Ep.130 - Bots Are Stealing Your Ad Budget - Rich Kahn

In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Vince Quinn sits down with Rich Kahn, CEO and Co‑Founder of Anura.io — a leading ad‑fraud detection platform. Rich walks us through how ad fraud works (bots, malware, human fraud farms), the sheer scale of the problem (up to ~22% of digital ad spend is fraud), how marketing teams should recognise when they’re under attack, and practical steps to protect campaigns and restore clean data. A crucial listen for any marketer buying digital media who needs to get ahead of invisible waste.Guest BioRich Kahn is the CEO and Co‑Founder of Anura.io, a specialist ad‑fraud detection solution that emerged from his earlier experience running an ad‑network. After observing the damage fraud was doing in‑house, he built an anti‑fraud platform and spun it out in 2017. eMarketing Association+2ForthRight People+2 Rich boasts nearly three decades in digital advertising and tech, and his mission is to ensure marketers aren’t paying for traffic that isn’t real.TakeawaysAd fraud isn’t niche, across digital marketing, the average loss is ~20‑25% of ad spend (i.e., more than 1 in every 5 dollars) reclaimed by fraudsters. (Rich cites ~$140B stolen from ~$700B spent).Fraud takes many forms: bot‑clicking ads, malware on devices chewing data & battery, human fraud farms clicking/ad farming, competitor attacks (clicking your ads to exhaust budget)Blocking IP addresses alone no longer works: fraud networks exploit residential proxy networks, large pools of IPs refreshed constantly.Channel matters for exposure: search ads ~10‑15% fraud, social ~8‑10%, native/affiliate ~20‑30%, programmatic can hit ~50%.If you’re doing paid digital marketing, you have fraud (it’s not optional) , what matters is how much and what you do about it.The upside: reducing fraud cleans up your data, improves ROI, clears wasted spend, and gives you more confidence in campaign performance.For marketers working on tighter budgets (esp. bootstrapped companies), content marketing and appearing on podcasts (like this one!) are effective channels because you’re reaching new audiences rather than just retargeting the same crowd.Chapters00:00 – Welcome & Intro to Rich Kahn 00:21 – What is ad fraud and what does Anura do 01:21 – Who are the fraudsters and how do they operate 02:33 – Case example: malware on phones drawing data & battery 03:35 – Competitor fraud: clicking rivals’ ads to drive them off budget 06:44 – Why IP‑blocking is outdated — discussion of proxy networks 11:00 – How to figure out how much fraud you have (free scans, analytics) 13:06 – From ad‑network to anti‑fraud spin‑out (Rich’s origin story) 18:08 – Safest traffic: organic/earned, but still has some fraud 19:42 – The ROI of cleaning your ad‑traffic: how big the gains can be 21:54 – Fraud rates by channel (search, social, affiliate, programmatic) 24:08 – Why Rich uses podcasting & content marketing for growth 26:06 – How to follow Rich and Anura for more resources 26:35 – Closing remarksLinkedIn– Follow Rich Kahn on LinkedIn – Connect with Anura.io → https://www.anura.io/Follow Vince Quinn

In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Vince Quinn welcomes Rachel Truair, CMO at Simpro, a leading field service management software company with over $200M in ARR. With 15+ years of marketing experience from startups to Fortune 100s, Rachel shares how Simpro is transforming the trades, like HVAC, plumbing, and electrical industries, into efficient, tech-enabled businesses. She discusses the impact of AI across operations and marketing, from AI-powered work notes and email agents to chatbots, and dives into Simpro’s flagship live event, Simproseum. Whether optimizing go-to-market strategies, creating a partner ecosystem, or delivering intentional content, Rachel emphasizes how efficiency, customer-centricity, and sustainable growth are reshaping modern marketing.Guest BioRachel Truair, Chief Marketing Officer at Simpro. She brings over 15 years of experience steering revenue and growth for a range of organizations, from nimble startups to Fortune 100 firms. At Simpro, she oversees global GTM strategy, leading efforts that drive approximately 90% of the company’s annual revenue.Takeaways-AI as a multiplier, not a replacement: Simpro uses AI-powered work notes to reduce manual data entry.