Taking risks in your Personal Brand without losing your audience - Find Your Role Models

Maximus and the Founder Quest: Episode 5 - Become a Publisher & Get on Social Media

Welcome to episode 5 of Maximus & The Founder Quest! In this monthly series, Max Greenwald (Co-founder & CEO of Warmly) continues his founder brand journey with Dave Gerhardt (Author of Founder Brand & Founder of Exit Five). This month, Max shares updates on his role models and anti-role models, including finding a mentor in Derek Schoettle (former CEO of ZoomInfo) and following Peter Walker from Carta for data-driven content inspiration. Max reveals his decision to avoid extreme satire and "doom posting" to stay authentic to Warmly's brand. Dave and Max dive deep into Chapter 5: Become a Publisher & Get on Social Media. They discuss how social media has evolved since the book's release, the impact of AI on content creation, the changing role of PR versus organic social media, and why consistency matters more than ever. Dave shares his philosophy on posting frequency, the value of weekend content, and why authentic, unpolished posts often perform better than AI-generated perfection. Tune in to learn how to show up consistently, avoid common founder mistakes, and build publicly without being overly promotional! HIGHLIGHTS: 0:00 Intro 0:36 Episode Begins 1:10 Max's role model update: Derek Schoettle and Peter Walker 2:20 Anti-role models: Avoiding extreme satire and doom posting 3:24 Dave's shift away from "everything is dead" marketing content 3:51 Moving from Building Quietly to Building Publicly 4:06 Changes in the social media landscape since the book's release 4:39 The importance of having a clear angle and being known for something 5:40 The impact of AI on content creation and authenticity 6:54 Why consistency and substance matter more than ever 8:41 The shift from traditional PR to social media 10:07 Why TechCrunch coverage matters less than it used to 11:21 Earned media through social media vs. traditional publications 12:28 The value of comments and reshares as modern PR 13:31 Common founder mistakes: Inconsistency and being overly promotional 14:09 Posting frequency: How often should founders post on LinkedIn? 16:16 Why weekend content often performs better 17:06 The "five to nine before nine to five" content trend 17:42 Speaking to your audience vs. speaking to a broader group 18:51 The "give, give, give, ask" social media strategy 19:57 How reading and consuming content fuels creativity 21:09 David Ogilvy's wisdom on stuffing your subconscious with information 22:24 Five questions for founders building publicly 23:28 Dave's Readwise tip for capturing and revisiting highlights Connect with Max on LinkedIn - /max-greenwald Connect with Dave on LinkedIn - /davegerhardt Want to convert your website visitors instantly? Try Warmly for free - https://warmly.ai/

Taking risks in your Personal Brand without losing your audience - Find Your Role Models

Welcome to episode 4 of Maximus & The Founder Quest! In this monthly series, Max Greenwald (Co-founder & CEO of Warmly) continues his founder brand journey with Dave Gerhardt (Author of Founder Brand & Founder of Exit Five). Max reveals Warmly's new explainer after user testing: "AI tools to build your best lists of prospects and convert them automatically." They refine the messaging around person-level intent signals and debate whether "buying committee" is too jargony for their authentic brand voice. Dave and Max dive into Chapter 4: Finding Your Role Models, Mentors, and Anti-Role Models. They discuss why most advice isn't statistically significant, how to observe successful brands without needing meetings, and why you should steal bits and pieces from different role models rather than copying anyone wholesale.  Max shares his role models (Adam Robinson, David Risher from Lyft) and they explore the balance between being controversial and being yourself. Tune in to learn how to build your marketing playbook by cherry-picking the best traits from brands you admire! HIGHLIGHTS: 0:00 Intro 0:35 Episode Begins 1:30 Recap: Warmly's new explainer and tagline 2:24 Drafting off AI trends while staying simple 2:47 Person-level intent signals vs. buying committee language 4:39 Why "buying committee" feels too formal 5:24 Making your explainer authentic and approachable 6:06 Chapter 4: Finding Role Models, Mentors, and Anti-Role Models 6:42 Why most advice isn't statistically significant 7:54 The "experience share" approach to advice 8:12 Multiple ways to succeed in marketing 9:09 Looking beyond SaaS for brand inspiration 10:01 Brand role models vs. technical role models 10:22 Anti-role models: defining what you don't want to be 11:15 You don't need meetings with your role models 12:07 The digital trail: learning from the Wayback Machine 13:05 Max's role model: Adam Robinson and building in public 13:52 Taking ingredients, not the whole recipe 14:51 Buffer's transparency playbook 15:16 David Risher at Lyft: staying close to customers 16:06 Using VCs as mentors for broader data perspective 16:15 Anti-role models: not boring, not too safe 16:42 Getting flamed on LinkedIn no matter what you post 18:09 Being controversial requires conviction and big boy pants 18:39 Defining your anti-role models through your own taste 20:04 Staying authentic when moving upmarket 20:38 Building a mood board of marketing you love and hate 21:09 Having a strong point of view as competitive advantage 22:00 Founder-led marketing beyond LinkedIn posts 23:03 The Patagonia lesson: easier to be yourself than a character 23:55 Clarity on your marketing approach enables authenticity Connect with Max on LinkedIn - /max-greenwald Connect with Dave on LinkedIn - /davegerhardt Want to convert your website visitors instantly? Try Warmly for free - https://warmly.ai/

