How I Grew This is a podcast hosted by Amanda Vandiver and Adam Landis exploring the real stories behind digital growth. Each episode features candid conversations with leaders in marketing, product, and tech about how they built, scaled, and navigated challenges in an ever-changing digital landscape. From breakthrough strategies to hard-earned lessons, guests share what actually worked—and what didn’t—along the way.

How I Grew This: Real Stories of Digital Growth

How can artificial intelligence enhance—rather than diminish—our capacity for authentic human connection? In this episode of How I Grew This, Amanda and Adam speak with Alexis Daniels Stein, Founder and CEO of TalkPilot, a real-time AI communication coach designed to help users speak with confidence, clarity, and impact. Alexis shares his unique trajectory from studying psychology and cognitive science to traveling the world as a solo backpacker and building a tech startup without a traditional engineering background. He details how modern AI development tools like Claude Code empowered him to act as a solo founder, managing everything from product development to business operations. Alexis also unpacks his growth strategies—highlighting the efficiency of Apple ads and direct customer discovery—and presents a compelling philosophy on overcoming the existential risks of AI by prioritizing human relationships, beauty, and emotional depth.  
What You’ll Learn:

Why solo founders using AI tools are uniquely positioned to innovate faster than legacy organizations 
How to identify and solve real customer problems by speaking directly to at least three new users weekly 
The "Stealing vs. Copying" framework for competitive advantage 
How to use AI as a force multiplier for hiring and team productivity 
Why product-market fit trumps marketing spend 
The philosophical opportunity AI presents for humanity  

About the Guest(s):
Alexis Daniels Stein is the Founder and CEO of TalkPilot, a real-time AI communication coach engineered to assist users during live interactions. With an academic background spanning psychology, cognitive science, and philosophy of mind, Alexis approaches tech entrepreneurship from an analytical and human-focused perspective. A former globetrotter who spent years busking and traveling across Colombia, the Netherlands, Israel, and Spain, he eventually settled in San Francisco to launch TalkPilot as a solo founder. By combining psychological insights with technical execution, he aims to use AI as an enabler for deeper relational connection.   
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.
Episode Highlights:
[00:09:40] Build Teams That Trust AI Tools from Day One 
[00:14:30] Identify and Solve Real Customer Problems Before Scaling
[00:16:18] Leverage App Store Discovery as Your Primary Distribution Channel
[00:17:27] Product-Market Fit Beats Marketing Spend Every Time
[00:20:16] Become Your Own Primary Beta Tester and Competitive Observer
[00:24:40] Use Your Product as a Tool for Self-Awareness and Growth
Episode Resources:

Alexis Daniels Stein on LinkedIn
TalkPilot on LinkedIn
TalkPilot Website
Amanda Vandiver on LinkedIn
Adam Landis on LinkedIn
Branch on LinkedIn
Branch Website
How I Grew This on Apple Podcasts
How I Grew This on Spotify
How I Grew This on Simplecast

The Psychology of AI: How Real-Time Coaching Is Rewiring Human Communication with Alexis Daniels Stein

How do you build a lasting career in an industry constantly disrupted by privacy changes and technological shifts? In this episode of How I Grew This, Amanda and Adam sit down with Angela Humphrey, General Manager of North America at YouAppi, to explore her career trajectory in mobile adtech and the modern realities of user retargeting. Angela dispels the myth that retargeting died post-ATT, revealing how deterministic opt-ins and probabilistic modeling allow apps to profitably re-engage high-value users. She also breaks down the rapid shift of Connected TV (CTV) from a top-of-funnel brand play into an actionable performance channel, sharing strategies on deep linking, assist metrics, and multi-device consumer behaviors. Beyond the tech stack, Angela opens up about transitioning into high-level leadership, delegating control, and why leading with authenticity beats projecting impenetrable strength. Tune in to gain actionable growth strategies for modern app marketing and inspiration for navigating leadership growth.
What You’ll Learn:

How to navigate career growth from an entry-level account manager to General Manager
Why mobile app retargeting remains highly effective post-ATT privacy changes
The technical prerequisites required for probabilistic and deterministic retargeting
How Connected TV (CTV) is transitioning from brand awareness into a true performance channel
How to evaluate the "value of assist" for CTV campaigns driving downstream mobile app actions
Why authentic vulnerability makes for stronger, more effective leadership

About the Guest(s): 
Angela Humphrey is the General Manager of North America at YouAppi (an Affle company), bringing a decade of specialized experience in performance mobile app marketing, programmatic DSP advertising, and user retargeting. Beginning her AdTech career in 2015 after transitioning from the legal field, Angela steadily rose through the ranks at YouAppi—serving as Junior Account Manager, Sales Executive, and Growth Lead before stepping into her current GM leadership position. Known as an AdTech "unicorn," she has spearheaded strategic shifts during major industry inflection points, including navigating post-ATT privacy frameworks and integrating CTV into core performance strategies. Her approach combines deep technical expertise in mobile ecosystems with a human-centered, authentic leadership style.
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.
Episode Highlights:
[00:06:50] Building Retargeting Strategies That Survive Privacy-First iOS Restrictions - 
[00:12:08] Deep Linking Is Non-Negotiable Infrastructure for Effective Retargeting - 
[00:19:56] Shift CTV from Pure Brand Play to Performance-Driven Channel with IP-Based Attribution - 
[00:23:00] Define a Clear Monetization Goal Before Scaling Any Channel - 
[00:23:51] Plan Marketing Infrastructure for Six-Month Sprints, Not Five-Year Roadmaps - 
[00:25:03] Authentic Leadership Drives Both Personal Fulfillment and Business Results -  
Episode Resources:

Angela Humphrey on LinkedIn
YouAppi on LinkedIn
YouAppi Website
Amanda Vandiver on LinkedIn
Adam Landis on LinkedIn
Branch on LinkedIn
Branch Website
How I Grew This on Apple Podcasts
How I Grew This on Spotify
How I Grew This on Simplecast

Retargeting in a Post-Privacy World: How Angela Humphrey Navigates Mobile Growth and the Rise of CTV

What if adhering to strict patient privacy regulations wasn't a growth blocker, but the exact key to unlocking hyper-efficient performance marketing? In this episode of How I Grew This, Amanda and Adam sit down with Jessica Holton, Co-Founder of Ours Privacy, to explore the complex landscape of healthcare marketing. From navigating murky HHS/OCR pixel guidelines and state privacy laws to launching a $15M Series A round, Jessica reveals how Ours Privacy helps healthcare brands eliminate the false choice between compliance and performance. Whether you are a healthcare marketer, a founder navigating compliance, or an operator preparing for the age of AI, this conversation offers an essential blueprint for building user trust and high-fidelity tracking across the entire patient acquisition journey. 
What You’ll Learn:

How to strip sensitive health data while maintaining advertising efficacy 
Why consent management is foundational to compliant healthcare marketing 
The critical difference between HIPAA compliance and broader privacy risk 
How to unify the full patient acquisition journey across web and mobile 
Why privacy-first architecture actually unlocks better marketing data and AI potential 
How to position compliance as a trust-building differentiator 

About the Guest(s):
Jessica Holton is the Co-Founder of Ours Privacy, a HIPAA-safe customer data platform (CDP) designed to help healthcare organizations grow without compromising patient privacy. Her journey into privacy infrastructure began at Ours Therapy—a relationship and telehealth platform she co-founded—where she experienced firsthand the friction of scaling digital marketing while protecting sensitive patient data. Recognizing an industry-wide need, she launched Ours Privacy, which recently announced a $15 million Series A round backed by LightBank and Health Velocity Capital. Today, Jessica and her team empower over 200 healthcare organizations—ranging from fast-growing digital health startups to multibillion-dollar health systems—to safely navigate data tracking, consent management, and performance analytics. 
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.
Episode Highlights:
[00:02:29] Strip Sensitive Health Data While Maintaining Advertising Performance 
[00:10:47] Position Compliance as a Marketing Team Responsibility, Not Just Legal 
[00:14:45] Audit Your Entire Digital Ecosystem for Hidden Tracking Technologies 
[00:19:16] Privacy-First Architecture Actually Unlocks Better Marketing Data and Insights 
[00:22:52] Extend Attribution Across Web-to-App Journey Using HIPAA-Eligible Partners 
[00:28:11] Balance AI Data Access with Consent-First Frameworks for Future-Proof Compliance 
Episode Resources:

Jessica Holton on LinkedIn
Ours Privacy on LinkedIn
Ours Privacy Website
Amanda Vandiver on LinkedIn
Adam Landis on LinkedIn
Branch on LinkedIn
Branch Website
How I Grew This on Apple Podcasts
How I Grew This on Spotify
How I Grew This on Simplecast

The End of False Choices: Putting Privacy First to Unlock Performance Marketing in Healthcare

What if the future of software wasn't building everything from scratch, but orchestrating the physical world through a single API? In this episode of How I Grew This, Amanda and Adam sit down with Sy Bohy, Founder and CEO of Seam, to explore why IoT integration is becoming the next critical infrastructure layer for developers, how AI is democratizing automation for prosumers and small businesses, and the counterintuitive strategy of knowing when not to build in-house. Whether you're a founder navigating the AI revolution or a builder looking to compete at scale, this conversation reveals why operational knowledge and distribution are now your greatest defensibility—and why the next golden age of discovery is just beginning.
What You’ll Learn:
How to identify defensible moats in a crowded AI landscape
Why calculated early-career risk-taking compounds into founder advantage
The framework for choosing what not to build as a founder
How prosumer markets are reshaping SaaS
Why personalization at scale requires coordinating multiple devices, not just data
The non-negotiable CEO skill in the AI era 
About the Guest(s):
Sy Bohy is the Founder and CEO of Seam, a software platform providing a unified API to control any IoT device across thousands of brands and models. With a Stanford background and early experience at Nest—the pioneering company that kicked off the smart home revolution—Sy brings deep expertise in IoT infrastructure, hardware-software integration, and scaling connected device ecosystems. In this episode, Sy shares insights on how AI and agentic workflows are democratizing device automation for prosumers and enterprises alike, while offering actionable advice on building defensible companies in the age of AI. His work at Seam is enabling developers and businesses worldwide to coordinate the physical world at scale, making this conversation invaluable for founders, product leaders, and anyone building the infrastructure of tomorrow's autonomous environments. 
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.
Episode Highlights:
[00:04:10] Take Calculated Risks Early in Your Career When You Have Financial Freedom
Sy shares a transformative lesson from a Stanford professor who advised graduates to prioritize calculated risk-taking while young, rather than accepting high-paying corporate jobs that will always be available later in life. This insight is critical for founders and builders because the compounding advantage of early exposure to cutting-edge teams (like Nest's iPhone/iPod veterans) creates irreplaceable domain expertise that money cannot buy. Most early-career professionals face pressure to maximize salary, but this framework reframes that choice as a trade-off between short-term security and long-term founder advantage. The practical step is to identify high-impact teams solving important problems, even if compensation is dramatically lower than alternatives, and commit 2–4 years to mastery. Sy's decision to join Nest at $39,000/year instead of a $100k+ tech job directly enabled his later success in IoT—he developed operational knowledge and conviction about the space that competitors lacked. For ambitious builders, choosing learning over early wealth compounds into defensibility when you eventually start your own venture.
[00:11:49] Developer-First Product Strategy Captures AI-Driven Market Expansion
Sy shares that Seam initially experimented with selling to non-technical buyers but discovered the highest leverage came from building for developers, a choice that proved prescient when AI coding agents emerged and democratized programming. This insight matters because the recent 5–10x explosion in API key creation mirrors GitHub's massive growth in code commits—AI is not just a feature, it's expanding the entire addressable market of people capable of building software. Rather than chasing traditional enterprise buyers, Seam positioned itself as infrastructure for the next wave of builders, including non-technical founders and SMB operators coding their own solutions. The strategy is to build with the assumption that your primary user will soon have superhuman coding assistance, making ease-of-integration and complete API coverage the primary competitive moats. For Airbnb hosts automating their properties or small businesses orchestrating smart devices, Seam's API became essential because these operators could now write their own workflows instead of waiting for SaaS vendors. For any infrastructure company, betting on the developer audience early, before AI tools mainstream that audience, provides a massive timing advantage—you'll have market dominance when demand explosively expands.
[00:17:11] Custom Tools Beat Generic SaaS in the Age of Personalized Agentic Workflows
Sy reveals that Seam built its own CRM from scratch despite the conventional wisdom that this is "insane," because off-the-shelf tools like HubSpot are optimized for UI and manual workflows, not for AI agent coordination. This is a major shift in software economics: historically, buying was always cheaper than building, but AI has inverted that calculus for companies willing to sacrifice traditional UIs for agent-native systems. The challenge Seam faced is that agentic workflows need data organized for machine efficiency, not human navigation—and typical commercial CRMs struggle to accommodate this. The practical implementation is to identify where your business processes are fundamentally at odds with how SaaS products structure data and workflows, then build a minimal custom layer (database + integrations) that lets AI agents operate effectively. Sy notes this requires a debugging mindset because it demands continuous refinement, boundary setting, and playbook documentation for the agents. For founders with technical depth, the ROI is massive: a custom internal tool optimized for agents outperforms fighting against a generic platform's constraints. This signals a coming wave where every scaling company will maintain hybrid stacks—generic SaaS for some functions, custom agent-native tools for competitive operations.
[00:22:54] Build Only What Creates Incompressible Advantage; Outsource Everything Else
Sy introduces the "incompressible advantage" framework—the idea that some knowledge (operational playbooks, edge-case handling, real-world reliability) cannot be accelerated by AI or shortcuts, while other work can be outsourced to best-in-class providers. This is essential for founders in the AI era because competitive pressure tempts every company to build everything in-house, which disperses focus and slows progress on defensible work. The mistake Sy sees repeatedly is SaaS companies spending months trying to build custom hardware integrations or webhook infrastructure when they should be investing in their core, irreplaceable capability. The practical application is to audit your roadmap and identify the 1–2 areas where you have an unfair advantage, then ruthlessly outsource or pay for everything else (payments via Stripe, webhooks via an infrastructure provider, etc.). For Seam, that incompressible advantage is four years of operational knowledge about device behavior, manufacturer relationships, and edge-case handling—something no competitor can build quickly. This principle directly applies to any startup: focus your scarcest resource (founder time) on what only you can build, not on work that commoditized providers already solve better and cheaper.
[00:25:10] Personalization at Scale Requires Coordinating Multiple Devices, Not Just Data
Sy reframes personalization beyond digital-only thinking: the future is coordinating dozens of physical devices (thermostats, locks, lights, speakers, appliances) to create frictionless, preference-aware experiences. This is critical for founders because most personalization strategies focus solely on data (recommendation algorithms, segmentation) while ignoring the physical layer where real-world experiences actually happen. In hospitality, the difference between a generic room and a personalized one is whether the temperature, music, lighting, and entertainment are pre-configured to individual guest preferences—something only possible by orchestrating IoT devices seamlessly. The practical implementation is to track user identities across physical spaces and attach preference profiles (Seam introduced this via user identity objects), then use automation to synchronize devices at arrival and reset them at departure. Sy notes that by mapping things like target sleep temperature, the environment can reshape itself automatically, delivering an experience that feels like magic. For marketers and operators, the insight is that true differentiation increasingly lives in physical experience coordination, not in traditional marketing messages. As AI enables businesses to automate device orchestration without custom development, the competitive moat shifts from "can we build this" to "did we build this"—making early adoption of coordinated device platforms a strategic imperative.
[00:29:14] CEOs Must Stay Deeply Technical and Build Constantly, Especially in the AI Era
Sy emphasizes that he still pushes 50–60 pull requests per day as CEO, citing Paul Graham's insight that a CEO slightly too deep in building is vastly better than one who isn't, because deep technical involvement is the only way to maintain conviction about what's possible and what's coming. This is non-negotiable in the AI era because the pace of capability change is so rapid that strategy divorced from hands-on building becomes obsolete. The challenge is that executive pressure pulls founders toward management and hands-off strategy, creating a knowledge gap where leaders make poor decisions because they've lost touch with technical reality. The practical guidance is to carve out working hours for coding, testing, and building, not just delegation—this maintains the conviction needed to make high-leverage bets about where the market is moving. For Seam, Sy's constant coding means he experiences device integration problems firsthand, understands which competitor moves matter, and identifies opportunities in real time rather than through filtered reports. For any founder building in fast-moving spaces like IoT or AI, losing touch with technical execution is equivalent to losing market awareness—you risk becoming a manager instead of a builder, and you will be outpaced by founders who remain in the code.
Episode Resources:
Sy Bohy on LinkedIn
Seam on LinkedIn
Seam Website
Amanda Vandiver on LinkedIn
Adam Landis on LinkedIn
Branch on LinkedIn
Branch Website
How I Grew This on Apple Podcasts
How I Grew This on Spotify
How I Grew This on Simplecast

