Create Like the Greats

Ross Simmonds
  • 4.9 (13)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY
Create Like the Greats

An investigation & observation of some of the greatest ideas, backgrounds, and strategies used by influential and innovative thinkers. Find insights into what it takes to create things that last, stories that spread, and ideas that move people for decades to come. A proud member of the HubSpot Podcast Network.

  1. Conscious Leadership

    15H AGO

    Conscious Leadership

    In this episode of Create Like The Greats, Ross offers a transparent reflection on a book that has significantly impacted his leadership and personal growth journey in 2025 — The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Warner Klemp. Ross walks through all 15 commitments outlined in the book, sharing real-life examples and insights from his entrepreneurial journey. If you're striving to lead consciously, foster better teamwork, and level up your self-awareness, this episode is packed with actionable takeaways for you. Key Takeaways and Insights: 1. Radical Responsibility Embrace ownership for every situation Avoid blame, shame, and guilt — they stem from toxic fear Replace blame with curiosity: "What can I learn from this?" 2. Learning Through Curiosity Always stay in learner mode “Above the line” vs “Below the line” mentality Stay open, curious, and committed to truth—not being “right” Framework: What I know / What I know I don’t know / What I don’t know I don’t know 3. Feeling All the Feelings  Fully experiencing emotions to completion Use head, heart, and gut to inform decisions Yoga, breathwork, and meditation as helpful tools 4. Speaking Candidly  Tell the truth with kindness Speak unarguable facts and feelings: “I feel ___ because ___” Avoid conflict avoidance and passive communication 5. Eliminating Gossip  Address issues directly with the person involved Gossip is rooted in unmet communication and inability to process feelings Test for gossip: Negative intent or unwilling to say it to the person? Then it’s gossip. 6. Practicing Integrity  Express truth, keep agreements, and take 100% responsibility Framework for impeccable agreements: Make clear commitment Keep it Renegotiate if needed Clean up broken commitments 7. Generating Appreciation Practice giving and receiving appreciation fully Celebrate the small things and appreciate yourself and your team Create a culture of gratitude and acknowledgment 8. Excelling in Your Zone of Genius  Identify what you’re uniquely talented at and enjoy doing Ross shares his own strengths: presenting, writing, people leadership Reallocate more time to activities in your “genius zone” 9. Living a Life of Play and Rest Incorporate humor, spontaneity, and celebration into work Rest is a challenge, but vital for sustainable leadership Play isn’t frivolous—it’s a leadership asset 10. Exploring the Opposite Train your mind to challenge your own stories and embrace opposing truth Ross advocates for intellectual debates to stretch perception Ask: “What am I not seeing?” 11. Being the Source of Approval, Control & Security  Identify the root wants driving your behavior Seek internal rather than external validation Approval, control, and security must be self-sourced, not dependent on others 12. Having Enough of Everything  Abundance mindset vs scarcity Perspective: Ross shares personal examples of past financial hardship GRATITUDE = enoughness 13. Seeing the World as an Ally Every person and situation is an opportunity to grow Learn from everyone, regardless of status or age Let go of ego and embrace humility in learning 14. Creating Win-for-All Solutions  Build solutions that serve everyone involved—self, others, organization, and the whole Ross: “I’m rooting for you, whether you’re at Foundation or not.” 15. Being the Resolution Don’t just wait for change — BE the change Leave the world better because you existed Make an impact beyond yourself  Resources & Tools: 🔗 The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership 🔗 Foundationinc.co — 👋🏾 Let's stay connected — ╰ Subscribe to my channel:  @RossSimmondsTV  ╰ Instagram:  @thecoolestcool   ╰ Twitter / X: @thecoolestcool   ╰ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rosssimmonds