Maximus & The Founder Quest: Episode 3 - Craft Your Message

Welcome to episode 3 of Maximus & The Founder Quest! In this monthly series, Max Greenwald (Co-founder & CEO of Warmly) continues his founder brand journey with Dave Gerhardt (Author of Founder Brand & Founder of Exit Five). This month, Max shares his progress on defining Warmly's villain (ABM is dead) and niche (technical marketing leaders at mid-market companies), plus his big move to the Bay Area to be closer to his ICP. Dave and Max dive deep into Chapter 3: Creating an Effective Explainer, where they tackle the challenge of explaining what your company does without resorting to buzzword soup or elevator pitch pressure. Dave breaks down his "So you know how..." framework that turns complex positioning into relatable conversations, and they workshop three potential explainer directions for Warmly - from TAM CRM to person-level intent platform to AI-powered super-marketers. They discuss why education is the best marketing, how to get authentic messaging from customer feedback, and why your story should always be evolving. Tune in to learn how to create explainers that make people lean in and say "Oh, how do you do that?" HIGHLIGHTS: 0:00 Intro 1:27 Episode Begins 2:05 Recap: Warmly's villain statement and niche definition 3:14 Max's move to the Bay Area to be closer to his ICP 4:18 The hero story and origin narrative strategy 4:57 Education as the best marketing - lessons from Drift 6:06 The power of manifesto content and strong points of view 7:37 Why messaging comes from customer feedback, not brainstorms 9:17 Chapter 3: Creating an Effective Explainer 9:41 Why Dave hates elevator pitches and tagline pressure 10:19 The conversational approach to explaining your company 11:22 The "first line, second line" copywriting principle 12:15 Taking pressure off the perfect one-liner 13:01 How Dave explains Exit Five using relatable analogies 13:53 Three potential explainer directions for Warmly 14:22 Option 1: The TAM CRM approach 15:15 Why buzzword soup can be problematic 16:15 Option 2: Person-level intent platform 17:09 The shift from inbound nets to outbound spears 18:04 Option 3: Powering super-marketers with AI agents 19:33 Making claims nobody else can make 20:14 Why messaging is never done - the iterative approach 21:33 Using your team to gather explainer feedback 22:01 Understanding your competitive landscape to stand out Want to convert your website visitors instantly? Try Warmly for free - https://warmly.ai/

Maximus & The Founder Quest: Episode 2 - Define Your Enemy

Welcome to episode 2 of Maximus & The Founder Quest! In this monthly series, Max Greenwald (Co-founder & CEO of Warmly) continues his founder brand journey with Dave Gerhardt (Author of Founder Brand & Founder of Exit Five).  Max shares how he completely overhauled Warmly's website and messaging based on Dave's advice from episode 1, and they explore the challenges of evolving from serving SDR managers to demand gen marketers.  Dave breaks down why having a villain is crucial for storytelling and warns against common pitfalls when declaring something "dead" in your messaging. They discuss the concept of minimum addressable market, when to expand beyond your first niche, and how to balance talking about where you are today versus where you're going.  Tune in to learn how to pick your lane, define your enemy, and build a compelling brand story that resonates! HIGHLIGHTS: 0:00 Intro 0:36 Episode Begins 1:18 Reviewing the 6 questions and Warmly's refined messaging 2:43 The importance of constantly evolving your messaging 4:06 Chapter 2: Defining Your Niche and Defining Your Villain 4:17 What is a niche and why does it matter? 5:27 The minimum addressable market concept 7:54 How to know when it's time to move beyond your first niche 10:01 The challenge of serving multiple personas 12:31 Balancing where you are vs. where you're going 14:13 The "supermarketers" vision for demand gen 16:01 Why having a villain is crucial in brand storytelling 17:31 Common pitfalls when creating your villain 18:47 Choosing between different villain types 19:26 Making ABM the villain - how to do it right 20:30 Addressing market skepticism head-on Connect with Max on LinkedIn - /max-greenwald Connect with Dave on LinkedIn - /davegerhardt Want to convert your website visitors instantly? Try Warmly for free - https://warmly.ai/

Maximus & The Founder Quest: Episode 1 - Becoming a Storyteller

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Maximus & The Founder Quest!  In this monthly series, Max Greenwald (Co-founder & CEO of Warmly,) will team up with Dave Gerhardt (Author of Founder Brand & Founder of Exit Five) on a mission to level up Max's founder brand. In this episode they tackle the fundamentals of storytelling and why most founders get social media ROI completely wrong. Dave shows Max how to think long-term about brand building and reveals his 6-question framework that turns positioning exercises into actual LinkedIn content strategy. Tune into the full episode to learn how to become a storyteller! HIGHLIGHTS: 0:00 Episode Starts 0:21 Why founder brand matters more than ever 3:48 The mistake of measuring immediate social media ROI 4:24 Max's family of professional storytellers 9:48 The "give, give, give, ask" social media strategy 12:18 Why marketing attribution doesn't work for brand 14:15 Using LinkedIn as a feedback loop for product ideas 15:36 The commitment required to succeed 19:51 Dave's 6-question founder brand framework 24:57 How to make ABM the villain in your story 28:27 Turning positioning into LinkedIn content strategy Connect with Max -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-greenwald/ Connect with Dave -   https://www.linkedin.com/in/davegerhardt/ Want to convert your website visitors instantly? Try Warmly for free - https://warmly.ai/