The Changemakers

Shaped By
  • 4.0 (1)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

The Changemakers is a podcast about how the world’s most authentically bold B2B brands are built and grown. Brought to you by the team at the B2B creative agency Shaped By.Find out more about Shaped By on our site, and follow us on LinkedIn.

  1. Growing a scale-up brand through iteration and experimentation: Aviv Canaani, Datarails

    2D AGO

    Growing a scale-up brand through iteration and experimentation: Aviv Canaani, Datarails

    We’re back! After a little hiatus between new guest episodes, we return in style as Dave sits down with Aviv Canaani, Chief Revenue Officer at Datarails, to discuss his firm belief that there is no real way to grow a B2B company without building a brand - especially not today. Aviv shares his unique journey from marketing leader to Chief Revenue Officer, and how he transformed a traditional outbound sales machine into a high-growth inbound powerhouse through a constant process of experimentation, risk-taking, learning and iterating. Along the way, he and Dave dismantle the myth (prevalent amongst many scaleup marketers) that brand is just "fluffy" creative work.  We also dive into: The CRO’s case for brand: Why revenue leaders should obsess over brand as the ultimate "revenue tomorrow" engine.The outbound/inbound shift: How Datarails moved from 90% outbound to 90% inbound through intentional brand-building and community.Balancing short-term & long-term: Managing separate growth and brand teams to hit this quarter’s targets while fueling future demand.B2B doesn't mean boring: How memes, a niche podcast, and sponsoring the Microsoft Excel World Cup drove massive engagement in the typically corporate finance space.If you’re a marketing leader looking to learn more about brand-building’s impact on revenue growth, or moving beyond over-reliance on short-term outbound activity, this masterclass in modern B2B growth is for you. 🎧 Listen now Timestamps : 01:57 - The DataRails story: Flipping the script from outbound to inbound.03:41 - Removing friction: How brand makes the sales call easier.06:21 - The inflection point: Why DataRails triggered a rebrand early.07:45 - Memes & CFOs: Proving that "boring" industries can be fun.10:26 - The 1% Rule: Breaking through the 99% of B2B noise.11:50 - Revenue today vs. revenue tomorrow: The CRO’s perspective on brand.13:28 - Structuring for success: separating growth and brand teams.15:30 - Measuring soft metrics: Why engagement matters more than vanity views.20:53 - The CEO relationship: Speaking the language of the C-Suite. Aviv's LinkedIn Profile Send us a message if you enjoyed this episode If you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube 👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics 👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspiration And finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it! ✌️

    35 min
  2. A cybersecurity giant going back to the future : Maria McLaughin, Abnormal AI

    JAN 27

    A cybersecurity giant going back to the future : Maria McLaughin, Abnormal AI

    In this episode of The Changemakers, which was recorded as part of our virtual summit Bring Your Own Bold, Wei Kee (Client Services Director at Shaped By) sat down with Maria McLaughlin (Senior Director, Global Brand and Creative at Abnormal AI) and Tom Ovens (Creative Director at Shaped By) to explore how they successfully navigated a full-scale rename and rebrand, and unpack: How a partnership based on chemistry and mutual respect delivered an extraordinary outcome.The criticality of getting key internal stakeholders, including the CEO, fully committed to a pivotal project.How to manage and deliver meaningful work under "audaciously ambitious" and brutal time scales.The tangible business success of the rebrand, including Abnormal AI's best financial quarter ever post-launch.This is an essential conversation if you're looking to understand how to drive ambitious change and prove the commercial value of a bold brand identity. 🎧 Listen now 2. Timestamps 01:21 - The evolution of the client-agency partnership.02:55 - Why chemistry is one of the key pillars of a successful partnership.04:19 - Stakeholder engagement: The importance of having the final decision-maker in the room.07:55 - Building trust and rapport with the CEO.10:48 - Geeking out: How commonality in thinking helped the connection.13:35 - The power of positive inter- and intra-team dynamics.14:58 - Navigating "brutal" and rigid time scales collaboratively.17:08 - The rewarding outcomes: a durable brand and the best financial quarter ever.19:30 - The internal and external market reception to the new identity.24:18 - Advice for achieving extraordinary results with a creative agency.25:54 - What's next? Up-leveling the work and having fun in 2026.30:35 - Closing remarks: Success comes from surrounding yourself with good teams.Send us a message if you enjoyed this episode If you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube 👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics 👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspiration And finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it! ✌️

