Episode 394: Brian Stempeck - CEO & Co-Founder, Evertune

Episode 394 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Brian Stempeck, CEO & Co-Founder of Evertune. Think about how people search for things on the web now and GenAI’s massive impact. A lot of people just go straight to different platforms like ChatGPT with the goal of just getting the answer to what they are searching for versus having to go to a website to find the details. This evolution matters and it matters a lot, especially if you are a brand or publisher. In the past, you had to worry about SEO to hopefully rank high in the Google search results. Now, the rules have changed and companies are trying to figure out what to do. Is your brand being mentioned in the LLMs? If so, what is being said? And if you ask multiple times, how does the response vary from the LLMs versus the consistency of the search results that you would get from Google. It’s a wild wild west and this was the void that Brian recognized and led him down the path of starting Evertune, which helps companies build its brand presence for visibility in AI search. It’s a category called GEO that being Generative Engine Optimization. The company recently announced a $15M Series A funding, led by Felicis Ventures, including returning investors Eniac Ventures, NextView Ventures, Roger Ehrenberg and others. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * A discussion around the shift in consumer behavior and how they are looking for information in the world of GenAI. * Brian’s background and getting his career started as a journalist and then working in consulting at Bain after business school. * How he got involved in The Trade Desk as employee #8 even without adtech or sales experience. * The full lifecycle story of The Trade Desk to an IPO in 2016 and how they differentiated from the competition. * How Brian’s role evolved through the years at the company and how he gained a board seat. * His biggest lessons learned from his experience at The Trade Desk. * The background story of Evertune and what led him and his co-founders down the path of starting the company. * All the details of Evertune and how they are helping brands and agencies. * Advice for building out your GTM strategy and a key piece of advice for hiring salespeople. * And so much more!