The API of the Physical World: Sy Bohy on the Future of Connected Hardware

What if the most intimate device in your pocket could understand exactly what you need—before you even search for it? In this episode of How I Grew This, hosts Amanda and Adam sit down with Harish Thimmappa, SVP and GM of Discovery Ads at Branch, to explore an on-device solution revolutionizing app discovery. Learn why first-party data is becoming the ultimate competitive advantage, how Branch powers search experiences on half a billion devices worldwide, and the counterintuitive strategies that balance user privacy with advertising performance. Whether you're a marketer looking to diversify beyond Meta and Google, an app developer navigating a crowded ecosystem, or an AdTech enthusiast curious about the future of personalization, this conversation reveals the technology and thinking that's reshaping mobile commerce. Tune in to discover why the next generation of advertising isn't about who bids the most—it's about who understands the user best.
What You’ll Learn:
How to build trust by prioritizing user experience over ad load
Why on-device bidding and ad selection outperforms cloud-based systems
The power of behavioral pattern recognition beyond search intent
How to align supply and demand in ad tech marketplaces
Why first-party data is now the competitive moat in advertising
How to position experimentation as table stakes for modern marketers
About the Guest(s):

 If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.
Episode Highlights:
[00:07:50] Maintain a 90/10 Organic-to-Ad Ratio to Build OEM Trust
[00:00:32] Capture Non-Intuitive Behavioral Patterns to Unlock Deeper Targeting
[00:17:03] Move Ad Selection On-Device to Overcome Connectivity and Privacy Constraints 
[00:19:58] Align Supply, Demand, and Product Teams to Prevent Monetization Failures 
[00:22:56] Win Advertiser Confidence Through Performance Rather Than Features Alone 
[00:33:20] Marketers Should Experiment Beyond Meta and Google to Find Information Asymmetries 
Episode Resources:
Harish Thimmappa on LinkedIn
Amanda Vandiver on LinkedIn
Adam Landis on LinkedIn
Branch on LinkedIn
Branch Website
How I Grew This on Apple Podcasts
How I Grew This on Spotify
How I Grew This on Simplecast

Shifting the Search Paradigm: How Branch Discovery Powers On-Device Intent for Half a Billion Users with Harish Thimmappa

What if the key to mobile campaign success wasn't just about driving installs? In this episode, host Amanda sits down with Erica Johnson, Director of Global Platforms at Publicis Collective, to explore why thinking beyond the install matters, how to build seamless cross-device experiences, and the critical role measurement plays in modern mobile advertising, alongside AI's growing influence. Whether you're navigating measurement challenges, managing complex global migrations, or preparing for 2026's mobile landscape, this conversation is packed with actionable strategies from the Publicis Mobile Summit. Tune in to uncover how a holistic approach to mobile campaigns drives real, measurable growth. 
What You’ll Learn:
How to move beyond install-focused metrics and measure long-term value
Why the web-to-app journey deserves immediate attention
The crawl-walk-run framework for executing large mobile campaigns
How to approach MMP migrations strategically
Why AI in ad operations requires teaching the technology your standards rather than fearing it
How to accelerate into leadership roles
About the Guest(s):
Erica Johnson is Director of Global Platforms at Publicis Collective, bringing deep expertise in digital marketing, media technology, and ad operations. With a career spanning mobile advertising, mobile measurement partners (MMPs), and campaign execution across social, search, programmatic, and CTV channels, she has become a recognized MMP power user and advocate for holistic campaign strategy. In this episode, Erica shares insider perspectives from the Publicis Mobile Summit on emerging trends shaping 2026, including the shift beyond install metrics, the transformative role of AI in ad operations, and strategies for seamless cross-device experiences. Her work migrating global clients across platforms and implementing sophisticated measurement infrastructure has positioned her as a thought leader for brands seeking to optimize mobile performance and measurement in an increasingly fragmented ecosystem. This conversation is essential for marketing professionals and growth strategists looking to navigate mobile advertising complexities and build sustainable, data-driven campaign foundations. 
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.
Episode Highlights:
[00:06:17] Think Beyond the Install to Drive Long-Term Mobile App Value 
[00:16:06] Prioritize Postback Events and Partner Configuration in MMP Migrations 
[00:17:27] Prioritize the Web-to-App Journey as a Critical Campaign Foundation 
[00:21:00] Adopt the Crawl-Walk-Run Framework for Large Campaign Execution 
[00:32:02] Lean Into AI Rather Than Fear It—Build Standards and Drive Quality Assurance 
[00:36:45] Pursue Challenging Projects to Build Leadership Credibility and Expertise 
Episode Resources:
Erica Johnson on LinkedIn
Publicis Collective on LinkedIn
Publicis Collective Website
Amanda Vandiver on LinkedIn
Branch on LinkedIn
Branch Website
How I Grew This on Apple Podcasts
How I Grew This on Spotify
How I Grew This on Simplecast

