Brilliance Talks

Simac Konkader
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Business
  • Updated Weekly

As a CEO or founder, you’re constantly solving problems—breaking through growth plateaus, managing a growing team, and trying to scale without losing control. That’s where Brilliance Talks comes in. Brilliance Talks is where we help business leaders scale with clarity, confidence, and freedom. Each episode is packed with practical strategies you can apply right away—no fluff, no buzzwords, just real insights that drive results. ⬇ Follow Us On Socials ⬇ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simac.konkader/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simac-konkader

  1. 23h ago

    Celebrity Marketing: The Mistakes Brands Keep Making

    What really happens behind the scenes of celebrity marketing and brand partnerships? In this episode of Brilliance Talks, Simac Konkader sits down with Stacey Jones, founder and CEO of Hollywood Branded, a pop culture branded partnerships agency that has worked across more than 10,000 brand integrations involving movies, TV, streaming, celebrities and influencer culture. Stacey shares what nearly killed her agency in its first year, why she was sued on day one, how she survived the Hollywood writers' strike, and what nearly two decades of building an agency has taught her about clients, people and partnerships. This is a conversation about marketing, Hollywood, entrepreneurship, resilience, celebrity partnerships and the lessons that come from watching hundreds of campaigns succeed, and fail. Listen to the full conversation to hear Stacey's perspective on what it really takes to build partnerships that work. 📝 Show Notes: 01:00 What Almost Killed Hollywood Branded in Year One? 06:35 Celebrity Marketing Meets Pop Culture 09:51 Why Agencies Need Technology to Catch Up 11:43 The Secret to Building Powerful Brand Partnerships 16:47 Why Most Celebrity Deals Fail 18:08 How to Get a Celebrity Partnership Right 21:33 The Real Cost of Influencer Deals 27:48 The Marketing Mistakes Stacey Sees Again and Again About Guests: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacyjones/ Website: https://hollywoodbranded.com Connect with us: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/simac-konkader Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simac.konkader/

    Celebrity Marketing: The Mistakes Brands Keep Making

  2. Sep 29

    Why Clean Tech Needs Better Stories, Not More Data

    What happens when you stop trying to sell the problem and start selling the future? In this episode of Brilliance Talks, Simac Konkader sits down with James Trezona. James has built and sold multiple creative and strategy firms, including the UK's first B2B storytelling agency, and now works with startups and scale-ups in the clean tech and climate space. His central argument is powerful: Narrative is far more powerful than data. James explains what clean tech really means, why innovation is making cleaner technology increasingly competitive, and how founders can communicate commercial value without losing their purpose. 📝 Show Notes: 04:45 Why Clean Technology Is Becoming More Affordable 06:51 The Biggest Messaging Mistake Clean Tech Founders Make 10:01 Why Technical Founders Struggle With Storytelling 11:41 The Two Types of Founders Who Get Marketing Wrong 14:21 How to Learn B2B Storytelling About Guests: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-trezona/ Website: https://planit.ltd Connect with us: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/simac-konkader Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simac.konkader/

    Why Clean Tech Needs Better Stories, Not More Data

  3. Sep 22

    SEO Is NOT Dead: The Future of SEO & AI Search

    Is SEO dead? Sophie Brannon doesn't think so. In this episode of Brilliance Talks, Simac Konkader sits down with Sophie Brannon, who leads StudioHawk's US operation, to explore how SEO is changing in the age of AI search. Sophie shares what she has learned from more than a decade in SEO and from building StudioHawk's US operation from the ground up. The conversation also goes behind the scenes of agency growth: what broke when StudioHawk crossed 100 people, why an Australian process failed in the US, how to identify bad hires and client red flags, and the hidden margin killer that many agencies overlook. If you're a founder, agency owner, marketer or SEO professional trying to understand the future of search, this episode is packed with practical lessons. 📝 Show Notes: 04:18 Building a 120-Person Global SEO & AI Search Agency 08:09 The 85%+ Proposal Close Rate 09:18 The “Wholesome Nerd” Hiring Strategy 10:00 Do Degrees Matter in SEO? 14:49 The Biggest Client Red Flag 20:09 How to Train 100+ Employees Across 3 Countries 23:36 Is SEO Actually Dead? 25:22 How Startups Can Start Ranking Without an SEO Agency 27:44 The AI Search Metric Everyone Gets Wrong 29:32 How to Measure Your AI Search Share of Voice About Guests: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-brannon-081bb294/ Website: https://studiohawk.com.au/ Connect with us: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/simac-konkader Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simac.konkader/

