What makes a marketing partner more than just another agency? Amanda Wallman, founder of Alpine Edge Marketing, joins Alex Stonehouse to share her journey from alpine ski racing to running a founder-led consultancy helping startups and small businesses grow.
We talk about:
Why being founder-led creates deeper trust and stronger partnerships.
How lessons from ski racing apply to marketing, growth, and testing strategies.
The importance of clarity, consistency, and momentum in building brands.
Why marketing is a business solution, not just campaigns.
And how to bring back the fun, creativity, and energy that unlock better results.
Whether you’re a founder, a marketer, or somewhere in between, Amanda’s insights on building authentic, human-centered marketing strategies will leave you inspired.
In this episode of Brilliantly Wrong, Alex Stonehouse sits down with Sarah Schaffer, Founder & CEO of Bond Studios, to explore The Three Cs of Modern Marketing: Content, Communications, and Creative.
Sarah brings a journalist’s eye for truth and storytelling into the marketing world, building brands rooted in trust, clarity, and authenticity.
We talk about how journalistic ethics translate into communications strategy, why listening is the most underrated agency superpower, how to avoid the “hot take express” on LinkedIn, and why the future of marketing depends on both market savvy and storytelling substance.
Whether you’re a founder, marketer, or comms leader, Sarah’s perspective will sharpen the way you think about brand, trust, and how to connect with your audience in meaningful ways.
In this episode of Brilliantly Wrong, Alex Stonehouse sits down with Peyton Tackes, Director of Marketing and Communications at Ross • Scalise, to explore her journey through agency life, entrepreneurship, and in-house legal marketing.
Peyton shares how she balances data-driven marketing with authentic storytelling, why educating clients can be the most powerful form of marketing, and what it’s like to build a personal brand while being a military spouse who moves every two years.
We cover everything from navigating attorney buy-in and using data to drive change, to the importance of resilience shaped by athletics, and Peyton’s insights into the evolving role of marketing leaders.
Enjoy!
In this episode of Brilliantly Wrong, I sit down with Alyssa Olerud, Founder and CEO of Fearlyss Media, to talk about how service-based entrepreneurs and leaders can build powerful personal brands without overcomplicating social media.
Alyssa shares how she left her corporate career to start her own business, why she believes in “feeling the fear and doing it anyway,” and how she created her signature F.L.O.W. Framework (Foundation, Lifestyle, Offer, Wisdom) to help clients find their voice, tell their story, and attract business through authentic content.
Along with host, Alex Stonehouse, they discuss:
Hope you enjoy! Don't forget to subscribe, share, and give us a 5-star rating if you enjoy this episode with Alyssa.
What does it take to build a career around storytelling in B2B SaaS while still keeping your own creative spark alive? In this episode, I sit down with Kerri Linsenbigler — writer, editor, marketer, and self-described content chameleon.
We talk about:
If you’ve ever wrestled with finding your voice as a marketer, or wondered how to create content that’s clear, human, and memorable, Kerri offers great advice that you can act on immediately.
What if loyalty programs weren’t about points, but about people?
In this episode of Brilliantly Wrong, Alex Stonehouse sits down with Regan Jayne Plekenpol, Co-Founder of rediem, to explore how brands can transform customers into active communities that have a positive impact on the world, and why co-creation is the next frontier in brand loyalty.
They dive into Regan’s transition from public policy to tech entrepreneurship, the moment she and her co-founder, Sarah Ganzenmuller, realized they could replace loyalty programs altogether, and why behavior change is more powerful than any discount code.
If you’ve ever felt uninspired by the way brands "reward" loyalty, this conversation will change your perspective.
Topics Covered:
In this episode, I sit down with Renee Lopez-Cantera, SVP of Sales at EKN Solutions, a performance media agency specializing in multicultural audiences and programmatic strategy.
We dive into what most marketers get wrong about multicultural marketing, and how to get it right. From targeting with nuance to building campaigns that reflect the complexity of real audiences, Renee shares insights on what’s working today, what’s changing fast, and why performance marketers need to pay more attention to audience identity, geography, and cultural context.
