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Interviews with top marketers sharing tactical tips, strategies, and lessons learned to help you grow your business. Hosted by Dave Gerhardt, founder of Exit Five, former CMO, and author of Founder Brand. Learn more at exitfive.com
Dave [0:00:01]: You're listening to The Dave Gerhardt Show.
Dasha [0:00:17]: What's up?
Dasha [0:00:17]: It's Dasha, and the episode that you're about to hear is a really fun one For a few reasons.
Dasha [0:00:22]: First, it was recorded live at Exit Fives drive event in s vermont.
Dasha [0:00:27]: And second, it's me interviewing the one and only Dave Gerhardt, founder of Exit Five.
Dasha [0:00:34]: Full circle moment for me, I actually met Dave in person for the first time last year at last year's drive.
Dasha [0:00:40]: So it was really cool to...
Dasha [0:00:42]: This time sit down is the c host of the show and get to Pepper with a bunch of questions.
Dasha [0:00:46]: I knew that leading up to drive, Dave was preparing a keynote to open this year's conference, and I know that it was a roller coaster of emotions preparing for his bank presentation.
Dasha [0:00:58]: Just really wanted to do justice.
Dasha [0:01:00]: He knew how hard the team was working at organizing drive and he really wanted a keynote to match.
Dasha [0:01:05]: So spoiler alert, he had a friend of the show, Harry Drive, help him with his presentation, and that's where you're gonna let here us talk about.
Dasha [0:01:12]: I asked a bunch of questions about what it was like writing it and what he learned along the way.
Dasha [0:01:16]: And at the end, you'll watch or hear Dave try some Canadian deli that I brought over from my home country, Canada, such as ketchup chips and Coffee Crisp.
Dasha [0:01:27]: So you'll have to wait and stay until the very to hear his reaction to those.
Dasha [0:01:31]: Enjoy the show.
Dasha [0:01:32]: Enjoy the pod.
Dasha [0:01:35]: What's up, Dave?
Dasha [0:01:35]: Good to see it.
Dasha [0:01:36]: I can call you the ash now.
Dasha [0:01:38]: You said.
Dave [0:01:38]: We're we're it's official.
Dave [0:01:39]: It's.
Dasha [0:01:41]: Into that.
Dasha [0:01:41]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:01:41]: Pretty cool.
Dave [0:01:42]: There's nothing worse than someone saying Dasha before I've given them the blessing to it.
Dave [0:01:46]: I like how you went about it.
Dasha [0:01:48]: I was ready to, like try it.
Dave [0:01:50]: Yes.
Dave [0:01:50]: Yeah.
Dave [0:01:50]: How did it stop coming out.
Dave [0:01:51]: Try it on for size.
Dave [0:01:53]: Okay.
Dave [0:01:54]: We are in s vermont.
Dave [0:01:56]: Yeah.
Dave [0:01:56]: Home of Ben Jerry's?
Dave [0:01:58]: Correct.
Dave [0:01:59]: Okay.
Dave [0:01:59]: Yeah.
Dave [0:01:59]: My first question for you little softball.
Dave [0:02:01]: If drive was a an ice cream flavor.
Dave [0:02:04]: What flavor would it be?
Dave [0:02:06]: Dave?
Dave [0:02:06]: Oh, god.
Dave [0:02:08]: Hard hitting.
Dasha [0:02:11]: I'm trying to think like, what what's it What flavor means connection and need to be marketing, You know?
Dasha [0:02:17]: Maria, she said if Drive was a flavor of ice cream, what flavor would it be?
Dave [0:02:23]: This is why we send guests question
Dasha [0:02:27]: Look, I'm proud to be a part of this thing.
Dasha [0:02:29]: I love it.
Dasha [0:02:29]: I also love ice cream.
Dasha [0:02:30]: My favorite Ben and jerry's flavor right now is fish food.
Dave [0:02:35]: Is that a real flavor?
Dasha [0:02:36]: Yes.
Dasha [0:02:36]: Fish food.
Dasha [0:02:36]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:02:36]: It's like chocolate, marshmallow with little fish in it, like, the banned fish ph h.
Dasha [0:02:41]: Is h, fish food is great.
Dasha [0:02:44]: Okay.
Dave [0:02:44]: Yeah.
Dave [0:02:44]: I like that.
Dasha [0:02:45]: Next question.
Dave [0:02:46]: Next question.
Dave [0:02:46]: A little bit more hard hitting.
Dave [0:02:48]: This is the first drive out of three drives.
Dasha [0:02:50]: Yeah.
Dave [0:02:51]: Where you are no longer the CEO.
Dave [0:02:52]: You're just here us founder dave.
