Ahrefs Podcast

Ahrefs Podcast
Ahrefs Podcast

This isn’t your typical marketing fluff. It’s real, unscripted conversations with sharp founders, CMOs, and operators who’ve actually built something. Hosted by Ahrefs’ CMO Tim Soulo, who’s not afraid to challenge guests or call BS, you’ll get deep dives into the stuff that actually moves the needle: positioning, growth, hiring, branding, mistakes, wins, and what it really takes to grow a business. Think of it as a free consulting session every other week… that just happens to be recorded.

  1. $10M ARR PER EMPLOYEE with AI? This Startup Says Yes. | Amos Bar-Joseph (Swan AI)

    HACE 4 DÍAS

    $10M ARR PER EMPLOYEE with AI? This Startup Says Yes. | Amos Bar-Joseph (Swan AI)

    What if your business could run itself...and actually get better over time? In this episode, we sit down with Amos Bar-Joseph, founder of Swan AI, to explore the future of autonomous business and what it means for marketers and SaaS founders. Amos shares how Swan is rethinking onboarding, support, and user engagement through the dynamic of human-AI collaboration. From automation and content creation to go-to-market strategy and brand-building, this conversation unpacks the real potential (and limits) of AI as it reshapes how we build, grow, and support products. We cover: (0:00) Intro (01:18) Can 3 founders scale to $30M ARR with AI? (02:51) Automation is dead. Augmentation is the future. (04:59) Why they said no to Intercom and built their own AI (09:31) How support works when AI reads your docs (11:44) Teaching AI like a teammate (not a tool) (14:19) Could you build this with no-code? (17:10) The only moats left: brand and user experience (25:33) AI-led onboarding that starts without you (28:40) Why high-intent leads skip the free trial (34:21) How they turned LinkedIn into a pipeline engine (39:41) Detecting ICPs in real time with AI agents (44:12) Writing bangers on LinkedIn with Claude (49:56) When AI freedom crashes your margins (55:05) AI-powered research, outreach, and follow-up all in Slack (1:07:41) What they’re automating next (and why) (1:10:33) Why AI still sucks at web design (1:13:25) Outro ------------------------------------------------ Where to find Amos: LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amos-bar-joseph-5a665a142/) Website: https://www.getswan.com/Where to find Tim: LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/) X: @timsoulo Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/ ------------------------------------------------ Referenced in this episode: 🏢 Companies & Products Intercom – “Fin” AI assistant: https://www.intercom.com 6sense (Lead & intent data platform) : https://6sense.com HubSpot (CRM): https://www.hubspot.com Slack: https://slack.com Claude (Anthropic AI): https://www.anthropic.com/index/claude ChatGPT (OpenAI): https://chat.openai.com Gemini (Google AI): https://gemini.google.com ⸻ 🛠️ AI, Automation & No-Code Tools Anthropic (Claude models): https://www.anthropic.com OpenAI (GPT models): https://openai.com N8n (No-code automation platform): https://n8n.io Relevance AI: https://relevance.ai Make (formerly Integromat – automation platform): https://www.make.com Unipile (LinkedIn scraping and automation): https://www.unipile.com Generect (Real-time B2B data enrichment): https://generect.com Apollo (Alternative B2B database tool): https://www.apollo.io Lovable (No-code app builder): https://lovable.dev/ Bubble (No-code app builder): https://bubble.io #ai, #automation, #swann, #customersupport, #humanaicollaboration, #businessscaling, #technology, #entrepreneurship, #saas, #innovation, #brand, #userexperience, #onboarding, #customerengagement, #contentcreation, #autonomousbusiness, #linkedin, #gotomarket, #websitevisitoridentification, #aiautonomy, #marketingstrategies, #businessgrowth

    1 h y 14 min
  2. How A SINGLE LINE built a 50K+ community | Joe Glover (The Marketing Meetup)

    22 ABR

    How A SINGLE LINE built a 50K+ community | Joe Glover (The Marketing Meetup)

