The home of the "No Idle Frets Podcast", dedicated to podsafe jazz guitar music.
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The Collective Podcast brings you bi-weekly episodes of entertaining, informative, honest discussions with creative industry professionals from around the world. Created and hosted by designer/director Ash Thorp, he aims to explore the struggles of work/life balance and to share the experiences of influential creatives from all realms of media, including (but not limited to) designers, illustrators, visual effects artists, writers, painters, and programmers.
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All things large format
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Conversations with Spoon Carvers from around the world. About how and why they carve spoons. Hosted by Simon Pouly alias Roots Spoons.
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Getting to know the Trine wrestling program, some of the wrestlers, coaches and alumni.
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Where the category design curious go to become category design capable… Category Thinkers is a podcast dedicated to exploring and demystifying the world of category design. Our mission is to help you identify, understand, and apply category design principles to your own ventures, no matter the industry or stage of your business journey. We believe that embracing category design strategies can unlock the potential of any business or individual, and we aim to debunk the notion that its applica ...
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Nick Carver joins your host, Ash Thorp, for an immensely personal and reflective episode as we explore the creative process behind Nick's stunning photography. Nick reveals his pursuit of maintaining artistic purity in a commercialized world, why he shoots on film, and the immense work required to develop his YouTube channel and brand. Nick candidl…
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Casey Cavanaugh is unfathomably passionate about all things cameras. Whether that's lenses, gear, the technical, and everything in between, Casey knows! In this episode, Casey & Ash share how they connected, and Casey reveals why the early days of playing Halo on PC shaped his online presence, how everything pretty much all began with an old Canon …
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#68 Nick Carver, The Man With A Name
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With the full gang back together it was a pleasure to get to talk to Nick Carver about his love for 6x17 large format photography, his recent commissioned trip to Spain, other formats to boost the creative juices, his You Tube Channel and much more. If you’re not familiar with Nick and his work then here is a part of his bio from his website. “Nick…
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#67 Intended Art At Negative Thinking
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It has been far too long between shows and hopefully we can now get back to some kind of regular output. For this show our last guest Nick Davis (The 120ist on the YouTube) makes a visit to community darkroom / darkroom community that is “Negative Thinking” in Bristol where he gets to interview Tim Pearse about the space, the community he is helpin…
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Voyage in Carving Out a Learning and Skill Development Category w/ Hywel Carver
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In this podcast episode, Hywel Carver, CEO of Skiller Whale, shares his company's category design journey after attending a workshop by Category Design Advisors, sponsored by Concept Ventures. He discusses the challenges they faced in defining their offering and how the workshop, along with the book "Play Bigger," helped them create a new category …
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An incredible episode awaits as we are joined by Cinematographer Oren Soffer. Oren was one of the Dop's alongside Greig Fraser on the visionary film The Creator, and in this episode, we look through the lens into the beginning of Oren's journey that began with photography through to the bold and game-changing way The Creator was shot. Oren also exq…
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Designing a Category In an Old School Industry w/ Frederik Hendriksen
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Commercial real estate isn’t usually a place that is associated with technological innovation, neither is the HVAC industry, but that makes it ripe for category design. Meet Frederik Hendriksen, the founder of Rensair. Explore their groundbreaking smart ventilation system, seamlessly integrating hardware and software to optimize energy efficiency a…
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How to Right-Size the Problem You’re Solving w/ Lauren Pufpaf
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In this episode, John Rougeux interviews Lauren Pufpaf, the President, COO, and co-founder of Feed Media Group. Lauren’s company was founded on the insight that apps need the right music experience to fully engage users. But as the company grew, they learned that they weren’t going after a big enough problem. Listen in to learn how Lauren and her t…
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Wellbeing in Woodworking with Samuel Alexander
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In this episode, I speak with @SamuelAlexandershapes. Samuel talks about how he initially came to carving through seeking help dealing with depression. Something clicked, and it has since become a strong positive influence in his life. He spent many years learning and eventually teaching at the @LondonGreenwood. He is creating beautiful objects wit…
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Keeping Your Point Of View Unique In A Wave Of Competition w/ Brian Schiff
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A.I. has created a massive shift in context, and with that comes massive opportunities for category designers, but it also means a flood of competitors into the same space. Brian Schiff had capitalized on this shift, focusing on leveraging A.I. to take customer support from a cost center to a profit center, and is now using category design to avoid…
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Al Ramadan of Play Bigger – Category Design Beyond Tech Startups – Changing the World
