E-Coffee with Experts

In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, Austin Willman sits down with Madeleine Hooper, Director of Brand & Social Media Marketing at 12th Tribe, to break down how luxury brands, influencer marketing, and experiential activations actually drive real business results. From behind-the-scenes insights into Camp Poosh and working with high-profile brands, to understanding why perception, pricing, an...

In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, our host Austin Willman chats with Nicole Franco, Head of Digital PR, AI Innovation at Fractl. She shares bold insights on what’s overhyped in digital PR (hint: survey campaigns), why AI is not killing PR, and how the best teams are using LLMs like Claude and ChatGPT to scale smarter, without sacrificing quality. Nicole breaks down: - Why excessive survey...

In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, our host Austin chats with Adam Barber, Global CCO at Brafton Inc., to break down how enterprise brands must rethink content marketing in a world dominated by LLMs, AI Overviews, and zero-click search. From building true topical authority to leveraging YouTube as a visibility engine, this conversation dives deep into what’s actually working right now. We e...

In this episode of E-Coffee with Experts, Ray Shefska, Co-Founder at CarEdge, shares how he leveraged 43 years inside retail automotive dealerships to build an $8M education-first platform helping consumers navigate car buying with confidence. We talk about: - Why traditional dealership sales models are built on confrontation - How transparency is transforming the automotive industry - The real pr...

In this episode, Joe Caley, Senior Digital Marketing Manager, Search Lead at Optix Solutions, breaks down how Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) are transforming digital marketing strategy in 2025. If you're a founder, CMO, SEO strategist, or marketing leader, this conversation will reshape how you think about content, authority, and growth. We cover: - The r...

In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, Konstantinos Ntoukakis, Co-founder, Director at Studio for Digital Growth, breaks down how SEO has evolved in the AI era, and why retention, trust-building, and bottom-funnel optimization now outperform vanity metrics. We explore how AI search tools like ChatGPT are reshaping buyer journeys, why traditional E-E-A-T signals aren’t enough for LLM visibility,...

In this episode, Austin Willman sits down with Philip Adigwe, Head of Digital Marketing at SUSHISAMBA, to unpack how luxury hospitality brands can drive measurable growth using server-side tracking, first-party data, and smarter retention strategies. Philip shares how he generated a 21:1 return on ad spend using email data and Meta campaigns, why hospitality attribution fails between front-end web...

In this episode of E-Coffee with Experts, we sit down with Tomas Milar, Founder and CEO at Eqvista, to uncover the hidden equity mistakes that silently hurt startups. From launching fintech ventures across Europe, Hong Kong, and the United States to building one of the largest equity management and valuation platforms, Tom shares his journey into the world of cap tables, 409A valuations, and real-...

In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, our host Austin Willman chats with Megan Conahan, EVP at Direct Agents, and shares how she built multiple new business frameworks inside the same company by thinking like an entrepreneur, without being the founder. We dive deep into: - How agency leaders can identify new growth opportunities - The power of pattern recognition in digital marketing - Why men...

In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, our host Austin Willman chats with Jordan Choo, and shares how he built and sold Kogneta, transitioned out of day-to-day operations, and what founders MUST understand before thinking about an acquisition. From systemizing with SOPs and Notion to empowering team members as “quarterbacks,” Jordan breaks down the leadership shift required to build a sellable...

In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, we sit down with Kirsty Sharman, Founder at Referral Factory, to break down how modern referral programs actually drive sustainable growth. After manually managing referrals in spreadsheets at 2AM, Kirsty built a plug-and-play system that now powers thousands of referral campaigns across SaaS, solar, finance, healthcare, education, and agencies. We cover:...

In this episode of E-Coffee with Experts, Brian Winum, Digital Marketing Director at MAXPlaces Marketing, LLC, breaks down what’s actually working in enterprise SEO in 2026. From losing clicks due to AI Overviews to rebuilding authority using entity-driven strategies, Brian shares practical insights for founders, CMOs, and marketing leaders navigating AI-mediated search environments. We cover: - W...