We talk about:
– Why multicultural isn’t just a “special project”
– How media buying is evolving with AI
– Why agencies are getting more niche
– The power of curated publishers
– Why Miami is a growing business hub
If you're trying to reach 100% of your market, not just 75%, listen up!
In this episode of Brilliantly Wrong, Alex Stonehouse sits down with Kathleen Lucente, CEO of Red Fan Communications, to talk about why brand narrative is the most overlooked growth lever in B2B tech.
Kathleen shares how companies can turn what feels like a marketing “sinkhole” into a revenue engine by crafting a compelling story that breaks through silos, builds trust, and drives real business outcomes.
We explore:
Why most startups misunderstand PR and how to fix it
The difference between experts and true thought leaders
The role of narrative in M&A, IPOs, and fundraising
Why memory-bait beats clickbait in the AI era
How internal comms can make or break growth
If your startup is scaling and you think “we’ll get to brand later,” think again.
In this episode of Brilliantly Wrong, Alex Stonehouse sits down with SEO expert Kristan Bauer—former SEO leader at Zillow and Amazon Web Services, agency founder, and coach to freelancers and agency owners.
We dive into:
How she went from entry-level SEO to building (and selling) her boutique agency, Conifr.
What it’s really like running SEO at enterprise scale (160M+ visits/month at Zillow).
Why the rise of AI search, AEO, and GEO is the biggest shift in 15 years, and how to adapt.
Why traffic is becoming a vanity metric and what brands should really measure.
How to build a resilient brand that survives search algorithm turbulence.
If you’re a founder, marketer, or consultant trying to navigate the new SEO landscape, this episode is packed with insights you can use right away.
Too many startups treat brand as an afterthought. Leads first, brand later. But according to Ashley Johnston, founder of Moonshot Marketer, that mindset is exactly why so many startups plateau.
In this episode, Ashley shares why brand isn’t just a “nice-to-have," it’s the foundation that makes everything else in marketing and sales work better. We talk about:
Why brand has to come before leads and performance marketing.
The difference between brand-driven growth and “throw spaghetti at the wall” tactics.
Ashley’s Brand SPACE Framework (Survey, Pinpoint, Articulate, Connect, Evaluate).
How trust, consistency, and perception shape the entire customer journey.
Real-world brand campaigns that cut through the noise.
This conversation will shift how you think about brand as the growth engine of your startup.
When Natalie Marcotullio joined Navattic, most people had never even heard of an “interactive demo.” The category was new, the brand was unknown, and there was no giant marketing budget to buy attention.
Instead of chasing competitors with splashy spend, Natalie focused on building trust with marketers, with prospects, and with the market itself.
In this episode, we unpack how she:
Grew a category from scratch with consistent, useful content.
Became the human face of the Navattic brand.
Launched a freemium plan without killing pipeline.
Uses her “unique + valuable” filter to decide what marketing is worth doing.
Creates content marketers can use to win internal battles with their CEOs.
Whether you’re building in a new category or trying to make your brand memorable without deep pockets, Natalie’s advice will change how you think about growth.
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Brilliantly Wrong helps early-stage startups clarify their brand, positioning, and go-to-market strategy to get traction, accelerate growth, and raise capital without unnecessary complexity. We are challenging the safe, incremental, play-it-by-the-book mindset in marketing and startups.
To be "brilliantly wrong" is to take a bold, unconventional shot, not because it’s safe or certain, but because it’s original, intuitive, and driven by conviction.
What’s the difference between product marketing and commercialization? According to Nicole R. Ferrera, Owner and Chief Commercialization Officer of NRF Media, it’s the difference between launching a product and building a business.
In this episode, Nicole shares her journey from running departments and major accounts at Paramount and OMD to launching her own consultancy, where she helps companies bridge the gap between product and revenue.
We talk about burnout, the rise of fractional leadership, bloated MarTech stacks, and why attribution-obsessed marketing is killing creativity.
Nicole doesn’t mince words, so listen up if you’re a founder, CMO, or product marketer wondering how to make your marketing efforts actually drive growth.