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Al Ramadan is the CEO of Play Bigger, LLC and one of the co-authors of “Play Bigger,” and a dedicated board member of Save The Waves Coalition. In this replay of our live AMA event, we’ll dive deep into the art of category design. Discover how shifts in context—ranging from environmental changes to global events like pandemics, wars, or financial c…
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How Category Design Reveals Buyer Problems w/ Rebecca Kirstein Resch
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In this episode, we interview Rebecca Kirstein Resch, the founder and CEO at inqli. Rebecca’s company is dedicated to helping workplace teams tap into the power of ‘tacit knowledge.’ She’s been using category design as a framework for uncovering new problems and now has a clear story about why a new type of solution called ‘social knowledge sharing…
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Why Vertical SaaS is Fertile Ground for Category Design w/ Nick Tippmann
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In this episode, Nick Tippmann, former CMO of medtech company Greenlight Guru, joins Pablo, Damp, and John to break down his journey as a marketer turned investor. Nick shares why vertical SaaS companies should think like category designers and how he evaluates the category potential of early-stage startups. We discuss: How Greenlight Guru tipped f…
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How a Gartner Analyst Looks at Categories
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In this episode, we’re joined by Dan Gottlieb, a Senior Director Analyst at Gartner. Dan shares his take on how analysts like him define categories and when to establish a new one. He also unpacks how startups can stand out in crowded categories by defining their “critical capabilities” and shares how and when startups should educate analysts like …
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Designer Nikita Bridan and his twin Iliya are the founders of the incredible Oil Stain Lab. In this episode, Nikita shares how this whole adventure and passion panned out from finding Universities that would accept them at the age of 13 to study Car Design to working for some of the biggest companies in the automotive space and their love of 911s a…
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Spoons, Snails, and Community with Oren Hetzroni
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In this episode, I talk with Oren Hetzroni (@hetzronio), a product designer and Spoon carver from Israel. After studying design, Oren initially started woodturning before he discovered the work of Robinwood (@robinwoodcraft). This led him into the world of Greenwood, where he continues to this day. Oren carves amazing spoons and also teaches the cr…
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Sangram Vajre’s Events and Community Playbook
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Sangram Vajre is one of the best-known category designers in B2B SaaS, with community and events being critical parts of his playbook. Not only did Sangram bring the account-based marketing category to life during his time at Terminus, but he's also used the same playbook to launch a successful paid community (Peak), and now a service business (GTM…
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In this episode, I talked to Tamsin Quin (@quinwoodcraft) a talented musician and self taught spoon carver from the UK. Tamsin spoke of instantly being hooked and resonating deeply with carving and working with wood. Tamsin spent many years carving instinctually as a hobby, after eventually attending a Spoonsfest where she connected with other pass…
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Do You Need Category Design (Or Is It A Choice)? w/ Brad Luttrell
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In this episode, Brad Luttrell joins us to talk through how he discovered category design a year and a half ago, why it was the strategy Holler Commerce needed to adopt, and what he has done to design social commerce as a service category ever since. He speaks with our co-founder, John Rougeux and Damp, about: Whether category design is a choice or…
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Scavenger’s Reign co-creator Joe Bennett joins us to share his 8-year-long journey in bringing this stunning project to life. If you haven’t seen Scavenger’s Reign, please do, not just to avoid the spoilers in this episode but to join in the celebration of this profound and refreshing show and to hear some interesting tales about the production.…
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How Category Memetics Can Help A New Category Stick w/ Ken Rutsky
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In this episode, Ken Rutsky joins us to explore a concept he calls ‘category memetics.’ It’s the idea that new categories can act like memes – they can enter the mind, replicate, and rapidly spread to others. Ken shares his insights on how to create a successful category meme and unpacks some of the research he uncovered that led to these insights.…
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We've wanted Designer Joshua Davis on the podcast for YEARS and our prayers we're finally answered when Joshua aka Praystation joined your host Ash Thorp for a classic episode. So sit back and enjoy a wide-ranging episode where we learn about Johsua's truly epic journey of life, coding and creativity.…
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3 Tools for Category Concepts w/ Josh Lowman
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It takes a lot of time and commitment to write a great strategic narrative, but if you can use battle tested frameworks, they will save you time, money and even heartbreak. Strategy and brand design expert Josh Lowman walks us through the three tools he uses to quickly pitch and vet new category ideas, and engages with our community in our monthly …
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Getting Analysts To Buy Into Your Category Design w/ Scott Albro
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Scott Albro, co-founder and CEO of Goldie shares his insights on why analyst buy-in is crucial for category success, strategies for effectively communicating your category vision, and real-world examples from his time at TOPO. For those unfamiliar, TOPO, Inc. was a research and advisory firm that provided insights and consulting services to high-gr…
