The Cred Podcast

Sean Cunningham: Reaching Real People in a World Full of Bots

What does it really take to hold an industry accountable? In this episode of The Cred Podcast, host Mack McKelvey sits down with Sean Cunningham, President and CEO of the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB), for a candid conversation about the state of premium video, the battle for measurement transparency, and why the future of advertising depends on getting back to real humans. From the inside story of how the VAB took on Nielsen during COVID to why 54% of internet traffic being non-human should terrify every marketer, Sean makes the case that the advertising industry has been far too tolerant of opacity, bad behavior, and metrics of illusion. The conversation covers the full spectrum of today's video landscape: why not all impressions are created equal, how direct-to-consumer brands have proven premium video is a full-funnel performance driver, and why the "death of linear" is a myth. Sean also gives a preview of what the VAB will be bringing to Possible in a few weeks.

The Trust Knob: How AI Is Changing the Way Companies Make Decisions

What if the most important decision your company makes this year isn't made by a human at all? In this episode of The Cred Podcast, Mack McKelvey sits down with serial entrepreneur Brian Kathman, CEO of OpsCanvas, to unpack one of the most underexplored frontiers in AI: decision memory. Brian has been building companies since 1999 — from the world's first transactional online bank to mobile messaging long before the iPhone existed — and now he's tackling the question keeping enterprise leaders up at night: when do we trust AI to make the call? Brian introduces the concept of the "context graph" — the trillion-dollar missing layer that Foundation Capital calls the key to unlocking AI in production — and explains why 90% of enterprise AI initiatives are stuck in proof of concept. Spoiler: it's a trust problem, not a technology problem. They also dig into the "trust knob," the idea that handing decisions to AI isn't a binary switch but a dial, and that the smartest companies are figuring out how to turn it up gradually, without losing the humans along the way.

Decisions Fail in the Gaps

Decisions fail in the gaps, not the strategy. In this episode of The Cred Podcast, Denise Graziano (Founder and CEO of Graziano Associates) breaks down why smart teams still make costly decisions. It's not a lack of data or intelligence. It's misalignment, not thinking two steps ahead, or treating communication like an afterthought instead of a strategic tool. Denise has spent 30 years as a trusted advisor to CEOs, CFOs, and boards and she's watched the same pattern repeat itself: leadership teams who think they're aligned but aren't even defining the problem the same way. Meanwhile, speed driven by AI, investor pressure, and shrinking ROI runways pushes decisions forward before they're fully pressure-tested. And the fallout rarely looks like a bad strategy. It's simply a gap nobody closed.

First Check Calls Game

Most people think they're not qualified to make investment decisions. Cheryl Kellond thinks that's exactly the problem. A 3x founder, 3x Ironman, 4x mom, and CEO of PlayMoney, Cheryl is on a mission to open up early-stage investing to the people who actually understand the problems worth solving. In this episode, she challenges the outdated model of capital allocation and makes the case that the real barrier isn't money, expertise, or access. It's a system built for a world that no longer exists. At its core, this is a conversation about decision-making as a skill. Cheryl breaks down why small checks, consistent reps, and learning by doing matter more than waiting until you're "ready." She and Mack get into the math behind portfolio building, the reality that losses come before wins, and why the only thing that actually predicts success is how many decisions you make. If you've been sitting on the sidelines, consider this your push: first check calls game.

Question the Question with Pam Scott & Di Tompkins

Feel stuck on a decision? Try interrogating the question. Pam Scott and Di Tompkins have been solving hard problems together for decades, and their first move is almost always to question whether someone is solving the right problem. As co-founders of The Curious Company, they bring outside perspective to mission-driven leaders who've hit a wall: a different color to paint with, a reframed question, and the kind of honest conversation most organizations aren't having internally. On this episode of The Cred Podcast, Mack sits down with two genuinely curious women who listen for a living, challenge with warmth, and have built a 26-year partnership by celebrating what makes them different. It's a conversation about creativity, decision-making, and what happens when you finally stop trying to answer the wrong question.