    As the creator of The Marketing Meetup, Joe Glover has built one of the most popular, respected, and emotionally resonant communities in the industry. In this episode, he shares a refreshingly human take on community building, leadership, and the kind of cultural values that drive real engagement—both online and off. Explore in this episode: (00:00) Intro (01:41) How do you know if you have a community (04:20) What exactly IS a community (11:37) Community is NOT a sales channel (21:36) Don’t build a community; build a culture (29:58) Finding the sprouts of community culture (37:44) Getting people to keep coming back (44:59) Can a community continue without its founder? (58:04) Why is TMM an Events Company vs a Media Company( 01:02:21) Promoting events( 01:05:32) The role of storytelling in community (01:07:47) The purposefully planning behind the first TMM conference (01:10:51) The power of good (and bad) networking events (01:23:57) Mobilizing a team of event organizers (01:29:34) The 10 magic moments essential for event success (01:36:34) Baiting Ryan Reynolds to join TMM (01:38:43) Outro ------------------------------------------------ Where to find Joe: LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/josepheglover/) Website: https://themarketingmeetup.com/ Where to find Tim: LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/) X: @timsoulo Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/ ------------------------------------------------ Referenced in this episode: 👤 People Mentioned Dave Gerhardt (Founder of Exit Five)LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/davegerhardt/) Website: https://www.exitfive.com Crystal Carter (Head of SEO Communications at Wix) LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalcarterseo/) Kelvin Newman (Founder of BrightonSEO) LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelvinnewman/) Event: https://brightonseo.com #mentalhealth, #communitybuilding, #marketing, #selfawareness, #culture, #followership, #emotionalconnection, #communitydynamics, #community, #events, #culturalvalues, #engagement, #leadership, #storytelling, #humanexperience, #networking, #onlineevents, #eventplanning, #ai, #personalbranding, #localorganizers, #valueexchange, #generosity

    1 h y 39 min
  3. The 4-step process to STAND THE F*CK OUT | Louis Grenier (STFO.io, Everyone Hates Marketers)

    8 ABR

    The 4-step process to STAND THE F*CK OUT | Louis Grenier (STFO.io, Everyone Hates Marketers)

    Louis Grenier has built a reputation for calling bullsh*t on conventional marketing. In this episode, he delivers sharp, unfiltered insights on what it really takes to stand out in saturated markets. As the founder of Stand The F*ck Out and host of Everyone Hates Marketers, Louis breaks down why most branding efforts fail, how to create a truly unique positioning, and what marketers get wrong about differentiation and audience engagement. Discover: (00:00) Intro (00:57) Parental advisory (03:24) How do you know if your positioning is bad? (07:02) Positiong vs product-market fit (16:00) Step 1: Insight foraging (40:02) Step 2: Unique positioning (56:36) Step 3: Creating a distinctive brand (1:12:59) Step 4: Continuous reach (1:36:17) The book that cost him $36,000 (1:48:02) Outro ------------------------------------------------ Where to find Louis: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisgrenier/ Website: https://www.stfo.io/ Where to find Tim: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/ X: @timsoulo Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/ ----------------------------------------------- Referenced in this episode: 👤 People Seth Godin Website: https://www.sethgodin.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethgodin/ Gary Vaynerchuk Website: https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyvaynerchuk/ Neil Patel Website: https://neilpatel.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilkpatel/ Jason Hennessey Website: https://www.jasonhennessey.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonhennessey/ David C. Baker Website: https://www.davidcbaker.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidcbaker/ Martin Neumeier Website: https://www.martinneumeier.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinneumeier/ ⸻ 🏢 Companies & Podcasts Hotjar https://www.hotjar.com Everyone Hates Marketers Podcast https://www.everyonehatesmarketers.com Duolingo https://www.duolingo.com Ryanair https://www.ryanair.com Dentsu https://www.dentsu.com VaynerMedia https://www.vaynermedia.com NP Digital https://npdigital.com Hennessey Digital https://www.hennessey.com HubSpot https://www.hubspot.com Compare the Market (UK) https://www.comparethemarket.com ⸻ 📚 Books Stand the Fck Out* by Louis Grenier https://link.stfo.io/amazon The Business of Expertise by David C. Baker https://www.amazon.com/Business-Expertise-Entrepreneurs-Firms-Clients/dp/1605440590 Zag by Martin Neumeier https://www.amazon.com/Zag-Strategy-High-Performance-Voices-Matter/dp/0321426770 How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp https://www.amazon.com/How-Brands-Grow-What-Marketers/dp/0195573560