    31 min
  3. Yin needs Yang - Your visual and verbal brands in powerful harmony : Simon Tandy and Justin Ballantine, Shaped By

    JAN 20

    Yin needs Yang - Your visual and verbal brands in powerful harmony : Simon Tandy and Justin Ballantine, Shaped By

    In this episode of The Changemakers, recorded as part of our Bring Your Own Bold series, Simon, Design Director, and Justin, Associate Creative Director of Messaging, discuss the importance of visual and verbal branding working together. Two complementary forces essential for a brand’s harmony, balance, and effectiveness. They look at the whole from their two professional perspectives. That essential balance and interplay between visual identity and verbal identity. They explore how powerful brands use design, logos, and visuals in perfect harmony with their voice, tone, messaging, and storytelling. Because harmonious, balanced brands better connect with their audiences to win hearts and minds, trust and loyalty. 🎧 Listen now Timestamps: 02:45 – The Yin and Yang analogy: why visual and verbal identity are inseparable forces. 04:30 – Beyond the box: creating agile visual systems that evolve with culture. 06:40 – More than a logo: how brand systems should cover every touchpoint. 08:30 – The "Feeling" piece: why humans are feeling creatures who think. 10:30 – Verbal branding: giving life and breath to brand strategy through language. 12:30 – The organising thought: using a succinct brand story to kick off ideation. 15:40 – Case study (Shaped By): why we use "Shapelings" and "Studios" to stay human. 20:00 – Point of view: standing for (and against) something to avoid being "wallpaper". 23:10 – Bold examples: how Monzo changed banking with a single color and no photography. 31:00 – Deep dive: positioning Censys as the "map of the internet". 40:19 – Closing thoughts: why bold brands should be more “Yoda". Send us a message if you enjoyed this episode If you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube 👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics 👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspiration And finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it! ✌️

    42 min
  4. The art of unplugging - Practising creativity without permission : Li-Anne Dias, Brex

    JAN 13

    The art of unplugging - Practising creativity without permission : Li-Anne Dias, Brex

    In this episode of The Changemakers, recorded as part of our Bring Your Own Bold series, Dave Corlett sits down with Li-Anne Dias, Executive Creative Director at Brex, to explore the vital practice of "creativity without permission".  They discuss: Utility vs. creativity: why designers must break free from the "mandate of utility" to rediscover their creative instincts.The power of physical constraints: how forcing a "one-mile distance" from your laptop can spark the muscle memory of true art.Building a cinematic universe: why viewing your work as a holistic body of output, rather than a collection of corporate briefs, changes your perspective.Subversive inspiration: how finding beauty in old matchboxes and cartoons can sharpen your instincts for high-stakes tech design.Whether you’re an in-house creative feeling the burnout or a leader looking to inspire your team, this conversation is a masterclass in reclaiming your creative soul. Don't let your "professional self" swallow your "creative self." 🎧 Listen now Timestamps: 01:43 - What is "creativity without permission"?  02:22 - The trap of utility and the fundamentals of design.  03:35 - Operating within business constraints vs. creating for yourself.  04:29 - Li-Anne’s personal rituals: Sharpies, sketchbooks, and Berkeley trees.  05:55 - The discipline of the "forcing function" to stay off screens.  08:28 - How outside art translates into sharper instincts at Brex and Handshake.  10:31 - Finding influence in matchboxes and subversive cartoons.  13:00 - Your "Cinematic Universe": Looking at the whole body of work.  Send us a message if you enjoyed this episode If you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube 👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics 👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspiration And finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it! ✌️

    22 min
  5. The art of unplugging - honing your analog intelligence : Everett Katigbak, Works by Everett

    JAN 6

    The art of unplugging - honing your analog intelligence : Everett Katigbak, Works by Everett

