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Web3 CMO Stories

Joeri Billast

Web3 CMO Stories is the podcast for marketing leaders and founders building in the next web, where blockchain, AI and immersive technology meet.

Every week, host Joeri Billast sits down with founders, CMOs and thought leaders to unpack how brands grow visibility and trust when technology rewrites the rules. No hype and no jargon: clear, strategic conversations in a language business leaders outside the tech bubble understand.

With more than 300 episodes since 2022, the show ranks in the top 5% of podcasts globally according to Listen Notes. Guests include Philip Kotler, Gary Vaynerchuk, Chris Do, Mark Schaefer, Joe Pulizzi, Andy Crestodina and Ben Goertzel of SingularityNET.

Joeri is a Fractional CMO, AI Visibility Strategist, TEDx speaker and author of The Future CMO, endorsed by Philip Kotler.

Sponsored by CoinDesk (2024), RYO (2025-2026) and Metricool (2026). Featured in Cryptopolitan.

"One of the sharpest marketing shows running right now." Matt Wilkinson, Founder of Strivenn

Articles and transcripts: The Future CMO Library, webdrie.net
About Joeri: joeribillast.com

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Yesterday · 21 min
AI Needs Ground to Stand On: Why Real-World Decisions Require Location Intelligence – with TomTom | S6 E48
Send us Fan Mail AI can give a perfectly logical answer and still be completely wrong if it does not understand the physical world. From Web Summit, I sit down with Leo Sei, who leads TomTom’s Location Intelligence for Enterprise, to unpack the idea that “AI needs ground to stand on” and what that really means for AI agents making real world decisions. We talk about why language models struggle with place based reality: roads that look connected but are not, streets that changed since training, and conditions like traffic, closures, and turn restrictions that update constantly. Leo explains how TomTom approaches grounding through location intelligence, including vectorization and embeddings that make geospatial data readable for agents, plus real time validation so an agent can check what is true before it answers. We also dig into how fresh maps get built: open data efforts, partnerships with automakers and municipalities, and feedback loops that keep mobility signals current. Then we get practical. We explore enterprise AI use cases like insurance claim validation, address level property risk pricing, fleet planning, warehouse and EV charging site selection, emergency services dispatch, and the next wave of smart city and autonomous driving workflows. We also zoom out on the org changes coming fast, including the shift from “pet agents” owned by individuals to agent to agent teams that coordinate work while humans supervise the control points. If you care about AI agents, geospatial data, real time mapping, and building reliable enterprise AI systems, this conversation will give you a clearer blueprint. Subscribe, share this with a builder who needs grounding, and leave a review if it helped you think differently. This episode was recorded at Web Summit (Lisbon) in the official podcast booth on November 10, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/ai-needs-ground-to-stand-on-why-real-world-decisions-require-location-intelligence-with-tomtom/ .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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November 5 · 18 min
Web Summit 2026: 7 Lessons I Learned the Hard Way After 10 Editions | S6 E47
Send us Fan Mail The fastest way to waste Web Summit is to confuse motion with progress. I learned that the hard way when I first attended in Lisbon and spent too much time chasing presentations instead of building relationships. Ahead of Web Summit 2026, I’m sharing seven practical lessons I’ve pulled from 10 editions and multiple roles, from attendee to media to recording interviews for Web3 CMO Stories. We start with the foundation: knowing exactly why you’re going. Clients, investors, partners, learning about AI and marketing trends, or building your personal brand all demand different choices. I walk through a simple planning exercise to set three specific goals, then show how to turn those goals into a schedule that protects your time. You’ll hear why your Web Summit networking should begin before you arrive, how to use the official app without sending generic messages, and how to book a few key meetings so you’re not relying on luck. Then we get tactical about what most people underestimate: side events. Lisbon’s side event ecosystem can be where the best conversations happen, but only if you’re selective and intentional. We also talk about participation, not just attendance, how to have real conversations instead of transactional networking, and what to do after you leave Lisbon so leads and relationships don’t fade into your inbox. This solo episode was recorded via Descript on November 5, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/web-summit-2026-7-lessons-i-learned-the-hard-way-after-10-editions/ If you’re heading to Web Summit 2026, listen, share this with a friend who’s going, and subscribe and leave a review so more people can find the playbook. What’s your main goal for this year’s Web Summit? .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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October 29 · 39 min
The AI Visibility Trap: Being Recommended Isn't Being Chosen | S6 E46
