Funnel Vision - For Performance-Driven Agencies & Marketers

Phil Ranta (COO at Fixated) is a pioneer of the digital media revolution, working as a pre-YouTube professional web video producer in 2005, video content app creator before the smartphone revolution in 2007, an early exec in the MCN boom with two successful exits, and as the Head Gaming Creators at Facebook and Mobcrush, driving the live streaming and the creator-driven media paradigm shift. Phil joins the Funnel Vision Show to talk on founder-led brands and how to build one that generates revenue.Becoming a content creator is the most popular career choice among Gen-Z,  and in such a competitive market you can no longer just “wing it” and expect exceptional results. Phil refers to it as the ultimate get rich slow scheme, as you need to combine technical creator skills, creative innovations and a consistent publishing schedule to even have a chance at making a career out of it. Tune into the full episode to learn how to thrive in the creator economy! HIGHLIGHTS:0:00 Intro2:56 How does the creator economy work?5:14 How the creator economy has evolved7:32 The modern creator playbook10:02 What got Phil into the creator world12:42 What does Fixated do?15:03 What platforms are crushing it in 2025?18:25 Success is not a guarantee20:35 Building a LinkedIn followingConnect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/Connect with Phil - https://www.linkedin.com/in/philranta/

Stephanie Kelly (Chief Product Officer at Styles) started her career in marketing and communications before transitioning to executive coaching. After 15 years in marketing, including working with boutique agencies and in crisis communications, she experienced a health challenge that led to a profound career shift. She became passionate about helping people understand their behavioral tendencies and how to leverage them effectively.In this episode, Mikael and Stephanie discuss the Styles assessment, a psychometric tool that analyzes how people behave under pressure. Unlike personality tests, Styles focuses on biological responses and behavioral tendencies. The assessment identifies four main styles: Control (visionaries focused 3-5 years ahead), Influence (relationship-focused people concerned with the present), Power (builders focused on the next 90 days), and Authority (data-driven analysts who look to the past to make sense of the future).Stephanie explains how understanding these styles can dramatically improve marketing effectiveness by helping professionals tailor their communication, pitches, and content to match their audience's natural tendencies. She also shares practical ways to identify someone's style through observation and how to leverage this knowledge to build stronger teams and more effective marketing strategies.Tune into the full episode to learn how to better understand yourself as a marketer! HIGHLIGHTS:0:00 Intro1:10 How Stephanie went into coaching3:31 From Marketing to Product 5:01 What makes Styles different11:20 How to use assessments to become a better marketer15:07 Have better conversations by assessing the other side19:32 How different styles behave online 

Craig Rodney, founder of The Agency Coach, shares his journey from agency owner to coach, emphasizing the importance of systems for growth. He reveals his struggles with delegation and escaping survival mode, highlighting the crucial shift from valuing money to valuing time. Craig discusses strategic hiring to foster agency efficiency and personal development. Listeners will discover tailored coaching programs aimed at helping both new and seasoned agency owners optimize their path toward success and even prepare for potential exits.

Frank S. Pierce (3x CMO with enterprise sales expertise in Financial Services, Retail and Tech) joined the show to discuss how agencies can get out of the SMB space and secure upmarket clients. While Frank started out in Marketing and has held 3 CMO roles, his latest career accolades are mostly in the realm of enterprise sales. As a marketer, he sat in on many client calls - which ultimately helped him understand the market better and got him interested in moving on to sales. Over the years, Frank has noticed that the salespeople who succeed no matter the circumstances are the ones who take their preparation very seriously.Tune into the full episode to learn how to sell into F500 companies!HIGHLIGHTS:0:00 Intro1:13 Three time CMO journey2:53 How Frank went into enterprise sales4:35 Preparation is everything in sales 7:55 How to effectively multithread 10:12 Identifying the right stakeholders12:31 Be nice to the assistants! 13:49 The Enterprise Sales framework17:01 Figure out what really matters Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/Connect with Frank - https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankspierce/

Audra Carpenter (Founder of ATEC Dynamics and zindo+co) is an expert in utilizing AI in marketing. She’s worked with companies across the whole spectrum - from early stage startups all the way to the Fortune 500, providing services such as website building, AI implementation and overall strategy.When it comes to AI implementation, Audra started with figuring out which parts of her daily workflow could be augmented to either reduce the time spent or automate completely. Now she’s combining multiple tools to create content at scale. What used to take 2 days now takes 10 minutes to draft, but Audra still recommends that you make your own edits and adjust the content so you won’t jeopardize your brand with low quality content.Tune into the full episode to learn new ways how to use AI in marketing!HIGHLIGHTS:0:00 Intro3:01 What’s the state of AI in marketing today?6:41 The current state of AI in marketing8:10 Creating AI content at scale9:36 How to make AI sound on brand11:49 Audra’s new content creation product13:06 How the Marketing role is changing17:41 Don’t get replaced by AIConnect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/Connect with Audra - https://www.linkedin.com/in/audracarpenter/