Dasha [0:02:55]: Yeah.
Dave [0:02:55]: So I'm curious how does that change Does that change anything and if so how?
Dasha [0:02:59]: Doesn't change at all.
Dasha [0:03:00]: Dan's been that, whatever his title has been, Dan has been that role since the beginning.
Dasha [0:03:04]: I think very much my job at our events has been to earlier on was, like, get butts and seats, you know, Like, I don't know if he knows us have a lot of followers on Linkedin.
Dasha [0:03:13]: No Tony about that.
Dasha [0:03:14]: So how many so twenty thousand.
Dasha [0:03:15]: Two hundred and five thousand.
Dasha [0:03:17]: No.
Dasha [0:03:17]: Who's counting.
Dasha [0:03:18]: No.
Dasha [0:03:18]: Not me.
Dasha [0:03:18]: Not you.
Dasha [0:03:19]: Me.
Dave [0:03:19]: I you?
Dasha [0:03:20]: The reason we work really well together is the difference in our skill sets and he very much wants me to be doing this and be the host and the Mc and, you know, I'm speaking tomorrow.
Dasha [0:03:31]: I'm hosting a dinner tonight.
Dasha [0:03:33]: There's a welcome reception.
Dasha [0:03:34]: I'm supposed to be here shaking hands and kissing babies, and And I play a big role in the content behind the scenes, like, who's speaking that the event.
Dasha [0:03:41]: What are the topics.
Dasha [0:03:42]: And so, yeah, I think the title hasn't changed.
Dasha [0:03:45]: He's been that title since I hired him, and he's coulda at what he does?
Dave [0:03:49]: You should tell the story of the first time you told Dan, how you broke the news to Dan that drive was gonna be happening before it was called Drive.
Dasha [0:03:57]: Okay.
Dasha [0:03:57]: So he wrote about this, and I...
Dasha [0:03:59]: I'm not sure that that is entirely true.
Dasha [0:04:01]: Like, there's a little bit of revision history, but
Dave [0:04:04]: never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
Dasha [0:04:06]: Exactly.
Dasha [0:04:06]: And he was, like, about to have his first kid and so, like, who knows what planet his brain was on during that time.
Dasha [0:04:12]: You know, like, as having crippling anxiety before my my daughter was born.
Dasha [0:04:16]: I can tell you like, who fucking knows.
Dasha [0:04:18]: The story that I remember goes something like this.
Dasha [0:04:22]: Look, we've had this...
Dasha [0:04:22]: You know, we had this budding community.
Dasha [0:04:24]: Everybody's connecting online.
Dasha [0:04:26]: Obviously, what should you do?
Dasha [0:04:28]: You should have an event.
Dasha [0:04:29]: Obviously, you should do an event.
Dasha [0:04:31]: Well, I just had severe PTSD from a prior company where events were, like a big part of our brand, and they were awesome, but I was the VP marketing, and man they were incredibly stressful, getting butts and seats is really hard.
Dasha [0:04:45]: Speakers is really hard.
Dasha [0:04:46]: We've had people say, like, terrible things on stage and, basically almost get canceled.
Dasha [0:04:51]: Like, there's every variety of event things I've gone through.
Dasha [0:04:54]: And so when I started my own company, I was like, oh, choose your own adventure.
Dasha [0:04:59]: Like, I'm in charge now.
Dasha [0:05:00]: Like, I don't have to opt in to doing this.
Dasha [0:05:02]: Right.
Dasha [0:05:02]: I wanna do an event.
Dave [0:05:03]: Oh, you thought you were never gonna host events.
Dasha [0:05:06]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:05:06]: Never.
Dasha [0:05:06]: Absolutely not for two reasons.
Dasha [0:05:07]: Number one.
Dasha [0:05:08]: I didn't wanna go through the pain of doing an event.
Dasha [0:05:09]: Yep.
Dasha [0:05:10]: Number two, this was a point in my life where I was very Nope.
Dasha [0:05:12]: Not going anywhere, Running my company, running my little one person business from my house.
Dasha [0:05:16]: I'm not leaving so there Solo forever.
Dasha [0:05:19]: Mh.
Dasha [0:05:20]: Okay.
Dasha [0:05:20]: You knew me then?
Dave [0:05:22]: I knew you.
Dave [0:05:22]: I knew of you.
Dasha [0:05:23]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:05:23]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:05:23]: Okay.
Dasha [0:05:24]: But then, you know, Exit Five becomes more of a real thing, higher Dan, higher mad.
Dasha [0:05:28]: There's just more real happening.
Dasha [0:05:30]: Maybe we should do an event.
Dasha [0:05:32]: And I'm always like, very close to feedback as a marketer and creator, and I think I don't think the customer is always right.
Dasha [0:05:38]: I think that's a myth, but I think that enough people...
Dasha [0:05:41]: Enough of the right people were like, y, if you did an event, I would go.
Dasha [0:05:44]: I kinda der risked it.
Dasha [0:05:45]: Okay?
Dasha [0:05:46]: So there's this great event space in Burlington Vermont called Hula.
Dasha [0:05:49]: That's where I work out of now.
Dasha [0:05:51]: I went there check it out.
Dasha [0:05:52]: They were like, yeah, Basically, you know, put fifteen hundred bucks on your credit card and, like, you can host an event here.
Dasha [0:05:56]: Fifteen hundred.
Dasha [0:05:57]: Something like that.
Dasha [0:05:58]: Okay.
Dasha [0:05:58]: You know, meaningless.
Dasha [0:05:59]: Right.
Dasha [0:06:00]: They had in a event space.
Dasha [0:06:02]: The max amount of people you could fit was two hundred.
Dasha [0:06:04]: Mh.
Dasha [0:06:05]: The event was beautiful.
Dasha [0:06:06]: Two hundred felt, like, I'll come on dude If we did an event, we could get two hundred people there.
Dave [0:06:10]: Yep.
Dasha [0:06:10]: And also, it was a home game.
Dasha [0:06:12]: And so I was like, I'll do it, but I don't not gonna not gonna travel.
Dasha [0:06:15]: And we just kinda went out, Dan when had his...
Dasha [0:06:18]: Had his first kid, and I just put a deposit down, and we just decided to do it.
Dasha [0:06:21]: We made up a name in Slack.
Dasha [0:06:23]: We launched the event, and it's not that we didn't take it seriously, but we just did step in repeats, pick a couple of speakers of people that we know, and it was that first day that the buzz of people hanging out in person was like, a bunch of people who hadn't seen each other in a while hanging out for the first time.
Dasha [0:06:39]: I think every year since then we've just, like, taken it more seriously and now, like, you know, look at where we are.
Dave [0:06:45]: It's Insane.
Dave [0:06:45]: I saw Bear today.
Dasha [0:06:47]: I heard that.
Dave [0:06:47]: I have not seen Bear at any other conference that I've gone to.
Dasha [0:06:50]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:06:50]: That's what we do.
Dasha [0:06:51]: I think also, I almost made a huge mistake in moving it.
Dasha [0:06:54]: I almost moved it to Boston.
Dave [0:06:56]: No way.
Dave [0:06:56]: Why?
Dasha [0:06:57]: Because we're greedy capitalists.
Dasha [0:06:58]: And we we, you know, there was two hundred people last year.
Dasha [0:07:02]: The buzz was amazing.
Dasha [0:07:03]: I'm drunk on the event for two years.
Dasha [0:07:04]: We need a bigger space.
Dasha [0:07:06]: We need a bigger venue.
Dasha [0:07:07]: We...
Dasha [0:07:07]: Hula is great, but we out grew that.
Dasha [0:07:09]: Right.
Dasha [0:07:09]: We sold two hundred tickets.
Dasha [0:07:11]: Like, a hundred and fifty people on the waiting list, and I just...
Dasha [0:07:13]: I didn't think there was a venue like this.
Dasha [0:07:15]: I have a friend who worked in an advertising agency in Manhattan, like, mad men advertising agency.
Dasha [0:07:20]: He kinda like, midlife crisis career change bought a home lawn care company in
Dave [0:07:27]: s.
Dave [0:07:27]: Okay.
Dasha [0:07:28]: And he knows this area really well.
Dasha [0:07:29]: We're all hanging out one weekend in October last year.
Dasha [0:07:33]: And he's like, dude, you should...
Dasha [0:07:34]: You know what would be a great venue.
Dasha [0:07:36]: He's like jeff out the lodge.
Dasha [0:07:37]: It's Bruce peak, and...
Dasha [0:07:38]: I've been here before.
Dave [0:07:39]: Yeah.
Dave [0:07:39]: I was
Dasha [0:07:40]: like, no way, we could do our event here.
Dasha [0:07:41]: So luckily, we saved it by coming finding this venue, and lean in my point about the bear.
Dasha [0:07:46]: The reason I got there on the bear story.
Dasha [0:07:47]: Like I think this event being in Vermont is such an important part of the brand and identity.
Dasha [0:07:52]: And I think if we moved to Boston, and it just would have been another event, it's been cool seeing everybody post pictures on the way here.
Dasha [0:07:59]: Their journey, You know, you're seeing a bear It's very Vermont location.
