Dave here. Interrupting the regular podcast feed for a 3 minute story and rant about why I love the job of marketing and what it might mean in a world where AI is advancing so rapidly and changing the role of marketing. Send guest pitches and ideas to [email protected] Join the Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Check out the Exit Five job board: https://jobs.exitfive.com/ Become an Exit Five member: https://community.exitfive.com/checkout/exit-five-membership *** Today...
Jun 24, 2025•6 min•Ep. 258
#257 AI Strategy | Dave is joined by Kieran Flanagan , SVP of Marketing at HubSpot and former CMO at Zapier. Kieran is a rare blend of technical operator, creative strategist, and team builder. He’s spent his career pushing the edges of B2B marketing, most recently through his work leading AI transformation initiatives at scale. Dave and Kieran cover: How AI is reshaping B2B marketing workflows, content creation, and team structure Why the best marketers will specialize at the “outer edges” of c...
Jun 23, 2025•57 min•Ep. 257
#256 Email Deliverability | In this episode, Dan is joined by Sarah McNamara , Revenue Operations & GTM Strategy Lead at Vector, and Alex Fine , co-founder of Understory, an agency helping B2B SaaS companies scale with outbound, paid, and email. Both Sarah and Alex are experts in email strategy, specifically the behind-the-scenes mechanics that make or break your deliverability. They break down what B2B marketers often overlook when it comes to getting emails opened, read, and replied to, an...
Jun 19, 2025•56 min•Ep. 256
#255 Leadership | In this episode, Dave is joined by Kelly Hopping , CMO of Demandbase, a B2B company known for pioneering account-based marketing. Kelly leads a 70+ person marketing org that spans brand, demand gen, product marketing, events, and SDRs, and she shares exactly how she structures and operates that team to drive results. Dave and Kelly cover: How to design and run a full-funnel marketing team that includes SDRs, content, field, and brand, and keep them aligned on pipeline The annua...
Jun 16, 2025•51 min•Ep. 255
#254 Brand | In this episode, Dave sits down with Kira Federer , VP of SMB Marketing at Paramount Advertising, and formerly at companies like Reddit and Glassdoor. Kira shares her journey from sales to product marketing and the lessons she’s learned along the way. Dave and Kira discuss: How to align marketing and sales through co-creation to ensure your sales team uses the content you create The value of a strong messaging framework and how it drives consistency in B2B marketing Why you need to ...
Jun 12, 2025•44 min•Ep. 254
#253 Lifecycle Marketing | In this episode, we’re joined by two expert lifecycle marketers: Charlotte Hardin , Lifecycle Marketing Manager at Rebuy Engine, and Naomi West , Senior Product Manager at Customer.io . Charlotte and Naomi bring years of hands-on experience running email, onboarding, and retention programs inside B2B SaaS companies. They break down how B2B teams can use lifecycle marketing to drive more revenue, boost product engagement, and strengthen customer relationships, without n...
Jun 09, 2025•54 min•Ep. 253
#252 Category Creation | Dave is joined by Josh Lowman , Founder and Creative Director of Gold Front, a category design studio that’s worked with brands like Uber, Notion, and Qualtrics. Josh is a leading voice in strategic brand positioning and category creation. He’s spent over a decade helping high-growth B2B companies define what makes them irreplaceable in crowded markets. Dave and Josh cover: Why most category creation efforts fail (and what to do instead) The four real paths to category l...
Jun 05, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 252
#251 Website Optimization | In this episode, Danielle is joined by Guy Yalif , Chief Evangelist at Webflow; Talia Wolf , Founder and CEO of Getuplift; and Scott Cappuzzo , Web Strategist at Webflow. Together, they dig into what actually makes a B2B website convert and why most homepages are missing the mark. This panel brings deep experience in conversion rate optimization, UX strategy, and messaging clarity, sharing practical tips and live feedback from real B2B websites submitted by Exit Five ...
Jun 02, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 251
#250 Customer Insights | Matt sits down with Shoshana Kordova , a 3x founding product marketer and former journalist who now helps B2B tech startups craft customer-infused messaging through her consultancy, Peel Product Marketing. Shoshana recently launched a customer insights playbook for the PMM Jetpack, equipping marketers with tools and templates to run more effective customer interviews. Matt and Shoshana cover: Why a customer insights program is more than “just talking to customers” and ho...
May 29, 2025•54 min•Ep. 250
#249 Cold Email | In this episode, Danielle is joined by four experts in B2B outbound: Zoe Hartsfield (Apollo), Will Allred , (Lavender), Maximus Greenwald (Warmly), and Alex Fine (Understory). Together, they dive into the good, bad, and “please don’t ever send this” of cold email strategy. Each guest brings firsthand insight from scaling outbound at fast-growing B2B companies and helping clients do the same. Danielle and the crew cover: The biggest reasons cold emails flop and what great ones d...