Phil Rivers (Founder of Growthpointe, 2 previous exits) has generated $200+M in email revenue for his eCommerce clients. The King of Klaviyo has acquired 500+ clients during his agency career.Phil started creating email lists in 2005. After he graduated college, he joined a software company and started a marketing side hustle. At first, he was a generalist doing email marketing, web services and other small tasks. Realising that selling a jack of all trades service isn’t very profitable, he found a comfortable niche in email marketing. Nowadays Phil is mostly focused on his nearshore business. He noticed that agencies spend way too much time hiring, and over the years Phil got really good at sourcing high quality candidates - so this transition came very naturally. Tune into the full episode to learn how Phil scaled to 9 figures in client revenue!HIGHLIGHTS:0:00 Intro2:01 The journey to $200M+ in Sales7:51 How Phil built his own revenue engine11:48 The 9 figure email revenue secret16:43 The move to nearshore 18:07 How to increase your conversions Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/Connect with Phil - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thephilrivers/ 

Jade Caillot (Founder of ELLEVATE) runs a specialized agency in accelerating the growth of women-founded and women-led businesses. As of December 2024, she’s also a Forbes featured Marketing Expert.In simpler terms - they take businesses that aren’t sure how to scale to their goals and make their dreams a reality. They focus on helping companies make a difference in their market, build an engaged audience and get an ROI that accelerates quickly. They start off with auditing the leader as a person, and then move to the executive team. This helps ELLEVATE build a strategy that is bespoke, authentic and 100% aligned with the goals of their client.Jade’s approach to running an agency that offers bespoke services is to always start off with the important details. Do they have the time, money and dedication to do this? From there, they move on to research, strategy and building out operations.Tune into the full episode to learn how to operate a bespoke marketing agency!HIGHLIGHTS:0:00 Intro3:05 Jade’s Marketing background5:25 The ELLEVATE way of running an agency6:34 The current service offer9:53 How to offer fully custom services13:21 The balance between working in vs on your agency18:34 Relatable messaging sells Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/Connect with Jade - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jade-caillot/

Brian Ahmadi (CEO of Maximum Profits Agency) started his agency journey after many years in the US Navy. He helped his first batch of clients - bars -  manage their social media accounts for $500/month and free drinks for his crew. They quickly spread through word of mouth and started getting clients left and right. Deployments halted their progress for a year, but once they resumed, they got a house together and success followed.At Maximum Profits Agency, every team member is cross-functional. Brian believes in a structure where every employee is equipped with the skillset to fill any role. He also advises employees to choose their own preferred field and become masters at that individual craft while asking other team members for support in case they have specific skill gaps.Tune into the episode to learn how US Navy Veterans run their agency!HIGHLIGHTS:0:00 Intro3:04 From US Navy to running an agency6:03 The value of in-person sales9:04 Turning employees into founders11:21 Focusing on everyone's strengths 16:22 Find people that you can trust20:01 Just get to work!Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/Connect with Brian - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-a-6a6393b7/

Jonathan Cogan (Founder of Sephrina Strategy) is an agency leader, marketing strategist, brand consultant, coach, teacher and facilitator with a 20-year track record helping to launch and grow businesses, brands and campaigns in Canada, the U.S. and globally. Jon is a big proponent of effectiveness leading to efficiency. Big networks and corporations love to make efficiency their North Star, but in doing so they strip their people of the ability to do truly exceptional work - the type that doesn’t fit into a fully pre-planned, timegated schedule. And the best part is, the work that gets done when you prioritize effectiveness ends up being more efficient, as it doesn’t require as many re-do’s and revisions.The Effective Agency Playbook starts with understanding exactly what you’re trying to achieve and for who. Then you need to find your focus on how you’re going to execute. The way to make it work is by honing in on every single step in the process and having clear definitions and outlines. And it should not feel overly complex or confusing. Tune into the episode to learn how to build a more effective agency!HIGHLIGHTS:0:00 Intro4:12 Your agency needs to be special6:06 Effectiveness leads to efficiency 8:51 Effectiveness is all about the people10:53 The fundamentals never change12:36 The value of outside perspectives14:04 Everyone is in strategy 15:44 The Effective Agency PlaybookConnect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/Connect with Jonathan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-e-cogan/

Marcel Petitpas (Co-Founder and CEO of Parakeeto), has helped 100+ agencies measure & improve their profitability through consulting and technology. Some of their clients have been able to decrease their overtime AND grow 90%+ YOY. He also hosts The Agency Profit Podcast - the only podcast that tackles the topic of agency profitability.Agencies often have a hard time managing their cash. Between ever-decreasing margins due to oversaturation, clients expecting additional free deliverables and employee productivity not always matching the job description, owners struggle when trying to figure out a way to exit survival mode. Marcel points to clean, comprehensive data being step 1 of figuring out your true financial situation. Over the years he’s seen a lot of agencies fail even though they’ve really tried to improve their current state - and the number 1 issue has always been bad data.Parakeeto built two different products that failed before adding a professional services wing and really exploding. A lot of what makes great SaaS tools - proper implementation, continuous feedback-driven roadmaps and a true focus on outcomes - is easier to build through a service.Tune into the full episode to learn how to increase your agency's profit!HIGHLIGHTS:0:00 Intro3:11 Marcel’s entrepreneurial journey5:21 What does Parakeeto do?7:15 Building a product for yourself 9:12 2 Failed SaaS products and the problem with data13:41 Embrace professional services to grow your SaaS17:40 How to 5x your agencies profitability22:32 Grow your business by borrowing an audience Access the Agency Profitability Toolkit here: https://parakeeto.com/toolkit/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=GuestAppearance&utm_campaign=Mikael+DiaAccess the Parakeeto Foundations Course here:  https://parakeeto.lpages.co/the-foundations-course/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=GuestAppearance&utm_campaign=Mikael+DiaConnect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/Connect with Marcel - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcelpetitpas/