Always Be Testing
Always Be Testing explores the experiments, insights, and growth stories shaping the future of affiliate and partner marketing in B2B SaaS. Hosted by industry veterans, the show dives deep into real-world lessons from the people driving measurable impact at companies like Google, HubSpot, Ramp, Webflow, G2, and beyond. Each episode uncovers what happens when today's most innovative marketers challenge assumptions, run smarter experiments, and build programs that scale revenue through meaningful partnerships. If you’re in affiliate, partnerships, or SaaS growth — this is your front-row seat to how the best do it (and what they’ve learned along the way).
Episodes
#138 Market Research CEO: Your SaaS Ads Are Burning Cash on a Message Nobody Wants | Peep Laja & Tye DeGrange
Tye DeGrange talks with Peep Laja, CEO of Wynter (a B2B market research platform with 12 to 48 hour turnaround on real-human surveys) and a leading voice in SaaS messaging and testing. They unpack why 65% of SaaS messaging is identical across competitors, the four layers of a message that wins (clarity, relevance, value, differentiation), and why a strong offer has to come before any spen
#137 From CJ Call Center to Fortune 500 CMO | Sunil Kaki & Tye DeGrange
Sunil Kaki, Founder & CEO of Clove Growth, joins Tye DeGrange to trace the career blueprint that took him from a CJ call center to Fortune 500 CMO roles. They dig into brand vs. performance marketing, why chasing every new channel kills growth, CAC/LTV discipline, optimizing the first-user experience, the affiliate marketing philosophy that actually works, building trust with your CFO
#136 The Next Arbitrage Window Is on ChatGPT | Mike Mallazzo & Tye DeGrange
Mike Mallazzo, GM at Alephic Media, joins Tye DeGrange to unpack the next arbitrage window: marketing to LLMs and AI search engines. They cover AEO and GEO strategy, how brands get cited by ChatGPT and other AI assistants, the emerging opportunity in AI-driven ad arbitrage, why partner and affiliate marketing are becoming core to AI search strategy, and why traditional attribution models
#135 83% of AI Citations Aren't Yours — Here's What To Do | Katerine Tamargo & Tye DeGrange
Katerine Tamargo, Head of AI at CJ (Commission Junction), joins Tye DeGrange to unpack one of the most surprising findings in generative engine optimization: more than 83% of AI citations point to third-party sources, not brand-owned content. They dig into the KPIs that actually define AI visibility — mention rate, sentiment, position, and citations — and why a rigorous test-and-learn met
# 134 Building a SaaS Company Partner-Led From Day One | Michelle Eatherton & Tye DeGrange
Michelle Eatherton, Chief Business Officer at Liminal, shares how she convinced her co-founder to build the company partner-led from the very first call, before there was even a product. She and Tye dig into why mid-market enterprises are the underserved sweet spot for AI governance tools, and what it really takes to earn a hyperscaler co-sell relationship.
#133 Making Podcast Ads Fully Performance-Based | Jordan Bentley & Tye DeGrange
Jordan Bentley, founder of Audio Hook, explains how he built a performance-based podcast advertising model where brands only pay for real outcomes, not impressions. He and Tye talk about why AI made ad production easier (not the strategy), and why geo-based incrementality testing beats promo codes for proving what's actually working.
#132 Turning App Confetti Screens Into Revenue | Michael Gants & Tye DeGrange
Michael Gants, founder and CEO of Encore, breaks down how apps can turn unused "streak" and celebration screens into a new revenue stream, without a single ad or paywall. He shares how brands like Disney, Uber, and Apple are paying to reach users in their happiest moments, and why founders should be more afraid of a broken CAC/LTV ratio than of running a monetization experiment.
#131 Can Affiliate Marketing Save the Open Web? | Brook Schaaf & Tye DeGrange
Brook Schaaf, co-founder of FMTC and author of the new book Affiliate Hypotheses, joins Tye to make the case that affiliate marketing might be the internet's best — and sometimes only — way to monetize the open web. They dig into why walled gardens like Google and Meta get outsized credit for conversions, and why AI search is putting the open web's survival at risk.
