FiredUp! - The Startup Marketing Podcast

LinkedIn remains the highest-precision B2B advertising network available, enabling marketers to target verified job titles, seniorities, and exact company buying committees. However, LinkedIn Ads are also notoriously expensive, and the platform's default settings are engineered to burn through your marketing budget rapidly without delivering real pipeline. In this episode of FiredUp!, Morgan,...

With the rapid acceleration of AI capabilities, cybersecurity vulnerabilities and supply chain attacks are surfacing at a concerning pace. From sudden infrastructure outages to critical third-party software exploits, technology startups face a significantly higher probability of experiencing a severe security breach or data incident. For marketing directors, founders, and PR leaders, an unexpected...

Securing top-tier business media coverage in elite publications like The Wall Street Journal , The New York Times , Bloomberg , Fortune , and Axios is the ultimate dream for B2B tech founders and startup marketers. But breaking through the massive wall of reporter inbox clutter, automated email filters, and strict editorial paywalls presents an incredible challenge. Most early and late-stage start...

B2B buyers are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence and chat interfaces to conduct software research and evaluate vendors before a sales representative ever enters the conversation. However, execution strategies for GEO and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) are undergoing rapid shifts as search engines update algorithms to combat mass-produced AI slop. Startup marketing leaders face an o...

The broader media landscape has shifted overnight from discussions about data center pushback to intense, high-stakes debates over an outright AI apocalypse and existential technology risks. High-profile resignations from frontier labs like Anthropic, coupled with growing fears over superintelligence and agent containment failures, have triggered calls for federal AI regulation and corporate slowd...

B2B buyers are no longer relying solely on traditional search engines to discover software and build vendor shortlists—they are conducting deep research inside AI conversations before sales teams ever hear from them. For startup marketing leaders and PR executives, this shift creates a severe visibility crisis: if your brand isn't structured correctly for AI crawlers, your product is complete...

Imagine knowing exactly how an influential tech reporter, an analyst, or a key regulator will react to your pitch or announcement before you hit send. Traditional market research, focus groups, and media monitoring are important for your PR strategy, but can take weeks, cost tens of thousands of dollars, and often lack the speed required for modern corporate strategy and crisis management. On this...

As the amount of AI Slop content we see across the internet grows, major players are shifting and fighting back. From LinkedIn introducing options for users to flag AI content on their feeds to Anthropic embedding watermarks in response to the EU AI Act, one thing is made clear: people are fed up with low-quality AI generated content. But how do we balance utilizing AI as part of our strategy whil...

The landscape of B2B public relations and tech comms is shifting faster than ever before. Driven by the rise of generative AI slop, shrinking newsrooms, journalists’ overflowing inboxes, traditional media relations playbooks aren’t holding up. On this episode of FiredUp!, we analyze the capabilities required to execute a high-impact communications program in today’s world. We discuss standing out...

Navigating early-stage startup marketing in a crowded, highly regulated market is one of the toughest trials a founder or marketing leader can face. From determining the right ideal customer profile to breaking through established, legacy competitors, seed-stage companies are forced to make high-stakes go-to-market decisions with limited runways and tight budgets.  On this episode of FiredUp!, we...

With many corporate leadership teams issuing a strict mandate to integrate artificial intelligence across every business function, marketing and PR leaders are facing a tough operational question: Where does AI actually drive efficiency, and where does it create massive strategic risk? On this episode of FiredUp!, we take a practical look at how to rank your public relations workflow from low stak...

When two or more companies merge, they bring an inevitable clash of identities, disjointed messaging, and fractured cultures. Far too many organizations waste critical post-deal runway trying to push a messy grab bag of products without a unified commercial story. If your team is struggling to navigate customer friction or figure out which brand names to preserve, you are facing a classic, high-st...

Today, tech brands are running headfirst into a massive wave of AI backlash marked by growing public skepticism, data center infrastructure pushback, and intense resentment toward automated technologies. If your company is trying to announce an AI-native interface, launch autonomous agents, or roll out a new usage-based pricing model, traditional marketing playbooks are falling flat. On this episo...

