‘Jordan The Stallion,’ Jenny Hoyos, Misha Brown, V Spehar, Ziad Ahmed, Shira Lazar, and companies like Liquid Death, LTK, Boobie, Smosh, NFL all have one thing in common – It’s No Fluke they found success.
Each week, we unpack the highs, lows, and untold stories of culture and creativity with top creators, brands, agencies and thought leaders.
New episodes drop every Tuesday and Thursday. Stay tuned!
Got feedback or a guest idea? Reach out via email, LinkedIn or Instagram.
A Shorty Award winner and Real Time Academy member, Jeff Barrett works with major influencers and brands like Adobe, Experian, Oracle, FIS and more on communications and influencer strategy. He spent three years traveling to almost every state in the country writing about startup ecosystems for Inc and Entrepreneur. After years of talking for a living, he's ready to listen and amplify the voices of amazing people, stories and ideas.
Gigi Robinson is a keynote speaker, bestselling author, creator economy strategist, and chronic illness advocate. She has delivered 100+ talks at global conferences, universities, and corporate events, including CES, VidCon, and Penn State. Featured in Forbes, NBC, The TODAY Show, and Sports Illustrated, she is also the author of A Kids Book About Chronic Illness, relaunching with Penguin Random House in 2025.
Her keynotes blend personal storytelling with actionable strategy, leaving audiences of all kinds motivated, empowered, and ready to make lasting change.
Dani Newman is a Creator economy operator. She has spent over a decade at the intersection of Creator communities and the platforms that serve them. She currently leads Creator Growth at GigaStar, serving YouTubers across 20M+ subscribers and 250M+ monthly views. At GigaStar Dani specializes in building the automations and playbooks behind millions raised for Creators from fans and investors.
Dani started her career as an early hire at Tumblr and spent nearly a decade at GIPHY, where she launched its first creative studio for brands like Converse, McDonald's, and Warner Bros, and scaled its 0-to-1 Creator program to 20,000+ Creators. She holds a Master's in Human Computer Interaction and Design and is endlessly curious about how technology enables communities to connect and sustain through monetization. Follow Dani on LinkedIn.
Lauren Ridgley is the CEO of Left Hand Agency, a boutique independent full-service media agency based in Portland specializing in CPG brands. Her team plans and buys across the full mix, including retail media networks, paid social, OOH, CTV, programmatic, and paid search, spanning both performance and brand investment. Left Hand isn't a performance-only shop or a digital agency; the team's differentiation is knowing how to balance brand and performance investment for long-term growth, not just short-term response.
Before founding Left Hand, Lauren spent years as a marketing director in TV and entertainment. She's deeply versed in the Byron Sharp and Ehrenberg-Bass frameworks around mental and physical availability, and Left Hand has been known to send clients copies of How Brands Grow to make the case.
Lauren is a regular voice in industry conversations, having appeared on multiple podcasts and panels, including a past panel with Indie Agency News. She's active in the Pacific Northwest marketing and creative community through NextNW (formerly Portland Ad Fed), and writes the CPG-focused High Five newsletter series.
The brain behind billions of views at Crocs, Duolingo, Smosh, TV and more. Sarah Whittle is an award-winning Director, Producer and Strategist that's worked across television, entertainment, tech, and CPG brands. In 2024, she was honored on AdAge's 40 Under 40 list and is currently building her own empire (Unicorn Social) consulting, directing and creating… You can see her (and her cats) on the internet @rudeunicorns and her internet expert musings on LinkedIn and her newsletter.
Bryan Smiley is CEO of Hard Carry Media (HCM), a digital-first media company dedicated to building multi-platform brands and IP specifically for Gen Z men. Under Smiley's leadership, HCM bridges the content gap for this demographic with plans to create and acquire a portfolio of digitally native brands for every stage of Gen Z male life across verticals, including sports, entertainment, comedy, and lifestyle.
A veteran Hollywood executive with nearly two decades of experience spanning content development, production, and studio leadership, Smiley has a proven track record of scaling global media powerhouses. At HCM, Smiley oversees a seasoned team responsible for the company’s core offerings in development, sales, audience analytics, and in-house production out of its 20,000 SF studio in Los Angeles. HCM’s flagship entertainment brand, Full Squad, is one of YouTube’s leading variety and social entertainment channels for Gen Z with more than 11 million followers and 260 million monthly views.
