🌟 Episode Overview:

In this episode of Marketing in the Age of AI, host Emanuel Rose sits down with tech veteran and startup builder Vidar Hokstad—a consultant who transformed decades of hands-on engineering, DevOps leadership, and startup grit into an AI-powered approach to modern business. From navigating the rapid evolution of AI tools to building marketing systems as a self-described “non-marketer,” Vidar breaks down what it actually takes to compete and grow in today’s AI-driven era.

This episode is a must-watch for technical founders, consultants, startup leaders, and anyone curious about how AI is reshaping execution, productivity, and go-to-market strategy.

📘 What You’ll Learn:

• How technical leaders can turn AI + agents into real business value

• Practical ways non-marketers can build pipelines using LLMs

• Why fast-moving AI innovation requires constant experimentation

• How Vidar tests and refines marketing messaging using AI

• The difference between structured (Codex-style) models and exploratory models like Claude

• How to build personal AI workflows, agents, and automated systems

• Common pitfalls when integrating AI into operations and consulting workflows
  

👤 Featured Guest:

Vidar Hokstad is a UK-based consultant with 30+ years in startups, from cofounding his first company at 19 to leading engineering, DevOps, and AI initiatives across multiple venture-backed organizations. Known for his ability to blend deep technical skills with real-world business execution, Vidar now helps teams adopt AI, automate workflows, and scale operations with modern agents and LLMs.

Connect with Vidar: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vhokstad/

Episode Highlights:

• Vidar’s journey from introverted coder to consultant supporting global startups

• Why many technical founders struggle with marketing—and how AI fills the gaps

• How he built a fully AI-generated website and automated lead workflows

• Real examples of Vidar testing messaging with LLMs to find the right niche

• A behind-the-curtain look at how Vidar uses coding-centric LLM interfaces

• How agents can autonomously execute tasks (and why that’s both powerful and risky)

• The importance of documenting workflows, examples, and instructions for AI

• How Vidar builds repositories of instructions to train agents for recurring work

• Security considerations every non-technical user must understand before using agents

• Why specialized tools often get replaced by more capable agents
  

🔗 Connect & Explore More:

Host – Emanuel Rose

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/b2b-leadgeneration/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emanuelroseauthor/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmanuelRoseAuthor YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@marketingintheageofai-ec6fx Website: https://emanuelrose.com/

Guest – Vidar Hokstad LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vhokstad/

📚 Further Reading & Resources:

Blog Post: How Technical Leaders Turn AI and Agents Into Real Business Value https://emanuelrose.com/how-technical-leaders-turn-ai-and-agents-into-real-business-value/

Emanuel’s Book – Authentic Marketing in the Age of AI https://emanuelrose.com/product/authentic-marketing-in-the-age-of-ai/

Host Website: https://emanuelrose.com/

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more interviews, insights, and strategies on navigating marketing in the age of AI. Drop your questions in the comments—we’d love to hear how you’re using AI in your business!

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