Growth Activated | The B2B Marketing Leadership Podcast

Mandy Walker
  • 5.0 (11)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Growth Activated is a podcast for B2B marketing leaders who want to elevate their marketing strategies, lead confidently, and drive real business results. Each episode offers actionable insights and proven frameworks to help you activate growth for your team, your company, and your career.

  1. 2D AGO

    GTM AI Adoption That Actually Sticks: Optimization, Amplification, and Reinvention (with Jonathan Kvarfordt)

    You're feeling the pressure. Every board meeting, every LinkedIn scroll, every all-hands - AI is the expectation. But here's what the data actually shows: as of mid-2025, only 7% of companies had truly operationalized AI. Not just handed out a ChatGPT license. Actually embedded it into how their teams work. So if you've been wondering whether everyone else is further ahead than you - they're not. And what you do in 2026 to close that gap will determine how far ahead you get to be. In this episode, Jonathan Kvarfordt (Coach K) joins Mandy Hornaday to break down what operationalizing AI actually looks like inside go-to-market teams - not the hype version, but the version backed by real conversation and pipeline data. Jonathan is VP of Go-to-Market Strategy and Marketing at Momentum.io, a conversational data platform recently acquired by Salesforce. He also teaches AI and sales at Bryant University and advises over ten companies on AI strategy and go-to-market. If you're a CMO or marketing leader trying to figure out where to place your bets right now, this conversation will give you a much clearer lens. In this episode: The 3 levels of AI change — optimization, amplification, and reinvention — and how to know which one your team is ready forWhy operationalizing AI amplifies what already exists in your systems (good and bad) — and what to fix firstA real example: how one sales team went from 15 BDRs generating 15% of pipeline to 4 BDRs generating 30% — and what it actually tookWhy your human genius may be the most durable competitive moat you have — even as AI gets smarterThe AI tools Jonathan recommends for marketing leaders right now, including MindStudio, Profound, and SearchableHow to stay cutting-edge when you're in a security-constrained enterprise environmentChapter Markers: (00:00) Welcome & Guest Introduction (05:43) The Real State of AI Adoption (09:08) 3 Levels of AI Change for GTM Teams (19:14) Favorite AI Use Cases in Marketing (27:14) Tools, Skills, and Where CMOs Should Start Connect with Jonathan Kvarfordt: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmkmba/GTM AI PodcastIf this conversation sparked something for you, share it with a CMO or marketing leader in your network. And if you found it valuable, leaving a review goes a long way in helping other leaders find the show. Growth Activated is produced by Mandy Hornaday. Lead Like a CMO - Group Coaching Lab: Join the Waitlist Let’s Keep the Conversation Going! Loved this episode? Connect with me for more insights on B2B marketing leadership and strategies to grow your business. 🌐 Visit my website: growthactivated.com 🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn: Mandy Walker 🔗 Get Your Free Marketing Planning Guide Today! Don’t forget to subscribe to Growth Activated and share this episode with fellow marketing leaders. Let’s activate growth—together!

    33 min

  2. MAR 10

    AI-Powered GTM: 3 Founders → $30M ARR with Amos Bar-Joseph

    What if one person could run your entire go-to-market motion — marketing, sales, and customer success — backed by a system of AI agents? That's exactly what Amos Bar-Joseph is building at Swan AI — and in this episode, he pulls back the curtain on the AI-powered GTM model that generated over $1.5 million in pipeline in a single month. As CEO and sole go-to-market operator, Amos runs every stage of the funnel with a lean agentic system designed from the ground up for human-AI collaboration, not headcount growth. This conversation will reframe how you're thinking about AI-powered GTM — what it actually takes to move from system engineering to context engineering, and why the real opportunity for marketing leaders isn't replacing your team, it's scaling them. Guest Bio: Amos Bar-Joseph is the CEO and co-founder of Swan AI, a platform building what he calls the first AI go-to-market engineer — a coding agent designed specifically for GTM professionals. A three-time founder with two previous B2B startups under his belt, Amos is now testing a radical thesis: building a $30M ARR company with just three co-founders, powered by autonomous AI agents. What we Cover:  Why 90% of AI implementations fail — and the mindset shift that changes everythingSystem engineering vs. context engineering: the new operating model for CMOsThe MQL-to-SQL handoff problem — and how AI agents can bridge the gapWhat "zone of genius" actually means for your marketing team — and how AI protects itChapters:  (00:00) Welcome and Episode Context(04:39) Building the Autonomous Business(13:03) The AI-Powered GTM System(28:05) Best AI Use Cases for CMOs(45:31) Advice for CMOs Bridging the GapResources & Links: Swan AI: swanai.comAmos Bar-Joseph on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amosbarjosephThe Autonomous Age Newsletter: swanai at Beehive (search 'Autonomous Age')If this episode shifted how you're thinking about AI and your go-to-market motion, share it with a marketing leader in your network. And if you're not already following Growth Activated, now's a good time — a new episode drops every week. Growth Activated is hosted by Mandy Hornaday.  Lead Like a CMO - Group Coaching Lab: Join the Waitlist Let’s Keep the Conversation Going! Loved this episode? Connect with me for more insights on B2B marketing leadership and strategies to grow your business. 🌐 Visit my website: growthactivated.com 🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn: Mandy Walker 🔗 Get Your Free Marketing Planning Guide Today! Don’t forget to subscribe to Growth Activated and share this episode with fellow marketing leaders. Let’s activate growth—together!

