Daniel Weiner

I’ve never really told you all what I actually do for a living, so here you go Pisgah Peaks Ventures builds & manages fractional marketing team for SMBs that are doing under 10-15 M ARR. The teams could be anywhere from 2 to 20+ individuals. Hiring for PT marketing roles can be a big drain on small businesses. They're unsure of who to hire, how to train, and they def don't want to manage them. This keeps costs in check (no office space here!) + avoids costly benefits / W2 wages. Perfect clients for us? B2B companies with 1-2 internal marketing team members Dispensaries with 2-5 locations. Soloprenuers who are scaling from 6 > 7 figures. A few years ago we started investing into other small businesses & at this point have equity in a handful of other SMBs. The goal? By 45; be able to live off the proceeds of our portfolio and golf 4X a week. To my network.... Tell us What do you do? Why do you do it? Post in the comments!

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I've made a concerted effort to collect testimonials from the brands that hire agencies I introduce them to. This is the 2nd time I've helped Mike Kaplan, CMO at AVOXI find an agency. There's a few consistencies among the testimonials I receive. - Speed - Quality If you talk to a few of the RIGHT agencies, the time spent finding the right vendor is drastically reduced. Marketing moves fast. CMO's have a million things on their plates. A long drawn out agency search is draining. Speed kills.

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Agencies shouldn't have advertised minimums. Yet...many do. I hear the following from agencies, often. "If they don't have $X per month, we don't want to chat with them" A better reframe is "most of our clients spend $X per month with us" The reason I think it's worth it to explore, most of the time, is because I see budgets balloon every single day. In 2024 alone, I've seen the following. - Brand came to me with a budget of $20k/mo. Ended up signing a retainer for close to $100k/mo. - Brand came to me with a budget of $7k/mo. Ended up signing a retainer for $15k/mo. - Brand came to me with a budget of $10k/mo. Ended up signing a retainer for $30k/mo. - Brand came to me with a (project) budget of $50k. Ended up with a budget of $200k. Agencies who want to grow, should explore. They have to. You'll potentially waste some time. But, you'll potentially find some great clients. When agencies tell me they have minimums, I joke, that brands don't always walk around with a sign on their forehead with their budget on it. To get to the big budgets, you have to be willing to talk about the small stuff, sometimes. If you do, and you think long term v short, over time, you'll be really really really really really glad you did.

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There are certain agencies I consistently hear terrible things about. There are certain agencies I consistently help brands move away from. Still -- I don't think those agencies are 'bad' agencies. They are bad for those clients though. Better for others, presumably. And, even "the best agency in the world" to some of their clients, too. I don't want to work with them. And I wouldn't recommend them. But, the point is this. Finding an agency is easy. Finding the right agency is hard. Agencies should be more selective in who they take on. Agencies should be more graceful when they lose clients. Agencies should stay in their proverbial lane. Brands should communicate their needs better. Brands should be more transparent with their agencies. Brands should invest more into their agencies. *not necessarily $$. Good agencies exist. Bad agencies exist. Great agencies exist. Good to you, may be bad to another. Great is the goal. Ya just gotta find them. ..ya may have to kiss a few frogs first, too.

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Do you own a B2B consulting firm? Here's what you need for your business: - Clear & concise website - Messaging that speaks to pain points - Technically sound SEO for website - Clear value prop Check out some of our most recent work where we helped a Charlotte based Fractional CTO firm revamp their site & messaging & dial in their technical SEO. Hit us up if you're curious about elevating your digital footprint!

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Episode 💯 of The GTM Podcast just dropped and embraces the notion of ‘building in public’ across our thesis, strategy, and tactics. Scott Barker and I pull back the curtain on the media brand that sits on top of GTMfund: GTMnow. There’s always more than meets the eye to anything. First, why does a VC even have a media company?! GTMfund’s flywheel strategy integrates the fund, community, media, talent, and labs to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that continuously drives value. The fund is at the core of the flywheel. But the fund itself wasn’t enough when getting started. There's thousands of venture capital firms out there. And just like any business, you need to find a way to differentiate yourself... The flywheel does this - and media is a big part of that. Media is a part of that…just how big is big? Everyone is always surprised if I share that there are actually 7 (yes, 7!) objectives of the media company. They all work to support the fund. We dive into those behind the scenes details, along with my personal learnings from navigating an acquisition, the media production process, some tools I'm using, and much more. And OF COURSE, it wouldn’t be the 100th episode if we didn’t highlight the Top 10 episodes on The GTM Podcast! Listen in to see whose episodes hold the record 🏆 Available under 'The GTM Podcast' on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen 🎧

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Snag grew their DTC from $0 - Over $30m+ in 3 years. Here’s how they did it: ➤ Problem-Focused Conception While out shopping, Brie realized her tights were slipping down. Growing frustrated, she asked some friends of hers if they experienced something similar. Turns out every single one of her friends had the same issue. This was natural fuel for her to look into things further. ➤ Data = Unfair Advantage Brie didn't have a background in marketing. Instead, her data-oriented mind gave her an advantage by looking at things a little differently. She ran a Google Survey of 3000 women to find out who else struggled to find a pair of tights that fit. The answer? 90% of 3000 people. Bingo. Opportunity validated. The data also showed how: → The market was commoditized → Men made most of the product purchases (Crazy right?) → Most women accepted poor fitting tights as the norm This inspired her to really look into solving this problem, and her search for suppliers began. ➤ Knew the numbers Before launch, Brie’s focus to really get a grip on her numbers really paid off. Since the sales were through DTC, she knew she needed: → 25% of revenue back into marketing → First-order profit → Small seed round to fund initial stock order Armed with the validation from the survey and some strong number-crunching, Snag launched. They cleared £300k/mo in under a year. The emphasis of being profitable from the first order was key to allow her to scale forward and further invest in marketing. ➤ Applied Zero-Party Data & Customer Service This is where Brie’s data-oriented approach really shone a light on how Snag scaled rapidly. The pandemic caused havoc for many brands, including Snag. Over 60% of the business disappeared overnight, and they went into negative. They had Facebook debt that had to be paid. Fast. Or Snag would die. That’s when Brie turned to her customers for answers. Her customers suggested a brilliant offer: 2 tights for the price of one, but the second pair gets sent in 6 months. The offer worked - Snag survived. And eventually thrived. This was a genius idea to help relate to her customers. ➤  Applied the ‘3-Piece’ DTC Law Finally, Brie understood the fundamental law of DTC. → Commitment to customer service → Great product experience → Solve a big problem Since all 3 were checked, the rest was down to semantics, unit economics, and following marketing fundamentals. ➤  Final Thoughts As a data analyst, Brie’s final words of advice were super impactful and really hit home. Yes, data is important, but it’s even more important that each data point is an actual human being, not just a number on a spreadsheet. Combining the importance of data with the understanding that each data point is a human is a brilliant formula for growth. What else would you add?

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Trying to hit that $5M revenue mark without breaking the team? Welcome to "The Scaling Paradox." Just had an insightful call with Mike and Steph — leaders of a driven agency looking to grow from $1.5M to $5M in revenue. They’ve got the expertise in DTC email and paid media, they’ve got the clients (29 of them, with ad spends north of $10K/month), and they’ve got ambition in spades. But here’s the hard truth: ambition alone doesn’t scale an agency. Mike and Steph know this; they’re laser-focused on working on the business, not in it. Their big challenge? Team capacity and efficiency. Scaling to that $5M mark isn’t just about more clients or revenue. It’s about building the right systems and bringing in leadership who’ve been there and done that. They don't need a coach calling plays from the sidelines. They need a practitioner who wil roll up their sleeves and build with them. Here’s what makes this approach different: 1. Forecasting systems that empower growth without burnout. More clients mean more complexity. Having systems that predict workload and resources before they’re stretched thin is game-changing. 2. Leadership that doesn’t just advise—it implements. Imagine having access to founders and execs who’ve scaled similar businesses. Instead of just “advice,” you get hands-on support, weekly consultations, instant access, and quarterly strategy sessions. 3. A community that isn’t just for networking—it’s for results. When you’re surrounded by 7- and 8-figure founders, you learn faster. You avoid pitfalls, gain insights, and build momentum, all while staying grounded in your own growth. Sometimes, getting to that next level requires letting go of what you “know” and embracing what’s possible. If you’re an agency founder eyeing aggressive growth goals, here’s the big question: Are you building a future-proof business, or just sprinting to the next revenue milestone? #AgencyGrowth #ScalingUp #FractionalLeadership #DTCMarketing #BusinessStrategy