Send us Fan Mail AI assistants are quietly changing the rules of marketing: instead of ten search results, buyers often get one short list of “recommended” options. That sounds convenient for consumers, but it’s a high-stakes moment for brands. If your company isn’t included in that AI-generated shortlist, you don’t just lose traffic, you may lose the chance to be considered at all. We connect the dots across three recent research reports to unpack what this means for modern brand strategy. First, NielsenIQ data shows AI recommendations already influence real purchase decisions, while familiar preferences and word of mouth still anchor trust. Then we dig into Semrush findings that expose a key gap in AI search: a brand mention is not the same as an AI citation, and visibility can look wildly different across ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews, markets, and question types. Finally, we look at Typeface research revealing a “confidence trap” where teams feel prepared for AI visibility, yet often lack shared tools, shared metrics, and true cross-functional collaboration. Along the way, we challenge the temptation to optimize for machines at the expense of humans. Chasing citations with generic content can erode authenticity, blur differentiation, and make brands sound interchangeable. Instead, we outline five practical decisions CMOs can make now: get positioning right first, map real customer questions with sales and support, measure discovery plus reputation plus business outcomes, build credibility beyond your website through third-party validation, and treat brand trust as a strategic objective. This solo episode was recorded via Descript on October 27, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/the-ai-visibility-trap-being-recommended-isnt-being-chosen Subscribe for more on AI marketing, answer engine optimization, SEO evolution, and brand trust, and if this sparked ideas, share it with a marketing leader and leave a review so more CMOs can find it. .......................................................................... Metricool is a new official podcast partner of Web3 CMO Stories in 2026. Metricool helps marketers and creators bring structure, clarity, and consistency to their social media workflows through analytics, planning, and reporting. Listeners can try Metricool Premium for free for 30 days using the coupon code JOERI .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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October 22 · 20 min
What Happens When The Market Becomes A Conversation | S6 E45
Send us Fan Mail A trading agent that “just decides for you” sounds convenient until you ask the one question that actually matters: who is accountable when it goes wrong? We sit down with Kalib Stevens from RYO to draw a clear line between an AI assistant that makes you smarter and an AI agent that quietly takes the wheel. We get practical about what AI trading agents are really solving for everyday crypto traders. The internet is not short on charts, dashboards, news, and on-chain activity, but most people still cannot translate that flood of inputs into a single confident move. Kalib argues the value is context, not more content: an AI layer that connects signals to your goal, your timeframe, and your risk posture while keeping you in control of approvals, stop losses, and orders. From there, we dig into the hidden risks of “simple” interfaces. When a conversational trading interface makes market research feel effortless, it can also inflate confidence and hide uncertainty. We talk about honesty as a design principle, why transparent sources matter for trust, and how an AI agent becomes part of the brand experience the same way a customer-facing employee does. We also look ahead at how mainstream AI trading could change behaviour faster than we expect and why “crypto for everyone” depends on lowering the barrier to entry without lowering standards. This episode was recorded through a Descript call on October 13, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/what-happens-when-the-market-becomes-a-conversation/ If you want a grounded take on AI in crypto trading, Web3 trust, and responsible automation, listen now, share it with a friend, and subscribe and leave a review to help more builders and traders find the show. .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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October 15 · 27 min
The Internet Has No Doors. AI Just Made That Dangerous – Wes Kussmaul | S6 E44
Send us Fan Mail We keep trying to make the open web behave like a locked office, then act surprised when phishing, account takeovers, and impersonation win anyway. Joeri Billast sits down with internet pioneer Wes Kussmaul, founder of Delphi Internet Services, to challenge a basic assumption behind modern cybersecurity: that we can “catch the bad guy” our way to safety without rebuilding how digital identity and accountability work. Wes breaks down how the early online world shifted from information services to social networks, and why that commercial evolution left trust behind. His central metaphor is unforgettable: the web is outdoors, like a public highway. Outdoors is great for exploration, but serious work happens indoors, inside buildings designed for access control, roles, and responsibility. Online, we’re still trying to do “banking on a billboard,” with no real digital buildings, no doorways, and no reliable badges. From there, we get practical and provocative: how you can be private or anonymous and still accountable, using the license plate as a model. We talk PKI, X.509 digital identity certificates, multiple personas for compartmentalised privacy, and why Web3 still can’t escape the need for trusted authorities when governance and real money are on the line. Wes also shares why he believes today’s cybersecurity incentives keep the core problem unsolved, and where to learn more at authentiverse.net, including SHIPS, “Solutions Hiding In Plain Sight.” This episode was recorded through a Descript call on October 8, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/ai-just-made-that-dangerous-wes-kussmaul/ If this sparks ideas or debate, share it with a friend, subscribe to the show, and leave a review with five stars so more people can find these conversations. .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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October 8 · 34 min