    51 min

  3. MAR 3

    How to Build a B2B Podcast That Drives Pipeline (with Tom Hunt)

    # 42 - Most B2B podcasts plateau or quietly fade out. The difference between shows that stall and shows that build pipeline often comes down to three strategic decisions made before you ever hit record. Tom Hunt, CEO of Fame and one of the most experienced B2B podcast strategists in the space, joins the show to break down what actually separates the top-performing B2B podcasts from everyone else. After six years of building and running shows for B2B companies, Tom has seen the patterns — and the mistakes — up close. In this conversation, we cover: Why most B2B podcasts aren’t niche enough — and what Tom calls the "edge" that makes listeners tell their friends about your showHow to use your guest strategy to show ROI to your CFO within the first six monthsThe three roles every podcast needs (and what it actually costs to run a show)Growth tactics that work: vertical video snippets, best-of list placements for LLM discoverability, and podcast SEO basicsWhy Tom believes a podcast should be the last channel you launch — not the firstThe green flags that signal your podcast is working (and when to double down)A real case study: how Fame grew CFO Weekly into a relationship engine for their clientAbout Tom Hunt: Tom is the CEO of Fame, a leading B2B podcast agency that has spent six years helping companies turn their podcasts into pipeline and relationship engines. He previously built Famer.AI, an AI tool for podcast post-production, and hosts Confessions of a B2B Entrepreneur. Connect with Tom on LinkedIn. Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction(02:47) Tom’s journey from management consulting to B2B podcast agency(07:56) How the B2B podcasting landscape has evolved(10:26) The 3 reasons B2B podcasts fail: positioning, guest strategy, and consistency(14:50) What the top-performing podcast clients do differently(18:45) Guest strategy vs. building your own show(20:42) Investment, green flags, and proving ROI in the first six months(24:24) How AI is changing podcast production(26:17) Video-first strategy and YouTube for podcast growth(27:26) Growth playbook: snippets, best-of lists, and podcast SEO(32:50) Case study: CFO Weekly as a B2B relationship engine(35:07) Tom’s advice: why a podcast should be the last thing you launchIf this episode helped you think differently about B2B podcasting as a growth channel, share it with a fellow marketing leader who’s considering the investment. And if you haven’t yet, follow Growth Activated wherever you listen so you never miss an episode. Lead Like a CMO - Group Coaching Lab: Join the Waitlist Let’s Keep the Conversation Going! Loved this episode? Connect with me for more insights on B2B marketing leadership and strategies to grow your business. 🌐 Visit my website: growthactivated.com 🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn: Mandy Walker 🔗 Get Your Free Marketing Planning Guide Today! Don’t forget to subscribe to Growth Activated and share this episode with fellow marketing leaders. Let’s activate growth—together!