-AI email agents outperform expectations: A pilot “AI BDR” named “Daniela” qualified two opportunities within two weeks and closed one in 30 days. -This initiative contributed to an estimated $1.8M ARR uplift since June.-AI chat enhances availability: Their AI chat function lifted meetings booked by 320%, giving teams flexibility and better customer experiences.-Human + AI = elevated roles: AI freed up BDR time, enabling full-cycle sales careers and deeper account work. Rachel shared a story of a BDR turned AI course creator, AI powered his career leap.-Intentional events and ecosystems: Simpro’s Simproseum (London in October, Sydney in November) unites customers, partners, and industry experts, highlighting AI, change management, labor challenges, and featuring IDC’s Ali Pinder.-Customer‑centric content fuels sustainable growth: Simpro’s marketing thrives on deep customer listening, strategic content creation, and doing fewer things, but doing them better and iterating based on feedback.Chapters00:00 – Introduction to Future Fuzz & Guest 01:14 – What is Simpro: platform for trades 03:12 – AI in Simpro: work notes & email agents 05:12 – Revenue impact from AI email rollout 06:00 – AI chat & meeting uplift 10:03 – AI creating new BDR career paths 11:12 – Custom GPTs & personal productivity 12:30 – Simproseum: live event overview 14:35 – Symposium themes & featured speaker 16:01 – Building the ecosystem & Marketplace 17:53 – How to determine event content needs 20:25 – Intentional sustainable content strategy 23:16 – Episode wrap-up LinkedIn⁠⁠Follow Rachel Truair here Follow Vince Quinn

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Justin speaks with Maria Franzoni, a renowned international speaker bureau owner and agent with over 23 years of experience. They dive into her new book The Bookability Formula, breaking down the essential traits and strategies that separate the top 1% of bookable speakers from the rest. From relevance and memorability to ego management and storytelling, Maria shares the science, and math, behind building a thriving speaking career.Guest BioMaria Franzoni is a leading authority in the speaking industry, with a distinguished career spanning more than two decades as an international speaker bureau owner and agent. She has worked with some of the world's most iconic and in-demand speakers, helping them navigate and grow in the competitive world of professional speaking. Maria is also the founder of Speaking Business Academy and author of The Bookability Formula, a practical guide designed to help speakers of all levels understand what makes them bookable, and stay booked.TakeawaysThe top 1% of speakers deliver 80% of bookings and over 50% of revenue.Bookability = Relevance + Known + Memorable + Easy, all multiplied by Value, divided by (e)Ego.Relevance means solving a pressing, timely problem for a paying audience.Specialists get booked, generalists don’t.You don’t have to be famous to be highly bookable.Memorable speakers lean into their authentic personality and master storytelling.Value is measured not just in impact but in return on time for the audience.Ego can kill your bookings, be easy to work with and easy to find.Chapters00:00 Welcome and Guest Introduction 01:38 The Origin of The Bookability Formula 02:49 R – Relevance to a Paying Market 05:03 K – Known for One Thing 07:36 M – Memorable to Bookers and Audiences 10:26 Introverts vs Extroverts in Speaking 13:23 The Art and Science of Storytelling 16:00 E – Easy to Find, Work With, and Book 19:45 V – The Value You Bring 20:39 The Danger of Ego in Speaking 22:48 Bad Behavior Story from the Speaking Circuit 23:12 Where to Find the Book and More from MariaLinkedInFollow Maria Franzoni on LinkedIn Follow Justin Campbell on LinkedIn

In this episode of Future Fuzz, Justin speaks with Liz McKeon, renowned salon business expert, bestselling author, and award-winning speaker, about building high-performance service businesses with empowered teams, robust cash flow, and work-life balance. Liz shares her journey from beauty professional to business turnaround expert, why emotional connections are central to customer retention, and how her latest venture, Aura 300, is leveraging AI to revolutionize the professional services industry. This conversation is packed with transformative insights for entrepreneurs aiming to scale sustainably while keeping their sanity.Guest BioLiz McKeon is a globally recognized salon business expert, author of the bestseller 30 Days to Beauty Business Success, and a highly sought-after international speaker. With a career spanning health clubs, spas, skincare centers, and distribution companies, Liz has helped thousands of entrepreneurs grow businesses that are profitable, scalable, and built on strong team dynamics. She now runs a thriving coaching and training consultancy, specializing in turning around struggling service businesses. Her latest innovation, Aura 300, brings AI to the beauty and wellness industries with virtual agents that boost sales, fill scheduling gaps, and generate qualified leads.TakeawaysEntrepreneurs often lose sight of why they started; Liz helps them reconnect with their purpose.Emotional connection, not just product or service, drives client retention.Trust and relationship-building are foundational to impactful consulting.Staff motivation and owner mindset are more critical than spreadsheets.AI can fill operational gaps without replacing human staff.Adaptability is key: Post-COVID, leadership demands new emotional skill sets.Freelancing and four-day workweeks are redefining staffing norms.AI tools like Aura 300 can handle sales, rebooking, and lead gen automatically.Chapters 00:00 – Introduction to Liz McKeon 01:02 – From Business School to Beauty Industry 02:47 – Launching Multiple Ventures & Finding Her Calling 03:43 – Liz’s Business Turnaround Philosophy 05:16 – Where Liz Starts with Struggling Businesses 06:44 – Working Beyond the Beauty Industry 07:47 – Retention Challenges in B2C & Liz’s Advice 10:35 – The Power of Emotional Touchpoints in Customer Retention 12:10 – Introducing Aura 300: Emma, Yuki & Nami 15:22 – Filling White Space & Upselling with AI 17:58 – Resistance to Change & How AI Bypasses It 19:35 – AI Adoption & Post-COVID Market Shifts 22:03 – How Liz Predicted a Global Business Reset 24:24 – Liz’s #1 Advice for Business Leaders Today 25:31 – New Skills Leaders Need to Thrive 26:47 – Where to Find Liz & Aura 300LinkedInFollow Liz McKeon on LinkedIn Follow Justin Campbell on LinkedIn

In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Justin Campbell talks with Tom Telford, Chief Digital Officer at Clarity Global, about bridging the often-neglected gap between reputation-building and performance marketing — what Tom calls “the missing middle.” They dig into how integrating communications, content, public affairs, and SEO leads to more unified brand storytelling, better audience engagement, and overall stronger outcomes for both brand & bottom line. The conversation also explores the evolving role of SEO (including generative engine optimization, or “GEO”), video content in B2B, and how to cut through “content puke” by focusing on high‑quality, purpose‑driven work.Guest BioTom Telford is the Chief Digital Officer at Clarity Global, a digital marketing communications agency that works across reputation, growth, performance, and public affairs. He leads efforts that bring together content, comms, performance, and reputation strategy to help brands grow and be seen, balancing the top, mid, and bottom of funnel. Tom has deep upstream experience (reputation, digital, communications) as well as downstream (performance, lead generation) and emphasizes integrated, audience‑centric work.TakeawaysThe Missing Middle Is Critical: Many companies are strong on reputation (brand, storytelling) and performance (lead generation), but neglect the mid‑funnel, engagement, content, social, programmatic, that connects them.The “Red Thread” Must Be Consistent: Strategy, messaging, and objectives need to flow seamlessly across teams, reputation/comms, performance, content. Misalignment in the middle leads to mixed messages and lost opportunity.SEO Isn’t “Dead”, It’s Evolving: SEO remains essential. What’s changing is how we optimize. With the rise of generative models (GEO), brands need to think about prompts, authority, topical coverage, and alignment of your content and comms with search behavior and AI indexing.SEO as Framework vs Channel: Rather than treating SEO as a siloed channel, it should be integral to all content, comms, and strategy. SEO‑informed content (and measurement) can power brand awareness, thought leadership, domain authority, and performance.Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): GEO is about optimizing for AI‑led search and content discovery: ensuring your content is visible, authoritative, and appropriately indexed in LLMs and AI overviews. It’s part of modern SEO strategy.Video in B2B Is Strong, but Must Be High Quality: Video generates more engagement, higher time on site, but it's also easier to rest on mediocre video. The risk is fatigue: many videos are low effort. Good video content still stands out, especially when it’s aligned with audience needs and creative execution.Content Volume vs Specificity vs Strategy: Brands want more content, more personalized content for different decision‑makers, but that creates operational burdens. Content strategy is essential to avoid “content puke”, overload of low value content vs focused, well‑executed material.Chapters00:00 Introduction: Tom Telford and Clarity Global’s mission01:30 The “missing middle”, what it is, why it’s overlooked03:30 Importance of internal alignment & shared objectives (“red thread”)07:00 SEO’s role & whether “SEO is dead”09:30 Introducing GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)16:50 SEO is more than a channel, it’s a framework integrated across content and comms20:30 Video content in B2B: pros, cons, quality vs fatigue23:40 Decision‑making in B2B: content before conversations25:15 Avoiding “content puke”: focus on quality, strategy, not just volume25:40 Wrap‑up & closing thoughtsLinkedInFollow Tom Telford Follow Justin Campbell

In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Justin brings you a special edition live from DMEXCO in Cologne, Europe’s leading digital marketing and tech conference. Featuring a series of interviews with top voices from across the industry, this episode captures the latest innovations shaping digital experiences, ad tech, data privacy, and retail media.You’ll hear from leaders at Contentful, Ogury, ZItcha, and a digital out-of-home (VIOOH) advertising company, sharing insights on how brands are adapting to the cookieless world, building scalable digital experiences, and using personalization, AI, and data ethics to drive smarter engagement.Guest Bios Kristin Montag Brown from ContentfulKristin has been with Contentful for nearly a decade, growing with the company from startup to global scale-up with over 800 employees and 4,000 enterprise customers. As Director of Partnerships for EMEA, she helps clients such as BMG and Scott Sports create scalable, personalized digital experiences that connect brand and product content for both B2B and D2C audiences. Andrea Wieseke from Ogury - Representing Ogury, a leading ad tech company specializing in privacy-first advertising, this guest discusses how the company helps brands like Ford navigate a cookie-less world. By using surveys and contextual targeting rather than identifiers, Ogury delivers meaningful, data-clean advertising experiences rooted in user consent and affinity insights.Darren Jacobs from Zitcha - Based in London, Darren brings insights from Zitcha, an Australian retail media platform helping retailers build and monetize their media networks. He shares why retail media is booming at DMEXCO, how the focus has shifted from global ad tech giants to a more refined, European-centric marketplace, and what’s next for the industry.Megan Bogatski from Zoom Media and Digital Out-of-Home (VIOOH) - Megan introduces a new partnership with One Rebel, a boutique London gym chain catering to wellness-focused audiences. She explains how advertisers, from supermarkets to airlines, are leveraging VIOOH screens in gyms using first-party data to deliver contextual, timely ads that align with active, health-conscious consumers.TakeawaysContentful’s evolution from headless CMS to digital experience platform empowers marketing teams with flexibility and AI-driven personalization.Privacy-first advertising is becoming a non-negotiable, as 60% of users can no longer be identified through cookies.The retail media boom continues, with a sharper focus on European networks and local ecosystem partnerships.Digital out-of-home advertising is merging physical environments with data-driven targeting to reach consumers where they live, move, and train.DMEXCO is regaining its energy post-COVID, smaller in size but higher in quality, fostering genuine, business-driven conversations.Chapters00:00 – Welcome to DMEXCO: The Energy in Hall 6 01:00 – Kristin on Contentful’s Growth and Global Scale 02:15 – From Headless CMS to AI-Powered Content Platform 03:00 – Case Studies: BMG & Scott Sports 03:45 – B2B vs D2C: Why Experience Matters in Both 05:00 – Post-COVID DMEXCO: Quality Over Quantity 05:45 – Ogury’s Mission: Privacy-First Advertising 07:00 – The Cookieless Future and Data Ethics 09:00 – How Ogury Uses Surveys for Persona Targeting 10:00 – Darren from Zitcha on Retail Media Growth 11:30 – The Shift from Global Ad Tech to Local Focus 12:15 – Megan on VIOOH and the One Rebel Partnership 13:30 – Why Fitness and Travel Brands Love VIOOH 14:00 – Data Insights from Gym-Based AdvertisingLinkedInFollow ⁠Justin Campbell⁠ from Future Fuzz on LinkedInFollow Kristin Montag Brown from Contentful on LinkedInFollow Andrea Wieseke from Ogury on LinkedInFollow Darren Jacobs from Zitcha on LinkedInFollow Megan Bogatzki from Zoom Media on LinkedIn

In this episode, James Johnson, founder of Peer Effect, shares the critical mindset shifts founders must make to scale successfully from $1M to $10M and beyond. He unpacks his "Survival to Success Engine" framework and the three toxic rules that drive burnout—“Do more, go faster, self-sacrifice.” James explains how many founders unknowingly stick with survival behaviors that once helped them but now harm their business and well-being. From founder fatigue to team disconnection, James shows how recalibrating mindset, leadership style, and personal habits can unlock sustainable growth and joy.Guest BioJames Johnson is the founder of Peer Effect, a coaching practice that helps ambitious founders transition from the survival phase of business to sustainable scale. Specializing in guiding businesses from $1M to $10M+ revenue, James helps leaders navigate the mindset and strategic shifts required for long-term success. Drawing from his own founder experience and extensive coaching work, James focuses on creating high-impact, emotionally intelligent leadership. His client base includes startup founders who’ve scaled, burned out, and come back stronger with the right support, frameworks, and coaching relationships.TakeawaysThe habits that help you survive can kill your ability to scale."Do more, go faster, self-sacrifice" is unsustainable past $1M.Founders often confuse symptoms (time management) with root issues (strategic misalignment).Emotional consistency from founders directly impacts team energy and success.Coaching is vital—founders need a space to offload and reflect.Mindset shifts from hustle to strategic calm are essential for sustainable growth.Isolation is a common founder challenge, especially for solo entrepreneurs.Founder behavior is contagious, teams mirror the emotional energy of the leader.Chapters00:00 Welcome and Introduction to James Johnson 00:24 The Three Rules That Can Kill Your Business 02:41 Why Scaling Requires a New Set of Habits 04:07 How Long the Survival Stage Typically Lasts 05:32 Burnout Stories: “Successful But Broken” 07:01 The Role of Isolation in Founder Burnout 08:44 Turnaround Case Study: From Breakdown to Breakthrough 11:42 Why Founder Energy Is Contagious to Teams 14:10 The Real Problem Isn’t Time Management 17:09 Coaching Resistance and Cultural Differences 19:20 What Happens in the First Three Months of Coaching 21:27 From Stress to Strategy: A Twitch That Unlocked a Turnaround 23:01 Where to Find James Johnson OnlineLinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow James Johnson on LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Justin Campbell on LinkedIn

In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Vince Quinn chats with Doug C. Brown, a veteran sales strategist and CEO of CEO Sales Strategies. Doug shares insights from over 40 years of sales experience, exploring the mindset required to achieve predictable revenue growth. Learn how to define truthful goals, track the right metrics, overcome resistance to change, and harness the power of strategic content (like video podcasts) to build trust, credibility, and lasting business relationships.Guest BioDoug C. Brown is the CEO of CEO Sales Strategies and the creator of the "Double Your Sales" methodology. With more than four decades of experience in sales leadership and consultancy, Doug specializes in creating predictable and measurable revenue growth. His customized, math-driven approach has helped companies dramatically boost performance, like increasing sales close rates by 143% and growing product sales by over 4,150% in six months (as recounted in the podcast transcript).TakeawaysSet Clear, Truthful Revenue Goals: Define realistic targets based on data, not wishful thinking, avoiding the trap of overly ambitious objectives that nobody truly wants.Track the Right KPIs: Measure outbound touches, connection rates, appointment conversion, presentation-to-close metrics, upsells, follow-ups, and referrals, usually 8–11 key indicators.Embrace a Growth Mindset Through Change: Leaders must be willing to shift gears, even if it means stepping back before stepping forward. Be open to market shifts and personal adaptation.Understand Emotional Triggers in Sales: Buyers evaluate both Business ROI and Personal ROI. Your messaging must address both the rational and emotional motivations.Lower Fear, Raise Confidence: Don't try to rush people from fear to sale, first help them reach a neutral mindset where reasoning and trust can emerge.Use Media to Build Credibility: Doug’s video podcast opened doors to speaking engagements, investor relationships, and higher-visibility opportunities, showcasing how being visible builds trust and authority.Leverage Transfer of Trust: Being featured on respected platforms (like Future Fuzz) transfers credibility to Doug, giving him a competitive advantage.Relationships Power Sales: Ultimately, business is about human connections. Content and presence help you surface those relationships.Chapters00:00 Vince’s intro & Doug’s welcome 01:38 What is CEO Sales Strategies? 02:51 Key sales metrics to track 04:52 How to begin with the right growth mindset 07:49 Accepting change to grow 08:28 Understanding buyer motivations: Problem, Opportunity, Goal 09:25 Value perception: Business ROI vs Personal ROI 11:05 Moving from fear to neutral for effective persuasion 13:20 Why emotional resistance makes change so hard 14:12 Persuasion lessons from real-life examples 15:12 Building relationships through podcast visibility 17:00 How content and visibility build credibility 22:31 Corporate vs human sales, relationships are everything 25:08 Closing remarks & how to connect with Doug LinkedInConnect with Doug C. Brown on LinkedIn Connect with Vince Quinn on Linkedin You can also reach him via email: [email protected] or his cell at 832‑549‑4836 (no spam, please).

The Stock Strategy Behind 12K Users and Why CEO's must be on camera.In this episode of Future Fuzz, host Vince Quinn interviews Sean Tepper, founder and CEO of Tykr, about the power of trust-building through content. Sean shares his background in tech and investing, the origins of Tykr, and how a robust content strategy helps the platform drive engagement, confidence, and community. You’ll hear how repurposed video content fuels podcasts and social presence, why genuine tone matters, and how customer feedback informs content creation.Guest BioSean Tepper is the Founder and CEO of Tykr, an investing education and stock analysis platform. With 20 years in tech and 15 years of investing experience, Sean developed a mathematical model inspired by Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, and Phil Town to consistently beat the market, earning 15 - 50% annual returns. After validating the model via Excel, he launched Tykr in 2020; today, it serves over 12,000 customers across 50+ countries Tykr offers simplified analytics and educational content for retail investors, featuring open‑source calculations, AI‑powered tools, a “traffic light” rating system, and resources like blog posts, videos, courses, webinars, and a podcast mkestartup.news.TakeawaysBuild Trust Through Content Consistency: Sean produced a weekly deep-dive stock review for years, often suggested by customers, fostering trust and community.Use a Friendly, Human Tone: A conversational voice, reminiscent of talking to a friend, not corporate language, makes content more relatable and builds rapport.Repurpose Content Strategically: Start with video (e.g., YouTube), then convert the audio to podcast episodes, transcripts for written content, and social media posts, amplifying reach with one core piece.Front‑Load Production & Track Workflow: By scheduling content creation on Monday, managing progress in Google Sheets (with conditional logic for visual progress), and using Slack to divide tasks, Sean’s team maximizes efficiency.Source Ideas from Customer Feedback: Early-stage CEOs should personally handle customer service to collect common pain points. Apply the “10% rule”: feedback from 10% represents the concern of the silent 90%. Content should proactively address