Kasim Aslam is one of the most respected voices in performance marketing. He joins Drop The Mic to share how he scaled his agency to 200+ clients, exited for 8-figures, and why he believes AI and answer engine optimization (AEO) are the future of digital strategy.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Kasim gets raw about his entrepreneurial failures, the dangers of chasing hype, and what really moves the needle when building a scalable, sellable marketing business. He also shares why traditional digital marketing is dying, why the quality of your people matters more than your tools, and how businesses can win by adopting a bottom-up AI strategy.

We dive into:
🚀 What it takes to sell an agency for 8 figures
💸 Why private equity is targeting media buying businesses
🧠 How AI-enabled executive assistants are transforming operations
🔍 The rise of AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and what comes after SEO
🤖 Why most AI conversations ignore the real opportunity: empowered humans

Kasim brings fire, honesty, and real frameworks for marketers, entrepreneurs, and anyone trying to stay relevant in a rapidly changing digital world.

Episode Timestamps:

[01:30] – Building (and exiting) a top Google Ads agency
[03:00] – 60 offers in 6 months: Why agency valuations spiked
[05:20] – The Google Ads advantage and solving for traffic
[09:40] – Post-exit identity shift and investing lessons
[12:00] – AI as a bottom-up revolution, not top-down
[15:10] – Why mediocre employees + AI = dangerous
[18:45] – Kasim’s EA hiring strategy & human capital model
[22:30] – What most agencies get wrong about AI adoption
[25:40] – Why "Answer Engine Optimization" is the new SEO
[29:30] – The future of nimble teams vs bloated orgs
[32:15] – Paradigm shifts in training, culture & incentives
[36:50] – Empowering team members to lead with AI
[41:00] – Building businesses through delegation & ownership
[43:30] – Kasim’s vision for owning the AEO category

🌐 Website: https://jayhunt.social
📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayhuntofficial