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There are always tough times as you build and grow a startup.So how do you keep a team going when times are tough? ‘Culture is the glue’ my next guest says.To hear the story behind that lesson, al…

There are always tou…

There are always tough times as you build and grow a startup.So how do you keep a team going when times are tough? ‘Culture is the glue’ my next guest says.To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Dawn van Hoegaerden, CMO, DefectDojo [https://defectdojo.com/].She is building out the marketing department at DefectDojo, has three vendors, and recently made her first hire. DefectDojo recently announced a $7 million funding round. It has been downloaded 38 million times.Lessons from the things she madeAdaptability creates opportunities‘Sof…

Want to move up in your organization? Here’s the best advice I’ve gotten in my career – ‘train others to replace you.’Hey, it’s a bit scary. If others can replace you, it’s easy to fire …

Want to move up in y…

Want to move up in your organization? Here’s the best advice I’ve gotten in my career – ‘train others to replace you.’Hey, it’s a bit scary. If others can replace you, it’s easy to fire you, right? However, if you’re truly providing value, once others can do your current tasks, it also makes it possible for you to move up to the next level in your organization.Now here’s another version of that same Wisdom – ‘automate your job.’That’s a lesson from my most recent guest. To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Prate…

I realize everyone who listens to How I Made It In Marketing is not a marketer, per se.Entrepreneurs also listen. Not native to our industry, so to speak, but you still need to know it well enough to …

I realize everyone w…

I realize everyone who listens to How I Made It In Marketing is not a marketer, per se.Entrepreneurs also listen. Not native to our industry, so to speak, but you still need to know it well enough to get customers…so you can run your business and do whatever it is that you really are passionate about.Well take heart in a lesson from my next guest – everything is learnable. Even marketing. Even photo shoots.To hear the story behind that lesson, along with more lesson-filled stories, I sat down with Connor Swegle, CMO and Co-Founder, Priority Bicycles [https://www.prioritybicycles.com/]. Pr…

Perception changes everything.Think about many of the chores your customers endure in their lives. Or you do personally. The perception of a chore is not positive, right?Take shaving – dragging a sh…

Perception changes e…

Perception changes everything.Think about many of the chores your customers endure in their lives. Or you do personally. The perception of a chore is not positive, right?Take shaving – dragging a sharp metal object across your face every morning to meet societal norms…sometimes even drawing blood. Ouch. Literally.So how do you turn something like that into a luxury experience? According to my latest guest, that is ‘the power of storytelling in branding.’To hear the story behind that lesson, along with more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Eric Malka, CEO and Founder, Strategic Brand …

Would you ever launch a campaign celebrating your brand as second best? That’s exactly what Sandy Rubinstein did at Nick at Nite.I sat down with Sandy Rubinstein, CEO, DX [https://dxagency.com/], to…

Would you ever launc…

Would you ever launch a campaign celebrating your brand as second best? That’s exactly what Sandy Rubinstein did at Nick at Nite.I sat down with Sandy Rubinstein, CEO, DX [https://dxagency.com/], to discuss that story, and many more lesson-filled stories, in this episode of How I Made It In Marketing.DX is a 20-year-old company with $20 million in revenue. Rubinstein manages a team of 70 across five cities in three countries.Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketingSeek serendipityLose the brand ego and lean into humility Bet on yourself Seek out every voice in the roomBe the…

Sometimes we overlook the ends, because we’re so focused on the means.Today in marketing, that means can be algorithms and machine-built lookalike audiences and automations.But as our latest guest e…

Sometimes we overloo…

Sometimes we overlook the ends, because we’re so focused on the means.Today in marketing, that means can be algorithms and machine-built lookalike audiences and automations.But as our latest guest explained in her podcast guest application, all that Technology doesn’t matter if you don’t focus on the right ends: “It's all about the story – and it needs to include empathy.”To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I sat down with Carmen Collins, director of social media, Generac [https://www.generac.com/].Generac is a publicly traded comp…