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#TBT to the Free to Grow CFO pod with Jared Ward where he nails it: if you’re still relying on spreadsheets to track inventory, you're operating blind. Scaling a DTC brand past $2-3M without a solid inventory management system is like steering a boat without a compass.  If you’re not dialed in on inventory, you're not just lost—you’re in risky waters. Here’s the hard truth: 1️⃣ Real-time data matters - Knowing what’s in stock, what’s incoming, and what’s allocated helps you make confident buying decisions. 2️⃣ The stakes are high - Without the right systems, you’re risking cash flow, missed sales, and ultimately, growth. Some of the topics we cover during our chat include: • Key challenges in inventory management for scaling DTC brands • Importance of accurate inventory tracking and landed COGS • Comparison of traditional ERP systems and modern IMS solutions If you’re ready to level up your inventory game, this episode is for you! Catch the full convo wherever you get your podcasts. 📺 YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eMwZg_Wc 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/eKsJzCfK 🎙️ Spotify: https://lnkd.in/ey_mn7QQ

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Conversions are down … Fix it! Whenever I talk to my PE friends about their portfolio companies’ struggles, it’s always, “Conversions are down!” Yet, they never connect the dots: they told them to dump all spending into performance marketing. Skipping brand and awareness efforts means missing out on new customer bases, fresh ideas to test, and—oh yeah—new people to actually convert. #Marketing101 #BrandMatters #PerformanceMarketingProblems #TopOfFunnelFail #GrowthHacks #MarketingStrategy #PEProblems #CustomerAcquisition #BrandAwareness #MarketingMix #BusinessGrowth

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*Looking for recommendations* ❓What’s hot right now in your opinion? What are you favorite marketing or technology tools or tricks right now? 🧐 I’m doing some research on things that *actually work* to change the game for marketers today and want your opinions please! 🤩 A trio of my current favorites: - Jasper.AI for content creation (literally saves hours of work) - Qualified for live chat, engagement, website conversion magic (and soooo much more!) - ChatGPT - New! extension for Google Sheets (if you haven’t tried it… just do it… I mean now, why are you still reading? 😉) My tried and true staples include: - 6sense Inc. for all things predictive to help drive efficiency across your entire funnel (this is the foundation for smart marketing, period ✅) - PathFactory for content delivery and insights that are truly actionable (super excited for their new capabilities to tie content to revenue!) - @Lingo App for digital brand guidelines (if you aren’t using this today… you’re making it way to hard for anyone to implement your brand) So let me hear it! What are your faves?

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A very good model for impact and compensation in data jobs.

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If I was the CMO of a $20 million dollar brand... Here's the updated tech stack that I recommend for Q4 2024 💰 (WARNING - SAAS founders you may get triggered by how price-sensitive and scrappy I'm being here haha) 😆 Shopify (because there is no other platform - but PLEASE DON'T SIGN UP FOR PLUS UNLESS YOU CAN JUSTIFY THE COST THROUGH TRANSACTION FEES - but at 20m it probably works out) 💸 LyveCom for all things video embed on PDPs - live shopping, AI video enablement etc etc (YOU HAVE TO CHECK THIS ONE OUT!) Judge.me for product reviews - has basically everything the big guys have for $15/mo 🏆 - or... use the native product reviews from Sendlane - either one is fine for me Because🌈 for website personalization and no-code PDP CRO (I am obsessed) 🔍 Klaviyo or Sendlane for ESP + SMS - Klaviyo has more robust data for now, but Sendlane will be there for you in 10 seconds if you have any issues! ⏱️ InviteJet for launching promos and putting your promo on your email subs calendars! (you need to talk to Paul Davis about this one!) Pagedeck for fast funnels + landing pages built by performance marketers 🚀 I'll also throw in FERMÀT because I love Aaron Orendorff and I think that the product is pretty unreal too! KnoCommerce for post-purchase surveys 📝 Popsixle or Michael at UpStackified for CAPI connection Triple Whale 🐳 for data collection etc etc Prescient AI for MMM - This is a company to watch - THE HALO EFFECT IS REAL Michael True Tapcart for mobile app! (I cannot say enough about having a mobile app at any stage of business) 📱 Lifetimely by AMP or StoreHero for daily profit and lifetime value tracking (this is a must at this stage) 📊 Supermoon for CS (yep... great product with a great price and built AI first!) PostPilot for direct mail (though I would want to see a good ROI at this stage) 📬 Foreplay.co for creative ideas and dev Motion (Creative Analytics) for creative analytics of course! upGrowth Commerce for ads agency + TikTok Shop set-up to scale - we did just hit teh quickest zero-7 figs after all (hahahah had to throw this one in here obvs) Reacher for social commerce (think tiktok shop) Bot and CRM (what these guys are building is INSANE!) Bora Mutluoglu Toki - Loyalty, Memberships, Cashback for loyalty (good value and scrappy) 🎉 Raleon for CLV optimization, gift with purchase, and AI-enabled list pushed to Klaviyo (GAME CHANGER) Inveterate Inc and Dylan Whitman for memberships as well! Refunnel for gathering content and CGC contests and incentivized influencer seeding and gifting CreatorCommerce and Social Snowball ☃️ for influencer management, ownership, and co-branded storefronts! Gotta throw out Disco and my boy Neal Goyal for the post-purchase ad network! You'll see my picks have a couple of things in common - they are priced right and they have small and scrappy teams that wants YOU to win... The problem is I missed a bunch! Who did I miss and why?