    38 min

  4. FEB 24

    Content Strategy That Builds Pipeline: Discovery, Virality, and Relationship Loops (with Brendan Hufford)

    #41 - Your team is producing more content than ever, but pipeline isn’t reflecting it. That gap between output and impact usually isn’t a volume problem — it’s a strategy problem. And it’s exactly what this conversation is built to solve. Brendan Hufford, founder of Growth Sprints, helps B2B SaaS companies scale from $10 million to $100 million — largely through content. He’s a former high school teacher turned SEO director turned founder, and he brings a refreshingly direct take on what it actually takes to make content drive revenue. In this conversation, Brendan breaks down his four-part growth framework and gets tactical about what’s working right now across search, social, and newsletters in B2B. What we cover: Why naming the problem you solve builds more trust than any product page — and how to workshop your own Content IP using the 3S strategy (sales, success, support)Discovery loops: how to get found in Google and LLMs, starting closest to the money with competitor and product pagesVirality loops: why your executives need to be posting (even when they’re resistant) and how to overcome the objectionsRelationship loops: what the best B2B newsletters actually look like, with specific examples to studyHow to quantify content’s impact so your CFO stops questioning the spendWhat “checkbox marketing” looks like and how to break out of it for goodWhy smaller marketing teams with strong strategy are outperforming larger ones stuck in channel silosAbout Brendan Hufford: Brendan is the founder of Growth Sprints, where he helps B2B SaaS companies scale from 10 to 100 million primarily through content. He previously served as SEO Director at a web design agency, helped scale a B2B SaaS marketing agency from 10 to 25 million, and worked in-house at ActiveCampaign. His background as a 10-year high school teacher gives him a unique perspective on communication, structure, and cutting through complexity. Connect with Brendan on LinkedIn. Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction(02:19) Brendan’s journey from teacher to SEO director to founder(07:19) The 4-part growth framework: Content IP, discovery, virality, and relationship loops(10:10) Content IP: why naming the problem beats naming the category(14:00) The 3S interview method for workshopping your Content IP(20:09) Why AI analysis can’t replace real customer conversations(23:30) Discovery, virality, and relationship loops in practice(29:57) The best B2B newsletters to study right now(32:46) How to bring the loops together without silos killing your strategy(37:56) Quantifying content’s impact and proving ROI to the CFOIf this episode gave you a framework to rethink your content strategy, share it with a fellow marketing leader who’s tired of checkbox marketing. And if you haven’t yet, follow Growth Activated wherever you listen so you never miss an episode. Lead Like a CMO - Group Coaching Lab: Join the Waitlist Let’s Keep the Conversation Going! Loved this episode? Connect with me for more insights on B2B marketing leadership and strategies to grow your business. 🌐 Visit my website: growthactivated.com 🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn: Mandy Walker 🔗 Get Your Free Marketing Planning Guide Today! Don’t forget to subscribe to Growth Activated and share this episode with fellow marketing leaders. Let’s activate growth—together!

    43 min

  5. FEB 17

    4 Strategic Bets Every CMO Should Make in 2026

    #40 - The landscape isn't just shifting — it's splitting. Buyers are choosing vendors before they ever talk to sales. AI is rewriting the rules faster than most of us can keep up. And budgets? Still flat. So instead of adding more to the list, I asked myself: if I could only make four strategic bets this year — four investments of my time, energy, and resources — what would they be? In this solo episode, I'm walking you through the 4 bets I'm making in 2026 as both a fractional CMO and the founder of Growth Activated. Each one is backed by data, grounded in what I'm seeing with clients, and designed to compound — where one investment feeds the next. What you'll walk away with:  A visibility + trust filter to pressure-test your own channel strategy Why I'm shifting from audio-first to YouTube-first podcasting The operational readiness gap that's causing 60% of AI projects to fail Why your personal learning speed may be your biggest leadership advantage right now The thread that ties all four bets into a system (and why it matters more than any single bet)Chapters:  (00:00) Why Strategic Bets Over Trend Chasing (03:23) Bet 1: The Visibility + Trust Filter (15:13) Bet 2: Optimize for the Human Experience (19:21) Bet 3: Invest in Operational Readiness (26:17) Bet 4: Speed as a Leadership Advantage (30:21) The Thread That Ties It All TogetherIf this episode resonated, I'd love to hear which bet landed most — send me a message on LinkedIn. 🎯 Join the CMO Operating System waitlist → growthactivated.com Related episodes mentioned:  AI Hackathon in Wales: Episode 39Community-Led Strategy with Ridhi Singh: Episode 38 Employee Advocacy with Gabe Lullo: Episode 37LLM Optimization & Search Everywhere: Episode 22Growth Activated is hosted by Mandy Walker — a fractional CMO with 15 years of marketing leadership experience helping B2B marketing leaders elevate their strategies, lead with confidence, and build careers they love. Lead Like a CMO - Group Coaching Lab: Join the Waitlist Let’s Keep the Conversation Going! Loved this episode? Connect with me for more insights on B2B marketing leadership and strategies to grow your business. 🌐 Visit my website: growthactivated.com 🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn: Mandy Walker 🔗 Get Your Free Marketing Planning Guide Today! Don’t forget to subscribe to Growth Activated and share this episode with fellow marketing leaders. Let’s activate growth—together!