What Ahrefs Learned Growing to $150M Without Outbound Sales – with Tim Soulo | S6 E43
Send us Fan Mail A lot of marketers are staring at AI visibility dashboards right now and wondering if they’re winning or just watching noise. Tim Soulo (CMO at Ahrefs, author of Discoverable) brings it back to something sturdier: how people actually find and choose products, and how to build a brand that gets discovered without needing a giant ad budget or an outbound sales army. We unpack the simple framework behind Discoverable: people discover businesses through search, by noticing them, or through recommendations. Tim explains how “search” now means far more than Google SEO it includes ChatGPT, TikTok, YouTube, and social search and why discoverability is the scalable alternative when you can’t afford to chase leads one by one. We also dig into why marketing teams gravitate toward tactics, how specialisation shapes that behaviour, and why fundamentals are often the real advantage. Then we go deep on AI in marketing. Tim shares why vibe coding feels like a superpower for marketers, but also why “AI x zero effort = slop” and why effort is still the signal people trust. Finally, we get practical about AI-driven discovery: what to track (AI referral traffic, AI bot visits, self attribution, sales feedback), how to think in trends and competitor benchmarks, and how to prioritise work using Tim’s BREW framework (Business potential, Reach, Effort, Who). This episode was recorded through a Descript call on September 30, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/what-ahrefs-learned-growing-to-150m-without-outbound-sales-with-tim-soulo/ If you want clearer marketing strategy in an AI search world, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review with five stars. .......................................................................... Metricool is a new official podcast partner of Web3 CMO Stories in 2026. Metricool helps marketers and creators bring structure, clarity, and consistency to their social media workflows through analytics, planning, and reporting. Listeners can try Metricool Premium for free for 30 days using the coupon code JOERI .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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October 1 · 18 min
Michael Jordan at SBC Summit: Authenticity, Focus and the Future of Business | S6 E42
Send us Fan Mail Hundreds of phones went up in the MEO Arena the moment Michael Jordan stepped on stage at SBC Summit, and what followed was far more useful than a typical sports business talk. We walk through the sharpest ideas from that conversation with Jordan, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, and Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl, then translate them into real-world lessons for marketing leadership, brand strategy, and building companies in uncertain markets. We start with a principle that gets more important the easier content becomes to produce: authenticity before visibility. AI can generate assets, platforms can amplify them, and paid media can push them everywhere, but none of that creates credibility if the connection is forced. From there we move to focus and control. When modern business drowns us in dashboards, attribution, predictions, and AI analysis, the edge is knowing what you can influence and putting your energy there. We also unpack a tension many executives and creators feel right now: personal branding can strengthen a company, but it can also quietly compete with the team objective if it drifts away from the strategy. Robins brings the strategic centerpiece: stop trying to predict one future and start building option value. That mindset maps directly onto AI adoption, where nobody truly knows which models, agent platforms, or workflows will win. Koerl pushes the AI conversation beyond efficiency into innovation, showing why “write faster” is less interesting than “build what was impossible before.” We close on the most human takeaway: data improves judgment, but it never deletes uncertainty, and great leaders still act without perfect information. If this resonates, subscribe, share it with someone who leads a team, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. This episode was recorded at SBC Summit (Lisbon) on Sep 29, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/michael-jordan-at-sbc-summit-authenticity-focus-and-the-future-of-business/ .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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September 24 · 23 min
How Stablecoins And On-Chain Credit Are Going Mainstream | S6 E41