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As you scale DTC - customer acquisition costs will increase...AND you'll make more $. Revenue growth doesn't come from acquisition growth - it comes from retention. Stacking customers is how we help build multiple 8 figure brands. So focus on increasing order value - it won't be impacted the next time Instagram goes down... #dtc #customeracquisition #shopify #digitalmarketing #facebookads #googleads #tiktokads Everything Bagel

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Keeping consistent is hard. There are key decisions that drive so much of what success will end up looking like for us, but the underpinning of that success is generally some level of consistency. This is how we keep ads from going stale. This is how we leverage feedback from our product. This is how we maintain relationships . It touches every facet of work. Don't consistently test the validity of your adset? Watch the ROAS go down. Don't consistently leverage product feedback? Your iteration slows down and competitors beat you to the punch. Don't consistently maintain relationships? They won't produce fruit for you. Consistency is key. So I've not been the most consistent with this community. The best part of of being consistent is realizing that you have a starting point. Find a time and start that journey. I'll go first.

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We meet with 20 DTC and enterprise brands a month that are working with other agencies to build an influencer-affiliate channel. Here's how 90% of the convo's go: "Our agency is reaching out to 150 influencers a week..." OUCH "They're sending one email through an influencer platform using their primary domain... AND NO FOLLOW UPS!" 😅 "They aren't recruiting influencers on instagram DM's." 😑 "They are only focused on nano and micro creators because the brand doesn't have budget for paid relationships." "They only send one product to influencers and expect them to continue creating content that converts." 😲 "Their is no community management strategy." 😒 "No automations or trigger based email flows to nurture influencers." 😤 "No monthly challenges or campaigns running." 🤐 "They're not putting whitelisting/ spark ad spend behind top performing content." 😶 These are what we call the cardinal sins of building a successful influencer-affiliate channel and will 100% guarantee that your program will never generate results Influencer-affiliate can be a profitable growth channel driving direct revenue, millions of free impressions, and create a library of high converting ad creative But you have to get the fundamentals right Start with a richer offer Use your CPA on Meta and start their... paying $50? Cool why not be willing to pay that for a creator to drive sales for you. 20x your outreach volume! YES 20x Get a new influencer software that supports email at scale, we use SARAL - The Influencer OS Set up a secondary domain and 10-20 new inboxes Now you can send 35 emails a day per inbox or 10,500-21,000 emails a month to recruit influencers Stand up 4 brand owned instagram accounts Start sending 100 dm's a day to recruit influencers Have a dedicated person that builds relationships with influencers in the community and finds ways to get them creating more content These programs are often the biggest marketing opportunity for brands But their agency doesn't have the right strategy or isn't willing to do the work required to make it work If you're working with an agency, at a minimum push them to scale TOF outreach and you'll start to see better results. What other constraints have you experienced building your influencer-affiliate channel?

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Something the best ad agencies can learn from McKinsey -   McKinsey gives high-conviction advice.   Most times, it's right.   B/c they have an edge...their people and their playbook.   If a client consistently disregards their advice, they do something refreshing…   Something most consultants and agencies never do...   They fire the client.   TLDR - they prioritize reputation over revenue.   They'd rather bleed quality and have a reputation for outcomes than bank extra rev.   Chalk it up to a "third edge."   This is how we operate too.   It's not that we're never wrong…   We're learning every day, too.   But if you're not ready to move quick and learn together, we're not a fit.   B/c retainers with the wrong brand--no matter how large--aren't worth the cost.

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Thinking about Product-Led Growth for your biz? 🚀 In this episode, I chat with PLG expert Wes Bush from ProductLed.com. We go step-by-step on how to decide if PLG is a fit and how to make it work. Topics: ✨ What is PLG? 🔍 Is PLG right for you? 💡 Frictionless onboarding 👇 Full episode below

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