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How to Condition The Market w/ David West, CEO of Proscia
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Innovative companies must convince buyers and analysts why their solutions differ from the status quo, and why that difference matters. But sometimes, developing the right narrative can be a challenge. This is where a well-crafted point of view (POV) can help. In this episode, we’re joined by David West, co-founder and CEO of Proscia. After attendi…
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"When Should You Design a Category?" w/ Jonathan Gandolf
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Category design principles can be applied in different ways, for different outcomes. And while sometimes it’s clear that your business needs to act like a category designer, other times the answer is less straightforward. In this episode, we’re joined by Jonathan Gandolf, founder and CEO of The Juice. Jonathan was introduced to category design earl…
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How Community & Category Design Go Hand in Hand w/ Jared Robin, Founder of RevGenius
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In this episode, Jared Robin, founder of RevGenius, shares his take on how category design and community can mutually reinforce each other. In 2020, Jared took a small LinkedIn group and turned it into a community that now has over 40,000 members. In our conversation, you’ll hear all about Jared’s journey and how he plans to build community going f…
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Minimal Viable Category Design w/ Pietro Bezza
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In this episode, we’re joined by Pietro Bezza, co-founder and managing partner at Connect Ventures. Pietro shares a framework he calls “minimal viable category design,” which focuses on helping early stage startups have the right conversations about the problem they’re solving and their plans for evangelizing it. Listen now to find out: The challen…
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After 7 Years, Why Did Category Design Advisors Rewrite Their Own Point of View?
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After Kevin Maney co-authored the book Play Bigger in 2016, he and Mike Damphousse founded Category Design Advisors to guide CEOs in implementing category design. That was seven years ago. Now, after over 40 client engagements and joined by John Rougeux, the team decided it was time to rework its own category Point of View. In this recording of a l…
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Designing A Category As A Bootstrapped Service Agency w/ James Carbary
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In this podcast episode, James Carbary, founder of Sweet Fish Media, discusses how he went from running a blog writing agency to becoming the category king of B2B podcasting, thanks to category design. He debunks the myth that category design is only for VC-backed companies or those with large budgets and shares his pivot into designing a new categ…
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Taking Advantage of a Context Shift Through Category Design w/ Doug Camplejohn
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In 2020, Doug Camplejohn was working at Salesforce when a global pandemic suddenly changed the world. He soon realized that there might be an opportunity to address the new ways in which people found themselves working. That’s when he decided to start Airspeed, a family of apps that helps employees feel connected and celebrated. Through the lens of…
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Founder Clarity Through Category Design for Fundraising, Product, and Culture w/ Lauren Dunford, CEO of Guidewheel
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In this episode, Lauren discusses the importance of category design for startups. We delve into startup challenges that are addressed by category design. Lauren shares how they've used Guidewheel’s FactoryOps category point of view to attract the right people, investors and customers. We talk about the evolution of sustainability as a priority, the…
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Nearbound and the Early Stages of Category Design w/ Jared Fuller and Isaac Morehouse
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Jared Fuller and Isaac Morehouse were the dynamic duo behind our recent conversation about nearbound – a radically different approach to GTM that’s reshaping the partnership landscape. These two have always been staunch advocates of category design, and they’ve harnessed this discipline to create one of the fastest-growing B2B media brands of all t…
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Getting Sales’ Buy In For Category Design w/ Dan Tyre
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This week’s show is with Dan Tyre, a legendary executive at HubSpot. Hired as employee number six, Dan talks about the backstory of the inbound category, how to get sales to support your category design strategy, and the importance of company culture when designing a category. This episode was moderated by Pablo Gonzalez and Mike Damphousse. This e…
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Category Design for Early-Stage Startups: AMA w/ Rachel Josepho and Waleed Cope
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Fresh off a category design workshop in NYC, Rachel Josepho, Founder & CEO of Mindfull, and Waleed Cope, CEO of The Soap Box, joined us to share their journey as category designers leading early-stage startups. Listen in to unpack… How early stage startups can use category design chart their strategy Why category designers need to start with a high…
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In this episode I talk with Nick Murphy ( @murphys_spoon ) an educator, musician and spoon carver from the UK. We spoke about how Nick discovered spoon carving, why he continues it to this day and is happy to pass on his passion and knowledge through this work teaching children with @theoutdoorsgroup . If you enjoy the podcast and want to support i…