Beyond the Install: Erica Johnson on Building Smarter Mobile Campaigns

What if the most intimate device in your pocket could understand exactly what you need—before you even search for it? In this episode of How I Grew This, hosts Amanda and Adam sit down with Harish Thimmappa, SVP and GM of Discovery Ads at Branch, to explore an on-device solution revolutionizing app discovery. Learn why first-party data is becoming the ultimate competitive advantage, how Branch powers search experiences on half a billion devices worldwide, and the counterintuitive strategies that balance user privacy with advertising performance. Whether you're a marketer looking to diversify beyond Meta and Google, an app developer navigating a crowded ecosystem, or an AdTech enthusiast curious about the future of personalization, this conversation reveals the technology and thinking that's reshaping mobile commerce. Tune in to discover why the next generation of advertising isn't about who bids the most—it's about who understands the user best. 
What You’ll Learn:
How to build trust by prioritizing user experience over ad load
Why on-device bidding and ad selection outperforms cloud-based systems
The power of behavioral pattern recognition beyond search intent
How to align supply and demand in ad tech marketplaces
Why first-party data is now the competitive moat in advertising
How to position experimentation as table stakes for modern marketers
About the Guest(s):
Harish Thimmappa is the SVP and GM of Discovery Ads at Branch, leading a standalone business unit that has grown into a major force in mobile advertising. With over two decades of experience in adtech, Harish has built a reputation for scaling technology and advertising businesses, previously holding key roles at InMobi, Supersonic Ads, Kensho, and Unboxed. In this episode, he reveals how Branch Discovery leverages on-device machine learning and first-party data to deliver contextually relevant search results and ads to over 500 million devices globally, while maintaining user privacy and trust. Harish shares actionable strategies for marketers on experimenting with emerging ad platforms, demanding performance-based results, and diversifying spend beyond Meta and Google. His work in developing privacy-first, performance-driven advertising solutions makes this conversation essential listening for digital advertisers and adtech professionals seeking to understand the future of mobile discovery and app monetization. 
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.
Episode Highlights:
[00:07:50] Maintain a 90/10 Organic-to-Ad Ratio to Build OEM Trust
[00:12:32] Capture Non-Intuitive Behavioral Patterns to Unlock Deeper Targeting
[00:17:03] Move Ad Selection On-Device to Overcome Connectivity and Privacy Constraints 
[00:19:58] Align Supply, Demand, and Product Teams to Prevent Monetization Failures 
[00:22:56] Win Advertiser Confidence Through Performance Rather Than Features Alone 
[00:33:20] Marketers Should Experiment Beyond Meta and Google to Find Information Asymmetries 
Episode Resources:
Harish Thimmappa on LinkedIn
Amanda Vandiver on LinkedIn
Adam Landis on LinkedIn
Branch on LinkedIn
Branch Website
How I Grew This on Apple Podcasts
How I Grew This on Spotify
How I Grew This on Simplecast

