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Seth Godin on the Future of Marketing: Better, Not Louder
In an in-depth virtual conversation on the Entrepreneur Studio podcast, marketing legend Seth Godin joins host Chris Allen to redefine what marketing actually is in the age of AI. Godin argues that marketing was never about hype, ads, or hustle, but about creating the conditions for other people to eagerly spread your idea. He unpacks permission marketing, why a brand is a promise rather than a logo, why authenticity is a trap that should be replaced with consistency, how false proxies mislead companies, and why the real opportunity with AI is to make things better rather than cheaper. Threaded with vivid stories about Carmine's restaurant, a slipper-wearing boiler technician, Volkswagen's emissions scandal, and the wine merchant Garagiste, Godin makes the case that in a world of infinite noise, the winning move is to be better, not louder.
Julien Smith
Julien Smith is a Montreal-based serial entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, and one of the earliest Twitter users (handle @julien). He co-founded Breather, an on-demand private workspace platform that raised $122M+, and later Practice, a coaching management platform backed by a16z. His 2011 free Kindle book 'The Flinch', edited by Seth Godin, remains one of the most-read Kindle books ever, and his viral blog post 'The Complete Guide to Not Giving a Fuck' is widely credited as the inspiration for Mark Manson's multi-million-copy bestseller. Today he coaches first-time CEOs.
Wes Kao
Wes Kao is an executive coach, co-founder of Maven (the cohort-based learning platform backed by a16z and First Round), and co-creator of the altMBA with Seth Godin. She pioneered the cohort-based course category, scaled altMBA to 550 cities in 45 countries, and now helps senior tech operators at companies like Google, Amazon, and Shopify sharpen their executive communication and influence. Her biweekly newsletter reaches 300,000+ readers across platforms.