
Agency Breakthrough
Welcome to Agency Breakthrough, where we bring you real, gritty stories of agency operators who found the path to get past the plateau. Whether it’s hitting on a playbook for massive growth, scaling profit margins, or finding a way to have an agency and a life, we’re here to share how they achieved it; and laugh a little along the way. Presented by ZenPilot and ClickUp, and your hosts today are Jakub Grajcar and Gray MacKenzie.
Latest episodes

Dec 21, 2023 • 45min
Tiffany Sauder – On Her Agency’s Comeback Through Vulnerability, Decision Making Frameworks, and “90% Execution”
Tiffany Sauder, CEO of Element Three, talks about admitting business problems openly, making difficult decisions, implementing operating systems, and communicating organizational change. Highlights include open book financials, vulnerability, and the 'Understand, Agree, Like' framework.

Oct 3, 2023 • 58min
Chris Dreyer – From $0 to $13M: The 4 Cs Framework That Fueled His Agency's Growth
Chris Dreyer, founder of rankings.io, discusses his agency's growth from $0 to $13M using the 4 Cs framework: Capital, Code, Collaboration, and Content. Topics include leveraging automation, revenue per employee, podcasting vs events, hiring tips, and favorite books. His insights offer valuable lessons for agency owners seeking growth and profitability.

Sep 21, 2023 • 36min
GuavaBox Story – Dramatically Scaling Traffic Using Batching
Discover how GuavaBox grew traffic from 200 to 15,000 visitors monthly by implementing content batch days. Learn about the system for high-impact content planning using SEO research. Get actionable advice on systemizing content marketing for service business owners.

Sep 4, 2023 • 53min
Nikole Rose – What it takes to scale and sell an agency (+ tips on culture and ROWEs)
Nikole Rose, Managing Partner at Gravity Global, shares key moments in scaling and selling an agency: all-in on inbound marketing, early adoption of ABM, risky culture decisions like ROWE, acquisitions, process-driven approach using ClickUp. Tips on change management, M&A, tool evaluation, and courageous decision-making. Emphasizes embracing discomfort, making tough decisions for success.

Aug 10, 2023 • 1h 15min
James Carbary – From podcasts to media brands (+ company pivots and brand villains)
In this episode of Agency Breakthrough, Kuba and Gray chat with James Carbary, founder of Sweet Fish Media, about his journey pivoting the agency from a blog writing shop to a trailblazing podcast studio to now building full “media brands” for B2B companies.James shares the breakthrough moment that changed everything for Sweet Fish—realizing podcasting alone was limiting and expanding to broader media brands that allow wider reach across channels.James also discusses the books that have shaped his thinking, and shares examples of consumer media brands that are doing it right.The conversation explores the role of guests vs solo shows for thought leadership; the importance of identifying your “villain” and uniting your market against it; and much more.👉 Don’t forget to follow and rate us on your preferred podcast platforms. We’re also on YouTube: @ZenPilot📣 Shotouts and mentions:📚 Books:Love Does by Bob GoffThe Intentional Father by John TysonStart With Why by Simon Sinek👨🏫 People to follow:Jay AcunzoDrew McClellan💬 Other mentions:Audience Plus (Anthony Canada's company)Own That Show - a media brand analysis show James does with Anthony CanadaKauffman CPA - an accounting firm James recommendsB2B Growth Show - Sweet Fish's long running podcastPeerSignal and Keyplay

Jul 17, 2023 • 55min
Marcus Sheridan – The story behind They Ask, You Answer
Keynote speaker Marcus Sheridan shares insights on content marketing, in-house vs. external hires, challenges teaching 'They Ask, You Answer,' and gift recommendations. The podcast delves into fostering trust, deep client relationships, asking strategic questions in sales, and the evolution from pool company owner to content marketing thought leader.

Jul 17, 2023 • 40min
Origin Story – Why we're starting a new podcast
Welcome to Agency Breakthrough, where we bring you real, gritty stories of agency operators who found the path to get past the plateau.In this episode, Gray and Kuba explain why the podcast came to life and how we’re planning to run it. We also share a round of recommendations of resources and tools for agency operators.Thanks for checking out our very first episode!Don’t forget to follow and rate us on your preferred podcast platforms. We’re also on YouTube: @ZenPilot
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