Dasha [0:08:02]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:08:02]: I think that is also why this event has been so successful.
Dave [0:08:06]: If you moved it to Boston, I don't think anyone would call it the summer camp for B2B marketers either.
Dasha [0:08:11]: I don't think so.
Dasha [0:08:11]: And there is a pool and a hot tub and there's hikes.
Dasha [0:08:13]: This is a proper resort.
Dasha [0:08:15]: Yep.
Dasha [0:08:15]: That makes a big difference.
Dasha [0:08:16]: And also, yes, this place is expensive, not cheap to do an event here, but compared to, like, what it cost to do an event in Boston, this is a great place.
Dasha [0:08:24]: I think we're gonna have awesome two days here, and we're gonna run it back for next year.
Dave [0:08:28]: And you're not flexing, so I will flex for you.
Dave [0:08:30]: The event is sold out, and there are how many butts and seats this year?
Dasha [0:08:35]: There should be like over four hundred.
Dasha [0:08:36]: That's crazy.
Dasha [0:08:36]: Butts seats.
Dasha [0:08:37]: And truly, I am a marketer, which oftentimes we do things with urgency and scarcity and This was a true sellout, like, truly the capacity fire marshal capacity, like, there are no more tickets.
Dasha [0:08:50]: Yes.
Dasha [0:08:50]: And it's so funny because when we announced the actual sellout.
Dasha [0:08:53]: I got a flurry of messages, personally in My id dms and to our Exit Five thing I like, alright, I went to the level of excuses people would have.
Dasha [0:09:00]: I was trying to buy my ticket last week.
Dasha [0:09:02]: Nobody believed that it was...
Dasha [0:09:03]: Markers, we've ruined everything.
Dasha [0:09:05]: Nobody believed that it was an actual seller.
Dave [0:09:07]: That's so funny.
Dave [0:09:07]: Yeah.
Dave [0:09:08]: You spend a lot of time preparing for this year's talk at Drive?
Dave [0:09:11]: A lot.
Dave [0:09:11]: Is it because the event has doubled?
Dave [0:09:13]: Like, what about this event?
Dasha [0:09:15]: All, all the things.
Dasha [0:09:16]: I think this company for me has been an evolution from my Patreon to rebranding it from Dg g to Exit Five to, like, hiring Dan to run the business and bringing in mad and bringing, you know, he's hired all the team.
Dasha [0:09:30]: We brought in all these people.
Dasha [0:09:31]: I think I was...
Dasha [0:09:33]: I don't wanna say I was in a rut, but I think you and I were just trading some stories offline before this, and I I was a successful marketing person before starting Exit Five, and I was lucky enough to be a company that I had two exits back to back, and I made a little money, not enough to stop working forever, but enough to, like, you know, feel good about myself.
Dasha [0:09:53]: And Yeah.
Dasha [0:09:54]: And I think that changed my mindset a little bit.
Dasha [0:09:56]: And so twenty twenty one to twenty twenty three, I had a really strong brand, lots of companies would pay me money to, like, do consulting or do speaking.
Dasha [0:10:05]: I wrote a book.
Dasha [0:10:06]: I was kinda living that, like, write a book, do talks have a community that was kinda of my path, but something lit up inside me with, like, when we decided to go all in and, like build a real company about this, and I I don't know where I read this, but someone once quoted, like, entrepreneurship is an amazing vehicle for, like, personal development.
Dasha [0:10:22]: And I feel that.
Dasha [0:10:23]: Like, the amount of things I've learned beyond outside of B2B marketing, just building this business, it's been pretty fucking cool.
Dasha [0:10:29]: Like, when you just keep raising the bar and yourself, four hundred people are coming here.
Dasha [0:10:34]: From India, England, Denmark.
Dasha [0:10:36]: North Carolina wherever, they're flying all over the world from here.
Dasha [0:10:39]: This event has become such a big deal.
Dasha [0:10:41]: It's a forcing function to me to be like, dude do a good jolly.
Dasha [0:10:45]: I have the opportunity tomorrow to just set the tone for the day.
Dasha [0:10:48]: And I think I could have gotten up there and it would have been totally fine?
Dasha [0:10:51]: How's it going?
Dasha [0:10:51]: And thanks for coming to drive?
Dasha [0:10:52]: You know, here's the largest spruce peek three things to know, but I wanted to really, like, go for it and try to, like, just do a good job.
Dave [0:11:00]: Yeah.
Dave [0:11:00]: Like, no.
Dave [0:11:01]: I totally got it.
Dave [0:11:01]: It became real.
Dave [0:11:02]: Became real.
