Neil and Eric break down why clipping is taking over B2B tech media, why horizontal videos may outperform vertical content on X and LinkedIn, and how companies like Ramp, Lovable, and Replit are building content factories for distribution. They also unpack Google’s latest AI SEO guidance, including why traditional SEO still matters for GEO and AEO, plus the biggest AI SEO myths marketers keep falling for. Key Takeaways: • Why clipping is becoming the B2B content meta • Horizontal vs vertical vid...
May 27, 2026•24 min
Neil and Eric break down OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger’s $1.3M AI token spend and what it reveals about lean AI startups, automation, and scaling with minimal payroll. They discuss Hermes vs OpenClaw, AI CMOs replacing marketers, why taste and experience still matter in business, Brian Chesky’s comments on people managers, and how AI tools like Claude and OpenAI guaranteed capacity are reshaping software, marketing, and hiring. Key Takeaways: • AI token spend is replacing traditional payrol...
May 26, 2026•15 min
Neil and Eric break down why AI search tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews heavily cite listicles, why Google is cracking down on self-published SEO listicles, and how AI-generated content is causing major traffic declines. They also discuss GEO vs SEO, token optimization opportunities, Google’s AI search evolution, and the future of AI consulting, content marketing, and search rankings in the AI era. Key Takeaways: • AI search engines favor listicle content for citat...
May 25, 2026•22 min
Neil and Eric unpack how to measure the real value of an X account beyond views, why LinkedIn drives 50x more leads for Neil, and the trap of chasing audience capture instead of revenue. They dig into ICP-focused content vs broad TAM plays, parabolic AI stocks like AXT and Lumentum tied to indium phosphide bottlenecks, and the storytelling lessons behind them. The episode closes with a sharp breakdown of rebranding, why Intercom launched Fin, and why Eric spun up Single Brain instead of bolting ...
May 21, 2026•28 min
Growth Newsletter: https://levelingup.beehiiv.com/subscribe Need marketing help? Visit: https://www.singlegrain.com/ and https://npdigital.com/ Want to recruit great marketers? Find them here: https://marketingschool.io/hire Neil and Eric break down how to send 1 million emails a month for $100 using Amazon SES, why deliverability beats price when choosing an email provider, and the shared IP neighborhood trick Neil uses to protect inbox placement. They also unpack the "reply guy" strategy for g...
May 20, 2026•15 min
Growth Newsletter: https://levelingup.beehiiv.com/subscribe Need marketing help? Visit: https://www.singlegrain.com/ and https://npdigital.com/ Want to recruit great marketers? Find them here: https://marketingschool.io/hire Neil and Eric break down the etiquette of podcast collaborations, why giving raw recordings drives reach, and how a give-to-get mindset shapes long-term wins. They share lessons from speaking at the Social Commerce Summit, including QR code lead capture tactics, why case stu...
May 19, 2026•19 min
Neil and Eric break down the etiquette of podcast collaborations, why giving raw recordings drives reach, and how a give-to-get mindset shapes long-term wins. They share lessons from speaking at the Social Commerce Summit, including QR code lead capture tactics, why case studies supercharge AI sales presentations, and how to calculate ROI on paid speaking gigs. A practical episode on collaboration, lead generation, and choosing the right events to grow your business. Key takeaways ◾Give raw reco...
May 18, 2026•31 min
Neil and Eric break down the rise of one-person startup teams, Coinbase’s “pod of one” model, AI-native company structures, and how AI agents are reshaping product, marketing, and service businesses. They discuss judgment as the ultimate competitive advantage, Amazon’s new supply chain services, China’s growing tech influence, and how startups can use AI automation to move faster, scale leaner, and build modern revenue systems powered by agents and infrastructure. Key Takeaways: ⬛️ One-person AI...
May 14, 2026•21 min
Neil and Eric break down why autonomous AI commerce is accelerating after Stripe introduced agentic payments and Cloudflare enabled AI agents to create accounts, buy domains, and deploy apps autonomously. This episode explores AI agents with spending power, Google’s continued search growth in the AI era, hiring elite talent, scaling marketing channels, and the future of AI-driven business operations. Learn how companies like Google, Robinhood, and Coinbase are adapting to the AI economy. ⬛️ Stri...
May 13, 2026•27 min
Neil Patel and Eric Siu break down the rise of “token maxing,” why AI token spend without ROI is dangerous, and how companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft are battling for AI dominance. They also cover TBPN’s X growth strategy, AI-powered advertising, enterprise AI services, and the marketing playbook behind Grüns’ $1.2B exit. A must-watch for marketers, founders, and AI operators looking to scale with smarter distribution, AI adoption, and performance marketing strategies. Key ...