In this episode of E-Coffee with Experts, Peter Singh-Vigilante, President at Vigilante Marketing, breaks down how SEO, backlinks, AI tools, and generative search are reshaping digital marketing in 2025 and beyond. Peter shares his journey from developer to agency founder, revealing why technical depth still beats surface-level marketing knowledge. He explains why AI is NOT a strategy engine, how...

In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, Austin Willman sits down with Anniston Ward, PR & Education at Metricool, to break down how modern brands should think about social media, analytics, PR, and trust heading into 2026. Anniston shares how social teams can stop obsessing over vanity metrics and start building real audience relationships, why consistency matters more than polished content, and...

In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, our host Austin Willman talks with Tom Skinner, Co-founder & Managing Director, Go Up Ltd, to break down what’s really happening in search right now, and why many AI tracking tools are creating more confusion than clarity. We dive into why traditional SEO metrics can’t simply be copied into AI search, the risks of chasing vanity AI rankings, and how brands...

In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, our host Austin Willman talks with Marko Arsic, Head of SEO at Digital Spice, who shares how enterprise and franchise brands can scale SEO without relying on traditional link building. With over a decade of experience working with 120+ websites, Marko explains why large franchise businesses don’t need aggressive backlink campaigns — and what they should fo...

In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, our host Austin Willman talks with Josh Curcio, Chief Revenue Officer & Partner at protocol 80, Inc., and breaks down how revenue operations, AI tools, and intelligent content strategy can turn a CRM into a true lead generation and deal acceleration engine. We talk about: - How to build ICP-driven lead scoring models - Using buyer intent and data enrichmen...

In this episode of E-Coffee with Experts, Austin Willman sits down with Chris Raulf, Founder & Chief Visionary Officer at Boulder SEO Marketing, to break down how AI, agents, and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) are reshaping the future of search. With over 30 years in SEO, Chris explains how he transitioned from traditional optimization to an AI-first strategy—long before most marketers caugh...

In this episode, Austin Willman sits down with Nick Fraunfelder, CEO of Sure Oak, to break down how GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is reshaping search, visibility, and authority in an AI-driven world. As Google, ChatGPT, and other LLMs move toward answer-based search experiences, brands must rethink how they earn trust, citations, and visibility beyond page-one rankings. Nick explains why GE...

In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, our host Austin Willman sits down with Robert Faulkner, Founder of Datadial, to unpack what separates agencies that last from those that burn out. From launching a web agency in 1998 to navigating SEO, paid media, AI, and ever-changing digital trends, Robert shares hard-won lessons on patience, culture, and sustainable growth. You’ll learn why chasing shin...

In this episode of E-Coffee with Experts, our host Ranmay sits down with Sam Page, Head of SEO at InMotion Hosting, to unpack how modern SEO leaders must adapt in an AI-driven search landscape. With over 20 years of hands-on SEO experience, Sam has led search strategy across agencies and global brands including Amazon Business and Slack. In this conversation, he shares how SEO has shifted from ran...

In this episode of E-Coffee with Experts, our host Austin Willman sits down with Alaina Corsini, Head of Agency at Red Shark Digital, to break down how modern agencies are using AI to streamline operations, scale content, improve SEO workflows, and empower teams, without sacrificing brand voice, creativity, or humanity. Alaina shares how her agency integrates AI into onboarding, content creation,...

In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, our host Austin Willman sits down with Erika Braeger, Manager, Organic Growth Strategy at Ten Speed, to break down how modern SEO strategies are built today for B2B SaaS companies. Erika shares how SEO has evolved from keyword stuffing and low-relevance content into a precision-driven discipline focused on ICP research, jobs-to-be-done, and user intent. Th...

In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, our host Austin Willman sits down with Erika Weiss, Founder and Principal of Elevated Brand, and shares what branding really means today and why it’s no longer optional for founders, agency owners, and marketing leaders. Drawing on her experience working with household names like Disney and Beachbody, Erika explains how top leaders stay relevant in fast-ch...

In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, we sit down with Patrik Connole, Director Of Organic Marketing at Oozle Media, to break down what actually matters in modern SEO, agency growth, and leadership in a post-AI world. Patrik shares how he spent over a decade at one agency, scaling from a $14/hour SEO specialist to leading organic strategy and operations, while most marketers job-hop every two...