Dasha [0:11:03]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:11:03]: It became real, and I was for a while just kinda like bored burnt out.
Dasha [0:11:07]: God, I've been talking about this P marketing stuff for fifteen years.
Dasha [0:11:10]: Am I gonna...
Dasha [0:11:11]: Are they gonna bury me in on my tombstone and it's gonna say, like, was a great B2B market?
Dave [0:11:15]: Paid uniforms.
Dave [0:11:16]: Right.
Dave [0:11:16]: Hated forms we'll get there?
Dasha [0:11:18]: But this company has giving me so much purpose beyond being the B2B marketing guy.
Dasha [0:11:22]: And so, like, heck yeah.
Dasha [0:11:23]: Like, I'm a competitive person, and I think I'm good at what I do, and I wanna, like show that.
Dasha [0:11:27]: And so I'm like, yeah, This is, like, I'm gonna work hard.
Dasha [0:11:29]: I'm gonna work my ass off, and I wanna...
Dasha [0:11:31]: Because look, the team is working there their us.
Dasha [0:11:33]: Off.
Dasha [0:11:33]: Like Totally.
Dasha [0:11:33]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:11:34]: You don't level detail they've put in.
Dasha [0:11:35]: Yep.
Dasha [0:11:36]: I wanna show them that back in my own way, and so that's why, like, prepared for my talk.
Dasha [0:11:41]: And I I I hope it's great.
Dasha [0:11:42]: However, I I think it is, and I'm excited about it.
Dave [0:11:45]: I'm sure it's gonna...
Dave [0:11:45]: It's gonna crush.
Dave [0:11:46]: It sounds like it was grueling journey to get there.
Dave [0:11:49]: Talk to me about writing this speech.
Dasha [0:11:52]: Well, so this is good.
Dasha [0:11:52]: I talked to you about this.
Dasha [0:11:53]: I'm glad like, I can have this conversation because this has been the bane of my existence for the last month, and I haven't talked to anybody about it really.
Dave [0:12:00]: Oh, you saved it for the pause.
Dave [0:12:01]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:12:01]: Haven't I that story.
Dave [0:12:03]: Heck.
Dave [0:12:03]: Yes.
Dasha [0:12:04]: So I sat down to finally, you know, August kinda rolls around, and it's...
Dasha [0:12:07]: That's when I start working on the...
Dasha [0:12:09]: I gotta make my slides for drive, make my talk, start writing.
Dave [0:12:13]: Okay.
Dasha [0:12:13]: And I honestly It was scary because usually, I am, like, I'm the idea machine.
Dasha [0:12:19]: I can just come up with something and I pride myself and like, never having writer's block.
Dasha [0:12:23]: Dude I sat down to work on my slides and, like, I could not think.
Dasha [0:12:27]: I honestly think that, like, Ai has, like, rot my brain.
Dasha [0:12:30]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:12:31]: I'm not kidding.
Dave [0:12:32]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:12:32]: I'm saying this on this podcast because I think so many people can real.
Dasha [0:12:34]: I was not able to, like, form an original thought for, like, what I wanted to talk about and tribe.
Dave [0:12:39]: Paint the picture You're sitting in front of your...
Dave [0:12:40]: Or you have, like Google Docs open You have Claude.
Dave [0:12:42]: Like, what's going on?
Dasha [0:12:44]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:12:44]: I mean, my default for anything, like everybody else over the last year or too two has been, like, Claude, and so it's voice chat, and it's, like, hey, Claude.
Dasha [0:12:51]: I wanna start working on my talk for drive.
Dasha [0:12:53]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:12:53]: You know, here's a bunch of ideas and angles.
Dasha [0:12:55]: I did a bunch of work front.
Dasha [0:12:56]: So I, like, I wrote a brief.
Dasha [0:12:58]: I had examples.
Dasha [0:12:59]: I had screenshots of some conversations that I had with Dan and other people and I tried to use all that to give club, you know, to have Claude create my outline, and then I created the outline, and I covered all the things that I wanted to cover and then I started to write the draft, and I just...
Dasha [0:13:12]: It was never any soul to it.
Dasha [0:13:14]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:13:14]: Like, this is okay.
Dasha [0:13:15]: And so then I did something weird, which is I'm usually very like...
Dasha [0:13:20]: I don't like to ask for help because, like, I'm smart.
Dasha [0:13:22]: I got this.
Dasha [0:13:23]: I can do this my?
Dave [0:13:24]: This is just your personality?
Dasha [0:13:25]: Yeah Oh, yeah.
Dave [0:13:26]: Are you an only child?
Dasha [0:13:27]: No.
Dasha [0:13:27]: Okay.
Dave [0:13:28]: No.
