at Michigan Small Business Development Center. J.D. tells Kurt about his passion for entrepreneurship and helping others at the SBDC, where professional business advice evolves into tangible experience. J.D. describes his journey from grasping the use of emerging tech to solving business problems while giving back to his community, serving, and supporting economic and organizational growth.

Kurt sits down with Swati Patel, Managing Director at Clarkston Consulting. Swati tells Kurt what it means to be a part of Clarkston since 2003. Swati describes how the team helps organizations enhance operations by scaling with the right strategy and implementing tech.

Kurt sits with Melissa Davis, founder, and CEO of Elev8 Hire Solutions. Melissa tells Kurt about her journey as an entrepreneur and what it means to serve start-ups on the tech side among today's challenges. Kurt and Melissa discuss how to expand and find growth by gaining exposure.

Kurt sits with Liesse Jayalath, Director of Creative and Content Strategies at Look Left Marketing. Liesse tells Kurt how working on the tech side means developing strategy so clients can tell their stories and craft creative messages with them to show the world what their product is doing in a compelling and engaging way.

Kurt chats with Nish Parikh, Co-Founder and CEO of Rangam, a company dedicated to helping other companies hire people with disabilities. Nish discusses strategies for helping companies change their mindset and leveraging technology to educate employers.

Kurt sits down with Ryan Steelberg, CEO and President of Veritone. Ryan shares his insights about why branding is the cornerstone and how critical it is to be hyper-focused on the customer. For Ryan, increasing partnerships and developing relationships over time is key.