Send us Fan Mail Crypto doesn’t have a technology problem, it has a translation problem. Most people outside the space hear one word and mentally bundle everything together, from Bitcoin to meme coins to Ethereum, then assume it’s all the same risk. I sit down with DeFi Dave, Head of Growth at CAP and a longtime DeFi educator, to break that framing and rebuild it with clear categories, simple analogies, and practical takeaways founders can use right now. We explore why on-chain finance is in a real metamorphosis: stablecoins are becoming more institutional and more “TradFi-like,” while tokenised stocks and stock tokens are pulling liquidity and experimentation back toward the wild energy of early DeFi. Dave explains stablecoins in the most useful way I’ve heard: like PayPal or Venmo balances, except on a public network with many counterparties verifying balances. That shift changes everything for product design, marketing, and adoption because the winning stablecoin UX makes the blockchain disappear. Then we go deep on on-chain credit. Dave outlines CAP’s approach with funded underwriters who post collateral, do diligence, and take penalties when risk is mispriced, aiming to solve the incentive issues that have made lending markets blow up again and again. We also cover regulation (what the Genius Act clarifies, what lending still lacks), macro conditions like rates and liquidity, and why rising markets can trick teams into believing they found product-market fit. Finally, we get into “lore building,” where the community writes the story and the company acts as the shepherd, plus how to stand out when AI makes content flat and abundant. This episode was recorded through a Descript call on September 9, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/how-stablecoins-and-on-chain-credit-are-going-mainstream If you care about stablecoins, DeFi lending, on-chain credit, crypto marketing, and building trust at scale, this conversation will sharpen your thinking. Subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review if you want more conversations like this. .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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September 17 · 26 min
Travel AI Can Automate. Can It Build Relationships? | S6 E40
Send us Fan Mail Most travel platforms are brilliant at one thing: getting you to click “confirm.” Then the real trip starts, something goes wrong, and you’re suddenly on your own. We sit down with Vipul Doshi, a travel tech entrepreneur and co-founder of Zenvoya, to unpack why the industry optimises the booking transaction while neglecting the relationship that matters most: the full traveler journey from planning and discovery to on-trip support and disruption recovery. We dig into what changes when generative AI is treated as a personal travel assistant instead of a cost-cutting automation layer. Vipul explains why information and inventory are no longer true differentiators, and why context, intent, and judgment are becoming the new competitive edge. If an AI remembers your preferences, constraints, and past choices, it can do the hard work for you and keep improving over time, turning “personalisation” into something real rather than a template email with your name. We also explore the convergence of marketing and customer service as AI starts to deliver more of the product experience. A brand promise that sounds warm but feels cold in support destroys trust fast. That’s why values, tone, and accountability must carry through the AI layer, and why modern teams should shift metrics away from average handling time toward repeat engagement, repurchase behaviour, and customer lifetime value. If you care about AI in travel, customer experience, travel loyalty, and the future of distribution, this conversation gives you a clear framework to build with. This episode was recorded through a Descript call on September 10, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/travel-ai-can-automate-can-it-build-relationships Subscribe for more Web3 CMO Stories, share this with a frequent traveler or product leader, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show. .......................................................................... Metricool is a new official podcast partner of Web3 CMO Stories in 2026. Metricool helps marketers and creators bring structure, clarity, and consistency to their social media workflows through analytics, planning, and reporting. Listeners can try Metricool Premium for free for 30 days using the coupon code JOERI .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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September 10 · 18 min
From Burning a $95,000 Banksy To Building Online Trust | S6 E39
Send us Fan Mail The web is starting to feel like a hall of mirrors. With AI cranking out endless “good enough” text, images, and video, it’s getting harder to know whether you’re reading a real fact, seeing a real person, or walking straight into a scam. That’s why I sat down with Anthony Anzalone, better known online as Burnt Banksy, to dig into a question that’s becoming impossible to ignore: how do we prove what’s real on the internet without sacrificing privacy? Anthony’s story starts with a now-famous act of digital ownership provocation: buying a $95,000 Banksy, burning it, and then selling the work as an NFT for around $400,000. From there, we trace the deeper theme behind the headline, verification. Crypto proved that when you can verify money and transactions, you can build entire new markets on top. Anthony argues the next frontier is verified information, the kind of trustworthy data that can help humans, brands, and AI systems operate without drowning in fraud, deepfakes, fake credentials, and bot traffic. We unpack how Verona (evolving from earlier infrastructure work on chain abstraction) aims to become an intelligence layer for AI agents, what an AI agent actually needs to know before we let it act on our behalf, and why zero-knowledge proofs matter for real-world privacy. We also get into the unglamorous truth about adoption: people don’t buy “blockchain,” they buy outcomes like less risk, safer onboarding, and higher trust. If you care about AI trust, identity verification, data privacy, and a future internet with less “AI slop,” you’ll get a lot out of this conversation. This episode was recorded through a Descript call on September 8, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/from-burning-a-95000-banksy-to-building-online-trust/ If the ideas resonate, subscribe for more, share this with someone who worries about online trust, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show. .