Prior to HCM, Smiley served as President & Chief Content Officer of Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat, where he oversaw more than $500 million in production and helped grow the company into a global studio with hits across TV, film, audio and digital for partners including Netflix, Peacock, Audible, and SiriusXM. Prior to that, he held an executive role at Columbia Pictures, where he led talent-driven deals including Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media and a multi-picture pact with Issa Rae. He has also consulted for Fox Digital Studio, 20th Century Fox’s digital arm for early web-first series and films with social influencers.
Joseph Marchese is Executive Vice President of Creator Partnerships at Studio71 a Fixated Company, where he leads the company's creator partnerships, podcast, and strategic growth initiatives. With more than 15 years of experience across digital media, creator economy, and entertainment, Joseph has helped hundreds of creators, brands, and media companies grow their audiences, expand revenue streams, and build sustainable businesses.
Throughout his career, he has worked at the intersection of content, technology, and monetization, leading partnerships across YouTube, podcasting, connected TV, and emerging digital platforms. He is passionate about helping creators navigate the evolving media landscape while developing innovative strategies that drive long-term success.
Melanie Love makes tools so pain relief doesn't have to hurt.
Love is the founder of unwind body works. Out of necessity, she created the (un)Block™, a stable, no-roll alternative to foam rollers and massage balls. And developed the unwind body works method, which uses four at a time to balance the body left to right, top to bottom, protecting the spine while giving Type A multi-tasking efficiency.
The necessity? Nerve damage in her low back from Bertolotti Syndrome, an unfused S1 vertebrae, combined with hypermobility. She went from walking 18 holes of golf to crawling out of bed in pain in under 6 months. She built the tool she needed but couldn't find.
Unwind integrates neurobiology for a fresh, self-directed, cringe-free approach to tight, sore muscles that works for practitioners and their patients. Better mobility work at home makes for better stability work at the clinic. Unwind offers (un)Blocks, group and 1:1 sessions, practitioner PD training, and at-home video content.
Love writes about trauma recovery on her Substack, which is how she learned about the nervous system and how much more it influences than most people realize, including pain relief.
Learn more at unwindbody.works or reach out on socials at @innatelymelanie
John Mathieu serves as Vice President and Creative Director at Pearpop, leading the company's creative and strategic direction across its portfolio of global brand partners. With nearly 13 years of experience spanning advertising and creator marketing, he partners with brands including Microsoft and Progressive to modernize how brands approach creator marketing.
Prior to joining Pearpop, John developed integrated campaigns across broadcast, digital and social for brands including the CDC's national anti-smoking campaign, Ocean Spray, Jack Daniel's, Hasbro and Sallie Mae. Among his work, he created Hacked, a YouTube series for Sallie Mae that earned the 2023 Shorty Award for Best Video Series.
Joy Osinloye is the Vice President of Customer Success, North America at CreatorIQ, where she leads Customer Success across enterprise, mid-market, and agency segments. She oversees retention, expansion, and long-term value creation and realization for a diverse portfolio of high-growth global brands. Partnering closely with revenue, marketing, and executive stakeholders, Joy equips the CreatorIQ customers with the necessary tools and insights to ensure their creator programs drive true measurable business impact.
Before joining CreatorIQ, Joy led influencer and integrated marketing initiatives for global brands including Airbnb, Huggies, L’Oréal, Adobe, and Kellogg’s. That brand-side experience now informs her approach to customer success by helping organizations operationalize creator marketing as a scalable, revenue-aligned growth channel rather than a series of one-off campaigns.
Joy is particularly focused on building resilient customer relationships, strengthening adoption at scale, and aligning creator investments to durable revenue outcomes. She is also a passionate advocate for people-first leadership and mentors emerging leaders across the marketing and technology ecosystem.
Jacob Wallach is a creator and strategist with a background in social media, creator marketing, and consumer insights. He previously worked at TikTok, advising Fortune 500 brands including Mars, Hershey’s, and Campbell’s on creator-led and social campaigns, and began his career at Nielsen, where he developed a foundation in consumer analytics and data-driven storytelling.
He later founded Social4TheWin, a creator and brand community that connected hundreds of creators with marketers, agencies, and companies through events and partnerships. Across his work, Jacob blends creative judgment, cultural fluency, and analytical thinking to understand how brands earn attention in modern media.