May 26, 2025•50 min•Ep. 249
#248 Marketing Strategy | Dave sits down with Jaleh Rezaei , founder and CEO of Mutiny , the personalization platform for B2B websites. Jaleh brings a unique blend of founder perspective and deep marketing expertise from her time building go-to-market teams at VMware, Gusto, and now Mutiny. She’s on a mission to help marketers ditch the spammy, scaled playbooks of the past and refocus on what really drives pipeline today: buyer experience. Dave and Jaleh cover: Why the current use of AI is makin...
May 22, 2025•38 min•Ep. 248
#247 Lead Nurturing | In this episode, Danielle is joined by Samar Owais , founder of Emails Done Right; Sheri Otto , CEO of Growth Lane Strategies; and Sofia Silva , Marketing Manager at Reachdesk. These three email experts came together for a live roast of real B2B lead nurture emails, submitted by marketers from the Exit Five community. You’ll hear the good, the bad, and the fixable, with practical insights on how to improve your own nurture sequences. Danielle, Samar, Sheri, and Sofia cover:...
May 19, 2025•59 min•Ep. 247
#246 Sales Alignment | Danielle welcomes Talya Heller , founder of Down to a T , a B2B consultancy helping marketers turn competitive positioning into high-impact sales assets. With experience in engineering, product management, and product marketing, Talya knows how to bridge the gap between what marketing builds and what sales actually uses. Together they unpack: Why most sales decks and battle cards go unused and what to build instead How to enable your champion to sell internally with confid...
May 15, 2025•41 min•Ep. 246
#245: Cold Email | Danielle Messler sits down with Alex Fine , co-founder of Understory , the agency behind some of the most effective outbound and paid strategies in B2B right now. Alex is leading the charge on a smarter approach to outbound called “Allbound”, a tightly integrated blend of outbound, paid media, and LinkedIn tactics that actually convert. If you’re tired of cold emails that go nowhere or ad campaigns that burn cash without ROI, this one’s for you. Danielle and Alex cover: Why mo...
May 12, 2025•40 min•Ep. 245
#244: Professional Growth | Dave is joined by Amanda Goetz , a 2x founder, 3x CMO, and the author behind the popular weekly newsletter, Life's A Game. Amanda shares her expertise in personal and professional growth, brand building, and content creation. Amanda and Dave cover: How Amanda transformed her LinkedIn strategy to grow her following and engagement The impact of personal branding on social media and its role in business growth Creating a feedback loop to refine and improve content strate...
May 08, 2025•46 min•Ep. 244
#243 Linkedin Ads | In this episode, Danielle Messler sits down with Anthony Blatner (LinkedIn ads expert and certified instructor) and Tagg Bozied (Head of Brand Awareness at Docebo and award-winning B2B campaign strategist) to dig into what actually works with B2B LinkedIn ads in 2025. These two have spent years in the trenches, building campaigns for some of the most niche, high-intent B2B audiences, and they’ve got the data and real stories to back up what works (and what definitely doesn’t)...
May 05, 2025•52 min•Ep. 243
#242: Content Strategy | In this episode, Danielle sits down with Brendan Hufford , founder of Growth Sprints , to talk about what actually works in content and SEO today and why most B2B strategies are broken. Brendan went from high school teacher to leading content at top SaaS companies, and now helps brands move faster and build content strategies that drive real impact. They cover: Why most SEO strategies are broken - and why retainers make it worse The content checklist that took ActiveCamp...
May 01, 2025•53 min•Ep. 242
#241: Email Strategy | Email isn’t dead – it’s just changing fast. It’s still one of the few B2B marketing channels where you can actually own your audience and reach your ideal customers with the push of a button. In this session from the Ultimate Roast of B2B Emails, Danielle hosts Beth O’Malley (Founder, astral .), Jay Schwedelson (Founder, Subjectline.com & GURU Media Hub ), and Jaina Mistry (Director, Brand and Content Marketing at Litmus ) for a tactical session on what’s actually work...
Apr 28, 2025•54 min•Ep. 241
#240: Video Strategy | In this episode, Danielle sits down with Connor Lewis , founder of Studio Lewis , to talk all things B2B video - what works, what doesn’t, and how to actually get started. Connor spent years building in-house video from the ground up before going solo. Now, he works with B2B brands on high-performing video ads and he’s here to break down what he’s learned. Danielle and Connor cover: Why production value doesn’t matter as much as you think How to turn existing blog posts an...
Apr 24, 2025•36 min•Ep. 240
#239: Measurement | In this Exit Five live session, Dave sits down with Pranav Piyush, Co-Founder & CEO of Paramark (ex-PayPal, Dropbox, Adobe, BILL), to talk about the future of B2B marketing measurement. Spoiler alert: it’s not clicks. They break down why the old way of doing attribution doesn’t cut it anymore and why leading B2B teams are shifting toward incrementality, experimentation, and marketing mix modeling. Dave and Pranav also cover: The gaps in the old way of doing attribution Wh...