Dave [0:13:28]: We can unpack that later.
Dasha [0:13:29]: Just a stubborn mess.
Dave [0:13:30]: Take that offline.
Dasha [0:13:31]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:13:31]: We...
Dasha [0:13:31]: It's fine.
Dasha [0:13:32]: Let later today.
Dasha [0:13:33]: More so because I'm like, this is what I do.
Dasha [0:13:36]: Yeah I...
Dasha [0:13:36]: Am good at public speaking.
Dasha [0:13:38]: I enjoy doing it.
Dasha [0:13:39]: I'm like, dave dave dave doesn't ask.
Dasha [0:13:40]: I don't ask for a help for this.
Dasha [0:13:42]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:13:42]: Maybe math in Right.
Dasha [0:13:44]: Like yeah yeah computer.
Dasha [0:13:45]: Like, sooner for this.
Dasha [0:13:47]: What you talking?
Dasha [0:13:47]: But I knew that it was not gonna be great, and so I did something uncomfortable, which is I reached out to our mutual friend Harry Dry.
Dave [0:13:55]: Harry?
Dasha [0:13:55]: Harry?
Dasha [0:13:55]: And he's an incredible speaker and storyteller in his own.
Dasha [0:13:59]: Right?
Dasha [0:13:59]: Yes.
Dasha [0:14:00]: And I'd messaged him and I like, dude, you know, can I just pay you money because I wanna hire you to, like, be my consultant, help me write my speech?
Dasha [0:14:07]: And, like, obviously, he's a true craftsman didn't want my money.
Dasha [0:14:10]: And we go back ways.
Dasha [0:14:11]: I don't ever know.
Dasha [0:14:12]: I don't actually know how we got connected, but, like, He's kinda referenced to me for a while.
Dasha [0:14:16]: I've leaned on him.
Dasha [0:14:17]: He spoke at drive.
Dasha [0:14:18]: So I I share my talk with him and he just laid into me.
Dasha [0:14:21]: He's like, first, he's, like, let's move this to Whatsapp.
Dasha [0:14:23]: I'm happy to...
Dasha [0:14:24]: Which is such a...
Dasha [0:14:25]: I'm not a whatsapp.
Dasha [0:14:25]: That is that a...
Dave [0:14:27]: No.
Dave [0:14:27]: It's a it's a euro thing for sure.
Dasha [0:14:28]: Like, dude what...
Dave [0:14:29]: I know that if someone's what's stopping me Harry Dry.
Dave [0:14:31]: I get, like, one whatsapp up a year.
Dasha [0:14:34]: Like, I noticed he'd, like, change his status to be, like, at the movies?
Dasha [0:14:37]: Oh, so, like, don't bother me now because, like, I'm going to...
Dasha [0:14:40]: Is this like...
Dasha [0:14:41]: Is it like...
Dasha [0:14:41]: It's like.
Dasha [0:14:42]: Topping So he's like, alright, look.
Dasha [0:14:45]: Remember what I said last year, and he'd gave us great talk, and do you remember what the course thesis of his talk was last year.
Dave [0:14:51]: Oh it was being blown away by the talk, but the core thesis no.
Dasha [0:14:55]: Story, the key to telling a great story is conflict.
Dave [0:14:58]: Oh, yes.
Dave [0:14:58]: Yeah.
Dave [0:14:58]: It's yes.
Dave [0:14:59]: What was the phone the blank?
Dave [0:15:00]: Do you remember?
Dasha [0:15:01]: I don't.
Dave [0:15:01]: It was, like, the blank?
Dave [0:15:02]: I don't know something with the cat.
Dasha [0:15:04]: But he shows all these, you know, great video.
Dasha [0:15:06]: Like, a great hook was, like, usa s Bolt chasing a tiger, Like, yes.
Dasha [0:15:09]: Dasha was trying to make her first.
Dasha [0:15:11]: She was driving down from Canada for her first, like, hanging out with the five team, and she drove to the border late at night and it was closed.
Dasha [0:15:16]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:15:17]: What is she gonna do?
Dasha [0:15:17]: Instantly, I you want.
Dasha [0:15:18]: Right?
Dasha [0:15:19]: Like dude your thing has no soul.
Dasha [0:15:21]: It has no conflict.
Dave [0:15:22]: No tension.
Dave [0:15:23]: And I
Dasha [0:15:23]: sent him my outline, and he just sent me back all caps.
Dasha [0:15:25]: And he's like, I should...
Dasha [0:15:26]: I wish I had the actual message, but he's like, Don't ever send me Ai s ever again.
Dasha [0:15:31]: Time to put away Claude and get into your own head.
