Welcome to Brilliant Commerce where we get real operators behind iconic brands around a table to discuss what actually makes these brands tick. As our host (and Founder/CEO) Bryan Mahoney puts it: "It's not magic. It's hard work." In this first episode, Bryan sits down with JP Beegley (Senior Manager of MarTech at Sonos) and Josh Maynard (Technology Leader at Ruggable) to discuss how they're evolving their tech stacks, managing customer data, and breaking down silos between marketing and technology teams. This conversation digs into how two leading brands are tackling current commerce challenges - from moving away from third-party data dependence to enabling true self-service capabilities for internal teams. Both guests share candid insights from their transitions from agency life to in-house operations, and how they're approaching the increasing complexity of the marketing technology landscape. Topics discussed: Real talk about CDP implementation - why both brands needed "more than a CDP" and how they're using it Practical approaches to breaking down marketing/tech silos and enabling true cross-functional collaboration Moving from "submit a ticket, wait 6 weeks" to actual self-service for marketing teams How to evaluate and embed agency partners effectively when you're resource-constrained Balancing customer data collection with privacy and control Q4 preparation strategies from both a marketing and infrastructure perspective The shift from pure performance marketing to strategies that build long-term brand value Specific examples of reducing implementation time from 6 months to 3 weeks through better tooling and collaboration