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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September 3 · 26 min
What Serious Web3 Investors Want | S6 E38
Send us Fan Mail Serious Web3 capital does not chase the loudest narrative. It follows clear thinking, real adoption, and founders who can earn trust when the hype is gone. Joeri Billast sits down with Bashar Al Madhoun, CEO of Dubai’s ALMAK Group, a royal-backed global holding and investment management group chaired by Sheikh Ali bin Rashed Al Maktoum, to explore where Web3 venture capital and institutional capital are actually moving in 2026. Fresh from conversations in Kuala Lumpur and across Southeast Asia, Bashar explains why some of the most compelling opportunities are moving beyond “crypto” as a category toward practical business problems involving digital identity, ownership, payments, data infrastructure, and new collaboration models. If you are building, marketing, investing in, or fundraising for a Web3 company, this conversation breaks down what investors listen for when deciding whether a project deserves a second meeting. Bashar shares the core signals: clarity around the problem, customer, solution and business model, evidence of real adoption, and a team and leader capable of executing. We also explore the red flags that can quickly undermine an otherwise promising project, from vanity growth metrics and weak governance to unclear legal structures, poor risk management and insufficient data protection. Bashar explains why compliance can become a competitive advantage rather than friction, and why leadership, consistency and transparency about uncertainty increasingly matter in building investor trust. Joeri and Bashar then compare Dubai and Southeast Asia as Web3 ecosystems and examine the growing convergence of AI and Web3. Where does that combination create real economic value, and when is it simply two powerful narratives packaged together? Bashar also explains why AI can support investment analysis but should never replace human judgment. For founders building for the next five years rather than the next hype cycle, the message is clear: solve a focused problem, prove that people need it, and protect governance, data, IP, security and reputation from the beginning. This episode was recorded through a Descript call on September 2, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/where-serious-web3-capital-is-moving-what-investors-want-in-2026-with-bashar-al-madhoun/ .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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August 27 · 16 min
The AI Adoption Race Is Ending: What Michael Stelzner’s 2026 Report Means for Marketers | S6 E37
Send us Fan Mail 73% of marketers now use AI every day, and most of us feel the boost: more speed, more output, more “done”. But one number stops me cold: only about 30% say they’re seeing significant measurable results. That gap is the signal. The big question for marketing leaders is no longer whether AI belongs in the team. It’s whether AI is making our marketing better or simply making us faster at producing more. I unpack what the 2026 AI Marketing Industry Report from Michael Stelzner and the Social Media Examiner team really means for CMOs, founders, and growth leads. We talk about why AI makes marketing activity cheap while value creation stays hard, and why the future CMO role shifts toward orchestration: connecting business goals, customer needs, marketing technology, people, and outcomes. If your AI success metric is “hours saved” or “content shipped”, we’re stopping too early. The board cares about what changes because of the work. We also explore the tension between visibility and differentiation, pulling in ideas I’ve discussed with Gary Vaynerchuk and Chris Do. AI discovery is real, and being present across formats matters, but when everyone can publish endlessly, the differentiator becomes deeply human: judgment, taste, courage, a clear point of view, and trust. With rising concerns about accuracy, reliability, data privacy, and security, trust is the one thing AI can’t scale for you. This solo episode was recorded via Descript on August 26, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/the-ai-adoption-race-is-ending-what-michael-stelzners-2026-report-means-for-marketers Subscribe to Web3 CMO Stories, share this with a marketing leader who needs it, and leave a review if it helps. What’s your honest answer right now: is AI making your marketing better or mostly faster? .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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August 20 · 23 min
Who Owns the Data Your Business Creates? | S6 E36