    46 min
  2. Reflections from Spryng 2025

    APR 11

    Reflections from Spryng 2025

    In this episode of Create Like The Greats, Ross returns from the Spring 2025 event buzzing with creative energy, fresh ideas, and deep insights on marketing, AI, community, and consistency. He shares standout conversations, tools worth exploring, and reflections on how face-to-face connections still matter in a digital-first world. Ross also dives into highlights from presenting Distribution.ai, lessons from fellow marketers, and personal takeaways on building sustainable growth—both for business and personal development. Key Takeaways and Insights: 1. Why Spryng 2025 Was Different Spryng 2025 stood out not because of keynotes or sponsors, but because of the human element—energizing conversations and real community vibes. Event offered space to discuss Distribution.AI and validate its pain-point solution. 2. AI is Everywhere—and Still Just Beginning AI permeated almost every discussion at the event. A challenge was issued: talk about the future of marketing without mentioning AI—most struggled to do it. An eye-opening use case: uploading sales calls into LLMs like ChatGPT to extract winning messaging patterns. 3.  The Distribution.AI Problem-Solution Fit Ross introduced Distribution.ai at the event, which helps marketing teams repurpose unused blog content. Most marketers acknowledged they underpromote content. Distribution.ai repackages blog posts, writes emails, and creates usable assets to distribute across channels. “We give you the emails you can upload into HubSpot or whatever it might be.” 4. Reconnection & Real-Life Moments Matter There’s unmatched value in face-to-face connections: Breaking bread with peers Conversations that go beyond digital metrics Realizing your followers and connections aren’t just leads—they’re humans. Key message: Show up for those who show up for you. 5. Fresh Perspectives on Sales & Go-To-Market Sales conversations highlighted outdated vs. effective go-to-market strategies. Topics included: Evolving attribution challenges Differentiation in a saturated agency space The importance of revisiting and returning to fundamentals that once drove success 6. Consistency > Novelty Chasing new trends can pull you away from what works. Foundation’s past growth came from sticking to its unique POV and execution strategy—time to return to that place. A reminder that what made you great can still make you greater… again. Resources & Tools: 🔗 Distribution.ai 🔗 ChatGPT 🔗 Claude 🔗 Perplexity 🔗 Singulate — 👋🏾 Let's stay connected — ╰ Subscribe to my channel:  @RossSimmondsTV  ╰ Instagram:  @thecoolestcool   ╰ Twitter / X: @thecoolestcool   ╰ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rosssimmonds

    11 min
  3. What I'm Hoping to Learn at Spryng 2025

    APR 4

    What I'm Hoping to Learn at Spryng 2025

    In this episode of Create Like The Greats, Ross Simmonds, founder of Foundation and Distribution.ai, opens up about his expectations and goals ahead of attending Spryng 2025, a gathering of senior B2B SaaS marketers in Austin, Texas. For the first time in a while, Ross is attending an event not as a speaker but as a participant. He shares how this shift changes his experience and outlines his motivations for attending: learning, connecting, and gathering feedback for his new project, Distribution.ai. Key Takeaways and Insights: 1. Introducing Distribution.ai A new tool/platform from the Foundation team Helps automate, repurpose, distribute, and amplify content Built on strategies the team has manually implemented for years Aims to scale content efforts with the assistance of AI 2. Three Primary Goals for Spryng 🌐 Step Outside the Speaker Role Without being on stage, Ross must network the “normal” way As a self-described introvert, this brings excitement and challenge 🧽 Embrace Curiosity Wants to listen and absorb, not pitch Hopes to capture meaningful insight and real-world pain points 🤝 Build a Like-Minded Network Aims to deepen relationships with people who share values around creativity, ambition, and innovation.  Resources & Tools: 🔗 Distribution.ai — 👋🏾 Let's stay connected — ╰ Subscribe to my channel:  @RossSimmondsTV  ╰ Instagram:  @thecoolestcool   ╰ Twitter / X: @thecoolestcool   ╰ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rosssimmonds