May 12, 2026•21 min
Neil and Eric break down why the AI job apocalypse narrative is wrong, using fresh data on software engineering demand, AI-powered productivity, product manager hiring trends, and the rise of “AI-pill” talent. They discuss how AI is increasing output instead of replacing workers, why companies still need top engineers and marketers, and how AI is reshaping business efficiency, hiring, and organizational structure. They also debate bloated corporations, eBay’s spending problem, and why technology...
May 11, 2026•25 min
Eric and Neil break down 3 marketing roles they believe AI will kill first, why entry-level execution work is getting compressed fast, and what marketers need to do now to stay valuable. They also cover why specialists are likely to beat generalists, why human judgment matters more than ever, and how AI is reshaping the structure of marketing teams. They also get into what separates unacceptable, capable, adaptive, and transformative AI users, why most teams are still behind, and how marketers c...
May 07, 2026•19 min
Eric and Neil break down how Eric cut his AI token spend from around $7,500 a month to nearly $0 by changing his model hierarchy, fixing fallback issues, and reducing unnecessary API usage. They also get into why usage-based AI pricing is changing software, why some tools become more valuable in an agent-driven world, and what founders, marketers, and agencies need to understand as AI costs shift from seat-based pricing to usage-based pricing. Key takeaways ◾ You can dramatically reduce AI token...
May 06, 2026•21 min
Eric and Neil break down how AI is changing software and what founders need to understand as user behavior, distribution, and product expectations keep shifting. They unpack why building around websites, dashboards, and traditional UI patterns may matter less going forward, and what happens when people increasingly want outcomes instead of more clicks. They also get into what this means for marketers, agencies, and SaaS companies, why old funnels may become less effective, and where founders sho...
May 05, 2026•23 min
Eric and Neil break down how Clavicular built a viral marketing machine, why clipping is starting to look a lot like paid media, and what businesses can learn from that playbook. Reports on Clavicular’s growth describe a large clipping operation that helped make his content unavoidable across platforms, which is the bigger distribution shift they unpack in this episode. They also share 10 marketing and AI tools they would still pay for even if they cost $1,000 a month, including tools for landin...
May 04, 2026•28 min
Eric and Neil break down the fake GitHub star economy, why startup credibility signals are easier to manipulate than most people realize, and what that means for trust online. They also get into employee-generated content, the marketing channels they would bet on if they were starting over today, and why they are still doubling down on SEO even as the game shifts away from clicks and toward revenue, visibility, and AI-driven search. Key takeaways ◾ GitHub stars and other online trust signals can...
Apr 30, 2026•23 min
Eric and Neil break down the new media flywheel, why clips, live shows, and community now work together, and why entrepreneurs need to think more like media companies. Key takeaways ◾ The strongest media businesses now run on video, streams, clips, and community. ◾ The biggest opportunities are often in boring, unsexy businesses with large markets. ◾ AI is a multiplier for top performers, not a shortcut for average ones. ◾ Great hiring now depends more on adaptability, creativity, and real AI fl...
Apr 30, 2026•21 min
Eric and Neil break down why clips are becoming more valuable than the actual show, and why the real shift in media has less to do with long-form content and more to do with packaging, distribution, and platform-native monetization. They unpack the TBPN playbook, why some podcasts are really vehicles for generating clips, why legacy media is still missing the shift, and what marketers can learn from the way modern content is being engineered to spread. Key takeaways ◾ Clips are becoming a real b...
Apr 28, 2026•22 min
Eric and Neil break down why marketing feels different now, and why the real shift may have less to do with long-form content and more to do with clips, packaging, distribution, and platform-native media strategy. They unpack the TBPN playbook, why OpenAI reportedly bought the company, how clipping is becoming a true moat, and what marketers can learn from the way modern content is being engineered to spread. Key takeaways ◾ Clipping is becoming a real growth strategy, not just repurposing. ◾ Th...
Apr 27, 2026•23 min
Eric and Neil break down a genius AI prospecting system a pool builder is using to target high-value homes, render custom backyard pools, and mail personalized postcards on autopilot. They also unpack Sequoia’s thesis that the next trillion-dollar AI company will sell work, not software, why AI works best when paired with human strategy, and how smart operators are using AI to create better content, better outbound, and better outcomes. Key takeaways ◾ AI can turn satellite imagery and rendering...