How do you stand out in a sea of competitors when margins are thin and trends shift overnight? For Jaci Volles, the answer is: serve your customer’s customer – and innovate when the budget is tigh…

How do you stand out…

How do you stand out in a sea of competitors when margins are thin and trends shift overnight? For Jaci Volles, the answer is: serve your customer’s customer – and innovate when the budget is tight.Jaci Volles, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at Jelmar shared the lessons and stories from her career journey in this episode of How I Made It In Marketing.Jelmar is a 50-year-old, third-generation family-owned business that is best known for its CLR and Tarn-X cleaning product brands. Volles leads the sales, marketing, strategy, and product development teams, a total group of 100 internal …

What if collaborating with a competitor could significantly boost your revenue? That’s exactly what Sagnik Roy, SVP at Times Internet [https://timesinternet.in/], did. In this episode, he shares how…

What if collaboratin…

What if collaborating with a competitor could significantly boost your revenue? That’s exactly what Sagnik Roy, SVP at Times Internet [https://timesinternet.in/], did. In this episode, he shares how listening before selling and prioritizing soft skills reshaped his career.Times Internet has 571 million monthly users and a US audience of five million. It is owned by the Times Group, publisher of The Economic Times and The Times of India, the largest English-language newspaper by circulation. The Times Group is a private company and claims revenue exceeding a billion dollars a year.Roy manages…

To me, every customer touchpoint is a thing of value.And yet, some brands will pour millions of dollars into a Super Bowl ad while at the same time cutting customer service to the bone.Yet, both ads a…

To me, every custome…

To me, every customer touchpoint is a thing of value.And yet, some brands will pour millions of dollars into a Super Bowl ad while at the same time cutting customer service to the bone.Yet, both ads and customer service are valuable customer touchpoints.So I saw a kindred spirit when I read this lesson in a recent podcast guest application that came across my desk – “Brands are built by how you show up every day.”To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Thea Hayden, Interim CMO at Cognizant [https://www.cognizant.com/us/en].Cognizant r…

Your first day at a new job. Sounds exciting, right?Now imagine it's at a major bank in crisis, fresh off a £40 billion taxpayer bailout. Oh, and you're in charge of sports sponsorships –…

Your first day at a …

Your first day at a new job. Sounds exciting, right?Now imagine it's at a major bank in crisis, fresh off a £40 billion taxpayer bailout. Oh, and you're in charge of sports sponsorships – an easy target for public outrage.That’s exactly where Louise Johnson found herself. What did she learn from that experience? 'You must be a master of yourself during uncertain times.'To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories from throughout her career, I talked to Louise Johnson, Global CEO, Fuse [https://fuseint.com/].Fuse is part of Omnicom, w…

In marketing, it’s easy to become a manager and lose touch with the craft. Val Riley, VP of Marketing & Strategy at Unbounce [https://unbounce.com/], has embraced the ‘Player-Coach’ mindset,…

In marketing, it’s…

In marketing, it’s easy to become a manager and lose touch with the craft. Val Riley, VP of Marketing & Strategy at Unbounce [https://unbounce.com/], has embraced the ‘Player-Coach’ mindset, blending leadership with hands-on execution to stay relevant and drive results.I sat down with her to discuss how she learned that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories from her career.Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketingTake risks to propel your careerStay a ‘Player-Coach’ as long as you canM & A = OpportunityMarketing is like a soccer teamReflect on the d…

There’s a great Chris Rock bit where he says educational leaders lie to kids when they say kids can be anything they want. He says to – tell kids the truth, “You could be anything you’re good …

There’s a great Ch…

There’s a great Chris Rock bit where he says educational leaders lie to kids when they say kids can be anything they want. He says to – tell kids the truth, “You could be anything you’re good at. As long as they’re hiring. And even then, it helps to know somebody.”The good-at part, hopefully we help you with that everyday on MarketingSherpa.But the “it helps to know somebody,” that ties into one of the key lessons my next guest has learned in his career, and he uses the famous Porter Gale statement to explain it “Your network is your net worth.”To hear the story behind that…