    10 min
  4. Tapping Into the Power of Deep Research in ChatGPT

    MAR 29

    Tapping Into the Power of Deep Research in ChatGPT

    In this episode of Create Like The Greats, Ross Simmonds takes us behind the scenes of one of the most exciting AI developments in recent months—ChatGPT's Deep Research feature built on OpenAI's O3 reasoning model. This episode provides a detailed breakdown of how Deep Research can help with competitive analysis, persona building, content strategy, and thought leadership. If you're someone who works with data, content, or digital strategy, this episode is packed with actionable insights. Key Takeaways and Insights: 🔍 Introduction to Deep Research "Deep Research" is the latest tool from OpenAI leveraging the O3 reasoning model. It enables multi-step, web-based research directly within ChatGPT. It rivals the expertise of high-paid consultants at a fraction of the cost. 💰 Cost & Value of Deep Research Priced at ~$200/month as part of OpenAI’s advanced plan. Can analyze web pages, PDFs, forums like Reddit, review sites, and blogs. Capable of returning rich reports using 20+ external sources. 📊 Use Cases for Marketers Comprehensive Competitive Analysis Generate full-stack brand reports in McKinsey-style format. Pulls competitor messaging, tactics, and public sentiment from platforms like G2, Capterra, TrustRadius, SimilarWeb, and Reddit. Case Study: Foundation Marketing’s own deep report generated in 6 minutes from 27 sources. Persona Development and Review Mining Create buyer personas from Reddit threads, product reviews, and social media chatter. Identifies pain points, motivations, and message framing. Case Study: A stealth competitor analysis for Distribution.ai revealed valuable data on solopreneurs and feature gaps. Content Opportunity Discovery Surface high-value keywords with low coverage across your and competitors’ content. Instructions on how to feed a keyword spreadsheet to Deep Research and ask it to identify gaps. Strategic Thought Leadership Development Input white papers from Gartner or McKinsey. Ask Deep Research to extract trends and suggest new ideas aligned with your niche. Synthesizes expert-level content into actionable ideas for upcoming quarters. 🧠 Pro Tips for Using Deep Research Be specific with your prompt—clarity leads to better results. Supply background context, goals, documents, and keyword datasets. Avoid uploading sensitive data, but enrich inputs where possible for maximum output quality. Resources & Tools: 🔗 ChatGPT Plus (includes Deep Research) 🔗 Foundation Marketing 🔗 Distribution.ai 🔗 Review Platforms: G2 Capterra TrustRadius 🔗 SimilarWeb 🔗 Reddit  — 👋🏾 Let's stay connected — ╰ Subscribe to my channel:  @RossSimmondsTV  ╰ Instagram:  @thecoolestcool   ╰ Twitter / X: @thecoolestcool   ╰ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rosssimmonds

    23 min
  5. Unlocking the Power of Reddit for Brands

    MAR 22

    Unlocking the Power of Reddit for Brands

    In this episode of Create Like The Greats, Ross breaks down the massive growth of Reddit and why it has become an essential platform for brands. With Reddit achieving profitability for the first time in nearly two decades and growing its daily active users rapidly, brands can no longer afford to ignore it. We dive deep into actionable Reddit strategies, including how to leverage subreddits, engage in community discussions, and optimize Reddit ads. If you want to turn Reddit into a growth engine for your brand, this is an episode you don’t want to miss. Key Takeaways and Insights: 1. The Power of Reddit’s Growth Reddit hit profitability in Q3 2024 ($29.9M profit) Revenue increased by 68% to $348M Daily active users grew by 47% to nearly 100M The influence of Reddit on search rankings and online communities 2. Why Marketers Can’t Ignore Reddit Google prioritizing community-driven discussions Reddit dominating search results for product and service recommendations Comparison to platforms like Capterra, G2, and Trust Radius 3. Actionable Reddit Strategies for Brands Create & Own Your Subreddit Establish a dedicated space for your brand Engage with customers & provide value beyond self-promotion Align subreddit topics with your audience’s interests (e.g., if you sell mattresses, discuss sleep tips) Secure Your Branded Username Prevent brand impersonation Use “BrandNameTeam” for community engagement Avoid “BrandName_Official” (feels out of touch) Engage in Existing High-Traffic Reddit Threads Find Google-ranking Reddit discussions relevant to your industry Provide insightful, non-promotional responses to drive visibility Avoid spamming links; focus on adding value 4. Leveraging Reddit Ads & The Power of Targeting Reddit allows hyper-specific targeting with subreddits Example: Target r/cybersecurity for security software ads Create native-style ads that blend seamlessly into Reddit conversations 5. The Value of User-Generated Content (UGC) on Reddit Encourage discussions about your brand through real conversations Monitor Reddit for unfiltered customer feedback Use Reddit insights to inform product development and marketing strategies  6. Monitoring Reddit Without Daily Posting Set up tracking for mentions of your brand Analyze competitor presence and sentiment trends Use tools to automate monitoring and identify opportunities Resources & Tools: 🔗 Reddit Ads Platform 🔗Reddit Pixel Setup Guide 🔗Tools for Reddit Monitoring: Brandwatch Sprout Social — 👋🏾 Let's stay connected — ╰ Subscribe to my channel:  @RossSimmondsTV  ╰ Instagram:  @thecoolestcool   ╰ Twitter / X: @thecoolestcool   ╰ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rosssimmonds

    19 min
  6. Questions From The B2B Community

    FEB 28

    Questions From The B2B Community

    In this episode, Ross Simmonds conducts an insightful discussion with an AI, answering five crucial questions about B2B marketing strategies. If you're looking to enhance your B2B marketing efforts, this episode is packed with valuable insights on content marketing, lead generation, and evolving buyer behaviors. Key Takeaways and Insights: 1. Key Differences Between B2B and B2C Marketing Decision-Making Factors: B2C purchases are driven by personal emotion and individual financial decisions. B2B decisions involve multiple stakeholders, procurement teams, and higher scrutiny, especially for expensive solutions. Buyer’s Journey Considerations: Multiple touchpoints, evaluations, and approvals before a purchase is made. B2B buyers check case studies, references, product documentation, and validate company reputation before making a decision. 2. Evolution of the B2B Buyer’s Journey Why the B2B buying process is more complex today: The rise of AI and automation has led to an overwhelming amount of messages, advertisements, and sales outreach, making it harder to stand out. Impact on Buyers: Buyers are more resistant to cold outreach. Personalized messaging and authentic storytelling are key to cutting through the noise. Effective Tactics to Adapt: Hyper-targeted content marketing and personalized messages tailored to the specific needs of decision-makers. 3. The Top B2B Lead Generation Channels Today Why LinkedIn is Dominating B2B Marketing: LinkedIn’s algorithm now favors broader content discovery, similar to Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). Its video content capabilities are driving significant engagement. Golden Rule: High-quality, informative, and engaging content is necessary to leverage any platform effectively. Distribution strategy is just as important as content creation. 4. The Role of Content in B2B Brand Building Challenges in Standing Out: AI enables mass production of average content, increasing competition. Brands need to focus on unique insights and high-value content instead of generic "how-to" guides. Winning Content Strategies: Conducting original research and case studies. Crafting stories that resonate with target audiences. Publishing thought leadership content and leveraging community engagement. 5.  Measuring ROI for B2B Marketing Efforts The Importance of Full-Funnel Attribution: Tracking leads from initial engagement to final conversion. Using tools like HubSpot for pipeline tracking and performance analysis. Key Metrics to Monitor: How many leads turn into real opportunities? Which opportunities convert into actual sales? Attribution models that help understand what efforts are driving real revenue. Resources & Tools: 🔗 HubSpot – CRM & Marketing Analytics Tool 🔗 Singulate – AI-Powered Email Personalization 🔗 G2 – Business Software Review Platform 🔗 Capterra – Software Comparison Tool — 👋🏾 Let's stay connected — ╰ Subscribe to my channel:  @RossSimmondsTV  ╰ Instagram:  @thecoolestcool   ╰ Twitter / X: @thecoolestcool   ╰ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rosssimmonds

    22 min
  7. Mastering Customer Success Stories with Anthropic

    FEB 21

    Mastering Customer Success Stories with Anthropic

    In this episode of Create Like The Greats, we break down how Anthropic, a leading AI company behind Claude, is revolutionizing the use of customer success stories to drive measurable business results. Despite fierce competition from OpenAI and Google, Anthropic differentiates itself through clarity, simplicity, and strategic storytelling. Learn how they use short yet impactful case studies to elevate their brand, enhance credibility, and attract the right audience. Inspired by research from Ethan Crump at Foundation Labs, we take a deep dive into how Anthropic structures its case studies, why they work, and how you can apply these principles to your own business. Key Takeaways & Insights 1. The Power of Customer Success Stories Anthropic has ramped up investment in customer case studies, adding 67 new pages to their website. These stories increase trust and credibility, addressing the fragmented B2B buyer’s journey. Featuring well-known clients, such as DuckDuckGo, GitLab, Brave, BCG, and Assembly AI, boosts authority in their industry. 2. The Business Impact of Case Studies The dedicated case studies subfolder attracts over 60,000 organic monthly visitors, generating what would cost $25,000 in paid traffic. SEO performance: 1,600 ranking keywords 4,600 backlinks from 231 domains 3. Anthropic’s Winning Formula for Case Studies Short and Direct: Each case study stays under 1,000 words, challenging traditional long-form SEO norms. Clear Structure: Follows a problem → solution → outcome format. Intent Matching for SEO: Content is designed to match search intent, ensuring customers find relevant solutions quickly. Focus on Business Value: Emphasizes results (e.g., 30% improvement in user satisfaction, 80% cost reduction). Uses client and company expert quotes to strengthen credibility. Avoids overly technical details, making it accessible to decision-makers at all levels, including CEOs and finance executives. 4. Applying These Lessons to Your Business Prioritize clarity and simplicity when crafting customer success stories. Optimize stories for search intent so they’re discoverable and relevant. Showcase tangible metrics and real results in your case studies. Structure content for easy readability while keeping it strategic and insightful.  Resources How Anthropic Drives 60K+ in Organic Traffic — With One Simple Strategy — 👋🏾 Let's stay connected — ╰ Subscribe to my channel:  @RossSimmondsTV  ╰ Instagram:  @thecoolestcool   ╰ Twitter / X: @thecoolestcool   ╰ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rosssimmonds