    1 h y 49 min
  4. Little-known PPC & SEO tips from (ex-)Director of Growth @ Webflow | Tim Dalrymple (Roadway, Notion)

    25 MAR

    Little-known PPC & SEO tips from (ex-)Director of Growth @ Webflow | Tim Dalrymple (Roadway, Notion)

    What does it really take to drive scalable, data-informed growth in today’s competitive marketing landscape? In this episode, we sit down with Tim Dalrymple — former Head of Growth Marketing at Notion and Director of Growth at Webflow — to unpack how elite teams are rethinking attribution, customer acquisition, and product-led growth from the ground up. Tim shares lessons from leading marketing at two of the most iconic product-led brands and offers a clear-eyed look at how to build growth systems that actually move the needle. Whether you’re deep into performance marketing or looking to sharpen your measurement strategy, this conversation brings sharp insights into everything from SEO and user-generated content to ethical marketing and AI-driven decision-making. Discover: (0:00) Intro (1:29) What is growth marketing (and how it differs from brand marketing) (6:55) Where growth marketing sits on the org chart (10:40) Tracking view-through conversions through YouTube (20:20) Geolift tests: why you want them and how to do them (23:34) Why platforms claim attribution (26:57) Bidding on branded keywords (31:25) Performance marketing on social media (35:58) Who owns campaign ideation (38:09) Creating brand videos (47:39) SEO at Notion and Webflow (51:22) Linkbuilding at Notion and Webflow (54:18) Using agencies to forge channels (56:27) The AI growth marketing co-worker (01:03:43) Scaling growth at Roadway (01:11:51) Outro _______________________________________ Where to find Tim Dalrymple: LinkedIn Website Where to find Tim Soulo: LinkedIn Website ------------------------- Referenced: Sean Ellis Brian Balfour Reforge - The Growth Series Bryant Chou (Webflow Co-founder) Monday.com Tableau Recast Eppo Rand Fishkin Bruno Clay Product Fit Article Misha Vaughn Graphite Clay

    1 h y 12 min
  5. How to make a podcast that actually grows your business | Borko Kovacevic (Poddster, Podyx)

    11 MAR

    How to make a podcast that actually grows your business | Borko Kovacevic (Poddster, Podyx)

    Borko Kovacevic is the co-founder of Poddster, a fast-growing podcast studio network with locations in Dubai and Singapore, with upcoming locations in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. Borko is also the co-founder of podcast operations software, Podyx. In this episode, Borko shares the behind-the-scenes story of building Poddster, the trends shaping podcasting today, and what it really takes to create a podcast that drives business results. What you’ll learn: 1. Why podcasting is shifting from audio-only to video—and how YouTube is winning the game 2. How businesses and creators approach podcasts differently (and why only 5% of Poddster’s clients are full-time creators) 3. The biggest mistakes businesses make when starting a podcast—and why “interesting guests” aren’t enough 4. Why every small business owner needs to be a content creator in today’s world 5. The role of trust and authenticity in podcasting—and how mainstream media’s decline has fueled the format’s growth 6. The untold challenges of podcasting (hint: it’s way harder than it looks) 7. Why podcasting is the ultimate networking hack—and how it can be used as a business development tool 8. How production quality impacts discoverability and engagement 9. The surprising reasons 99% of podcasts don’t make it past 20 episodes 10. Much more In this episode: (0:00) Intro (1:25) Why podcasting is the wave of the future (5:05) Who is podcasting? (10:58) Creator vs business podcasting (16:18) Motivations and goals behind business podcasts (34:53) What makes a good podcast or podcast episode (41:37) Common challenges in podcasting (53:40) Zoom vs in-person interviews (1:03:35) Different podcast strategies (1:08:37) Types of podcasts (1:16:12) How to market a podcast (1:35:34) The benefits of video studios beyond podcasting (1:38:31) Where to find quality studios (1:46:47) Outro Where to find Borko LinkedIn Poddster Podyx Where to find Tim LinkedIn X Website ReferencedMagnus Grimeland: https://youtu.be/6dNFsSWcQFY Nir Eyal:  @nirandfar  Gary Vaynerchuk (Gary Vee):  @garyvee  Lex Fridman:  @lexfridman  Joe Rogan:  @joerogan  Scott Galloway (Prof G):  @TheProfGPod  Steven Bartlett"  @TheDiaryOfACEO  Tom Bilyeu:  @TomBilyeu

    1 h y 47 min
  6. Why marketing is a good skillset for a founder | Magnus Grimeland (Antler)

    4 FEB

    Why marketing is a good skillset for a founder | Magnus Grimeland (Antler)

    Meet Magnus Grimeland - the founder and CEO of Antler - a one BILLION dollar venture capital firm dedicated to investing in startups at the earliest stages. As of today, Antler has invested in over 14 hundred companies, making it the largest day-zero investor in the world. And they have an audacious goal to invest in 6 thousand companies before 2030. In this episode, you'll learn: (0:00) Intro (02:36) Why are people more important than ideas?  (06:04) Examples of iterating on ideas (19:17) Hipster, Hacker, Hustler vs. Spike, Drive, Grit (29:22) Can marketers be good founders (34:39) Soft skills vs hard skills (39:03) The role of marketing in zero-day investments (46:07) What do experts get out of advising zero-day startups?  (53:45) Borrowing other people’s platforms (1:00:54) The first marketing steps for any startup (1:05:42) Building a brand (1:15:27) Founder brand vs. building local networks (1:22:03) How Antler gets referrals (1:29:52) Why VC firms don’t use SEO (1:37:33) How Antler decides who to invest in (1:40:06) Outro We hope you enjoyed this episode of Ahrefs Podcast! As always, be sure to like and subscribe (and tell a friend). Where to find Magnus: LinkedIn Website Where to find Tim: LinkedIn X Website ------------------------- Referenced: • Zalora • Lion • Basket of goods • G&A _______________ Ahrefs Podcast Host: Tim Soulo Podcast Producer: Michelle Lindner Intro Storyboard: Michelle Lindner & Tim Soulo Intro Video Lead: George Dolgikh Intro Video Animations: Ilya Yakymchuck Filmed at:  @PoddsterSingapore

    1 h y 41 min
  7. This is how viral marketing really works | Delbert Ty (Coffee Meets Bagel)

    21 ENE

    This is how viral marketing really works | Delbert Ty (Coffee Meets Bagel)

