Brand-side veteran turned collective leader Gabe Wolff makes the case that tidy ROAS and over-engineered account structures distract from what actually scales: a sharp creative angle, a full user journey, and profit-first measurement. We cover misaligned agency incentives, post-iOS14 realities, practical ways to structure campaigns by angle/ICP, and why entry products and retention paths drive LTV more than day-to-day CPA swings.
You’ll learn:
Connect with Gabe
• Everything Bagel: https://www.everythingbagel.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-wolff/
• Email: gabe@everythingbagel.com
Work with Adam
👉 Book your 20-min Exploration Call
Unpacking real. Ditching noise.
What happens when the glossy leadership myth meets real life - kids, partners’ health, and aging parents? Yasmine de Aranda argues that caregiving is a leadership superpower and that humane companies outperform hustle cosplay. We map marketing’s role as organizational glue, why growth-at-all-cost fails humans and strategy, and how to build flexible, trust-based teams that still deliver. We close with a protect-your-energy cadence any leader can adopt this week.
You’ll learn:
Connect with Yasmine
• Website: https://360angle.ca/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasminedearanda/
• Email: yasminedearanda@gmail.com
Work with Adam
👉 Book your 20-min Exploration Call: https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min
Check on your people today. Care is strategy.
Exclusive holiday release: 12/19. Unpacking real. Ditching noise.
Agency polish without agency baggage. Jamie Read unpacks how BriteBirch Collective builds project-led, specialist teams that scale up or down fast, why fractional talent creates anti-fragile organizations, and how the commoditization of paid media plus AI content noise makes earned, community-driven attention the smartest bet. We also cover earned-first launches with $0 ad spend, BriteBirch’s BriteStart community for freelancers, and a simple practice for better creative decisions: seek perspective on purpose.
You’ll learn:
Connect with Jamie
• BriteBirch Collective: https://britebirch.com/
• BriteStart Community: https://britestart-community.circle.so/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamjamieread/
• Email: jamie.read@britebirch.com
Work with Adam
👉 Book your 20-min Exploration Call: https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min
Unpacking real. Ditching noise.
Most teams confuse audience with community. Yurii Lazaruk explains the difference (one-to-many vs. many-to-many) and maps a measurable framework for community’s impact on support, product, marketing, and sales—including Community-Qualified Leads that move members into the right offer at the right time. We get into avoiding “fandom” traps, when to build audience first, why intentional facilitation matters, and a simple habit to start today: one real conversation a day.
You’ll learn:
Connect with Yurii
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yurii-lazaruk-community-consultant/
• Email: yuralazaruk@gmail.com
Work with Adam
👉 Book your 20-min Exploration Call: https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min
Agency veteran Nikhil Vaish, founder of BoostSolo, argues that most ad failures start upstream. We walk through his three-step model: Offer > Homework > Execution, show how AI can amplify both good and bad strategy, and detail a practical voice-of-customer workflow using your own sales calls.
Expect a frank conversation about niching down, pricing power, and building the right foundation so ads can finally do their job.
You will learn
Connect with Nikhil
• BoostSolo: https://boostsolo.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilvaish/
Work with Adam
👉 Book your 20-min Exploration Call: https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min
Special Friday drop. Unpacking real. Ditching noise.
E-commerce isn’t single-touch - and your reporting shouldn’t pretend it is. Growth leader Andrew Maffettone breaks down how marketplace spillover (Amazon, Walmart, DTC, social) makes ROAS tidy but wrong, why profit beats channel vanity metrics, and how to design campaigns by channel purpose (education vs. capture). He shares a surprising SEO play—using low-cost Google Ads to accelerate rankings—then retargeting for conversion, plus a blunt take on why driving ads straight to Amazon often hurts organic rank.
You’ll learn:
Connect with Andrew
• BlueTuskr: https://bluetuskr.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmaff
Work with Adam
👉 Book your 20-min Exploration Call: https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min
🎧 Subscribe to Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising? wherever you listen — and if this episode hit home, share it with someone who needs to hear that you can scale without selling your soul.
Community isn’t a channel—it’s an operating system. Shraddha Varma, Co-Founder of Fuzia, shares how a women-centered platform turns creators into contributors, and contributors into careers. We map the community → credibility → opportunity flywheel, plus a pragmatic view of paid media once audience and offer are proven.
You’ll learn:
Connect with Shraddha
• Fuzia: https://www.fuzia.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shraddhavarma/
• Email: shraddha@fuzia.com
Work with Adam
👉 Book your 20-min Exploration Call: https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min
Author credibility beats vanity metrics—and hospitality beats hacks. In this conversation, Megumi Calver explains how she helps nonfiction authors and speakers use books as credibility engines, why she built Merobebe to champion women winemakers, and the narrow moments when paid ads are worth it—after audience and offer are dialed.
You’ll learn:
Connect with Megumi
• Merobebe: https://www.merobebe.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megumicalver/
• Email: megumi@merobebe.com
Work with Adam
👉 Book your 20-min Exploration Call: https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min
Unpacking real. Ditching noise. Subscribe and share with a founder who values trust over tricks.
What if you could build a thriving global business — without spending a dime on ads?
In this episode of Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?, Utsav Nagori, Founder of DynaPro Global, shares how he grew a VA agency serving clients across the U.S. entirely through trust, relationships, and ridiculous consistency.
From his first few clients to managing a full remote team, Utsav walks through what it really takes to scale when you don’t have funding, investors, or ad budgets — just belief and execution.
🎯 Highlights from the conversation:
💬 As Utsav puts it:
“I didn’t start DynaPro to escape work. I started it to create work worth doing.”This one’s about grit, values, and what happens when founders stop chasing shortcuts and start playing the long game.
🔗 Connect with Utsav:
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/utsav-nagori/
Website → https://dynaproglobal.com/
Email → utsav@dynaproglobal.com
🎧 Subscribe to Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising? wherever you listen — and if this episode hit home, share it with someone who needs to hear that you can scale without selling your soul.
#IsAnythingReal #PaidAdvertising #VAAgency #Entrepreneurship #BootstrappedGrowth #EnergyOS #ScaleSmarter #Leadership
Tired of chasing clicks and conversions that don’t convert?
In this episode of Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?, host Adam W. Barney sits down with Jared Tang, Founder & CEO of Gaggle Social, to talk about breaking the cycle of ad dependency and building brands that grow on real connection, not rented reach.
💡 What We Cover:
🎧 This one’s for founders, marketers, and growth leaders ready to detox from “more ads = more growth” thinking.
🔗 Guest Links
🌐 Gaggle Social: https://gagglesocial.com/
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredtangalejandro/
⚡ About the Host
🎙 Adam W. Barney — Author, Strategist & Energy Coach helping leaders install their EnergyOS to scale sustainably.
👉 Book a clarity call → https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min
What happens when you stop chasing vanity metrics and start running ABM the way it’s meant to be — personal, measurable, and scrappy?
In this episode, Mason Cosby, CEO & Founder of Scrappy ABM, joins Adam W. Barney to unpack how small, focused teams are generating enterprise-level outcomes with smarter, more human strategies.
🔥 Topics we dig into:
🎙 Hosted by Adam W. Barney — author, strategist, and founder of Scale Smarter. No fluff. No funnels. Just what’s real.
🔗 Mason Cosby – Founder & CEO, Scrappy ABM
🌐 Website: https://scrappyabm.com
📧 Email: mason@scrappyabm.com
⚡ Ready to install your Energy-Driven Leadership OS?
Book your 20-minute exploration → https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min
It's time for another Exclusive Drop you don't want to miss!
Leadership isn’t forged at the summit: it’s forged in the storm.
In this powerful conversation, Chuck Garcia, Columbia University professor, author, and founder of Climb Leadership, joins host Adam W. Barney to unpack what it really means to climb with resilience, emotional intelligence, and purpose .
Mountains and boardrooms share the same truth: the climb tests your patience, your team, and your character. Chuck Garcia shares the three rules he learned on Kilimanjaro that every leader needs to adopt: set a goal (and adjust it), take one step at a time, and never go it alone .
🔹 What you’ll learn
🌍 About Chuck Garcia
CEO of Climb Leadership International, Columbia University professor, mountaineer, and TEDx speaker. Author of A Climb to the Top and The Moment That Defines Your Life. Connect at chuckgarcia.com.
🎙 About the Show
Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising? cuts through the noise with conversations on leadership, marketing, and the human energy that powers them. Hosted by Adam W. Barney — Energy Coach & Author of Make Your Own Glass Half Full.
🔌 Work with Adam W. Barney
Install the Energy-Driven Leadership OS in 90 days and reclaim your clarity and capacity. Book an exploration call → calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min.
In this episode of Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?, host Adam W. Barney sits down with Alex Steele, Founder & CEO of Opal, to unpack how agencies can unlock growth by rethinking how they bank.
💡 Alex shares the story of building Opal — the fintech platform redefining how ad agencies and creators manage cash flow and credit.
From partnering with Visa to solving the agency payment bottleneck, this conversation gets real about money, momentum, and the systems that fuel scale.
We cover:
🏦 Why traditional banks don’t understand agency business models
💳 How Opal is modernizing cash flow for ad-driven companies
🚀 Why scaling starts with better financial systems — not just better ads
🧩 How to build tools and partnerships that grow with you
🎙 Host: Adam W. Barney
💼 Guest: Alex Steele, Founder of Opal | a@getopal.co
🔥 Fix your foundation. Scale smarter.