What if you could turn creator content into your most cost-effective acquisition channel? In this episode of How I Grew This, Amanda and Adam sit down with Nic Weber, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Noise, to explore why creator-powered marketing outperforms traditional ads, how to build viral campaigns at scale, and the strategies that transform unknown creators into growth engines for your brand. Whether you're a mobile app founder struggling with user acquisition costs or a marketer looking to unlock authentic engagement, this conversation reveals actionable frameworks on relatability, need, and novelty—plus real examples of brands achieving pennies-on-the-dollar CPMs. Tune in to discover how to leverage 950,000+ creators and tap into the future of performance marketing. 
What You’ll Learn:
How to build a two-sided marketplace that aligns creator incentives with brand performance
Why the interest graph has replaced the social graph
The three-lever framework for viral content: relatability, need, and novelty
How to reverse-engineer virality by finding existing successful content in your niche, iterating on it with multiple creators, and then scaling the winning variation
Why users acquired through short-form content are higher-intent than traditional paid ads
How to leverage organic platform algorithms as a free ad network
About the Guest(s):
Nic Weber is Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Noise, known for his expertise in creator-powered marketing and viral content strategy. With a background spanning graphic design, mobile publishing, gaming, and consumer apps, Weber has built scalable growth systems that transform how brands acquire customers through short-form content. At Noise, he has pioneered a two-sided marketplace that connects creators with brands, enabling acquisition costs as low as 8¢ effective CPM through viral video campaigns—a model Weber himself validated by building a consumer app to 2 million downloads. In this episode, Weber reveals the psychology behind viral content, the formula for creating trends, and how brands can leverage an army of everyday creators to dramatically reduce customer acquisition costs while maintaining authentic brand messaging. His insights on relatability, need, and novelty provide actionable frameworks for marketers looking to move beyond traditional influencer partnerships and tap into the most addictive social platforms in the world. 
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.
Episode Highlights:
[00:09:07] Why Human Creators Beat AI for Social Media Marketing –
Nic reveals that despite AI videos achieving 20 million views, human creators remain essential because they understand audience psychology and can adapt messaging in real-time. The challenge for brands is that algorithms favor authentic human connection, which AI cannot replicate, making creator-led campaigns fundamentally more effective at driving conversions. While AI can generate volume, it lacks the contextual awareness needed to resonate emotionally with viewers, causing audiences to immediately recognize and skip synthetic content. To leverage this insight, brands should prioritize recruiting diverse creators over investing in AI video generation, even when scaling campaigns across multiple platforms. A concrete example: Noise saw dramatically better performance when they had thousands of creators post variations of a concept rather than relying on a single AI-generated video, because the human variations naturally included hooks and messaging tweaks that resonated differently with different audience segments. For brands looking to maximize ROI on short-form platforms, this means building creator armies that can iterate in real-time based on performance data, not betting on automation.
[00:10:49] The Formula for Viral Content: Find, Iterate, Scale –
Nic breaks down virality into a repeatable three-step framework: find existing viral content in your niche, iterate on it with multiple creators to test variations, then scale the winning formula across your entire creator base. Most brands fail because they try to create original viral content, ignoring the fact that the internet has already validated what works—making "not being smarter than the internet" the key to success. The real work happens in the iteration phase, where real creators bring their own creativity to hooks, text overlays, and presentation styles, naturally producing variations that hit different audience segments. Brands should start by identifying viral videos in their category with 1+ million views, then brief 50-100 creators to create their own versions with slight modifications, tracking which variations generate the highest views and conversions. For example, if a competitor's cleaning product video went viral, a brand selling a mop should create dozens of variations showing different mom personas, different pain points, and different product demonstrations—then double down on whichever version outperforms. This approach transforms viral success from a lottery into a predictable, scalable system.
[00:14:18] CPM-Based Creator Partnerships Outperform Flat-Fee Influencer Deals –
Nic explains that paying creators a fixed amount per post ($500–$10,000) creates misaligned incentives, while CPM-based pricing ensures both brand and creator profit when content performs well. When a brand pays a creator a flat fee for a single post that underperforms, the creator has already been paid and has no incentive to improve, while the brand absorbs the loss—this is why traditional influencer marketing often fails to deliver ROI. With CPM pricing, creators are incentivized to post repeatedly, test variations, and double down on high-performing content because their earnings scale with views and conversions. A creator earning $3,000 from a viral post that converted well will stay committed to that brand and continue optimizing, whereas a creator who received a one-time $10,000 payment that didn't convert will move on to find another client. Brands should set CPM targets ($0.50–$2.00 depending on category) and let creators decide when and how to participate, creating a continuous flywheel rather than one-off campaigns. This approach also filters for creators who genuinely understand audience psychology, because only skilled creators can consistently deliver high-view, high-converting content at scale.
[00:35:13] The Three Pillars of Viral Content: Relatability, Need, and Novelty –
Nic identifies three non-negotiable elements that drive engagement and conversions on short-form platforms: relatability (audiences must see themselves in the content), need (addressing a real problem), and novelty (offering something unexpected or improved). Without relatability, content fails to stop the scroll; without addressing an actual need, viewers won't take action; and without novelty, the message blends into the noise of competing products. Brands can audit their content strategy by asking: Does my audience see themselves in this? Am I solving a real pain point? Am I showing something they haven't seen before? The most powerful products combine all three—like the self-wringing mop that's relatable to busy parents, solves the frustration of manual wringing, and delivers a novel product feature. To apply this framework, start by researching viral content in your category that already demonstrates these three elements, then craft your creator briefs around how your product amplifies each pillar. This transforms vague creative direction into a measurable framework that creators can execute against, dramatically improving the odds that content will gain traction.
Episode Resources:
Nic Weber on LinkedIn
Noise on LinkedIn
Noise Website
Amanda Vandiver on LinkedIn
Adam Landis on LinkedIn
Branch on LinkedIn
Branch Website
How I Grew This on Apple Podcasts
How I Grew This on Spotify
How I Grew This on Simplecast

The Viral Growth Blueprint: How Nic Weber Turned Creators Into a Scalable Acquisition Engine