#130 From 50 to 5,000 Customers in 60 Days: Pictory's PMF Story
Vikram Chalana, CEO and founder of Pictory, joins the show to unpack how his AI video platform went from 50 customers to 5,000 in just 60 days — and why the breakthrough came from changing the market, not the product. He digs into Pictory's State of Video report (AI adoption has no Silicon Valley bias — Florida and Indiana are leading users), the design principles that keep Pictory out of
#129 Building Enterprise-Grade AI Tools Safely | Danielle Sakher & Tye DeGrange
Remy's Danielle Sakher explains how her team balances speed with observability and security as AI coding tools move from novelty to enterprise infrastructure. She shares what it's really like selling an AI builder to security-conscious industries like financial services, plus a wild stat: alpha users have already spent $300K in AI compute.
#128: Why Partner Quality Beats Partner Count | Darryl Yearwood & Tye DeGrange
Darryl Yearwood, who leads partnerships at Apollo, makes the case that a smaller, higher-quality partner roster beats chasing volume every time. He and Tye get into what "not plug-and-play" really means in affiliate marketing and how to build partnerships that actually move revenue.
#127: From IDF Cyber Ops to B2B Marketing: Building GTM from Scratch | Avishag Daniely
Avishag Daniely built One Layer's entire marketing and partnerships function from scratch — coming from a background in IDF cyber intelligence. She shares how her military analytical training shaped her approach to B2B GTM, what it takes to build pipeline when no one's heard of your company yet, and why she treats every marketing decision like an intelligence problem.
#126: EMERGENCY POD: Affiliate Fraud Unpacked - The Phia Fiasco
Affiliate fraud investigator Ben Edelman joins Tye for an emergency episode breaking down the "Phia fiasco" that's rattling the affiliate marketing industry. Edelman, who's spent over 20 years catching affiliate fraud and has collaborated with Tye on forensic cases throughout his career, walks through what makes this case different from the usual stand-down violations that have hit shoppi
#125: Less Traffic, More Sales: Wyze's Counterintuitive Paid Media Playbook | Logan Dunn
Logan Dunn, Head of E-commerce at Wyze, ran 100 ads at once, cut traffic, and watched conversions go up. In this episode, he breaks down the counterintuitive paid media playbook behind Wyze's D2C growth — including why narrow targeting beats broad reach, how in-house creative unlocks faster iteration, and what most brands get wrong about scaling paid spend.
SaaS Clas EP2: From Single Digits to 25% of Pipeline: The SaaS Partner Playbook | Nancy Harnett, Guy Yalif, and Tye DeGrange
Nancy Harnett (Instantly) and Guy Yalif (Webflow) break down exactly how SaaS companies can grow their partner programs from single-digit contributions to 25% of pipeline and revenue. They cover partner ICP alignment, building a best-in-class partner experience, and why most programs stall before they ever scale.
#124 Why Authentic Content Beats the Algorithm | Yoray Halevy
Yoray Halevy joins Tye DeGrange to dig into why brands can't rely on Vogue-style coverage to build credibility — and what they should be doing instead. Yoray shares how his company creates authentic content that speaks to specific audiences, why last-click attribution misses the full picture, and how a paid media distribution mindset unlocks the true value of content. They also explore ho
CTV Measurement Unpacked: Incrementality, Attribution & Holdout Testing | Tom Rathbone
Tom Rathbone joins Tye DeGrange to break down the real challenges of measuring CTV — from probabilistic Nielsen-era methods to where the industry stands today. Tom shares how TVScientific approaches measurement, why holdout testing is still underutilized by most brands, and how to build a test media plan that actually generates signal. Plus: why single-touch attribution fails in a multi-c
Horse Lessons from Mom | Ginger DeGrange
For Mother's Day, Tye DeGrange hands the mic to his mom — Ginger DeGrange. Rodeo queen. Horse trainer. Summer camp founder. 36-year instructor who's taught 10,000+ students the art of horsemanship at Santa Rosa Junior College. This one's full of great stories: the OJ Simpson trail ride, a student who went on to dine with the Queen of England, competing at the Grand National, and the old r
#121 Zero Platform: 10 Great Partners Beat 100 — The Future of Local Marketing | Adam Dewer, Soci.ai
Adam Dewer leads partnerships at Soci.ai — an AI-powered platform helping 800+ multi-location brands manage their local presence across social, listings, and reviews.In this episode, Tye and Adam get into the "zero platform" future of local marketing, where AI agents replace dashboards entirely — handling updates, review responses, and social posts through a simple SMS conversation with t
SaaS Class EP 1: AEO is the New SEO — How HubSpot & Webflow Are Winning AI-First Discovery | Nancy Harnett & Guy Yalif
The first episode of SaaS Class tackles one of the most pressing questions in B2B marketing: how do you win when your buyers are finding answers on ChatGPT and Perplexity instead of Google?Tye sits down with Nancy Harnett (Head of Affiliate & Offsite AEO at HubSpot) and Guy Yalif (Webflow, formerly CEO of Intellimize) to break down what's actually working in the race to become the mos
90% of Media Buying Workflows Are Still Manual—Here’s What’s Broken | Lacie Thompson
In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange sits down with Lacie Thompson, an experienced agency leader, affiliate and partner marketing expert, and former operator at brands like Expedia and Blue Nile. After successfully scaling and exiting her agency, Lacie is now building Media Pack—an AI-powered platform designed to modernize and streamline how brands buy media.The convers
#119 Why 70% of Affiliate Programs Fail Before They Launch — and How AI Can Fix That | Kyle White
Kyle White is the CEO & Founder of Refinery, an AI-powered affiliate technology solution. He brings a rare blend of experience across affiliate management (Overstock, Uber), product development, and data-driven experimentation. He previously built tools at Impact, led global affiliate/ambassador programs at Uber, and now focuses on making affiliate programs smarter, more automated, an
#118 Why Most Marketing Teams Miss 95% of Real Buyers | Doug Bell
In this episode, I sit down with Doug Bell — Fractional CMO, former leader at Automation Anywhere, LeanData, and Searchmetrics, top‑40 Substack writer, and co-host of Cannonball GTM — to unpack why modern go‑to‑market playbooks are breaking… and what the next generation of GTM looks like in an AI‑driven world.We go deep into the new patterns shaping high‑growth companies — and the uncomfo
#117 3 Structural Shifts Are Breaking Traditional SEO | Jordan Koene
This episode explores the future of search and digital discoverability with an experienced SEO executive and growth advisor who has worked with high-growth marketplaces and SaaS companies. The conversation unpacks how the mechanics of online discovery are being reshaped by AI, shifting user behavior, and the declining reliability of traditional traffic channels. Together, we examine why v
#116 Scaling from $175M to $5B: Enterprise Affiliate Lessons from Fanatics | Wade Tonkin
Wade Tonkin is the Director of Global Affiliate Marketing at Fanatics, Inc., where he oversees one of the largest and most complex affiliate programs in the world. With over 20 years of experience in performance marketing, he has played a key role in shaping Fanatics’ global partner ecosystem, driving growth through content creators, media publishers, loyalty partners, and innovative perf
#115 The Measurement Mistakes Costing Brands Millions | Cormac Jonas
In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange is joined by Cormac Jonas, CEO and Founder of The Jonas Agency, for a deep dive into what’s actually broken in modern performance marketing. With years of experience across affiliate, paid media, and creator-led growth, Cormac brings a sharp perspective on why so many brands are optimizing campaigns while ignoring the bigger problem:
#114 Why Most Growth Teams Fail Before They Start | Guillaume Cabane
In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange sits down with Guillaume Cabane, Founder of HyperGrowth Partners and one of the earliest leaders to shape modern B2B SaaS growth.Guillaume breaks down why most companies struggle to scale—not because they lack tools or talent, but because they’re unwilling to embrace the speed, risk, and failure real growth requires. The conversation
#113 How Bad Incentives Quietly Break Affiliate Programs | Ziggy Kopetti
In this episode of Always Be Testing, Tye DeGrange sits down with Ziggy Kopetti, a veteran affiliate marketing operator and platform founder who has spent years working inside the mechanics of performance marketing—from attribution and partner incentives to how networks and platforms actually make money.The conversation explores how affiliate programs really scale, where brands commonly m
#112 Affiliate Networks Drop Honey: What Really Happened | Ben Edelman & Tye DeGrange
In this emergency episode of Always Be Testing, I’m joined by Ben Edelman—an economist, lawyer, and one of the most respected affiliate fraud investigators in the industry. Ben has spent over two decades uncovering adware abuse, browser extension misconduct, and attribution fraud, working with merchants, networks, and publishers to protect the integrity of affiliate marketing.We break dow