Dasha [0:15:34]: He goes you're Dave fucking Ge.
Dasha [0:15:36]: He goes you're Michael Jordan in Game six.
Dasha [0:15:38]: He goes write this talk yourself.
Dasha [0:15:40]: And I needed someone and like, we're not that close.
Dasha [0:15:43]: Right.
Dasha [0:15:43]: I needed someone to tell me that.
Dave [0:15:45]: Can you picture him I'm saying that in person?
Dasha [0:15:47]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:15:47]: That...
Dasha [0:15:48]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:15:48]: For...
Dasha [0:15:48]: But the fuck...
Dasha [0:15:49]: You know, How are?
Dasha [0:15:49]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:15:50]: Okay.
Dasha [0:15:52]: What you upset it.
Dasha [0:15:53]: Right?
Dasha [0:15:53]: And so that was, like, the first?
Dasha [0:15:55]: Like, alright.
Dasha [0:15:56]: Alright.
Dasha [0:15:56]: And then he sent me a ton of feedback?
Dasha [0:15:58]: And I I didn't like it.
Dave [0:16:00]: Can you give me, like, some examples?
Dasha [0:16:02]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:16:02]: Basically, he was just, like, look, you need to, like, figure out what...
Dasha [0:16:05]: What's the conflict here?
Dasha [0:16:07]: Like, what's the story that you're trying to tell?
Dasha [0:16:08]: Like, sure.
Dasha [0:16:09]: You could get up on stage and do the, like, the welcome to drive thing.
Dasha [0:16:12]: Right.
Dasha [0:16:12]: But, like, let's come up with an angle.
Dasha [0:16:13]: And the angle that we came up with was, ultimately, and he went to drive last year.
Dasha [0:16:18]: So he's, like, uniquely positioned to help me do this.
Dasha [0:16:20]: Totally.
Dasha [0:16:21]: He's like dude The thing that was awesome for me about drive was, like, connection.
Dasha [0:16:24]: I met so many people.
Dasha [0:16:25]: I met Dasha.
Dasha [0:16:26]: I met Shelby.
Dasha [0:16:27]: I met this person.
Dasha [0:16:27]: I that met that person, we...
Dasha [0:16:29]: We worked out together.
Dasha [0:16:30]: You know, we had a cheeky pint together.
Dasha [0:16:32]: Like, we did this thing together He's like, that's the...
Dasha [0:16:34]: Tell that story.
Dasha [0:16:35]: Right.
Dasha [0:16:35]: I'm like, oh, interesting.
Dasha [0:16:36]: And then we talked about the conflict the conflict is that in my career, I used to work at this company called Drift and it was very in office culture and all these amazing things happen because we were in the office and around each other, but then everything went remote, and I took a new job as CMO, and now I'm home, And I'm, like, on Zoom calls and sending Loom videos and I'm on Slack and, like, we lost the personal connection.
Dasha [0:16:58]: And then Ai comes and makes it even worse because why even talk to Dasha on Slack now because I got claude in my pocket.
Dasha [0:17:05]: Totally.
Dasha [0:17:05]: And we're like, that's the angle.
Dasha [0:17:07]: That's the story.
Dasha [0:17:07]: That is what makes Drive special.
Dasha [0:17:09]: So let's tell that talking.
Dasha [0:17:11]: And he's like, this is just you telling your story, and it led to literally just my slides, you'll see them tomorrow.
Dasha [0:17:18]: They're all just photos from my camera roll from the last, you know, ten years of my life, and it's the best thing that I've ever written, I think.
Dasha [0:17:26]: Because it's a real story.
Dasha [0:17:27]: And it's not, like some groundbreaking thing.
Dasha [0:17:29]: But it's, like, he helped me get to that.
Dasha [0:17:30]: And he's like, look, we we eventually got to this process and we'd have an outline and I'd He give me feedback and he he'd give me this bit, and that take this out.
Dasha [0:17:37]: And he's, like, the great talks and stories can be simple like, you just need that one core idea, and it was such a good marketing lesson, and it was like, that drift.
Dasha [0:17:45]: We simplified our whole positioning now to, like, no forms.
Dasha [0:17:47]: Harry helped me position my whole talk down to like, connection.
Dasha [0:17:51]: You need to get up on stage and tell a story about connection.
Dasha [0:17:54]: He's like, fuck the Ai stuff, speak from the heart, Tell the story of Dave Gerhardt, you met Leah, you had hair.
Dasha [0:18:01]: And then now you don't have hair.
Dasha [0:18:02]: And then you got married, and then you changed jobs and you had kids and, like, that's how I used to tell stories, but I think I got so caught up in brain and the Ai stuff.