    12 min
  8. Google Ads Mistakes To Avoid

    FEB 14

    Google Ads Mistakes To Avoid

    In this episode of Create Like The Greats, Ross Simmonds dives deep into the common mistakes that SaaS companies are making with their Google Ads strategies. Despite advancements in marketing and AI tools, many businesses are still falling into the same traps they did years ago. If you're struggling to make your paid search campaigns profitable, this episode will help you identify missteps and optimize your approach for better ROI. Episode Breakdown & Key Takeaways Why SaaS Companies Struggle with Google Ads Many SaaS businesses fail to drive ROI from paid search. The solution? Optimize your campaigns by improving efficiency in clicks, conversions, and lower costs. Common Mistake #1: Sending Traffic to the Homepage Why it’s a bad idea: Homepages serve too many purposes and introduce distractions. Solution: Create dedicated landing pages aligned with specific user intent. Actionable tip: Remove navigation menus and unnecessary links to keep visitors focused. Common Mistake #2: Poor Above-the-Fold Experience 90% of visitors won’t scroll past the first screen—so you need to make an instant impact. Essential components for above-the-fold success: Clear and compelling headline that connects with intent. Highlight a unique value proposition. Call-to-action (CTA) should be immediate and obvious (e.g., “Start Your Free Trial”). Social proof: Use testimonials or logos from recognizable brands. Common Mistake #3: Inefficient Bidding Strategies Ross recommends manual CPC bidding when starting. Test target CPA bidding only after gathering sufficient data. Be prepared to adjust bidding strategies based on real-time performance insights. Common Mistake #4: Running Ads on Low-Intent Keywords Stop wasting money on broad, irrelevant search terms like “sales tips” or “HR advice.” Focus on high-intent keywords, such as: Brand alternatives – Users searching for "Zoom alternatives" or "Slack alternatives" are actively looking for a switch. Solution-focused keywords – Category-driven searches like "best CRM software" indicate potential buyers. Problem-focused keywords – Queries that reveal pain points (e.g., “how to improve sales conversion rates”). Common Mistake #5: Not Using Advanced Audience Targeting Target smarter: Avoid blanket targeting by narrowing ads to key demographics. Enterprise SaaS should avoid targeting younger age groups (e.g., 16-20) as they are unlikely to be decision-makers. Use the "observation" setting first to track audience performance before shifting to specific targeting settings. Common Mistake #6: Weak Ad Copy That Fails to Convert Ross’s winning copywriting framework for Google Ads: Headline 1: Match the exact search term (e.g., “Best CRM Software"). Headline 2: State a unique value prop (e.g., “User-friendly design for teams"). CTA Headline: Create urgency (e.g., “Boost revenue—Start your free trial!”). Description: Include social proof (e.g., "Trusted by 10,000+ businesses worldwide"). Leverage customer reviews from G2, TrustRadius, or Capterra for copy inspiration. Final Thoughts & Recap Google Ads can be a goldmine if done right—avoid common pitfalls and optimize for success. Focus on landing page relevance, audience targeting, and high-intent keywords for best results. Adjust campaigns based on performance metrics—don’t "set and forget." — 👋🏾 Let's stay connected — ╰ Subscribe to my channel:  @RossSimmondsTV  ╰ Instagram:  @thecoolestcool   ╰ Twitter / X: @thecoolestcool   ╰ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rosssimmonds

    18 min
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4.9
out of 5
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About

An investigation & observation of some of the greatest ideas, backgrounds, and strategies used by influential and innovative thinkers. Find insights into what it takes to create things that last, stories that spread, and ideas that move people for decades to come. A proud member of the HubSpot Podcast Network.

Information

  • Creator
    Ross Simmonds
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2025
  • Episodes
    116
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Foundation Inc.
  • Show Website
    Create Like the Greats

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