Apr 21, 2025•55 min•Ep. 239
#238: Brand | In this episode, Dave sits down with Dmitry Shamis , former Head of Brand at HubSpot and now founder of Oh Snap , to talk about what brand really means in B2B and why so many teams are stuck doing busy work instead of meaningful marketing. After leading a team of 150+ creatives and scaling HubSpot’s brand across multiple products, Dmitry shares lessons on building brands that actually stand out. Dave and Dmitry cover: How to stand out in a crowded market How to develop and refine y...
Apr 17, 2025•47 min•Ep. 238
#237: Strategy | Udi Ledergor (former CMO, now Chief Evangelist at Gong ) helped turn Gong into one of B2B’s most iconic brands—and now he’s sharing how they scaled it to a multi-billion dollar valuation. In this episode, Dave sits down with Udi to unpack lessons from building Gong’s category, brand, and marketing engine (and why B2B marketing needs way more courage). You’ll learn: Lessons from building Gong from 0 to $100M in revenue How to make B2B marketing not boring How to measure and justi...
Apr 14, 2025•57 min•Ep. 237
#236: Product Marketing | Product marketers are no strangers to change. Whether it’s navigating new responsibilities, proving impact to leadership, or balancing short-term wins with long-term strategy, the role is constantly evolving - and in 2025, that evolution is only accelerating. This Exit Five Live session is built to help you stay ahead. Dave sits down with Natalie Marcotullio (Head of Growth & Product Marketing at Navattic ), Jason Oakley (Founder of Productive PMM ), and Eric Hollan...
Apr 10, 2025•53 min•Ep. 236
#235: Strategy |In this episode, Matt sits down with Aditya Vempaty, VP of Marketing at MoEngage , to talk about a topic every marketing leader has wrestled with: reporting on the right metrics. Aditya has led marketing at companies like Nutanix, Amplitude, and Synthego - and he’s learned how to build dashboards and reporting frameworks that actually communicate marketing’s impact across leadership, sales, and finance. Matt and Aditya cover: Why marketing metrics should translate performance int...
Apr 07, 2025•44 min•Ep. 235
#234: Messaging | In this episode, Dave sits down with Emma Stratton , founder of Punchy , to break down what great B2B messaging actually looks like - and how to get it right. Emma has worked with hundreds of B2B tech companies to sharpen their positioning, eliminate vague copy, and train marketing teams to write with clarity and impact. They cover what makes messaging actually resonate and how to spot and fix abstract or weak copy. They also dive into Emma’s process for creating message-market...
Apr 03, 2025•54 min•Ep. 234
#233: Inside Exit Five | In this episode, Matt Carnevale (Head of Community at Exit Five ) joins the team at Circle to break down how we’ve doubled Exit Five community membership and boosted engagement—all by treating Exit Five like a product. He shares our playbook: audience growth, engagement systems, how we use member feedback to shape what we build, and why “curate, don’t create” has been key to scaling. If you’re running (or joining) a B2B community, this is how you make it work. Matt cover...
Mar 31, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 233
#232: Sales | Dave sits down with Jen Allen-Knuth , founder of DemandJen. Jen shares her insights from her 15+ years in B2B Sales, from managing a quota to building great working relationships with marketing. Jen and Dave cover: Co-creating content with Marketing and Sales that drives better customer engagement and grows your pipeline How Jen successfully built her audience using video on LinkedIn and leveraged it to start DemandJen How companies should focus on genuine diversity efforts rather ...
Mar 27, 2025•55 min•Ep. 232
#230: Messaging | In this episode, Matt sits down with Talia Wolf , founder and CEO of GetUplift , to unpack what’s really wrong with most B2B websites – and how to fix it. After reviewing 100+ member-submitted sites from the Exit Five community, Talia shares what she sees over and over again: messaging that’s too focused on the product, poor design flow, and a lack of real customer understanding. Matt and Talia cover: Why most B2B sites focus too much on features and not enough on buyer emotion...
Mar 24, 2025•53 min•Ep. 231
#229: Marketing Leadership | In this episode, Dave sits down with Megan Lueders (CMO at Sonatype ), Ido Mart (CMO at Manychat ), and Kimberly Storin (CMO at Zayo ) for a live CMO panel discussion at Exit Five’s Austin marketing meetup. These marketing leaders share what’s working what’s not in B2B marketing today and how the role of the CMO is evolving. Dave, Megan, Ido, and Kimberly cover: What every new CMO needs to know about leading a marketing org How to align with CEOs, CFOs, and key stake...
Mar 20, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 229
#228: LinkedIn Strategy | Anthony is one of the nine LinkedIn Certified Marketing Experts in North America. He’s also the Managing Director of Speedwork , a B2B LinkedIn Marketing Agency, and hosts the LinkedIn Ads Radio Podcast . He and Dave discuss LinkedIn Ad Creative & Consistent Branding Thought Leader Ads & Organic Reach Niche Audiences & Custom Content Nurture Campaigns Expert LinkedIn Ads Tips Timestamps (00:00) - - Intro to Anthony Blatner (08:28) - - Focusing on LinkedIn an...
Mar 17, 2025•45 min•Ep. 228