What if you could transform your app's revenue without sacrificing user experience? In this episode of How I Grew This, hosts Amanda and Adam sit down with David Leviev, Chief Revenue Officer and Co-Founder of Nimbus, to explore how publishers can build custom monetization solutions, why user experience directly impacts long-term revenue, and the key strategies to leverage AI and first-party data in a post-IDFA world. Whether you're a mobile app publisher looking to optimize ad performance or an ad tech enthusiast curious about the future of auction mechanics, this conversation is packed with actionable insights on balancing monetization with retention. Tune in to discover how the right decisioning layer can unlock premium CPMs and sustainable growth. 
What You’ll Learn:
Why building a custom monetization stack makes sense
How to identify the magic retention threshold through testing
The decisioning layer framework for auction optimization
Why omitting proprietary demand creates competitive advantage
The three-pronged approach to overcome signal loss post-IDFA
How to structure dedicated publisher support for sustainable growth
About the Guest(s):
David Leviev is Chief Revenue Officer and Co-Founder of Nimbus, a full-stack mobile ad monetization platform. With a background in ad tech spanning companies like Pubgears and pivotal experience monetizing the popular Timehop app, David brings deep expertise in programmatic advertising, auction mechanics, and publisher-first monetization strategies. In this episode, David shares practical insights on building sustainable ad experiences that balance revenue optimization with user retention, providing actionable strategies for app publishers looking to maximize their monetization without sacrificing user experience. His work at Nimbus—where he champions transparency, direct demand relationships, and AI-driven auction optimization—has helped publishers reclaim control over their ad stacks and significantly increase CPMs, making this conversation essential for anyone interested in mobile app monetization and ad tech innovation. 
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.
[00:14:21] Find Your App's "Magic Number" for Ad Duration Through Retention Testing - 
David discovered that Timehop's optimal ad display duration was 1.3 seconds—far shorter than industry standards—by systematically testing retention metrics rather than relying on generic benchmarks. Publishers often assume longer ad exposure equals higher revenue, but this approach overlooks the silent user churn that happens when friction increases without generating app store complaints. By monitoring uninstall rates alongside clickthrough rates and viewability scores, you can identify the exact threshold where user experience breaks down. Start with incremental testing, pushing duration limits while watching for organic drops in daily active users or session length. This precision-based approach protects lifetime value and prevents the revenue decay that comes from aggressive ad placements. Smaller publishers can apply this same framework to their own apps, treating retention as the north star metric that balances monetization with sustainable growth.
[00:18:56] Assign Dedicated Cross-Functional Teams to Each Publisher Instead of Generic Support Channels - 
Nimbus provides each onboarded publisher with a dedicated team of five people—an account manager, customer success representative, solutions engineer, technical account manager, and demand facilitator—plus a shared Slack channel for streamlined communication. This stands in stark contrast to industry-standard support models where publishers email a generic address and receive responses from rotating staff across multiple time zones, leading to unresolved issues and missed optimization opportunities. The cost of dedicated support is offset by the ability to deeply understand each app's unique monetization challenges and implement tailored strategies that generic solutions cannot address. These teams proactively monitor ad performance, recommend market trends, and evaluate inventory quality—transforming support from reactive troubleshooting into strategic partnership. For publishers evaluating ad tech partners, demand dedicated support structures as a non-negotiable contract requirement. This investment in human infrastructure becomes a competitive differentiator that directly impacts your ability to optimize revenue while protecting user experience.
[00:24:04] Use Machine Learning to Optimize Auction Costs by Predictively Throttling Bid Requests - 
David explains that applying ML and agentic AI to auction mechanics allows publishers to reduce cloud infrastructure costs (AWS bills) while simultaneously improving bid prices by selectively inviting only demand partners likely to win at premium rates. Traditional waterfall and open-auction approaches waste compute resources by running bids from all demand partners on every impression, even when specific partners have historically shown no intent or ability to compete on that inventory. By analyzing historical bidding patterns, buyer behavior, and performance trends, you can predict which demand partners will generate winning bids on specific user segments and throttle unnecessary bid requests accordingly. This "offensive" strategy preserves DSP budgets for higher-value inventory, encouraging demand partners to bid at their true ceiling rather than low-ball testing bids designed to learn your auction models. Publishers implementing this approach report both lower AWS costs and higher effective CPMs, turning infrastructure expense into a revenue optimization lever. Start by reviewing your last 60-90 days of auction data to identify which demand partners win most frequently on which user segments, then implement bid throttling rules that reflect those patterns.
[00:28:39] Build First-Party Data Packages by Identifying User Behavioral Patterns in Auction Data - 
Instead of relying solely on third-party identifiers like Trade Desk UID or LiveRamp Ramp ID, publishers can reverse-engineer their own audience segments by analyzing which advertisers consistently bid on specific users and what creatives they deliver. For example, if user "John Smith" repeatedly sees BMW and Mercedes ads across multiple auction windows, you can confidently tag him as an "auto enthusiast" and package millions of similar users into curated deals that command premium pricing. This first-party signal approach gives smaller publishers leverage with SSPs and DSPs without requiring massive scale, as SSPs now bundle mom-and-pop apps into curated packages based on performance KPIs rather than audience size alone. Start by tagging users with authenticated credentials (Gmail login, phone number), then analyze 30-60 days of auction data to identify behavioral clusters and their historical CPM performance. Once you understand your audience segments and can quantify their value with performance data, you can confidently pitch curated packages to demand partners. This transforms raw auction data into a proprietary asset that protects against signal loss and increases your negotiating power.
[00:32:40] Set Competitive CPM Floors Based on Historical User Monetization Patterns - 
Publishers without access to third-party identifiers or SSP curation tools can still reclaim significant revenue by implementing dynamic CPM floors that reflect how valuable specific users have historically been in auctions. Rather than using a flat floor across all inventory, analyze your auction history to understand whether a particular user consistently generates $5+ CPMs or $0.50 CPMs, then set asymmetric floors that prevent valuable users from being sold at commodity rates. This approach requires no external partnerships or complex data infrastructure—just historical performance data and the discipline to say "no" to low-priced bids on premium inventory. Even mom-and-pop publishers with limited scale can gain a competitive edge by ensuring their most engaged or high-LTV users don't see cheap remnant ads, which directly impacts long-term revenue and user retention. Start by segmenting your user base into quartiles based on historical CPM performance, then set floor prices that reflect each segment's actual market value. This simple lever can increase effective CPM by 10-20% without requiring audience data partnerships or sophisticated ML infrastructure.
Episode Resources:
David Leviev on LinkedIn
Nimbus on LinkedIn
Nimbus Website
Amanda Vandiver on LinkedIn
Adam Landis on LinkedIn
Branch on LinkedIn
Branch Website
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The Ad Monetization Paradox: How User Experience Drives 3x Revenue Growth with David Leviev