#111 Why 3 Common Leadership Habits Are Killing Your Growth | Jen Goodwin
In this episode, I get the chance to sit down with Jen Goodwin, a powerhouse with 17 years of experience driving growth across e-commerce and affiliate marketing. Jen has helped scale some of the biggest brands in the space and played a major role in two successful exits — the acquisition of Coupons.com (Quotient) and Honey’s $4B sale to PayPal.She’s worked at every level of an organizati
#110 Why Great Marketing Fails When the Data Is Broken | Howard Schaffer
In this episode of Always Be Testing, I sit down with Howard Schaffer — a 25-year performance marketing leader, former CMO and VP across major wellness, fitness, and tech brands, and now the founder of HOS Performance — for a deep dive into what really holds companies back from scaling. Howard and I unpack why so many teams are still operating on shaky data foundations, from broken UTM st
#109 Why Most Brands Still Misuse Affiliate Marketing | Scott Ginsberg
In this episode, we sit down with Scott Ginsberg — VP of Performance Marketing at Penske Media, the powerhouse behind brands like Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, and Robb Report. With two decades in affiliate and performance marketing (including leadership roles at BrandCycle, CJ, and Yahoo), Scott breaks down how the industry evolved from “coupons and last-click” into one of the most
#108 Lessons from a founder who built a lean, profitable SaaS—and still hit a growth ceiling | Adam Robinson
This episode features Adam Robinson, Founder & CEO of Retention.com, who shares his journey from finance into tech and how he built Retention.com from the ground up into a lean, high-margin SaaS serving both e-commerce and B2B brands. He talks about hitting a growth plateau around ~$3M ARR and the breakthrough that followed, the role of continuous product innovation, and how founder-l
#107 Why Most Product Teams Miss What Customers Really Need | Amro Naddy
In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange sits down with Amro Naddy, VP of Product and General Manager at U.S. News & World Report, where he leads digital transformation, innovation, and audience growth initiatives across one of the most trusted names in media.With a background spanning product strategy, growth, and media leadership, Amro brings a thoughtful lens to how
#106 Why 70% of Brands Are Undervaluing Affiliate Marketing | Michael Cole - SVP of Marketing at Everflow
In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange sits down with Michael Cole, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Everflow and active member of the Performance Marketing Association’s Measurement Council. With a decade of experience leading growth and analytics in the partner and affiliate space, Michael helps brands unlock performance marketing efficiency through better data, sm
#105 Why Losing the Cowboy Code Is Hurting Modern Business Ethics with Bob Feist
In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange sits down with Bob Feist — known as the Godfather of Team Roping — a legendary cowboy, entrepreneur, and rodeo announcer. A Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee and PRCA Pioneer Award winner, Bob is also the founder of Ropers Sports News, the first-ever newspaper dedicated to team roping, and the creator of The Bob Feist Invitational (BFI),
#104 Rewriting the B2B Playbook: Bryn Jones on Scaling Through Partnerships
In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange sits down with Bryn Jones, Co-founder and CEO of PartnerStack, a leading B2B SaaS partner marketing platform. Bryn has spent the past decade redefining how companies scale through partnerships, drawing from his experience growing PartnerStack from its early days at Y Combinator to becoming an industry leader. The conversation dives i
#103 Human in the Loop: Smarter AI Adoption with Nicole Leffer
In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange sits down with Nicole Leffer, an AI consultant, speaker, and founder of her own AI consultancy helping marketing teams and organizations understand, adopt, and integrate generative AI tools effectively. With a background as Head of Marketing for a B2B SaaS company, Nicole began experimenting with AI tools in 2021—long before the Chat
#102 Building High-Performing Teams & Smarter Testing with John Toskey
In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange sits down with John Toskey, a seasoned marketing leader with over 25 years of experience in global partner and performance marketing. Having held senior roles at eBay, Affirm, and Opera Software, and now running his own consulting practice, John unpacks lessons from decades of leading high-performing global marketing teams. He shares
# 101 Smarter Affiliate Marketing Starts Here | Kayla Castro of Zenni Optical
In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange sits down with Kayla Castro, Senior Manager of Affiliates & Partnerships at Zenni Optical, to talk about the evolving world of affiliate marketing. Kayla shares her experience leading affiliate programs and offers practical insights on how to audit and optimize affiliate strategies for long-term success.The conversation covers co
#100 The Cowboy Code of Marketing: Building Trust in B2B with Tye DeGrange
In this special episode, Tye DeGrange, CEO of Round Barn Labs and host of Always Be Testing, reflects on his journey in marketing and the timeless principles he calls the Cowboy Code. Drawing from his upbringing on a California ranch and decades of experience leading growth at eBay, StubHub, and beyond, Tye explores what B2B marketers can learn from consumer brands.He highlights why trust
#99 Product-Market Fit, Protocols, and the Future of Growth with Peter Denton
In this episode of the Always Be Testing podcast, Peter Denton—a seasoned growth and marketing leader with a 25+ year career in startups, product experimentation, and marketing innovation—shares a wealth of insights from his journey through the dot-com boom to leading growth at XMTP and previously Pioneer Square Labs.Peter discusses how to de-risk startups before launch, leverage APIs and
#98 Activity vs. Impact: A Marketing Conversation with Erica Yoon
In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange sits down with Erica Yoon, Director of Marketing at BuildOps, a vertical SaaS platform designed for commercial contractors. With prior experience at companies like Reddit, Erica brings a rich perspective on scaling marketing strategies that go beyond demand generation.
#97 Scaling Brands Through Performance-Based Content with Lucas Beland
We’re joined by Lucas Beland, Co-Founder & CEO of Goloot, an innovative content platform helping Consumer and B2B brands secure content placements on a performance basis. In this episode, we dive into the evolving world of content and influencer marketing, exploring why it’s time to move past vanity metrics and focus on real business outcomes like customer acquisition cost, ROAS, and
#96 From Startups to Streaming: Kevin Weatherman’s Playbook for AI-Driven Growth
In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange sits down with Kevin Weatherman, co-founder of Upscale AI, a performance streaming platform using AI to power connected TV ads for DTC brands. With a rich background that includes being the first business hire at multiple startups, angel investing, and co-founding a global run club, Kevin shares his journey from selling limo rides to
#95 Customer Love, AI & Hyper growth with G2’s Sydney Sloan
Sydney Sloan – CMO of G2, a leading software marketplace for businesses to discover, review, and manage technology solutions. She has extensive experience in customer marketing, community building, and scaling B2B SaaS companies. Formerly at Adobe, SalesLoft, and other high-growth companies, she’s recognized as a champion of customer advocacy.
#94 Fraud Protection : Lessons in Taking Down the Internet’s biggest fraudsters | Ben Edelman
In this episode, Ben Edelman shares insights from his years studying the intersection of economics, digital marketing, and consumer protection. He and the host dive deep into the evolution of affiliate marketing, the early days of web advertising, and how regulation and business incentives have shaped online behavior—both good and bad. Ben also reflects on ad fraud, deceptive affiliate pr
#93 Unlocking E-commerce Growth: Data-Driven Strategies & Brand Building | Bryant Garvin
Bryant Garvin, a 20-year veteran of the digital marketing world, announced his new position as Operator in Residence at Triple Whale. This role leverages Triple Whale's massive data set (35,000+ stores, $55B+ GMP annually) to build better products for marketers and e-commerce operators. Garvin discussed his evolved perspective on attribution, emphasizing Triple Whale's holistic approach u
#92 Scaling Sales the Smart Way with Sam McKenna | Founder of SamSales
Sales expert Sam McKenna, Founder of Sam Sales, shares her journey from solo consultant to a thriving 20-person team with 250+ clients. The podcast discusses her unique sales strategies, including the "Expand the Sandbox" method for LinkedIn prospecting, which landed her a deal with Equifax. Key takeaways include the importance of building genuine rapport with clients (even discussing bre
#91 From Startup Servers to Global Scale: The Top CashBack Story with James Little | Group Commercial Director
