Episode 147: How Did We Even Get Here? Our Marketing Origin Stories

Listener request alert 🚨Every villain needs an origin story. The same goes for marketing nerds, we guess 🤷🏻‍♀️In this episode, we share our marketing origin stories and unpack the moments, mistakes, and lucky breaks that shaped our careers.From customer support and telemarketing to blogging, gaming, and speaking on stage, we reflect on how small decisions and unexpected opportunities stacked up over time and led us to where we are today.We cover:How solving everyday problems at work became the gateway into marketingWhy being good at a job is not always a reason to stay in itThe early mentors and opportunities that gave us our first real momentumThe side projects and risks that created career-defining momentsWhat we would do differently if we could start againThere was no master plan behind our careers. Just curiosity, a few risks, and a lot of saying yes to things outside our comfort zone.Main take away: no one has it all figured out. We certainly didn’t. If you’re wondering what could happen if you took a chance, this episode is for you.

In this episode, we follow Jen into her first week as a brand-new VP of Marketing, armed with a 90-day plan and just enough restraint to not flip the table on day one.We cover:Why you need a 90-day plan (unless chaos is your strategy)The difference between diagnosing, learning, and actually doing somethingHow to avoid the classic mistake of moving way too fast and breaking everythingGetting early wins that matter (not just looking busy)Navigating internal politics without becoming “that personExpectation setting: why you’re not doubling leads in week one, sorry!If you’ve ever started a new role thinking “I’ll just figure it out” (and immediately regretted it), this one’s for you

In this episode, we crack open a GTM insights report and react to the trends inside.Which findings hold up?Which ones need context?Which insights are the ones we can't ignore?And which ones deserve our patetned hot take?If the latest GTM trends are making your spidey sense tingle and you’re wondering whether it’s just you or something bigger going on, this episode is for you.The report we refer to is available here:https://www.levelequity.com/report/go-to-market-insights-2026/

OK. That's it. We're done being diplomatic.This is the episode where we say what most marketers only vent about in Slack DMs.We call out:- Marketers who make the rest of us look bad- Leaders who have champagne taste on a tap water budget- Teams hiding behind AI buzzwords instead of fixing stuff- Companies that “go enterprise” by just raising prices- Strategy whiplash every six months- “Make it go viral” as an actual instructionNo frameworks. No filters. Just a brutally honest look at what’s making marketing harder than it needs to be.If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s you… or the room — just go ahead and press play.

In their careers, Jen and Casper have looked under the hoods of plenty of companies. And after a while, some patterns start to emerge...In this episode, they share the yellow, orange, and red flags that signal a marketing function might have some serious challenges.Some of the warning signs covered include:When the ICP really means “I Can Pay” and nothing moreWhen the data foundation is shaky, fragmented, or politicalWhen marketing operates as a reactive service desk for sales instead of a strategic partnerWhen leadership cracks are starting to show When "shiny object syndrome" is used to try and fix misalignmentWhen expectations are high but ownership is lowThis is an honest look at the signals that tells Casper and Jen whether theyre stepping into a marketing challenge — or an organizational one.

In this episode, we take on one of the most misunderstood workplace trends right now: quiet quitting.Is it really disengagement?Or just healthy boundary-setting?Is that necessarily a bad thing?Or are we missing something deeper?We challenge the mainstream definition and offer a sharper one.We also introduce a related but very different concept: quiet cracking.If you lead a team, manage people, or have ever felt stretched at work, this conversation may change how you think about disengagement, burnout, and accountability.Listen in and decide where you stand.

In this episode, we unpack a major shift in B2B software discovery.G2 is acquiring Capterra, Software Advice, and GetApp, bringing four of the biggest review platforms under one owner.We cover:Is this a good thing or bad thing for Marketers? What does this mean for consumers?The real risk of monopoly pricing, pay-to-play dynamics, and fewer alternatives.Why review sites are under pressure as AI reshapes how buyers discover software.Available wherever you listen to podcasts

Let's get into hypotheticalsLet me hear your budget talk, your budget talkIn this episode, we ask a hypothetical, yet revealing question:If you had to shift 20% of your marketing budget tomorrow, where would it come from and where would it go?Let’s get hypothetical, hypothetical.We cover:Why “low-intent” spend is getting far more budget than it deservesWhere experimentation should really live (and why most teams dont 'protect it)Why content, AI search visibility, and brand building deserve more money — even when they’re hard to measureWhy optimising for MQLs is still one of marketing’s favourite self-inflicted woundsLets challenge some sacred cows to focus on how buyers buy - not what looks good in a dashboard.

In this episode, we ask a deceptively simple question:If you could reallocate 20% of your marketing budget tomorrow, where would you put it and what would you take it from?We cover:Why paid search and “low-intent” spend is eating far more budget than it deservesWhere experimentation should really live (and why most teams never protect it)Why content, AI search visibility, and brand building deserve more budget — even when they’re hard to measureWhy optimizing for MQLs is still one of marketing’s favorite own goalsTime to focus on how buyers actually buy — and not what looks good in a dashboard.

In this episode, Casper and Jen debrief on the first-ever Growthforia — a sold-out B2B SaaS marketing conference launched from scratch in Copenhagen.Casper shares the real story behind the event:Why they built it (and what was missing in the market)How they sold 120+ tickets without a legacy brandWhat worked, what flopped, and what they'd never do againThe not-so-glamorous reality of organizing a first-time eventLessons on community building, brand exposure, and ROI for agency-led eventsYou’ll hear honest reflections on everything from technical mishaps to slide disasters, surprising channel performance (spoiler: email wins again), and why networking needs to be more than just wine at the end.If you’re a marketer thinking about running your own event—or just curious about what goes on behind the scenes—this one’s for you.Practical, unfiltered, and packed with takeaways.