these issues.Favor Long‑Term Value Over Clickbait: Tykr prioritizes high‑value, evergreen content, even if it's lower in short-term traffic, to build sustained trust and credibility.CEO Visibility is Essential: In today’s internet age, leaders need to be front and center online, on YouTube, podcasts, LinkedIn, to humanize the brand and build trust.Set a Media Routine (Time‑Boxing): Allocate consistent blocks, for writing, recording, or filming, to reduce decision fatigue and ensure regular output without burnout.Chapters00:00 Intro & Guest Welcome 00:45 Sean’s Background & Origin of Tykr 03:08 The Role of Education in Tykr’s Value 05:19 Weekly Stock Reviews & Building Trust 07:58 Repurposing Content Across Formats 10:35 Front‑Loading Production & Workflow Tools 11:46 Using Customer Feedback to Guide Content 14:02 Trust and Access: Role of Authenticity 17:31 Long‑Game Content Strategy vs Clickbait 19:24 Why CEOs Should Appear in Media 21:05 Personal Trust vs Brand‑Only Communication 23:45 Production Value Has Evolved 25:25 Time‑Boxing Content Creation 26:28 Closing: Where to Find Sean & Tykr LinkedInFollow Sean Tepper Follow Vince Quinn

In this episode, Vince Quinn chats with Berkley Egenes, Chief Marketing Growth Officer at Xsola, about marketing lessons from the ever-evolving gaming industry. Berkley breaks down how Xsola simplifies global video game commerce through localized payment solutions, seamless in-game purchasing, and white-label integration. He shares insights on scaling indie games, reacting to regulatory shifts, enabling user acquisition, building community, and bridging brands into gaming culture.Guest BioBerkley Egenes is the Chief Marketing Growth Officer at Xsola, a video game commerce company enabling monetization, distribution, and payments across 200+ geographies for over 4,000 games. With 23+ years in marketing and eSports, he previously built the Ghost Gaming brand and now focuses on forging partnerships, launching campaigns, and creating global marketing growth strategies.TakeawaysLocalizing global payments: Xsola allows developers to accept region-specific payments, like Brazil’s PIX or local wallets, via customizable, branded in-game interfaces.B2B2C marketing model: Xsola markets first to game developers (B2B), then enables those developers to better market to players (B2C), using events, social, content syndication, and email campaigns.Rapid regulatory response: Following a U.S. court ruling on April 30, 2025, Xsola quickly implemented compliant direct in-app payment links, illustrating the importance of responsiveness and agile marketing.Scalable processes & AI-powered content: Quick execution relies on repetitive frameworks, clear ownership, iterative post-mortems, process discipline, and AI tools (like refining LinkedIn posts via ChatGPT).Indie game ecosystem support: Xsola’s “funding club” connects garage developers with VCs, publishers, and showcases to help them produce and monetize games.Community-led outreach: Events like dinner meetups and spaces at Gamescom foster genuine connection, collaboration, and idea exchange across platforms and genres.Cross-industry brand opportunities: From in-game branded experiences (e.g. Fortnite collabs) to IP licensing, brands are increasingly activating within games for engagement and longevity.Safety & education for families: Xsola promotes parental controls, gift card solutions, and content to keep children safe and avoid accidental high spending.Future-facing mindset: Gaming is the dominant entertainment medium for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, this diverse, immersive cultural shift offers unprecedented opportunity for developers, brands, and platforms alike.Chapters00:00 Intro to Future Fuzz + Guest Introductions 01:10 What is Xsola and How It Works 03:34 Marketing Xsola’s B2B2C Approach 06:21 Tactics to Grow Game Audiences 08:06 Regulatory Shift: Direct In‑App Payments 09:26 Rapid Go‑to‑Market: Team & Process 12:49 Gaming Industry Evolution & Indies Rising 14:36 Xsola's Funding Club & Indie Support 16:20 Data‑Driven Relationship Building 17:52 Building Community at Trade Shows 19:06 Cross‑Industry Brand Integration in Gaming 23:31 Gaming as Cultural Mainstay & Future of Media 28:29 Parental Controls + Safe Monetization Advice 30:21 Podcast & Multi‑Channel Marketing Strategy 31:07 Guest Wrap‑Up + Where to Connect LinkedInFollow Berkley Egenes Follow Vince Quinn