Apr 23, 2026•17 min
Eric and Neil break down why Anthropic’s next big moat may have nothing to do with raw model intelligence and everything to do with permission, governance, and trust inside enterprise systems. They also unpack the difference between individual AI and institutional AI, why most companies still aren’t ready to let agents act inside real workflows, how AI helped cut major costs without cutting headcount, and why relationships still matter more than ever when it comes to closing massive deals. Key t...
Apr 22, 2026•25 min
Eric and Neil break down why Uber’s AI spend is skyrocketing, what it means when tools like Claude Code become too useful to cut back, and why token costs may become the next big enterprise bottleneck. They also get into why AI may create more jobs than people expect, how smart teams should think about ROI on token spend, and why the companies that learn to scale AI efficiently will have a major edge. Need marketing help? Visit: https://www.singlegrain.com/ and https://npdigital.com/ Want to rec...
Apr 21, 2026•26 min
Eric and Neil break down how they used AI and the YouTube API to analyze 320 episodes worth of predictions, score who was more accurate over time, and uncover the deeper pattern behind why the podcast works. They also get into why marketers need to stop protecting their opinions, how APIs can surface content opportunities faster, why speed now matters more than polish, and what today’s “AI-forward” operators are still getting wrong. Key takeaways ◾ AI is great at spotting patterns across large c...
Apr 20, 2026•24 min
Eric and Neil break down GitHub as the next major marketing channel, why AI voice agents are finally good enough for discovery calls, and the trap of "AI theater" that's killing marketing ROI. They unpack the eye-watering $4.7M midroll pricing on Acquired FM, what makes elite peer groups actually valuable, and round it out with seven AI tools driving real growth right now. Key takeaways ◾ GitHub repos are becoming a serious marketing channel ◾ AI voice agents can now handle full discovery calls ...
Apr 16, 2026•23 min
Growth Newsletter: https://levelingup.beehiiv.com/subscribe Need marketing help? Visit: https://www.singlegrain.com/ and https://npdigital.com/ Want to recruit great marketers? Find them here: https://marketingschool.io/hire Eric and Neil break down how one founder used AI and 800 fake doctor profiles to scale a GLP-1 telehealth business toward $1.8B in revenue, and why aggressive AI-powered marketing (done ethically) is the new edge. They unpack the Jevons paradox of skyrocketing AI infrastruct...
Apr 15, 2026•25 min
Growth Newsletter: https://levelingup.beehiiv.com/subscribe Need marketing help? Visit: https://www.singlegrain.com/ and https://npdigital.com/ Want to recruit great marketers? Find them here: https://marketingschool.io/hire Eric and Neil break down OpenAI's $200M acquisition of TBPN and whether owning media is actually worth it for AI giants. They unpack Neil's co-branded conference playbook in Canada, why Anthropic's shipping velocity is crushing OpenAI, the rise of "world intelligence" agents...
Apr 14, 2026•23 min
Neil and Eric break down how IKEA turned an AI chatbot's failures into a $1B design consultancy, why creative is now the real ceiling on paid ads, and where API pricing and in-LLM advertising are heading. They unpack agentic commerce, dynamic personalized ads, and who actually wins the LLM race long term — Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, or OpenAI. A sharp episode on reskilling instead of cutting, scaling with AI creative, and betting on the right players in the AI stack. Growth Newsletter: https:...
Apr 13, 2026•18 min
Growth Newsletter: https://levelingup.beehiiv.com/subscribe Need marketing help? Visit: https://www.singlegrain.com/ and https://npdigital.com/ Want to recruit great marketers? Find them here: https://marketingschool.io/hire Most marketers still default to Meta and Google first, but that may no longer be the smartest place to start. In this episode, Eric and Neil break down the underpriced channels getting overlooked right now, why GitHub and GEO are becoming serious growth opportunities, and ho...
Apr 09, 2026•21 min
Growth Newsletter: https://levelingup.beehiiv.com/subscribe Need marketing help? Visit: https://www.singlegrain.com/ and https://npdigital.com/ Want to recruit great marketers? Find them here: https://marketingschool.io/hire Chamath says brands could go to zero as AI makes products cheaper, faster, and easier to copy. In this episode, Eric and Neil break down why they disagree, why status still drives buying behavior, and why branding may actually become more important as AI creates more abundan...
Apr 08, 2026•20 min
Growth Newsletter: https://levelingup.beehiiv.com/subscribe Meta is reportedly pushing engineers to use AI for most of their code, and it may be one of the clearest signs yet that AI adoption is becoming mandatory inside major companies. In this episode, Eric and Neil break down why AI works differently in coding than in marketing, why engagement without revenue means nothing, and how the smartest companies are using AI to drive conversions, optimize operations, and move faster. Key Takeaways: ◾...
Apr 07, 2026•22 min