Send us Fan Mail Your data is not “in the cloud” in some magical place. It is on someone else’s computer, under someone else’s rules and that changes everything once AI enters the picture. I sit down with Ehsan Darweshi (Founder and Architect at QANAT) and Georg Schmejkal (Growth lead and founding team) to unpack the real business cost of modern tooling: the quiet trade of convenience for dependency, and the growing fear that confidential work can leak, be profiled, or be used to train models you do not control. We dig into what people get wrong about data ownership in Web2, why “free” often means you pay with personal data, and how a lack of transparency erodes trust between brands and customers. Ehsan breaks down the difference between privacy and digital sovereignty using a simple metaphor: privacy is locking the door, sovereignty is being able to move freely without being watched. From there, we explore data gravity, vendor lock-in, and why switching platforms can feel impossible once your workflows and LLM learning are baked into a provider. AI makes this urgent. We talk about LLMs acting like internal employees without NDAs, risks like prompt injection, and why private AI and zero trust, zero knowledge architectures matter for companies of any size. Georg shares why digital sovereignty is now a government and enterprise priority, with lessons from a UAE roadshow, and we close with a practical, staged path for founders and marketers who rely on Google, LinkedIn, Meta, and AI platforms but still want control. This episode was recorded through a Descript call on August 4, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/who-owns-the-data-your-business-creates If you care about digital sovereignty, data privacy, private LLMs, and building long-term trust, listen now then subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it. .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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August 13 · 29 min
Train The AI To Recommend You – with Andy Crestodina | S6 E35
Send us Fan Mail AI is quietly rewriting the rules of marketing, not by “changing SEO” but by changing how buyers choose. When a chatbot can shortlist vendors in a single conversation, visibility is no longer the finish line. Recommendability is. I sit down with Andy Crestodina, co-founder and CMO of Orbit Media, to unpack what it takes to earn AI recommendations and what most brands are missing when they chase rankings without understanding the visitor. We get practical about how AI search optimization is really the overlap of SEO and conversion rate optimization. Andy explains why prompts are longer and more personal than classic queries, how that extra context reveals real decision criteria, and why your website still matters because it is the place you control the depth, proof, and sales answers. We also dig into why AI-sourced visitors can be far more qualified, why traffic growth is a shaky North Star, and how to stop being silently excluded by publishing the questions prospects actually ask before they will take action. Then we go deeper on content strategy in an era of infinite “average” content. Andy makes a clear case for the formats AI cannot truly replicate: thought leadership with a strong point of view and original research rooted in real data. We also talk prompt engineering maturity, from ad hoc prompts to reusable prompts to custom assistants and tools, and what separates the revenue accountable CMO from someone who just manages AI outputs. This episode was recorded through a Descript call on August 3, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/train-the-ai-to-recommend-you-with-andy-crestodina If you care about B2B marketing, lead generation, buyer intent, and building a brand that gets chosen, this one will sharpen your playbook. Subscribe, share this with a marketer who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. .......................................................................... Metricool is a new official podcast partner of Web3 CMO Stories in 2026. Metricool helps marketers and creators bring structure, clarity, and consistency to their social media workflows through analytics, planning, and reporting. Listeners can try Metricool Premium for free for 30 days using the coupon code JOERI .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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August 6 · 31 min
Your Assets Went On-Chain. Your Account Didn’t | S6 E34
Send us Fan Mail Institutions finally got their Bitcoin ETFs, then many proceeded to buy the top and sell the bottom. That one detail says a lot about how unprepared “professional” money can be in a cyclical crypto market and why investors need a better model for crypto wealth management than a couple of regulated wrappers. I’m joined by Frank Hepworth, founder of New Market Trading, who went from advising major crypto exchanges inside a top securities law firm to building an on-chain digital asset management approach where clients keep custody of their own funds. We break down the three tiers most people confuse: big banks with limited offerings, crypto exchanges with broader access but still mostly off-chain, and the blockchain layer where the full on-chain economy actually lives. If you’ve wondered why tokenized real world assets and tokenized stocks haven’t shown up in your portfolio, Frank’s answer is blunt: tokenization is not the real bottleneck when your investment account still runs like a private spreadsheet. From there we get practical about infrastructure: account abstraction, programmable investment accounts, and how limited permissions can let you combine self-custody with professional management. We also talk regulation and mandates, why institutions wait for products like the Bitcoin ETF, what investors miss when they stay passive, and how to think about scams, transparency, and third-party audits in a world full of hype. This episode was recorded through a Descript call on July 27, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/your-assets-went-on-chain-your-account-didnt If you want a clearer view of on-chain investing, tokenized assets, and the future of programmable finance, listen now, then subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review to help more people find the show. .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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July 30 · 11 min