    33 min

  6. FEB 11

    AI Agents and the Future of Marketing Teams - My Weekend Hackathon Wake-Up Call

    #39 - You've been using AI every day. You know there's a whole other level you haven't tapped into. And that gap between where you are and where the industry is headed? It's widening faster than most marketing leaders want to admit. This solo episode is the honest version of my AI journey — where I was, what I was getting right, what I was missing, and the moment a single conversation with a marketing leader building full AI agent teams made me realize I needed to stop waiting and start building. So I did what any reasonable person does when they're stuck in a small mountain town in Wales with a realization they can't shake: I treated my weekend like a hackathon and went all in on AI agents. In this episode, I pull back the curtain on three AI agent workflows I built over a single weekend using Claude Code and VS Code — no developer background required. I walk you through what worked, what surprised me, where I got stuck, and what I'm still figuring out. If you've been an active AI user who knows you're not operating at the level the industry is moving toward, this one is for you. What we cover: Why moving from AI user to AI builder is the inflection point most marketing leaders are approaching right nowThe conversation with Liza Adams that made me realize agentic AI teams are no longer a future-state conceptThe three workflows I built: a guest research agent, a podcast post-production agent, and a Webflow developer agentHow to get started with Claude Code and VS Code without a technical backgroundWhat I got wrong, what I'd do differently, and why I think the barrier to entry is genuinely lower than it's ever beenWhy AI adoption matters especially for women marketing leaders — and what the data says about the gap Chapter Markers: (00:00) Where I Was Before the Weekend(08:30) The Liza Adams Moment — Seeing AI Agent Teams in Action(18:00) Workflow 1: Guest Research Agent(28:30) Workflow 2: Podcast Post-Production Agent(36:00) Workflow 3: Webflow Developer Agent(42:00) What I'm Still Figuring Out and What's Next Resources Mentioned: Nate Herk on YouTube: youtube.com/@nateherkNicole Leffer (past Growth Activated episode — linked in show notes)Liza Adams — coming up on Growth Activated in the next few weeksGrowth Activated: growthactivated.comFollow Mandy Hornaday on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mandyhornadayIf this episode resonated, the best thing you can do is share it with another marketing leader who's been sitting on the sidelines of AI — and follow Growth Activated on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so you don't miss the Liza Adams episode coming soon. Growth Activated is produced by Mandy Hornaday. Lead Like a CMO - Group Coaching Lab: Join the Waitlist Let’s Keep the Conversation Going! Loved this episode? Connect with me for more insights on B2B marketing leadership and strategies to grow your business. 🌐 Visit my website: growthactivated.com 🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn: Mandy Walker 🔗 Get Your Free Marketing Planning Guide Today! Don’t forget to subscribe to Growth Activated and share this episode with fellow marketing leaders. Let’s activate growth—together!

    39 min

  7. JAN 27

    Community-Led Growth in B2B: How CMOs Build a Trust Moat (and Drive Pipeline) - with Ridhi Singh