AI has enormous potential to accelerate our workflows and to accelerate content production, but it can also slow things down. While generative AI tools have enormous potential to speed up your daily marketing operations, relying on them for all of your external communications is creating a massive hidden tax on your productivity. Many marketing teams are trapped in a cycle of relying on automated...

Traditional SEO rankings are no longer enough to guarantee visibility as B2B buyers shift their research to AI engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude. For many startup marketers, these platforms represent a blank space where traditional tracking tools fail to provide clear insights. In this episode, we dive into the fundamental shift from deterministic search to probabilistic AI platforms wi...

Event season is back, and for many marketers, it feels like a high-stakes gamble. You’ve invested in the floor space, the logistics, and the senior team's travel, but breaking through the noise of a crowded conference center is harder than ever. On this episode of FiredUp!, we dive into the strategic playbook for maximizing your time at events. We address the common pain point of booth invisi...

In 2026, B2B buyers are more insulated than ever. The explosion of AI-generated emails and automated cold calls has made it nearly impossible for startups to break through using traditional spray and pray tactics. On this episode of FiredUp!, we explore the fundamental shift in B2B buyer behavior and what it means for founders hiring their first sales team. We address the specific pain point of de...

The pace of software development is accelerating at an unprecedented rate, driven by AI tools like Cursor and Claude Code that allow companies to launch features faster than ever before. For startup marketers, this speed creates a new dilemma: how do you manage a product PR program when feature fatigue makes traditional announcements less effective?  If your brand is simply shoving a grab bag of f...

You’ve spent months pitching investors, navigating due diligence, and finally closing your latest round of funding, only to realize that announcing it is harder than ever. With over 3,300 VC deals per quarter and a shrinking pool of dedicated venture reporters, your news is fighting for airtime in a saturated market. On this episode of FiredUp!, we address the frustration of silent launches and ex...

Is AI coming for your PR job, or is it just coming for the tedious parts of your workflow? Many communications professionals are stuck in ChatGPT limbo—using basic prompts but failing to unlock the true potential of AI agents and agentic workflows. On this episode of FiredUp!, we dive into the frontier of vibe coding and PR automation. This week, episode 130 of the FiredUp! podcast is about AI age...

In the hyper-competitive tech landscape of 2026, waiting for your own "big news" isn't enough to stay relevant. Startups often struggle to break into top-tier publications or build relationships with new reporters because they are shouting into a void of crowded inboxes. On this episode of FiredUp!, Morgan and Chris unpack the world of newsjacking for tech brands. They address media...

As the first quarter of 2026 hits its stride, marketing leaders are facing a new kind of pressure. The traditional marketing playbooks are being rewritten by the shift from keyword-based SEO to AI-driven search. Are you prepared for the April 1st Board Meeting question: How is AI search actually impacting our bottom line? On this episode of FiredUp!, we dive into the mailbag to answer the burning...

In the crowded tech landscape of 2026, building brand awareness isn't just about flashy logos or polished websites; it's about breaking through the digital noise with authentic human connection. The challenge right now is that corporate posts are being ignored while the AI slop of generic, machine-written content is eroding trust with potential customers and investors. On this episode of...

In an era of digital ad fatigue, how does a startup break through the noise to build real-world authority? Startup marketers are feeling the burn of skyrocketing CPAs on social platforms and a growing distrust of purely digital brands. In this episode opf FiredUp!, we explore the modern evolution of Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising, from precision-targeted digital billboards to measurable attribution...

In 2025, we saw a massive surge in AI-generated content, followed by an even bigger backlash from audiences tired of shallow, automated insights. If your engagement is dropping and your brand feels indistinguishable from the competition, you’re likely falling into the trap of being AI-dependent rather than AI-enhanced. On this episode of FiredUp!, Morgan, Nicole, and Chris dive into the backlash a...