    In this episode of The Changemakers, recorded as part of our virtual summit Bring Your Own Bold, Dave Corlett sits down with Everett Katigbak, founder of Work by Everett, to explore the vital balance between digital innovation and human craft. Everett, a creative leader who has shaped brands at Facebook, Stripe, and Anthropic, unpacks the concept of "Analog Intelligence", the "other AI" that keeps our work grounded, tactile, and deeply human. Together they explore: The Facebook analog research lab: How a "punk rock" print studio in the heart of Silicon Valley became the epicenter of a global company’s culture.The "Mark of the Maker": Why showing the humanity and even the "mistakes" in our work creates a deeper connection with the audience than perfect digital output.Designing for AI with a human touch: Behind the scenes of building the Claude brand identity at Anthropic and why physical craft matters even for 100% digital products.The founder’s disconnect: Why innovative startups often default to safe, "category-standard" stories and how to reclaim your original narrative.Thinking with your hands: Why reconnecting with physical tools is a non-negotiable meditative practice for the modern designer.This is a provocative conversation for any creative leader or founder looking to resist the "cognitive offload" of technology and embrace their authentic, inner bold. Listen now 🎧 Timestamps 01:03 - The Silicon Valley "Lone Designers": Founding the Facebook analog research lab.  03:35 - Building a dialogue: How physical space and "wheat pasting" transformed corporate culture.  06:08 - The genesis of Stripe Press: Why a digital giant chose to publish physical books.  08:03 - Appropriateness in Design: Anthropic (Claude) needed a human-centric identity.  10:00 - Crafting Claude: using 35mm film, cut paper, and human illustrators in an AI world.  12:00 - The "Curse of the Marketing Mindset": why brands converge and how to stay distinct.  14:22 - Striking a chord: why you should be "close to being fired" (in a good way) to make an impact.  16:12 - Work by Everett: Teasing out the unique founding stories that companies often gloss over.  20:40 - The pressure of the pivot: why founders get scared of being too "maverick."  23:41 - Following intuition: Everett joined Facebook and Anthropic before they were "cool." 27:22 - Reconnecting with the ‘muscle’: creativity is a verb and a process, not just an output. Send us a message if you enjoyed this episode If you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube 👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics 👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspiration And finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it! ✌️

    30 min
  6. Scaling a truly bold brand identity: Scott Smith, Intercom

    12/18/2025

    Scaling a truly bold brand identity: Scott Smith, Intercom

    In this episode of The Changemakers, which was recorded as part of our virtual summit Bring Your Own Bold, Dave Corlett sits down with Scott Smith, Creative Director at Intercom, to dive deep into a critical question for B2B scale-ups: How do you build and scale a brand identity that’s truly bold? Scott, a champion of exceptional creative vision, unpacks the secrets behind Intercom's award-winning identity. Together they unpack: How the Creative Studio operates as an in-house agency, starting every project by asking: How can we execute this in the most exceptional creative way possible?The system for scaling a complex brand identity across all touchpoints, using the "brand matrix" to push the boundaries creatively while still ensuring a through-line.The importance of leading by example in a creative studio and how Scott fosters a culture of high engagement and serious, fun work.How Intercom’s C-suite acts as a creative partner, riffing with the team to shape a vision where the final creative work is often stronger than the initial idea.This conversation is full of tips for any marketing or creative leader ready to embrace a philosophy of constant change and craft a sophisticated brand that stands out from the crowd. Listen now 🎧 Timestamps 02:03: Brand is a galaxy, the antithesis of a brand-in-a-box. 03:36: Brand idea: Customer service changes everything. Change is key. 05:25: How to execute in the most exceptional creative way possible. 06:38: The "super bloom" creative concept for the Pioneer event. 12:28: Scaling the complex brand using the strategic "Brand Matrix." 12:56: Ace the Basics: The fallback brand skeleton when moving fast. 17:15: The best job part: Team creative is stronger than initial vision. 21:30: Creative leadership tenants: Early is on time, lead by example. 23:13: Creative team is the example for company operations, not the exception. Send us a message if you enjoyed this episode If you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube 👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics 👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspiration And finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it! ✌️

    38 min
  7. Putting human emotion at the heart of B2B: Alex Walters, Papaya Global