This Always Be Testing podcast features James Little, a UK affiliate marketing legend and key figure at TopCashback. The episode covers TopCashback's 20-year history, its unique 100% cashback model, and its global success without venture capital. Little discusses the challenges and rewards of operating in various markets, the importance of clear customer education around cashback, and the
#90 Affiliate Marketing: New Technologies & Shifting Trends | Tricia Meyer - Executive Director, Performance Marketing Association
The Performance Marketing Association (PMA) released its third triennial affiliate marketing survey, revealing a booming industry. Data from eight networks, 53 publishers, and over 20,000 brands showed ad spend skyrocketing from $6 billion to $13.63 billion (a 14.42% CAGR), exceeding e-commerce growth and contributing 10% to overall US e-commerce revenue. While cashback and coupon sites r
#89 Beyond Coupon Sites: Diversifying Your Affiliate Marketing Strategy | Ryan Fitzgerald - Head of SME Sales, Awin Global
This podcast features Ryan Fitzgerald, an affiliate industry expert at AWIN, discussing various aspects of affiliate marketing. Key takeaways include the importance of initially working with all publisher types to build brand equity, AWIN's global reach and commitment to a publisher-centric approach, and Fitzgerald's sales leadership focusing on educating and mentoring SMBs. He emphasizes
#88 The Future of Influencer Marketing: Authenticity in the Age of AI | Vinod Varma, Co-Founder & CEO of Creator.co
This podcast episode features Vinod Varma, founder and CEO of Creator Co., discussing the evolving landscape of social commerce. Varma defines social commerce as the next wave of influencer marketing, enabled by expired Amazon patents, and highlights TikTok Shop's leading role due to its seamless user experience. Creator Co. helps brands navigate this space by providing technical setup an
#87 AI and SEO: A Partnership, Not a Threat | Jordan Koene, CEO & Founder of Previsible.io
Jordan Koene, CEO & Founder of Previsible.io, breaks down how AI is reshaping the SEO landscape. As tools like ChatGPT provide direct answers, many websites are seeing noticeable drops in organic traffic—ranging from 10% to as much as 90%, depending on the industry and keyword.This shift is happening quickly and requires a thoughtful response. Jordan explains why it's important for br
#86 Beyond Best Practices: First-Principle Thinking in Performance Marketing | Svet Kazanjiev, Principal, Blue Services
This podcast features a conversation between two performance marketing experts with 20+ years of experience, discussing the evolving landscape of digital marketing. Svet, with a background at Stanford, McKinsey, and Nextag, shares his insights on leveraging first-principle thinking and algorithmic understanding to optimize marketing campaigns across B2B, e-commerce, and local service busi
#85 Scaling B2B SaaS Growth: Insights from a Smartsheet Expert | Brendan Regan, Senior Director, Lifecycle Marketing at Smartsheet
In this episode, Brendan Regan, Senior Director of Lifestyle/Lifecycle Marketing at Smartsheet, shares his strategic, multi-channel approach to engaging both enterprise and SaaS customers. He explains how Smartsheet blends digital programs with human touchpoints—such as customer success reps and account executives—to optimize acquisition, retention, and monetization. Brendan discusses key
#84 From SMB to Enterprise: Scaling Partner Programs with Data-Driven Strategies | Kayla Hamilton, Affiliate Marketing Manager at Sage
This podcast features Kayla Hamilton, who is the affiliate marketing manager of Sage. The discussion centers on Sage's B2B SaaS affiliate marketing strategy within the FinTech vertical. Key topics include the challenges and successes of building a year-old affiliate program, targeting high-value executives, the importance of internal collaboration between marketing, sales, and PR teams, l
#83 Redefining Brand-Publisher Relationships | Vanessa Lawrence, Chief Content Officer at Linkby
This podcast features Vanessa Lawrence, Chief Content Officer at Linkby, an ad tech platform connecting brands with premium publishers using a CPC model. Linkby operates globally and has recently expanded into Europe. The platform's success is attributed to its measurable approach, fast turnaround, and no upfront costs for brands. Linkbee complements existing publisher revenue streams (CP
#82 Building Long-Term Value in Fintech Affiliate Marketing | Lawrence Sarpong, Affiliate Marketing Lead, Truist
In this episode, fintech affiliate marketing expert Lawrence Sarpong shares insights from years of hands-on experience in the space. He breaks down how fintech affiliate marketing stands apart from the broader industry — with a stronger focus on customer education and solving very specific financial needs.Lawrence dives into best practices for building a strong affiliate program, from cho
