The Marketing Dept.

Prospekt Marketing Agency

You’ve hated the marketing department—you just didn’t know it yet. The Marketing Dept. podcast is where founders, creatives, and brand-builders share their wildest stories—while we unpack the marketing moves (intentional or not) behind it all. Fans love it for the chaos, honesty, and “wait… that was marketing?” moments. Hosted by Anish & Aziz of Prospekt Marketing Agency. Welcome to the department nobody trusts… but everybody needs.

Episodes

  1. Rags Over Riches: Ex-Apple Employee Turned Stylist

    09/24/2025

    Rags Over Riches: Ex-Apple Employee Turned Stylist

    In this episode of The Marketing Department Podcast, we sit down with Ali Jamal, founder of Northern Touch Vintage, to unpack how he went from working at Apple to building one of Toronto’s most recognized vintage clothing brands—without spending a single dollar on ads. This story is for you if you’ve ever thought about: Quitting your 9-to-5 to start a business. Turning a side hustle into a full-time career. Building a fashion brand that attracts celebrity clients. Learning how to grow a business purely through word of mouth, culture, and community. Ali shares how he made $5,000 in one night at his launch party—what would’ve taken him 160 hours at Apple—and why he walked away from a safe corporate job to bet on himself. He explains how vintage sourcing really works inside rag houses and textile warehouses, why most vintage shops smell (and how he fixed it), and how he curated a store experience that feels premium, inclusive, and unforgettable. Along the way, Ali built a client roster that includes Wayne Gretzky, PK Subban, Andre DeGrasse, Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes, and even Drake’s circle. But the most powerful part of his story isn’t just the celebrity moments—it’s his mission to use fashion as a tool to give people confidence and transform the way they see themselves. If you’re an entrepreneur, creative, fashion lover, or someone ready to make a bold move, this episode will give you both inspiration and real-world lessons you can apply right now. Chapters 00:00 Cold open: $5K night and quitting Apple 03:15 Starting Northern Touch Vintage in a condo during COVID 07:40 The inside story of rag houses and sourcing vintage 14:10 How Holt Renfrew discovered the brand on Instagram 19:35 The launch party that changed everything 24:50 Walking out on Apple for good 29:20 Lessons from the first pop-up and business partnerships 36:00 Finding and designing the house boutique store 42:45 Why most vintage stores smell and how Ali fixed it 48:20 Building confidence through styling customers 54:40 Celebrity clientele: Gretzky, Raptors, Drake’s circle 1:02:00 Running a brand with $0 ad spend 1:09:15 Tagline Me: Ali’s rapid-fire answers 1:14:00 Final reflections on contentment, hustle, and confidence #VintageClothing #Entrepreneurship #TorontoFashion #Streetwear #MarketingPodcast

    1h 4m
  2. From Rejection to CEO: Greg's Journey with Bilingual Source

    08/27/2025

    From Rejection to CEO: Greg's Journey with Bilingual Source

    What does it take to go from being “too junior” for a job… to becoming CEO of the same company two decades later? For Greg, the answer was equal parts resilience, creativity, and relentless consistency. In this conversation, Greg shares how he built his career at Bilingual Source, Canada’s largest bilingual-specific recruitment company, starting as a 25-year-old recruiter and ultimately becoming its President & CEO. Greg’s story is filled with powerful lessons: The Rejection: Why being turned down for his first recruiter role became the spark that drove his career. The Customer Service Years: How defusing high-stakes calls taught him the art of turning angry customers into brand advocates. The DJ Life: What years of spinning house and trance music in Toronto nightclubs taught him about creativity, flow states, and problem-solving. The Rise Through Recession: From surviving the 2008 downturn to leading his team through the 2020 pandemic, Greg reveals how focusing on what you can control builds resilient organizations. Recruitment Principles: Why attitude outweighs skills, why cultural adds matter more than cultural fits, and how standardized hiring frameworks improve decision-making. Leadership Values: Why relationships matter more than money, why loyalty is non-negotiable, and why consistency is the greatest predictor of success. Greg also shares candid thoughts on the future of work, the power of bilingualism in Canada, and the hidden costs of hiring the wrong person. This isn’t just a story about recruitment. It’s a story about persistence, clarity, and the power of saying: I’ll be back.

    1h 11m

About

You’ve hated the marketing department—you just didn’t know it yet. The Marketing Dept. podcast is where founders, creatives, and brand-builders share their wildest stories—while we unpack the marketing moves (intentional or not) behind it all. Fans love it for the chaos, honesty, and “wait… that was marketing?” moments. Hosted by Anish & Aziz of Prospekt Marketing Agency. Welcome to the department nobody trusts… but everybody needs.