Messy Growth

Everyone is chasing algorithms. More posts. More AI.More hacks. More engagement tricks. But what if we’ve been solving the wrong problem all along? In this episode of Messy Growth, I sit down with Carmen Vicente -LinkedIn Top Voice, marketing leader, and one of the sharpest thinkers in B2B social to unpack what actually drives attention and trust today. We talk about why going viral can be a curse...

Everyone talks about digital transformation, AI, fintech, and innovation. But why do so many transformation projects fail? In this episode of Messy Growth, I sit down with Tom Hill, CEO of Zyntrix and former retail transformation leader at Sainsbury’s, Poundland, KFC, and SSP.After spending nearly two decades on both the operational and executive sides of retail, Tom shares why businesses don’t ac...

Everyone is creating content. Founders post every day. Companies publish blogs. AI can write almost anything in seconds. So why is trust harder to earn than ever? In this episode of Messy Growth, I sit down with Wendy Jacobson, founder of Incredible Content, who’s spent nearly two decades helping B2B companies turn expertise into credibility. We talk about why going viral is often overrated, why m...

Everyone is building. AI has made launching products easier than ever, but building something is no longer the hard part. Getting people to care is. In this episode of Messy Growth, I sit down with Basia Derkowska, Fractional CMO and Go-To-Market Advisor, to talk about what actually happens after you’ve built the product. We cover why “go-to-market” suddenly became everyone’s favorite buzzword, wh...

Most founders think product-market fit looks like a full calendar, pilot customers, and growing interest. They’re wrong. In this episode of Messy Growth, I sit down with product marketing leader Elina Bazinas to unpack why attention is not the same as traction, how startups confuse interest for demand, and why positioning is becoming the most important competitive advantage in the AI era. We discu...

Most businesses don’t have a marketing problem. They have a positioning problem. In this episode of Messy Growth, I sit down with Nick Gulic - founder of Creative Click, former accountant, business coach, consultant, and one of the few people willing to call out the internet’s obsession with looking professional. We talk about why AI is making everyone sound the same, why founders struggle to stan...

Courtney Raymond has spent two decades inside companies watching them pour money into growth while quietly bleeding customers out the back door. In this episode we get into why churn happens before most companies even notice it, what customer experience actually means beyond the buzzword, and why the way businesses communicate with customers is still one of the most underrated competitive advantag...

Tech layoffs. AI hype. Burnout. Rising costs. Empty careers. Every week I sit down with my friends, Gustavo Frietas and Rui Ferreira and we discuss all things happening inside of tech and the effect it's having on people and the environment around this. This week we unpacked: Why AI probably isn’t replacing jobs as fast as people think Why modern work feels increasingly meaningless The hidden...

This week on Messy Growth, Mick Griffin returns to the show and this conversation goes deep into one of the hardest challenges in SaaS:👉 When do you build something new inside an existing company? Mick is leading growth at Traffit, one of Poland’s fastest-growing ATS platforms, and recently helped launch Smart Jobs, a standalone hiring platform designed to fix one of the most broken parts of recr...

Helena Fogarty has seen startup fundraising from both sides, as a founder who raised capital herself, and now as a fundraising advisor helping founders close rounds faster and smarter. In this episode of Messy Growth, we unpack the reality of raising venture capital in today’s market: Why most founders fail to raise money What investors actually care about How startup fundraising really works behi...

Most people think growth comes from strategy. Atul Sood thinks it comes from relationships. In this episode of Messy Growth, I sat down with Atul Sood, a fractional Chief Business Officer, former Google Ventures-backed startup operator, former McDonald’s global business development leader, founder, advisor, and someone who has lived through both massive wins and brutal personal setbacks. This conv...

Most B2B companies are creating content. Very few are creating content that actually drives revenue. In this episode of Messy Growth, I sat down with Ademola Adelakun, founder of A2 Media and former professional magician turned B2B video strategist, to break down why most SaaS video marketing fails, what companies misunderstand about content, and how to create videos that actually build trust and...

This episode of Messy Growth goes deep into one of the biggest problems in modern marketing: everything sounds the same. I sat down with Alexandra Gierok, a creative strategist, founder of One Man Orchestra, and artist with over 2M+ streams to break down why authenticity is disappearing and what actually works today. We talk about creativity, psychology, and performance marketing and why most SaaS...