    SEO Is NOT Dead: The Future of SEO & AI Search

  4. Sep 15

    Working 75 Hours a Week? Your Business Has a Bigger Problem

    How many hours are you working every week? If the answer is 60, 70 or even 75 hours, you might not have a workload problem. You might have a founder dependency problem. In this episode of Brilliance Talks, Simac Konkader speaks with leadership coach Katharine Halpin about why founders become the bottleneck in their own businesses. Katharine has spent nearly three decades helping founders and leadership teams solve three invisible problems including founder dependency, c-suite misalignment, and reactive operations She explains why most businesses don't actually have a strategy problem, they have a leadership problem. 📝 Show Notes: 04:49 The Leadership Lesson Katharine Learned From Her Father 06:43 Why Katharine Took the Risk to Become a Coach 08:48 What's Harder: Getting Clients or Keeping Them? 09:09 Why Many Coaches Fail 11:02 Why We're More Reactive Than Ever 13:32 How to Respond Instead of React 16:22 What Founder Dependency Actually Looks Like 18:33 What C-Suite Misalignment Looks Like 20:28 The Warning Signs of Founder Dependency 23:41 How Founders Can Recognise They're the Constraint 25:23 What to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed 26:52 Katharine's Favourite Question: "At What Cost?" 28:00 One Question Every Founder Should Ask Their Team Respond, Not React Playbook: https://www.amazon.com/Respond-React-Playbook-Katharine-Halpin-ebook/dp/B0786JVWSN Alignment for Success: Bringing Out the Best in Yourself, Your Teams, and Your Company: https://www.amazon.com/Alignment-Success-Bringing-Yourself-Company-ebook/dp/B00RI5QJW8 About Guests: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katharinehalpin/ Website: https://www.HalpinCompanies.com Connect with us: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/simac-konkader Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simac.konkader/

    Working 75 Hours a Week? Your Business Has a Bigger Problem

  5. Sep 8

    AI Filmmaking: The Future of Film, Creativity & the Creator Economy

    Mark Forstater has spent more than six decades in the film industry. After helping produce Monty Python and the Holy Grail, he went on to experience both major successes and failures, learning what makes a story last and what causes one to disappear. Now he's applying those lessons to AI filmmaking, Unreal Engine and the creator economy. 📝 Show Notes: 00:00 AI Filmmaking Is Changing Who Gets to Create 02:45 The Story Behind Monty Python's Unexpected Success 05:32 What Film Failure Can Teach You 06:37 Why the Script Is Everything 12:37 What Businesses Can Learn From Storytelling 13:19 Why Mark Bet on Unreal Engine and AI 14:24 How AI Filmmaking Could Democratise Creativity 18:41 AI Has No Heart, Spirit or Soul 19:09 The Future of the Creator Economy 22:32 Why Building the Right Team Matters 28:30 The Future of AI Filmmaking About Guests: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-forstater-531210/ Website: https://www.dreambird.co/ Connect with us: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/simac-konkader Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simac.konkader/

    AI Filmmaking: The Future of Film, Creativity & the Creator Economy

  6. Sep 1

    AI Agents Will Change Jobs Forever - The Future of Work

    AI agents are moving beyond chat, they're beginning to execute real work. In this episode of Brilliance Talks, Xena Ugrinsky explores what happens when AI agents become digital co-workers inside modern businesses. After two decades working with major organisations including KPMG and Booz Allen, Xena has shifted her focus toward agentic AI, building systems designed to execute workflows across enterprise platforms. Xena also shares her thoughts on AI hallucinations, human-in-the-loop guardrails, vendor lock-in, token costs, enterprise adoption, education and why the next generation of graduates may need to enter the workforce with a much higher level of competency. If you're trying to understand AI agents and what they mean for businesses, employees and the future of work, this episode is worth a listen. 📝 Show Notes: 01:07 Scaling a $20M Business to $117M with Machine Learning 04:00 AI Agents: Faster Humans or Something Completely Different? 06:59 The Future of Business at the Speed of Compute 08:35 AI Agents Inside SAP, Oracle & Slack 09:45 How Do You Stop AI Agents From Hallucinating? 11:14 The Hidden Cost of AI Vendor Lock-In 12:07 Will AI Token Costs Go Up or Down? 14:40 What Jobs Will Disappear First Because of Agentic AI? 15:40 Will Universities Keep Up With AI? 17:41 Do Technical Founders Make the Worst First Sales Hires? 18:04 Adomo’s Vision: The Brain of Humanoid Robots About Guests: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xenaugrinsky/ Website: https://adomo.ai Connect with us: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/simac-konkader Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simac.konkader/

    AI Agents Will Change Jobs Forever - The Future of Work

  7. Aug 25

    Why UX Design Matters More Than Adding More Features

    What happens when a UX designer turns a freelance career into a global, fully remote agency? In this episode of Brilliance Talks, Marie Whittington, founder of Pepperplane, shares the lessons behind nine years of building a UX business across fintech, healthcare, security and technology. We talk about the transition from freelancer to founder, building a remote team, systemising a creative business, founder-led sales, and what happens when the founder becomes the bottleneck. Marie also shares her perspective on UX Design in the age of AI, why designers are becoming builders, why AI could raise the standard of digital experiences, and why human creativity still has an important role to play. If you're a founder, product leader, designer, or someone building a technology business, this conversation is packed with practical lessons about UX Design, growth, systems, leadership, and AI. 📝 Show Notes: 02:23 Why UX matters to customer experience 05:59 Advice for making the leap into entrepreneurship 13:28 Using design thinking to systemise the business 16:35 When Marie realised she was the sales bottleneck 21:50 The biggest misconception founders have about UX 25:56 Will AI replace creativity? About Guests: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariewhittington/ Website: http://www.pepperplane.comt Connect with us: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/simac-konkader Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simac.konkader/

    Why UX Design Matters More Than Adding More Features

  8. Aug 18

    Why Bigger Isn’t Always Better: The Truth About Sports Sustainability

    Sports sustainability isn't just about being environmentally responsible. It's about building stronger organisations, making better decisions and creating long-term strategic value. In this episode of Brilliance Talks, Simac Konkader sits down with Pierluigi Zacheo, a strategic advisor specialising in sustainability, governance, climate resilience and social impact for sports organisations. Pierluigi's entrepreneurial journey began unexpectedly after the 2008 financial crisis left him facing hundreds of rejected CVs. Instead of giving up, he reinvented his positioning and eventually helped shape international sustainability standards for the sports and events industry. In this conversation, we explore sports sustainability, leadership, entrepreneurship, strategy, credibility, and why sometimes bigger really isn't better. Pierluigi also shares the biggest lie CEOs tell themselves, why "I can do everything" can become a dangerous leadership mindset, and why independent advisors have a responsibility to tell clients the bloody truth. 📝 Show Notes: 03:38 What 400 Rejected CVs Taught Him About Positioning 07:16 The “Forest” Model: Building a Network Instead of a Company 11:07 Why Your Job Isn’t to Be Liked 15:39 The Question That Exposes a Weak Strategy 19:08 Working With Formula E, NBA & The Olympics 22:33 Why Credibility Beats Everything About Guests: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierluigizacheo/ Website: http://www.mystadium.net Connect with us: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/simac-konkader Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simac.konkader/

    Why Bigger Isn’t Always Better: The Truth About Sports Sustainability
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About

As a CEO or founder, you’re constantly solving problems—breaking through growth plateaus, managing a growing team, and trying to scale without losing control. That’s where Brilliance Talks comes in. Brilliance Talks is where we help business leaders scale with clarity, confidence, and freedom. Each episode is packed with practical strategies you can apply right away—no fluff, no buzzwords, just real insights that drive results. ⬇ Follow Us On Socials ⬇ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simac.konkader/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simac-konkader

Information

  • Creator
    Simac Konkader
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    69
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Simac Konkader
  • Show Website
    Brilliance Talks