Canva Co-Founder & CEO Melanie Perkins: You Can Only Grow as Big as Your Dreams | S6 E33
Send us Fan Mail You can chase every new AI tool on the timeline and still end up further from what your customers actually want. After going back to a 2019 interview with Canva Co-Founder & CEO Melanie Perkins, I’m struck by how little the core principles have aged and how much they explain the best AI products and the best marketing today. We talk about Canva’s vision of helping people take an idea and turn it into a finished design with as close to zero friction as possible, then connect that directly to what generative AI is supposed to deliver: intention to outcome, not more dashboards. From there, we unpack one of Canva’s most important values, "make complex things simple," and why it’s becoming the dividing line between AI that feels magical and AI that feels like homework. If your customer needs a 20-minute explanation to understand your value, we explore why the problem may be your story, not their attention span. Then we go deeper into something most growth teams avoid saying out loud: incentives. When a platform succeeds, do its users succeed too, or do their goals start to diverge? We look at alignment, community, trust, and why this question is becoming unavoidable across social media, creator ecosystems, and AI platforms. We close with the quote that still sticks with me years later: "You can only grow as big as your dreams," but you also have to take the first small step, then the next. If you care about AI marketing strategy, product philosophy, and building brands that last, subscribe, share this episode with a friend, and leave a review. What’s one principle you want to keep stable while everything else changes? This solo episode was recorded via Descript on July 26, 2026. It also includes audio from my interview with Melanie Perkins, recorded on November 5, 2019, during Web Summit in Lisbon. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/canva-co-founder-ceo-melanie-perkins-you-can-only-grow-as-big-as-your-dreams .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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July 23 · 35 min
Building Sh*t No One Wants | S6 E32
Send us Fan Mail Most founders do not “build something no one wants” on purpose. The more painful truth is that a lot of smart, hardworking people build something useful, then watch it stall because the market never hears the story in a way that makes action feel obvious. Anna Bravington joins me to unpack the real reasons products do not sell and how to fix them without panic-rebuilding everything from scratch. We walk through Anna’s simple diagnostic of three leaks: offer, visibility, and clarity. If you are getting attention but no sales, clarity or offer is often the culprit. If no one is finding you, visibility is the job. We talk about how to use data, customer interviews, and lost-deal follow-ups to locate the real blockage, and why founders need to distance their ego from their product so feedback becomes useful instead of personal. We also zoom out on competition: your rivals are not just direct competitors, but also imperfect workarounds and the biggest competitor of all, doing nothing. Then we get into AI voice-of-customer research and synthetic customers: where AI can surface language and insights humans miss, and where it can turn into a convincing echo chamber if your prompts bake in assumptions. We finish with a theme that hits home for a lot of technical and introverted builders: visibility feels uncomfortable, but hiding is often the fastest route to failure. Anna shares practical advice on becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable, and how accountability and community can make the hard parts doable. This episode was recorded through a Descript call on July 17, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/building-sht-no-one-wants If this resonates, subscribe for more Web3 and founder marketing conversations, share the episode with a builder who needs it, and leave a review if you want to help the show grow. .......................................................................... Metricool is a new official podcast partner of Web3 CMO Stories in 2026. Metricool helps marketers and creators bring structure, clarity, and consistency to their social media workflows through analytics, planning, and reporting. Listeners can try Metricool Premium for free for 30 days using the coupon code JOERI .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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July 16 · 10 min
Stop Hiding Behind Your Company Page | S6 E31