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#66 On Safari With The 120ist In so many ways this show episode typifies what we love about making this podcast – it was just like being in a pub (or coffee shop) and having a chat with like minded folk about, mostly, large format photography. The fact that the conversation wanders around is exactly what happens when you have enthusiastic guests an…
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In this Category Short, John Rougeux explains why a concept called “category jail” needs to be on the radar of every startup. Category jail occurs when your novel solution is mentally miscategorized by buyers, causing your company to get unfairly written off as another “me-too” product. Listen now to learn: Why category jail can keep radically diff…
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How to Validate Your Startup Idea Using Category Design w/ Rio Hodges
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In this episode, we chat with Rio Hodges, Principal at Antler. Rio encounters hundreds of startups each year through his firm's accelerator programs, so his perspective is invaluable if you’re in the early chapters of this journey. We cover: The one crucial slide that many startups leave out of their pitch decks Why startups should obsess about the…
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Done Properly, Category Design Creates Demand w/ Craig Rosenberg
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Scale Venture Partners’ Craig Rosenberg joins us on the show to talk about how category design drives demand, how he mentors founders, and a handful of stories from the startup and VC trenches. Craig is the Chief Platform Officer at Scale and long-time friend and collaborator of our co-host, Damp. In this episode, we'll discuss: Category design sto…
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AI Is Creating 3 Layers Of Category Design Opportunities w/ Manny Bernabe
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Very rarely do we see such an explosion of innovation as we are seeing right now. The rise of AI reminds us very much of the early internet... just like the early dot-com era, AI will spawn a new generation of categories and subcategories. In this episode of Category Thinkers, we invited AI and machine learning expert Manny Bernabe to help us cover…
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The Legendary Craig Mullins joins Ash Thorp for a mind-bending episode that will stay with you long after you finish it! From deep dives into the mind of a creative to the state of humanity, the red-haired girl from Frozen, walking past elephants and so much more, you don't want to miss this one.By Ash Thorp
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"Superconsumers" Book Club & AMA w/ Eddie Yoon
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You spoke and we heard you — this community needs a book club! We kicked off the first ever Category Thinkers Book Club with Eddie Yoon's classic, Superconsumers. Listen to Eddie, the co-founders of Category Thinkers (Mike Damphousse, John Rougeux, Pablo Gonzalez), and members of the community discuss: Where Eddie came up with the insights that led…
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What's Next For The Inbound Category w/ Kipp Bodnar, CMO of HubSpot
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By Kipp Bodnar, Pablo Gonzalez, John Rougeux, Mike Damphousse
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Reinventing a 25-Year-Old Company Through Category Design w/ Carl Daikeler, CEO of Beachbody
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There's plenty of examples of founders, obsessed with a problem, applying category design to build their business and dominate their market. But realistically, most people that first encounter category design are not in the founding stages of their company. That's why talking to the CEO of a publicly traded company that decided to apply category de…
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Mod Musings founder and Creative Director Matthew Encina joins Ash Thorp for a super-duper-packed episode! The multi-award-winning and immensely talented Matthew shares his joy and journey of being a Maker and Designer, as well as his transition to working for himself, the meaning of success, life on youtube, and why it is important to shape the th…
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The Life Of A Founder In The Middle Of Category Design w/ Hannah Grady Williams
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You can read the books, and listen to all the podcasts about Category Design, but nothing beats learning from the experience of someone currently in the trenches of designing a new category. That's why we wanted to pull the curtain back on what it feels like to be actively designing a category as a startup founder/CEO with Hannah Grady Williams, Fo…
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How Category Design and Product Led Growth Shaped Slack's Go To Market Strategy w/ Bill Macaitis
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Bill Macaitis is the former CMO then CRO of Slack, CMO of Zen Desk, and SVP of Marketing at SalesForce and in this conversation we dive deep into what made Slack the category king of team collaboration tools it has become. You'll notice that most of this story took place before Play Bigger was even written so this was intuitive category design by B…
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Immerse yourself in the exciting world of photographer Camden Thrasher. Camden's eye for a shot is simply stunning and see the worlds of aviation and motorsport through his lens has lead to him becoming one of Ash's favorite photographers! So, enjoy a deep dive into the mesmerizing mix of the technical and the artistic & learn the secrets behind th…
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#65 Liquid Emulsion With Graham Vasey
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We first interviewed today’s guest over 4 years ago, in fact he was our first proper guest to help us and our listeners along the “new to LF path”. Show 2 with Graham Vasey is worth a listen as we touch on many interesting subjects, one area Simon and I wanted to return to was Graham’s use of liquid emulsion on watercolour paper and that’s pretty m…
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