    What's the key to creating a viral marketing campaign? Meet Delbert Ty, CMO at Coffee Meets Bagel, a popular dating app that sets itself apart by courting only those interested in serious relationships. Before joining CmB, Delbert worked as Head of Marketing at Circles.Life - a Singaporean telco - where he grew revenue to 9 figures in 5 years. And even before that he worked at Procter & Gamble, where he was responsible for such well-known brands as Duracell, Tide & Pantene. During his time at these companies Delbert has pulled off quite a few hilarious creative marketing campaigns. Some of them failed, but others brought lots of new customers and tons of brand awareness. In our interview, we discussed quite a few of Delbert's viral campaigns and tried to deconstruct what made them successful and how you could replicate that success. In this episode: (0:00) Intro (02:17) Three biggest marketing campaigns
 (06:44) Vandalizing a billboard (11:10) Buying out telco contracts (failed) (13:10) Coffee Meets Bagel tells users to leave (16:30) "Free money" from a vending machine (25:01) The cost (not in $$$) of viral campaigns (30:10) Courage in viral marketing (35:43) Setting objectives for viral campaigns (41:13) Measuring the impact of viral campaigns
 (47:20) When bad ideas are actually good ideas (55:23) Structural elements of a viral campaign (01:15:07) Physical vs digital creative marketing (1:22:20) Split between creative marketing and other tasks (1:24:01) Is viral marketing only for consumer brands? (1:28:10) Why certain campaigns fail (1:38:00) The difference between celebrity and brand
 (1:47:25) Using AI for creative marketing (01:51:42) Outro We hope you enjoyed this episode of Ahrefs Podcast! As always, be sure to like and subscribe (and tell a friend). Where to find Delbert: LinkedIn Website Where to find Tim: LinkedIn X Website ------------------------- Referenced: Coffee Meets Bagel  @CoffeeMBagel  Circles.life  @circleslifesg  Calm app  @calm  Kanye Super Bowl ad Coinbase Super Bowl ad Old Spice  @oldspice  Drake "God's Plan" music video Lenny’s Podcast with Lulu Cheng Meservey Lulu Cheng Meservey Supermensch Shep Gordon Data is Beautiful subreddit WePay/PayPal stunt Dan Price/Gravity Payments wages Coffeezilla:  @Coffeezilla  Paris Hilton for SodaStream _______________ Ahrefs Podcast Host: Tim Soulo Podcast Producer: Michelle Lindner Intro Storyboard: Michelle Lindner & Tim Soulo Intro Video Lead: George Dolgikh Intro Video Animations: Ilya Yakymchuk Filmed at: Poddster Studios (Singapore)

    1 h y 52 min
  8. Breaking down early-stage SaaS marketing | Madhav Bhandari (Storylane)

    7 ENE

    Breaking down early-stage SaaS marketing | Madhav Bhandari (Storylane)

    Early-stage marketing can be full of challenges, but what if there were a playbook to follow? Meet Madhav Bhandari, first marketing hire at Hubstaff and one of the first marketers at Close.io, and Weflow, all of which he helped to cross $10M+ in ARR. He's currently the CMO of Storylane, where he has helped grow their ARR by 250% in 2024 alone. In other words, Madhav has pretty much mastered the art of scaling SaaS companies from $5M to $15M+ ARR. Here's what you'll learn in this episode: (00:00) Intro
 (1:01) Early-stage marketing playbook
 (12:25) Why Madhav only scales to $15M (15:42) The average tenure for a CMO (19:50) The ideal CEO/CMO fit (26:46) Earning your CEO’s trust (36:01) Employee advocacy as a marketing tool (49:10) Easing friction by bringing community together (Demo Days) (56:16) Creativity in community awards (Demo Dundies)(1:05:40) 10xing traffic in 6 months through demo-led SEO( 1:13:36) Hot take on backlinks (1:15:41) Strategies for growing a brand (1:24:08) Defining and codifying a brand (1:31:20) When rebranding makes sense (1:34:18) Founder brand vs company brand (1:40:50) Is testing multiple tactics in a short period of time a good idea? (1:45:17) The best channels for early stage founders (1:47:47) Fixing burnout in marketing (1:52:45) Outro We hope you enjoyed this episode of Ahrefs Podcast! As always, be sure to like and subscribe (and tell a friend). Where to find Madhav: LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/madhavbhandari/) Website: https://earlystagemarketing.com/ Where to find Tim: LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/) X: @timsoulo Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/ ------------------------- Referenced: • Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com • Canva: https://www.canva.com • Notion: https://www.notion.so • HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com • Slack: https://slack.com • Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com • Hubstaff: https://hubstaff.com • Close: https://close.com • Weflow: https://www.getweflow.com

    1 h y 53 min
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This isn’t your typical marketing fluff. It’s real, unscripted conversations with sharp founders, CMOs, and operators who’ve actually built something. Hosted by Ahrefs’ CMO Tim Soulo, who’s not afraid to challenge guests or call BS, you’ll get deep dives into the stuff that actually moves the needle: positioning, growth, hiring, branding, mistakes, wins, and what it really takes to grow a business. Think of it as a free consulting session every other week… that just happens to be recorded.

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