#81 Building a Partner-Centric Loyalty Platform | Jason Fuentes, VP Business Development, Wildfire Systems, Inc
This episode features Jason Fuentes, a seasoned affiliate marketer and active member of the Austin tech community, now working with Wildfire. Wildfire specializes in white-labeling loyalty and rewards platforms for businesses, particularly within the financial sector, helping them boost revenue and engagement through shopping companions like Capital One Shopping. These tools offer cashbac
#80 Courageous Marketing: Ditch "Safe" B2B Strategies & Stand Out | Udi Ledergor, Chief Evangelist and former CMO, Gong
In this episode, Tye DeGrange is joined by Udi Ledergor to dive into Udi’s new book, "Courageous Marketing: The B2B Marketer's Playbook for Career Success," released on April 10th. Drawing from two decades of experience and insights from top CMOs, the book challenges traditional B2B marketing practices and encourages a bold, strategic mindset.The conversation covers key themes like overco
#79 A Holistic Approach to Full-Funnel Marketing | Ryan Pitylak, Executive Vice President of Growth at NinjaTrader
In this episode, I sit down with Ryan Pitylak, VP of Growth at NinjaTrader, to talk about the evolving world of performance marketing and how AI is changing the game. We dive into the rise of Google Performance Max and how AI is reshaping ad platforms, why the creator economy and authentic influencer marketing are gaining momentum, and the biggest mistakes growth marketers make—especially
#78 Designing Sustainable Affiliate Partnerships | Nancy Harnett, Head of Affiliate Marketing at HubSpot
In this episode, Nancy Harnett, Head of HubSpot’s Affiliate Marketing Program, shares how they transformed their strategy to achieve 2x ROI. By shifting from a broad partnership model to a highly personalized, one-on-one approach, HubSpot was able to build stronger collaborations and drive better performance. She highlights the importance of prioritizing key partners, offering tailored su
#77 Building a Thriving Partner Ecosystem | Sid Nagpal, Customer Marketing Lead at PartnerStack
In this episode, we talk with Sid Nagpal, Director, Customer & Field Marketing at PartnerStack, about the power of community in B2B SaaS marketing. Sid breaks down PartnerStack’s four pillars of customer marketing—expansion, engagement, education, and advocacy—highlighting how their thriving community drives success. He discusses the impact of the Stacked Conference and various meetup
#76 Unlocking B2B SaaS Growth: A Partner-Led Strategy | Jennifer Rhima , Director of Partnerships in Apollo.io
This podcast features Jennifer Rhima, Apollo's Partnerships Lead, discussing strategies for building and scaling B2B SaaS partner programs. She emphasizes enabling partners beyond acquisition, tracking activation metrics, fostering internal collaboration, and leveraging PRM tools like PartnerStack for scalability. Rhima highlights the value of different partner types, the importance of da
#75 Unlocking Affiliate Marketing ROI with Media Mix Modeling | Pranav Piyush, CEO | Paramark.com
In this podcast episode, Pranav Piyush joins the conversation to discuss marketing measurement and incrementality, with a focus on affiliate and influencer marketing. The discussion highlights Media Mix Modeling (MMM) and its growing accessibility through open-source tools and lower costs, positioning it as a key attribution method in the coming decade. The episode explains the difference
#74 The Rise of AI Agents in Consumer Shopping: A New Era | Matt Hunter & Philip Qiu
🚀 In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange sits down with Matt Hunter from impact.com and Philip Qiu from Henry Social to explore the future of AI, blockchain, and Web3 in partner marketing. Matt, a 25-year industry veteran, shares insights on innovations at impact.com, while Philip discusses his transition from VC to affiliate marketing and how Henry Social’s AI agents sim
#73 AI SDRs for better performance | Dan Darcy, Chief Customer Officer, Qualified
In this episode of Always Be Testing, host Tye DeGrange welcomes Dan Darcy, Chief Customer Officer at Qualified, for a deep dive into growth, performance marketing, and the evolving role of AI in sales and marketing. Dan shares insights from his time at Salesforce and how Qualified has transformed from a live chat tool into an AI-powered platform helping marketers convert website visitors
#72 Optimizing Publisher Earnings with AI | Cornelius Frey, CEO, NucleusLinks
We had an incredible conversation with Cornelius from Opinary, now part of Affinity, about the transformative power of AI in affiliate operations and the future of content monetization.