What if your MarTech stack was actually working *for* you instead of against you? In this episode of How I Grew This, hosts Amanda and Adam sit down with Rebecca Nackson, CEO of Notable, to explore why most companies fail at implementation after buying tools, how to enlist salespeople as strategic partners in your buying process, and the key strategies to build a system of continuous testing and iteration. Whether you're drowning in marketing software or trying to make sense of your growth stack, this conversation is packed with actionable insights to help you move from tool chaos to strategic clarity. Tune in to discover why the best-performing teams aren't using more tools—they're using them smarter.
What You’ll Learn:
How to reframe your career as intentional pattern recognition rather than random luck
Why the sales process is broken and how to fix it as a buyer
The critical implementation gap no one talks about
How to act as "connective tissue" across distributed teams
The test-learn-scale framework that separates high-growth teams from stalled ones
Why build vs. buy decisions are about to shift dramatically with AI and low-code tools
About the Guest(s):
Rebecca Nackson is the CEO of Notable, a marketing consultancy specializing in helping companies navigate and optimize their marketing technology stacks. With a background spanning Audible, iHeartRadio, Bandsontown, and Prolific, Rebecca brings deep expertise in digital transformation, marketing operations, and cross-functional alignment. In this episode, she shares candid insights on bridging the gap between buying marketing tools and successfully implementing them—a critical pain point for modern marketing teams. Her philosophy centers on understanding the "job to be done" rather than defaulting to solutions, and her work has helped numerous companies avoid costly MarTech missteps while building sustainable growth systems. This conversation is essential listening for marketers and product leaders seeking to maximize ROI from their technology investments and create alignment across distributed teams.
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.
Episode Highlights:
[00:01:45] Embrace "Career Squiggles" Over Linear Planning - 
Rebecca Nackson reframes career success not as following a predetermined path, but as recognizing patterns across seemingly random opportunities—what she calls "career squiggles." Most professionals assume their early roles must align with their end goal, but Rebecca's trajectory through Audible, iHeartRadio, and Bandsontown shows that adjacent experiences compound into unexpected expertise. The pressure to have a five-year plan can actually blind you to emerging patterns and opportunities that only make sense in hindsight. Instead, focus on developing deep skills in each role and staying alert to common denominators across different industries and companies. By the time you've worked across multiple verticals, you've gained a superpower: seeing what others miss because you recognize repeating patterns. This approach transforms career uncertainty into a competitive advantage, especially when building businesses or advising others through similar challenges.
[00:15:45] Fix the Implementation Gap Between Buying and Using MarTech Tools - 
The largest missed opportunity in enterprise software purchases happens after the contract is signed—the step from buying to actually using the tool is routinely skipped, leaving companies paying for solutions they can't operationalize. Most vendors invest heavily in the sales process but provide little support for the critical transition to implementation and integration. Instead of treating your tool evaluation as a final decision, use it as an opportunity to simultaneously inform both your sales process and your implementation strategy by clearly articulating what's broken today and what success looks like for your specific business. This forces vendors to be specific about cost, resource requirements, and phased rollout timelines—information you'll desperately need the day after signing. By reversing the typical process and enlisting salespeople as partners who understand your real constraints, you create a feedback loop that strengthens both the evaluation and the execution. Companies that front-load this discovery work dramatically improve their ability to extract ROI from new tools rather than letting them gather dust.
[00:21:31] Become the "Connective Tissue" Across Siloed Internal Teams - 
One of the most underrated services agencies provide—and one any leader can replicate internally—is acting as connective tissue between teams that rarely interact, especially in remote-first organizations where marketing, product, and engineering don't naturally cross paths. Without deliberate bridging, these teams often become adversarial, with acquisition blaming retention and retention blaming acquisition quality, when in fact they're two sides of the same customer lifecycle coin. The first step is documentation: ask each team to share their current processes, then synthesize and redistribute this information so teams understand how their work feeds into the next stage. Next, facilitate conversations where product marketing shares customer acquisition data with the retention team, and lifecycle marketing shares churn patterns with product, so each team gains visibility into the upstream and downstream effects of their work. When teams understand the complete journey and see how customer data flows from acquisition through retention, they stop treating each other as obstacles and start collaborating on shared metrics. This internal connective work often generates as much value as the external consulting itself because it permanently changes how teams operate together.
[00:28:24] Build Compounding Growth Through Small, Tested Loops Instead of Big Swings - 
The clearest separator between high-growth teams and stalled ones is whether they operate within a system of continuous, small experiments with clear success metrics and predetermined scaling/kill decisions, or whether they take periodic large bets with no learning mechanism. Successful teams treat growth like compound interest—each week they test a hypothesis (if we onboard in this way, will retention improve?), define what success and failure look like before launching, and have a pre-committed plan for scaling if it works or killing it if it doesn't. This approach generates incremental wins that compound throughout the year, so these teams consistently end the year higher than they started, even if individual experiments fail at a normal rate. In contrast, teams taking big swings often see dramatic results one way or the other, but because they didn't isolate variables or document the test conditions, they can't extract learnings or replicate success. The framework is simple: form a hypothesis, run a test, measure against pre-defined success criteria, scale what works, kill what doesn't, and repeat weekly. This systematic approach transforms growth from a series of desperate gambles into a predictable, compounding process that any team can operationalize.
Episode Resources:
Rebecca Nackson on LinkedIn
Notable on LinkedIn
Notable Website
Amanda Vandiver on LinkedIn
Adam Landis on LinkedIn
Branch on LinkedIn
Branch Website
How I Grew This on Apple Podcasts
How I Grew This on Spotify
How I Grew This on Simplecast

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