Send us Fan Mail 93% of LinkedIn company pages didn't grow last year. That headline sounds like an algorithm problem. I see something more interesting: a belief problem. When personal profiles earn roughly the same impressions as company pages yet drive 63% more engagement, the platform is confirming what buyers have been signalling for years. People don't build relationships with logos. They build trust with humans who have a point of view and a track record. In this solo episode, I walk through the evidence from the new Metricool x Favikon playbook, LinkedIn in 2026, and connect it to what AI is changing in marketing right now. AI made publishing radically easier, which means posting more stops being a durable advantage. At the same time, visible engagement is falling while real engagement rises, because clicks are up and buyers decide silently. If you still judge LinkedIn by likes and comments alone, you're measuring applause while your buyer is watching quietly. Then it gets practical: where does belief actually come from? I break down the three circles of growth, starting with employees, expanding through customers and partners, and only then layering in external creators. You'll hear why scripted employee posts backfire, why ending every post with a question lifts comments by 77%, and why creator campaigns don't land on top of an empty trust layer. Download the Metricool x Favikon playbook >> One question to bring to your next marketing meeting: if your company page went silent tomorrow, who would still be talking about your brand? This solo episode was recorded via Descript on July 13, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/linkedin-in-2026-why-people-not-pages-will-build-the-next-great-brands/ .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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July 9 · 22 min
The Real Barrier Isn’t Technology. It’s Trust | S6 E30
Send us Fan Mail Regulation is supposed to slow you down, right? We argue the opposite: in Web3, regulation can be the advantage that makes you hard to copy and easy to trust. I sit down with Butch Takaoka from the RYO Project, a veteran of traditional finance who came into crypto as a sceptic and quickly realised the real story is not hype, it’s utility, credibility, and execution. We get specific about Japan, one of the most regulated markets in the world, and why a compliance-first approach can act like a long-term moat. Butch explains why consumer protection is not a constraint on innovation but proof you’re ready for the mainstream, especially after industry blow-ups that damaged public confidence. We also dig into what actually blocks adoption today: not just a lack of knowledge, but a lack of trust, plus the need for infrastructure people can see and touch. Then we zoom out to the bigger shift. AI makes it easier for both builders and bad actors, which means “looking real” is no longer enough. What can’t be faked is a proven track record of doing what you said you’d do, paired with simple user experience that feels familiar. We close with a clear view of the end game: Web3 becomes mainstream when people stop calling it Web3 and just use it in daily life, from wallets to payments to remittance. This episode was recorded through a Descript call on July 3, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/the-real-barrier-isnt-technology-its-trust/ If you know someone curious about crypto, trust, and Japan’s approach to innovation, share this conversation, subscribe to the show, and leave a review so more people can find it. .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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July 2 · 35 min
Great Products Don’t Win. Trusted Networks Do – Alex Drew (Odys Global) | S6 E29
Send us Fan Mail Starting a new domain can feel like shouting into the void, then waiting months for Google to believe you are real. Alex Drew, founder and CEO of Odys Global, shares a different approach: use aged domains with real history to accelerate domain authority, earn trust faster, and generate leads while your brand catches up. We dig into what still holds true after 15+ years of shifts in online business: quality matters, but networking and sales, as relationship-building, often decide who wins. Alex explains why Odys moved from a marketplace into done-for-you services and hybrid partnership models, especially in brutal, high-competition industries like iGaming where ranking speed and volatility change the rules. We also explore Blue Ocean strategy as a company policy: invest in R&D, test aggressively, and aim for breakthroughs that competitors cannot easily copy. Then we zoom out to the new reality of AI search and LLM marketing. When AI becomes a layer between users and brands, authority and reputation shift toward brand mentions and established signals, not just links. Alex breaks down how to separate valuable domain history from dangerous history using backlink analysis and archive checks, and why offline events, mentors, and trusted communities may become even more important as trust grows scarce. This episode was recorded through a Descript call on June 18, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/great-products-dont-win-trusted-networks-do-alex-drew-odys-global/ .......................................................................... Metricool is a new official podcast partner of Web3 CMO Stories in 2026. Metricool helps marketers and creators bring structure, clarity, and consistency to their social media workflows through analytics, planning, and reporting. Listeners can try Metricool Premium for free for 30 days using the coupon code JOERI .......................................................................... 📘 Read The Future CMO: Amazon 👥 Join the Future CMO Community 🌿 Explore Sintra Synergies Retreat 💼 Connect on LinkedIn ..........................................................................
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