Most sales teams think they’re “buyer-first.”They’re not. They’re running outdated playbooks, using scripted language, and wondering why nothing lands anymore. In this episode of Messy Growth, I sat down with Samantha McKenna - founder of #samsales, former LinkedIn enterprise sales leader, and one of the most respected voices in modern sales. This isn’t theory. This is what actually works right no...

Most startups don’t fail because they can’t grow. They fail because they can’t scale what’s already working. In this episode of Messy Growth, I sit down with Ned Arick (VP of Operations @ Acquisition.com) - someone who’s built and rebuilt revenue engines across multiple companies from $0 → $100M+.We break down: Why hiring more salespeople too early kills growth The difference between real growth v...

Most startups still think:→ Find product-market fit→ Scale distribution→ WinThat playbook is breaking. In this episode of Messy Growth, I sit down (again) with Wiktor Sobolak - fractional Head of Product working with startups from Seed to Series B - to unpack what’s actually happening inside product and growth teams right now. We get into: Why product-market fit is now a moving target The uncomfor...

Most SaaS companies think they’re doing “growth.”In reality? They’re just doing activity. In this episode of Messy Growth, I sit down with Emilia Korczynska (VP of Marketing @ Userpilot) to break down what actually drives sustainable growth in SaaS and what most teams are getting completely wrong. We go deep on: • Why most marketing efforts don’t translate into real growth • The biggest mistake be...

AI is everywhere but very few people actually understand what’s happening under the surface. In this episode, I sit down with Teo Borschberg, Co-founder & CEO of Ogment AI, to break down what AI agents actually are, how companies are using them today, and where this is all heading next. Téo has been building in AI long before it became mainstream founding and exiting an AI company to Unity, an...

Most companies think growth comes from hacks. It doesn’t. In this episode of Messy Growth, I sit down with Julia Salanko, Growth & Experimentation Specialist at Nord Security (NordVPN), to break down what actually drives sustainable product growth. With over 15M+ users, NordVPN isn’t guessing — they’re experimenting, learning, and optimizing at scale. And most teams are doing it completely wro...

Most companies think AI is a shortcut. It’s not. In this episode, Jonathan Kvarfordt (VP of GTM Strategy & Marketing @ Momentum + Founder of GTM AI Academy) breaks down what’s actually happening inside modern go-to-market teams and why most companies are getting AI completely wrong. We go beyond the hype and dive into: • Why AI is NOT an “easy button” for growth • The difference between using...

Raising money sounds glamorous… until you actually try to do it. In this episode of Messy Growth, I sit down with Kat Weaver - exited founder, investor, and founder of Power to Pitch - to break down what really happens behind the scenes of fundraising. We go beyond pitch decks and tactics and dive into: • Why venture capital is NOT your first option (and should be Plan F) • What founders consisten...

What if everything you’ve been told about success… is wrong? In this raw, unfiltered conversation, we dive deep into: • Why work becomes your identity (and why that’s dangerous) • The hidden cost of hustle culture • Why making more money doesn’t actually make you happier • How AI and modern work are reshaping purpose • What truly matters when you look back on your lifeWe also explore: • “Life KPIs...

Something feels off. Content is getting weirder. Attention spans are collapsing. AI is moving faster than anyone expected. And most people don’t even realize what’s happening. In this episode, we go deep on: • Why reaction content and split-screen videos work • The rise of echo chambers and validation loops • How AI is shaping behavior (more than we admit) • Whether this is a bubble… or something...

Most companies are still guessing when it comes to AI and go-to-market. ElevenLabs isn't. In this episode of Messy Growth, I sit down with Jonathan Chemouny, who works in GTM for Europe at one of the fastest-growing AI companies in the world. We go beyond the hype and talk about what’s actually working inside a company scaling at insane speed. We get into: • Why distribution is greater than pr...

In this episode of Messy Growth, I sit down with Amelia Taylor - founder of The Revenue Table, GTM advisor, investor, and one of the strongest voices pushing relationship-first growth in modern SaaS.Amelia’s journey is anything but conventional. She went from luxury real estate to enterprise SaaS, built global demand generation strategies, helped scale companies like Seamless AI, and now advises s...