Subscribe for more episodes of Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising? — where we unpack what’s real in marketing, growth, and leadership.
In a world where ads fight for attention and algorithms dictate visibility, one thing still cuts through the noise: storytelling.
In this episode of Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?, I sit down with MK McGowan, Founder of MK McGowan Studios, to explore how narrative isn’t just marketing — it’s the difference between being ignored and being unforgettable.
We dive into:
✨ Why narrative intelligence matters more than vanity metrics
✨ How to tell stories that scale across platforms and audiences
✨ The art of shaping messages that connect with both logic and emotion
✨ Where AI fits in — and where it never will — when it comes to authentic storytelling
MK has built a career around helping leaders and brands clarify their voice and amplify their message in ways that build trust, impact, and long-term influence. This conversation is a masterclass for anyone trying to rise above the noise and lead with narrative power.
📌 Learn more about MK: https://www.mkmcgowanstudios.com/
📌 Connect with MK: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkmcgowan/
🎧 Find all episodes of Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising? by searching your favorite podcast app.
AI in sales and marketing isn’t about replacing people: it’s about amplifying them.
In this episode of Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?, I sit down with Joe Apfelbaum, Founder of evyAI and CEO of Ajax Union, to unpack what it really takes to scale authentic relationships in the age of AI.
Joe shares his journey from building 100+ websites a year, to scaling Ajax Union into one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S., to creating evyAI...now powering 20,000+ users across 37 countries. Along the way, we dig into:
💬 Want to see evyAI in action? Text DEMO to 973-841-8868 and get firsthand access.
🔗 Connect with Joe:
✨ Catch every episode here: Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?
Most companies pour money into marketing without connecting it to revenue. Jason Kramer, Founder & CEO of Cultivize, shows how to turn CRM, lead scoring, and simple attribution into hard ROI...and why many campaigns should be trimmed, not scaled.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Connect with Jason
Subscribe and find more episodes: https://isanythingrealinpaidadvertising.adamwbarney.com/
Most entrepreneurs feel the pressure to run ads before they’ve built a foundation. Abu Kamara, Co-Founder of Green Zone Solutions, took a different path. In just 18 months, he built a consulting business around sustainability, logistics, and operational performance - all through relationships, referrals, and trust, not ad spend.
In this episode, we cover:
💡 For any founder wondering if they have to pour cash into ads right away, this conversation will reset your mindset.
👉 Connect with Abu:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/abubakarrkamara
Green Zone Solutions: gzsolutions.co
🎧 Explore all episodes: Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?
The AI wave is reshaping industries faster than most leaders can process. Few people have navigated it from as many angles as Mike Todasco, former Head of Innovation at PayPal, Visiting Fellow at the James Silberrad Brown Center for Artificial Intelligence at San Diego State University, and holder of 100+ patents.
In this Exclusive Drop episode of Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?, host Adam W. Barney and Mike dig into:
If you’ve ever wondered whether AI will kill creativity or ignite it, this conversation gives you the clarity to lead forward.
📨 Connect with Mike Todasco: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todasco/
🌐 Learn more about SDSU’s AI initiatives: https://ai.sdsu.edu
🎧 Explore all episodes: Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?
AI that actually delivers.
Vinod Kumar, CEO & Co-Founder of Syntheum AI, joins host Adam W. Barney to talk about clarity, discipline, and why most brands chase paid ads before they’ve earned the right. From building agentic AI tools for merchandisers to pioneering the idea of being “seed-strapped,” Vinod shares how founders can scale smarter without burning budgets.
In this episode of Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?, we cover:
If you’ve ever felt the pull toward shortcuts...or wondered how to future-proof your brand in an AI-driven ad world...this episode is your playbook.
📨 Get in touch with Vinod: vinod@syntheum.ai
🔗 Connect with Vinod: linkedin.com/in/vinodkumar-ai/
🌐 Learn more: syntheum.ai
🎧 Listen to all episodes: Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?
Forget vanity metrics. Noel Geer, CEO & Founder of Connected Interactive, joins host Adam W. Barney to reveal why most brands are wasting money chasing CPMs and ROAS...and how focusing on lifetime value unlocks real, lasting growth.
In this episode of Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?, we dive into:
If you’re tired of chasing impressions that don’t convert and want a smarter way forward, this one’s for you.
📨 Get in touch with Noel: noelg@connectedinteractive.com
🔗 Connect with Noel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noel-geer-98855915/
🌐 Learn more about Connected Interactive: https://connectedinteractive.com/
🎧 Listen to all episodes: Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?