"Just because you're not a trillion-dollar company doesn't mean you don't have a great story to tell."
After more than a decade in the PR trenches at Microsoft, Facebook, and Google, Pete Voss walked away from Big Tech to start his own PR firm and hasn’t looked back.
In this episode of Brilliantly Wrong, Pete shares why he left the corporate world to help startups in AI and cybersecurity tell their stories, how he landed his first clients, and what founders consistently misunderstand about PR. We explore the difference between earned media and advertising, why a press release isn’t a strategy, and how Pete built a thriving solo business in one of the fastest-moving spaces in tech.
Give this one a listen to learn what it takes to go freelance, or how to actually get your company noticed by journalists.
Writing the Stories Only You Can Tell with Camille Tuutti
In this episode of Brilliantly Wrong, journalist-turned-ghostwriter, Camille Tuutti, joins Alex Stonehouse for a wide-ranging conversation on writing with purpose, honoring your unique voice, and navigating between personal expression and commercial storytelling.
Camille shares how she knew she wanted to be a writer from the age of five, how growing up as a Finnish girl in Sweden shaped her creative worldview, and why she’s now helping tech leaders tell better stories—often from the shadows.
We also dig into:
Why exceptional writing sometimes isn’t what companies want (and what to do about it)
The difference between writing with soul and writing for SEO
How Camille approaches ghostwriting for founders, executives, and brands
The rise of AI slop and what it means for quality content
Her upcoming novel that blends Southern Gothic with Nordic Noir
Whether you’re a founder, marketer, writer, or just someone trying to share more honestly, give this one a listen.
You can learn more about Camille at: https://tuuttifrutti.com/
In a world where AI can churn out one hundred blog posts before lunch, content alone is no longer a competitive advantage. What you say, and what you stand for, matters more than ever.
Lindsay King, Head of Integrated Marketing and Brand Strategy at Sifflet, shares insights from 14 years in marketing, spanning early-stage startups to IPOs, Uber to AI-first SaaS. In this conversation, we unpack how brand is making a comeback, why messaging with conviction beats content volume, and how taste is the new moat.
We cover:
Why the pendulum is swinging back toward brand, away from performance marketing
The underrated power of a strong editorial and brand point of view
How AI is accelerating the need for human authenticity
Brand as a “revenue shield," and why founders can’t ignore it
The rise of marketers as the founders of the future
If you’re a founder, startup marketer, or creative leader trying to navigate the noisy, AI-saturated world we’re in, this episode is for you.
Agentic AI and the End of Busywork
In this episode of Brilliantly Wrong, I sit down with Aubriana Alvarez Lopez, Co-Founder and COO of Agnitio, to talk about what it really means to build with agentic AI, and why it might just be the operating system the media and marketing world has been missing.
We get into the weeds on startup life, moving fast without breaking everything, and how Agnitio’s platform is transforming media operations that used to take weeks into workflows that take just minutes.
Key Takeaways:
Why agentic AI is different from the AI tools you're used to
The biggest time-wasting tasks in ad ops (and how to automate them)
Fundraising and building with clarity in the early-stage chaos
What explainable and responsible AI actually looks like in practice
Why “fail fast” is more than a motto—it’s a survival tactic
The mindset shift required to lead in an AI-powered future
Aubriana brings insight, honesty, and vision to a conversation that cuts through the hype. Whether you're a founder, marketer, or just trying to keep up with the pace of innovation, this episode will challenge how you think about AI, and about your own time.
What if your industry’s most “inclusive” networking events were actually leaving people out?
In this episode, I’m joined by The Kay Prince — Director of Growth Marketing at Extreme Reach (XR) and founder of Buzz-Free Network (BFN) — the first sober community for the ad tech industry.
We talk about:
Why so much of ad world culture revolves around alcohol
The rise of the “sober-curious” Gen Z executive
How to build inclusive events without killing the vibe
The future of professional communities built around values, not vodka
Kay shares her personal story, how BFN is gaining traction at major conferences, and why the time for change is now.
If you’ve ever felt out of place at a happy hour, or want to build more inclusive communities in your industry, this one’s for you.
Toni Collis is on a mission to change the tech industry by building better leaders. As the host of Leading Women in Tech and an executive coach for women in the C-suite, Toni shares what she's learned from working with hundreds of brilliant, ambitious leaders who are often the only woman in the room.
In this conversation, we unpack the hidden costs of people-pleasing and the power of authentic leadership. If you've ever struggled to balance assertiveness with likability, or felt like leadership requires a tradeoff with your personal life, this episode is for you.
Key Takeaways:
– Why people-pleasing leads to burnout, underperformance, and lost respect
– The real reason women are still underrepresented in tech leadership
– How to set boundaries without sacrificing career growth
– Why good confrontation builds better teams and better technology
– The difference between mentorship and coaching—and why it matters
– What executives can learn from transparency
– How to stop waiting to be noticed and start leading on your own terms
Whether you're climbing the ladder or building one for others, Toni’s insights will help you lead more powerfully, sustainably, and authentically.
What do most startup partnerships get wrong? Tim Condon, Chief Revenue Officer at Clutch, joins the show to break down what actually drives partnership success, and why the best deals are built by putting the other party first.
Drawing on lessons from his time at The Washington Post and now leading the revenue and client functions at Clutch, Tim shares a no-BS look at how partnerships scale, where they stall, and what it means to create something truly valuable in B2B.
In this episode, we cover:
Why most partnerships fail, and how to avoid common traps
The surprising difference between big-name partners and scrappy ones
How Clutch is helping B2B influencers build monetized directories
The power of clear structure, defined roles, and aligned incentives
Why Google isn’t the only growth channel that matters anymore
How to think like an entrepreneur inside your organization
Whether you're in growth, sales, marketing, or partnerships, this one’s packed with hard-earned wisdom and fresh ideas.
What happens when you embed a creative agency inside a private equity firm? Brian Wakabayashi, Head of Brand at CōLab, joins Alexander to explore this unique model and share hard-won insights about startup marketing. CōLab creative studio reimagined for startups and built inside WestCap, a private equity investor.
In this episode:
Startup Marketing Reality Check: From seed stage to near-IPO, Brian shares what actually works at different company stages, why founders don't understand brand strategy, and how to train boards to measure more than just short-term metrics.
The Dating Analogy: Brian's memorable framework for balancing brand and performance: "Performance is going out and asking for a date. Brand is working on yourself to become someone worthy of a relationship." Both matter, but the balance is everything.
Beyond CAC and LTV: Why relying solely on Meta and Google for customer acquisition makes you "essentially a subsidiary" of those platforms. Brian explains the hidden costs of performance-only marketing and how rising ad rates are crushing profit margins.
The CōLab Experiment: How WestCap built an internal creative studio to actually do the work for portfolio companies, not just give advice. Brian breaks down why most PE/VC "operating platforms" fall short and how their embedded model creates real value for startups.
Key takeaways:
Why diversifying beyond Meta/Google isn't just smart—it's survival
How to sell long-term brand investments to numbers-focused boards
The three-tier framework: business strategy → marketing strategy → brand strategy
Why startup marketing leaders need to think like consultants, not just tacticians
How to build for your company's next growth stage, not just where you are today
About Brian:
Brian Wakabayashi is Head of Brand at CōLab, WestCap's internal creative studio. Before joining the private equity world, he spent over a decade at major agencies including McCann and BBDO, working on brands like Xbox, LinkedIn, Taco Bell, and Mars Petcare. He's passionate about helping startups build lasting marketing strategies and memorable brands.
About Brilliantly Wrong:
Brilliantly Wrong is part of The StartUp Marketer podcast network for marketers, founders, creatives, and anyone willing to embrace risk for extraordinary outcomes. Alex Stonehouse and his guests regularly dive deep into the art and science of marketing, startup growth, creativity, and mastery from a perspective that challenges the conventional.
Visit https://thestartupmarketer.com to learn more and be part of the community.
