In this highly acclaimed book, Dr. Robert B. Cialdini explains the psychology behind why people say yes and how to apply these insights ethically. The book outlines six universal principles of influence: Reciprocation, Commitment and Consistency, Social Proof, Liking, Authority, and Scarcity. The new and expanded edition includes a seventh principle, Unity, along with new research, insights, and examples. Cialdini uses memorable stories and relatable examples to make the subject accessible and easy to understand, helping readers become more skilled persuaders and defend themselves against unethical influence attempts.
This book distinguishes between unconscious and conscious leadership, offering a roadmap to help leaders transition from fear-based to trust-based leadership. The 15 commitments outlined in the book aim to enhance self-awareness, accountability, and collaborative relationships. By practicing these commitments, leaders can achieve more energy, clarity, focus, and healthier relationships, both personally and within their teams. The commitments include ending blame and criticism, speaking candidly, finding unique genius, and creating win-for-all solutions, among others. The authors provide practical exercises and resources to help leaders implement these commitments effectively[2][3][4].
My guest today is Jesse Pujji, the Founder & CEO of Gateway X, a holding company that builds, buys, and invests in companies that are driving the direct-to-consumer landscape. Prior to Gateway X, Jesse was the CEO and co-founder of Ampush, a performance marketing business helping power customer acquisition across some of the world's biggest brands. Jesse is my go-to person for all things performance marketing and customer acquisition, so we decided to record this episode to bring his incredible lessons to a wider audience. It also dovetails nicely into the series of episodes we are making called Primers, where we take our audience from a 0 to a 7 on just about any topic. In this Primer with Jesse, we dive into how revenue mechanics affect ad campaigns, why long sales funnels often offer the greatest opportunities for differentiation, and the various channels and strategies available for performance marketing. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jesse Pujji.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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Show Notes
[00:03:58] - [First question] - Overview of Jesse’s career and starting Ampush
[00:12:11] - Red Ventures
[00:13:11] - The four components of performance marketing
[00:17:47] - Time and other variables in between impressions and revenue events
[00:23:12] - Understanding the dimensions of a business and their offering
[00:25:32] - Common misunderstandings businesses have about their marketing
[00:27:17] - Major changes in the Facebook and Google digital marketing ecosystems
[00:29:27] - Direct response marketing vs brand marketing[00:35:08] - The importance and impact of effective messaging
[00:37:28] - The differences between good and bad conversions
[00:40:56] - Does alpha still exist, is it worth looking for, and does beta have a place
[00:43:25] - Fundamentals of a high performing marketing organization
[00:50:04] - Attention aggregators of marketing agencies[00:50:18] - Nerdwallet - Thumbtack
[00:51:22] - Product channel fit
[00:52:11] - PebblePost[00:53:58] - Lessons learned from working with Uber
[00:55:42] - Retention marketing [00:57:31] - Upcoming frontiers of performance marketing
[01:01:15] - Overview of Nerdwallet [01:03:36] - How Jesse’s time at Ampush has shaped his investment lens[01:07:20] - Lessons from bootstrapping a business vs venture capital funding
[01:17:05] - The entrepreneurial execution loop and operating cadence
[01:29:20] - Kindest thing anyone has ever done for him
Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy 
