Rob Karel, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Precisely, shares over two decades of B2B tech marketing expertise. Rob delves into the evolution of marketing, the art of storytelling, and how startups can effectively balance brand awareness with performance marketing. He explains why understanding your ideal customer profile (ICP) is critical for success and highlights the importance of validating your messaging through customer feedback. Rob also discusses structuring marketing teams, the pitfalls of category creation, and the ultimate metric for marketing success—conversion quality.

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What You Will Learn:

• How to balance brand awareness and performance marketing for maximum ROI
• The art of storytelling in B2B marketing and its impact on long sales cycles
• Why startups should focus on their ideal customer profile early
• The importance of customer feedback in refining messaging
• Key principles for structuring marketing teams at different growth stages

Highlights:

• [08:14] Why good messaging starts with understanding your audience
• [12:35] Storytelling in B2B: Simplifying the complex
• [20:20] The synergy between brand awareness and demand generation
• [24:50] Why competition validates category creation
• [33:15] Wise advice: “If you’re not wrong 20% of the time, you’re not trying hard enough.”

The Wize Ones PodcastThe Wize Ones podcast features leading operators, subject matter experts, VCs, and founders interviewing each other to reveal insights into how they built and scaled their products, software, and ideas. We speak to the top 5% of people in the world of GTM to get first-hand insights, case studies, and real-life examples of what worked and what didn't.

This podcast is produced by Wizly and powered by its global community of professionals. Wizly is an AI-powered platform that helps experts organize, scale, and monetize their knowledge.

Andreas Welsch, a globally recognized AI leader and advisor, shares his insights on how businesses can turn AI hype into real outcomes. As the Founder of Intelligence Briefing and a former global leader at SAP, Andreas has guided Fortune 500 companies in leveraging AI to drive measurable results. Learn how to align AI with business goals, start small to scale effectively, and empower teams to achieve more through technology.

💡 Enjoyed this episode?

Don’t forget to subscribe to The Wize Ones on your favorite podcast platform for more insights from top operators, VCs, and founders. If you found value, leave us a review—it helps us reach more listeners like you!

What You Will Learn:

• Why AI is a tool for empowerment, not replacement
• How to align AI strategies with measurable business outcomes
• The importance of starting small and scaling thoughtfully
• Generative AI’s potential and how to use it effectively
• Key traits of businesses leading in AI adoption

Highlights:

• [01:12] AI as a tool to amplify human potential
• [02:45] Aligning AI with clear business goals
• [06:10] Driving collaboration between AI and human creativity
• [15:40] Generative AI’s game-changing opportunities
• [25:15] The future of AI as an enabler in business processes

The Wize Ones PodcastThe Wize Ones podcast features leading operators, subject matter experts, VCs, and founders interviewing each other to reveal insights into how they built and scaled their products, software, and ideas. We speak to the top 5% of people in the world of GTM to get first-hand insights, case studies, and real-life examples of what worked and what didn't.

This podcast is produced by Wizly and powered by its global community of professionals. Wizly is an AI-powered platform that helps experts organize, scale, and monetize their knowledge.

Jeremy Glassenberg, an API product management expert with over 16 years of experience, shares his insights on building and scaling developer ecosystems. Jeremy’s experience includes leading the developer platform team at Box, establishing API governance at DocuSign, and consulting with numerous unicorn startups. In this episode, we dive into why APIs are crucial for modern business growth, how to validate your API strategy, and what it takes to build a developer platform that retains customers.

💡 Enjoyed this episode?

Don’t forget to subscribe to The Wize Ones on your favorite podcast platform for more insights from top operators, VCs, and founders. If you found value, leave us a review—it helps us reach more listeners like you!

What You Will Learn:

• Why customer validation is key to a successful API strategy
• How APIs bridge the gap between product and sales teams
• The importance of developer experience in building a lasting platform
• How AI and APIs are shaping the future of tech

Highlights:

• [00:45] The importance of APIs in modern platforms
• [03:10] The role of customer validation in API success
• [06:00] How APIs helped Box close major sales deals
• [17:33] Why APIs are essential for both growth and retention
• [36:00] The future of APIs in AI development

The Wize Ones PodcastThe Wize Ones podcast features leading operators, subject matter experts, VCs, and founders interviewing each other to reveal insights into how they built and scaled their products, software, and ideas. We speak to the top 5% of people in the world of GTM to get first-hand insights, case studies, and real-life examples of what worked and what didn't.

This podcast is produced by Wizly and powered by its global community of professionals. Wizly is an AI-powered platform that helps experts organize, scale, and monetize their knowledge.