#71 Navigating the Complexities of Fragmented Marketing Strategies | Ian Martins, EVP, Managing Director | Zenith
In this episode of Always Be Testing, Ian Martins, Managing Director of Zenith, explores marketing fragmentation and the need for integrated, client-focused strategies. He discusses balancing brand building with performance marketing, the rise of D2C, and the shift toward hybrid in-housing models. Ian also highlights media trust, influencer marketing, and the challenge of attracting top t
#70 Understanding Partner Promotional Methods and Data Points | Nate Ivie, RVP Sales, Impact
In this episode of Always Be Testing, I sit down with Nate Ivey from Impact to talk about what’s working in partner marketing today.We cover why diversifying partners is key, how trust and authenticity drive better results, and what brands need to know about Google’s crackdown on-site reputation abuse. Nate also shares insights on the shift to performance-based influencer models and why c
#69 Unlocking True Activation: Strategies for SaaS and Marketplaces | Ely Lerner
Ely Lerner delves into his role as an advisor, distinguishing it from consulting by emphasizing his focus on advising rather than delivery. He works closely with founders in software verticals such as consumer marketplace, fintech, SMB SaaS, enterprise SaaS, AI, and dev tools, but avoids hardware, DTC, biotech, and crypto sectors. Lerner highlights the importance of integrating product st
#68 Role of Thoughtful Attribution in Effective Marketing
In this episode of Always Be Testing, I talked with my longtime friend and Round Bar Labs COO Mike McElhaney. We explore affiliate influencer marketing, Meta ads, algorithmic machine learning, and B2B lead optimization. Mike highlights leadership traits like low ego, high empathy, and continuous learning, inspired by books like The Captain’s Class and Extreme Ownership. The discussion ble
#67 The Role of Strategic Partnerships in B2B Tech | Zoe Mackay - Head of Publisher Development - Goloot
In this episode, Ty DeGrange sits down with Zoe Mackay, the strategic partnerships lead at TechnologyAdvice, to dive deep into the world of B2B tech guidance and affiliate marketing.
#66 Building Gong’s GTM Strategy and the Future of B2B SaaS Marketing | Udi Ledergor, Chief Evangelist and former CMO, Gong
Udi Ledergor's journey at GONG is a testament to the power of innovative marketing, human-centric strategies, and the importance of experimentation. His insights offer valuable lessons for marketers looking to make a significant impact in the B2B SaaS space.
Austin Tech Week '24 | Market Masters (Marketing & Branding)
In this episode of the Always Be Testing podcast, Tye DeGrange introduces the show and its focus on growth, performance marketing, customer acquisition, paid media, and affiliate marketing. The episode features a panel discussion on leveraging AI for better marketing results, with insights from industry experts Alexis Contos (CMO of NEA), Cory Treffiletti (CMO of Rembrandt), Jennifer Bark
#64 B2B SaaS Marketing Mastery | Aaron Orendorff, VP of Growth at Fermat
Guiding you through the world of growth, performance marketing, and partner marketing.We sit down with growth and marketing leaders to share tests and lessons learned in business and life.Host: Tye DeGrangeGuest: Tyler CalderHype man & Announcer: John Potito
#63 The Tech Stack for B2B Affiliate Marketing, Tyler Calder, CMO of PartnerStack
Guiding you through the world of growth, performance marketing, and partner marketing.We sit down with growth and marketing leaders to share tests and lessons learned in business and life.Host: Tye DeGrangeGuest: Tyler CalderHype man & Announcer: John Potito
#62 From Automotive Leader to Bringing Innovation to Marketing Home Services, Famous Rhodes, CMO, Apex Service Partners
Guiding you through the world of growth, performance marketing, and partner marketing.We sit down with growth and marketing leaders to share tests and lessons learned in business and life.Host: Tye DeGrangeGuest: Famous RhodesHype man & Announcer: John Potito
#61 Growth Loops in Email Marketing, Jake Schonberger, Head of Brand Partnerships, Beehiiv
Guiding you through the world of growth, performance marketing, and partner marketing.We sit down with growth and marketing leaders to share tests and lessons learned in business and life.Host: Tye DeGrangeGuest: Jake SchonbergerHype man & Announcer: John Potito
