The Power of Human Connection in Business | Josh Cates on Quality Over Quantity

Why you may not need to hire that CMO...YET | Jonathan Buckley of the Artesian Network

Insightful Conversation with Jonathan Buckley - Enterprise Tech Strategist, Former CMO & VPM of Tech Companies Both Public and Private, Principal Consultant at The Artesian Network, Fractional CMO & CEO.

No Blast Policy | Nicole Rodriguez's 26-Year Blueprint for Building Real Media Relationships

Nicole Rodriguez has spent 26 years building something her former boss told her would never exist: a PR firm where blasting 200 media contacts is forbidden, and sending 20 thoughtful emails that build real relationships is the only way forward. As founder and CEO of NRPR Group, Nicole took a contrarian stance that's kept her team intact for an average of seven years in an industry notorious for burnout—and grew LA Comic Con from nine press hits to 800 credentialed media flying in from around the country. In this conversation, Nicole breaks down the fundamental differences between PR, marketing, and advertising that most executives conflate under one umbrella, explaining why earning third-party validation from unpaid sources requires an entirely different skillset than buying eyeballs through ad spend. She shares how a San Jose State professor steered her away from broadcast journalism into PR, why she spent 14 years mastering every level from intern to VP before betting on herself, and how rolling out the red carpet for media with handwritten thank you notes and personal cell phone numbers transformed events that couldn't get coverage into must-attend destinations. Nicole reveals her take on AI's role in PR—where it can help overcome creative walls and piece together headlines, but why it will never replace the human instinct of texting her "homies" at Nerd New Social or CNBC with the perfect story pitch. She explains why most founders should start PR with just a website and something newsworthy to celebrate rather than locking into 12-month contracts, and how Pizza Forno went from unknown on the West Coast to fielding so many meetings the CEO couldn't keep up—all from strategic regional press that opened doors to college campus contracts. Whether you're a founder wondering when to invest in PR, an agency owner struggling with junior employee turnover, or simply fascinated by leaders who refuse to automate away the relationships that make their industry work, Nicole's relationship-first philosophy offers a masterclass in doing PR right.

The Power of Human Connection in Business | Josh Cates on Quality Over Quantity

Josh Cates didn't just survive 20 years in marketing—he thrived by making a contrarian choice that most agencies won't: prioritizing quality over explosive growth. As founder and CEO of Market Like a Hero, Josh grew his business 2.5x in the final stretch of his 20th year by niching down hard into home services (HVAC, plumbing, electrical) and building a team of former eight-figure operators who know exactly what it takes to scale from $5 million to $20 million and beyond. In this conversation, Josh breaks down the real story of AI in 2025—where it collapsed business owners who relied too heavily on it, and where it revolutionized his agency's ability to track actual revenue attribution through tools like Searchlight Digital that connect directly into ServiceTitan CRMs. He explains why his team looks at dispatch boards every Monday and revenue every Friday for every client, why they rewrote their entire SEO playbook mid-year as Google's AI changes hit, and how their client portfolio collectively grew 41% in top-line revenue while others were "screaming and running for the hills" about ChatGPT destroying search. Josh shares his philosophy on why AI is phenomenal for SOPs and strategy but dangerous when it replaces human instinct, how structured data expertise is revolutionizing rankings on Claude and voice search, and why—after 140% growth—he's deliberately targeting just 30-35% growth in 2026 because he refuses to sacrifice quality for quantity. Whether you're a home services business owner frustrated with marketing agencies that just hand you a dashboard, an entrepreneur wondering how to use AI without getting burned, or simply someone fascinated by leaders who know when to pump the brakes on growth, Josh's hard-won insights offer a masterclass in building a business that prioritizes client success over vanity metrics.

Fixing Broken Banking as a Service | NXTMOVES Is Rebuilding Trust Between Banks and Fintechs

Credit card programs that take 18-24 months to launch. Deals that die on the vine. Banks that can't see what their fintech partners are actually doing. Steve Nigri and Walt Hoffmann looked at the broken Banking as a Service 1.0 model and said, "we can do this better." As co-founders of NXTMOVES, they're building a multi-bank card issuing platform that solves the fundamental problem plaguing the industry: the one-to-one underwriting model that left banks blind to who was actually using their credit and debit cards. In this conversation, Steve and Walt break down why only 170 out of 4,500 U.S. banks touch payments at all, and how they're bringing community banks into the BIN sponsor game with a hands-on program management approach that takes banks from zero to launch in 4-9 months instead of years. They explain why retailers with 100,000+ customers are sitting on untapped card program opportunities, how AI is revolutionizing everything from call center operations to autonomous buying, and why the key differentiator isn't just launching programs—it's the continuous oversight that keeps them compliant and profitable. Steve shares his contrarian take on why modern businesses (not just fintechs) are the new frontier for card programs, while Walt dives deep on building role-based dashboards that let a community bank CFO see profitability metrics one day and compliance requirements the next. Whether you're a retailer looking to deepen customer loyalty, a community bank wanting to compete with the big players, or just fascinated by leaders who understand both banking AND payments (a rare combination), this conversation offers a masterclass in rebuilding infrastructure from the ground up with trust, transparency, and speed.

Fleet Finance Meets AI | Jon Stafford's Mission to Deploy a Billion in Sustainable Assets

Jon Stafford spent 20 years putting hundreds of thousands of internal combustion vehicles on the road – now he's on a mission to take them all off. As SVP of North American Sales for Zeti, Jon is building the "Match.com [http://Match.com] of fleet finance," connecting operators seeking capital for electric trucks, hydrogen vehicles, and energy infrastructure with a network of 50 lenders who have specific appetites for those exact assets. His goal? Deploy a billion dollars on the platform while tracking every ton of CO2 and NOX reduced along the way. In this conversation, Jon breaks down why the biggest bottleneck in fleet transformation isn't demand – it's getting legacy financial institutions to change how they've done business for decades. He explains how real-time telematics data is revolutionizing lender confidence, turning what used to be monthly Excel reports (fraught with human error from fuel card pin entries) into continuous portfolio visibility that can predict payment issues before they happen. Jon shares his contrarian take on why AI will never replace sales roles, why websites are becoming obsolete, and how interest rates dropping from "oppressive" levels will unlock massive pent-up demand across the market. Whether you're an operator struggling to find funding for sustainable fleet upgrades, a lender looking to deploy capital into hard assets, or just fascinated by how data transparency is reshaping the intersection of finance and sustainability, Jon's blend of 20 years of fleet management experience and startup energy offers a masterclass in building trust at the speed of business.