    #38 - Community-led growth keeps showing up on every B2B growth roadmap — but most teams either confuse it with audience building or give up before it has a chance to work. If you've wondered whether community is actually a GTM strategy or just a feel-good initiative, this episode answers that. Ridhi Singh, founder of 91 Ninjas and a GTM strategist who has worked with 94 B2B SaaS and AI companies globally, joins Mandy Hornaday for a clear-eyed conversation on what community-led growth actually is, who it's built for, and how to build one that drives pipeline — not just engagement. Mandy also brings her own hard-earned perspective, having spent over a decade building Tech in Motion into a 350,000-member tech community across 14 North American markets — so this episode goes beyond theory. What we cover: Why community-led growth is no longer optional in a world of AI-generated content and Gen Z buyersThe critical difference between building an audience and building a community — and why it matters for GTM strategyThe 3 criteria to evaluate whether community-led growth is the right strategy for your business right nowWhether to brand your community separately from your company (and the LLM optimization implications of doing so)How community drives AI visibility — why forums, member conversations, and community-generated content are increasingly what LLMs pull fromWhere to start: the power users, the facilitation structure, and the activity framework that keeps communities aliveHow long to give it before expecting results — and the early indicators that tell you it's workingChapter Markers: (00:00) Welcome and Episode Context(05:00) Why Community-Led Growth Is No Longer Optional(07:00) Audience vs. Community — The Key Distinction(17:30) Who Should Invest in Community-Led Growth(24:00) Separate Brand vs. Company Brand — and the LLM Angle(30:00) How to Get Started: Power Users, Structure, and Activities(39:00) Timeline, Team, and What Success Looks LikeConnect with Ridhi Singh: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ridhi-singh-chouhan/ • 91 Ninjas: 91ninjas.com Follow Growth Activated on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so you never miss an episode — and if this conversation sparked something, sharing it with a B2B marketing leader in your network is the best way to help the show grow. Growth Activated is produced by Mandy Hornaday. Lead Like a CMO - Group Coaching Lab: Join the Waitlist Let’s Keep the Conversation Going! Loved this episode? Connect with me for more insights on B2B marketing leadership and strategies to grow your business. 🌐 Visit my website: growthactivated.com 🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn: Mandy Walker 🔗 Get Your Free Marketing Planning Guide Today! Don’t forget to subscribe to Growth Activated and share this episode with fellow marketing leaders. Let’s activate growth—together!

    46 min

  8. JAN 21

    Employee Advocacy That Drives 45% of Revenue: How to Build an Employee-Led Content Engine (with Gabe Lullo)

    #37 - What if 45% of your new revenue came from LinkedIn content — and your team of 200 generated 1.2 million followers without a single automation tool or paid promotion? That's not a hypothetical. That's exactly what Gabe Lullo, CEO of Alleyoop, built. Gabe joins Mandy Hornaday to pull back the curtain on Alleyoop's employee advocacy program — how they went from 20,000 collective employee followers to 1.2 million, why they stopped spending $8,000 a month on job ads (and haven't looked back), and the exact "calls and content" framework that now drives the majority of their growth. Alleyoop is a sales development company with over 150 SDRs reaching more than a million prospects per month. They don't just advise on outbound — they live it. This episode is the honest, tactical version of what an employee-led content engine actually looks like when it's working. What we cover: Why Gabe built a content program instead of just doubling down on cold outbound — and how the two work togetherThe "calls and content" framework and how LinkedIn became 45% of new revenueHow to go from 20,000 to 1.2 million employee followers without automationThe exact workflow: one video interview per employee per month, a full content team, and how final approval always stays with the employeeHow to encourage organic employee posting without making it a mandate — and the group chat trick that actually worksWhy LinkedIn voice notes get 7x the response rate of text-based messages — and how to use them without being spammyThe $0 job ad strategy that generated 4,200 inbound applicants in a single yearLinkedIn connection tactics: the 30-per-day rule, the yellow badge signal, and why Gabe never sends a note with a connection requestChapter Markers: (00:00) Gabe's Background and Alleyoop's Model(05:00) Why LinkedIn and the Calls and Content Framework(13:00) Building the Employee Advocacy Program(20:00) Results: Revenue, Recruiting, and Referral Partners(28:00) Who This Strategy Is Right For and How to StartConnect with Gabe Lullo: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lullo/Podcast: Do Hard ThingsAlleyoop: alleyoop.ioFollow Growth Activated on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — and if this episode gave you something to bring back to your team, pass it along to a marketing or sales leader who's been thinking about employee advocacy. Growth Activated is produced by Mandy Hornaday. Lead Like a CMO - Group Coaching Lab: Join the Waitlist Let’s Keep the Conversation Going! Loved this episode? Connect with me for more insights on B2B marketing leadership and strategies to grow your business. 🌐 Visit my website: growthactivated.com 🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn: Mandy Walker 🔗 Get Your Free Marketing Planning Guide Today! Don’t forget to subscribe to Growth Activated and share this episode with fellow marketing leaders. Let’s activate growth—together!

    34 min
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5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Growth Activated is a podcast for B2B marketing leaders who want to elevate their marketing strategies, lead confidently, and drive real business results. Each episode offers actionable insights and proven frameworks to help you activate growth for your team, your company, and your career.

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