    12/11/2025

    Putting human emotion at the heart of B2B: Alex Walters, Papaya Global

    In this episode of The Changemakers, which was recorded as part of our virtual summit Bring Your Own Bold, Dave Corlett, Business Director at Shaped By sits down with Alex Walters from Papaya Global to tackle the "super meaty topic" of humanising B2B brands. Together they unpack: Why Alex believes 90% of the B2B world is failing to crack the human element, defaulting to "grey" because of a primal fear of people not liking their tone.The insidious "herd mentality" that causes B2B brands to blend and converge around safe, jargon-filled design and copy.The biggest internal challenge of brand building: winning hearts and minds by getting people to view their brand from the perspective of an outsider.The strategic reason for B2B FinTech to invest in a Super Bowl ad—and how they created a secondary content layer that generated 250 pieces of Tier 1 media coverage.This is a very insightful conversation for any marketing or creative leader who is ready to make a difference with their brand. 🎧 Listen now Timestamps: 00:34 - The primal fear and why 90% of the industry defaults to 'grey.' 03:17 - The herd mentality and B2B brands blending in. 05:19 - Papaya Global's story: How they became a globally recognised brand. 06:41 - Owning the narrative: Why the tagline is "How the world gets paid." 07:25 - The biggest internal battle: Winning hearts and minds inside the business. 08:35 - The "Air" thought exercise: Helping people see the brand as an outsider. 09:59 - The sliding scale of humanity: Humour fades closer to the customer. 11:41 - The strategic reason for a Super Bowl ad (and why a B2B FinTech did it). 13:41 - The PR angle: Generating 250 pieces of coverage because the ad became the story. 16:32 - The viral AI activation: Allowing users to put their face in the ad. 18:24 - Balancing emotional connection with rational confidence for multi-million dollar decisions. 21:48 - Alex's first pure B2B SaaS role: The challenges of scale, speed, and complexity. 23:14 - The job of a creative: Understanding the product at a deep level to communicate its value. Send us a message if you enjoyed this episode If you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube 👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics 👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspiration And finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it! ✌️

    26 min
  8. Navigating the enterprise AI battleground : Joseph Steele, Celonis

    12/04/2025

    Navigating the enterprise AI battleground : Joseph Steele, Celonis

    In this episode of The Changemakers, Dave Corlett, Business Director at Shaped By, sits down with Joseph Steele, Lead Brand Strategist at Celonis, to dive deep into brand, technology, and "anarchistic accelerationism". How does a company like Celonis, which was already pioneering AI technology long before it went mainstream, adapt its brand positioning without getting lost in the "now with AI" enterprise noise?  As well as tackling that thorny question, Dave and Joseph go deep into what makes Joseph so positive about the world of AI, why he thinks it's a great leveller of technology, and how internal creative teams can carve out space for their own 'Manhattan project'. Joseph also shares a surprisingly profound naval history analogy to show where we are in the current evolution of AI. This episode is a compelling, original conversation for anyone in the enterprise technology space looking to balance deep-seated brand consistency with rapid technological change. 🎧 Listen now Timestamps 00:00 - Meet Joseph: Intro to Joseph Steele, Lead Brand Strategist at Celonis. 01:22 - From Midlands to Munich: Joseph’s journey from Burton on Trent to the German tech scene. 02:25 - Start with Why: How art school taught him to question everything (and apply it to business). 04:19 - Celonis in a Nutshell: Unlocking the value trapped in enterprise processes. 07:25 - The Optimist's Edge: Why Joseph is an "anarchistic accelerationist" on AI. 09:16 - Revolutionary Learning: How tools like ChatGPT are a "good leveler" of expertise. 12:14 - Allergic to Governance: Why AI is a chance to pursue a flatter, more democratic system. 15:58 - Surviving the Hype Wave: Celonis's strategy to talk about AI without becoming "Celonis.ai". 19:15 - The Punk Aesthetic: Why a $13 billion B2B company needs a gritty, unique visual identity. 24:57 - Dare to be Different: The Celonis ethos: be 10x better or completely different. 25:38 - Skepticism & Trust: Why a change-maker customer base trusts AI, despite failed pilot reports. 28:23 - Legal Blockers: Why internal processes—not technology—are killing creative AI adoption. 30:37 - The Manhattan Project: Why every creative team needs a secure space to mess around with AI. 34:17 - Embracing Inevitability: Why trying to stop AI image-making is absurd. 36:43 - The Dreadnought Analogy: Naval history explains exactly where we are in the AI revolution. Send us a message if you enjoyed this episode If you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech. 👉 Watch episodes on YouTube 👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed 👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics 👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspiration And finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it! ✌️

    42 min
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About

The Changemakers is a podcast about how the world’s most authentically bold B2B brands are built and grown. Brought to you by the team at the B2B creative agency Shaped By.Find out more about Shaped By on our site, and follow us on LinkedIn.

Information

  • Creator
    Shaped By
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    75
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Changemakers
  • Show Website
    The Changemakers