Dasha [0:18:10]: That's, like, the people love the personal stuff.
Dasha [0:18:12]: Yes.
Dasha [0:18:13]: The end product is like a very personal story.
Dasha [0:18:15]: And honestly, was, like, a good slapping around to be like, oh, yeah.
Dasha [0:18:18]: The things that I'm good at is, like, Ai is not gonna touch that.
Dasha [0:18:22]: And Harry, I think I talked to you about this, but he's such a good storyteller teller and, like, don't just say, like, I interviewed Dasha be like, Dasha and I did a podcast at S.
Dasha [0:18:32]: The sun was beating on my bald head.
Dasha [0:18:34]: Right.
Dasha [0:18:35]: You know, she was two feet away from me, and the...
Dasha [0:18:37]: She told me a story about how she just saw bear that morning.
Dasha [0:18:39]: Like, he paints Sure.
Dasha [0:18:41]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:18:42]: My deck.
Dasha [0:18:42]: I talk about, like, how I met Dan, and he's like, yeah, but where did you meet Dan?
Dasha [0:18:45]: And I'm like, oh, we went for a walk.
Dasha [0:18:46]: We went out to lunch.
Dasha [0:18:47]: We went to sweet green on Boiling street, and we had a harvest bowl.
Dave [0:18:51]: I can picture it.
Dave [0:18:51]: It's visual.
Dasha [0:18:52]: So that was the process, and then I think I finally had a breakthrough, and I'd never do this.
Dasha [0:18:57]: I rarely work all weekend, but two weeks ago.
Dasha [0:19:00]: I just said to Leah.
Dasha [0:19:01]: I'm like, I kinda just gotta ignore everybody for this.
Dasha [0:19:04]: She's like, this is your Super Bowl man.
Dasha [0:19:05]: Like, I got your back go.
Dasha [0:19:06]: And I just brought my big ass monitor into my house and I just sat there, and I just wrote it for two days, and I've just been, like, tweaking it ever since him.
Dasha [0:19:14]: I'm proud of it.
Dasha [0:19:15]: And I'm proud of...
Dasha [0:19:16]: I think reaching out to Harry was, like, a subconscious.
Dasha [0:19:18]: It almost like a go all in moment.
Dasha [0:19:20]: The reason I almost didn't reach out to him is because I didn't wanna be held to, like, I knew that if I reached to him.
Dasha [0:19:25]: You know what I'm to like,
Dave [0:19:26]: Yeah if
Dasha [0:19:27]: I reached out to him, he would hold me to it and I'd have to give, like, a harry dry level worth talk.
Dasha [0:19:32]: Yes.
Dasha [0:19:32]: I almost didn't even wanna tell him, and I just wanna do my little welcome and, like, right.
Dasha [0:19:36]: Where if he saw it, he'd be like, dude.
Dasha [0:19:38]: What the fuck was that.
Dasha [0:19:39]: Right.
Dasha [0:19:40]: Be someone.
Dave [0:19:41]: So he's not coming here.
Dave [0:19:42]: So do you have, like, a promise are you're gonna send a recording to him and he's gonna tell you how you did?
Dasha [0:19:47]: No.
Dasha [0:19:47]: I think the promise is, like, he knows that I'm happy with it.
Dasha [0:19:51]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:19:51]: And he's, like, you need to keep editing until you feel it's a nine or a ten and, like, otherwise don't...
Dave [0:19:56]: Don't stop.
Dasha [0:19:56]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:19:56]: Don't stop until you get.
Dasha [0:19:58]: And it also he's very good at, like, trim trim trim trim trim trim trim.
Dasha [0:20:02]: I have too many jokes in there.
Dasha [0:20:03]: They're not all funny.
Dasha [0:20:04]: Yep.
Dasha [0:20:05]: Less is more.
Dasha [0:20:06]: Cut cut cut cut cut.
Dasha [0:20:07]: And you just need one story.
Dasha [0:20:08]: One example.
Dasha [0:20:09]: I'll shout him out, like, this is part of doing that, but...
Dave [0:20:13]: We love you, Harry.
Dave [0:20:13]: Yeah.
Dave [0:20:13]: One of the things that I observed.
Dave [0:20:15]: I have a backseat backstage pass to the Exit Five team slack?
Dasha [0:20:19]: You do, which I do crazy place to be.
Dave [0:20:21]: It's a crazy place to be, but your feedback to your team.
Dave [0:20:24]: Yeah.
Dave [0:20:24]: Got a lot spicier after working with Harry.
Dave [0:20:27]: Because you're were like, Harry's beating me up, So I'm gonna bring some of that same energy.
Dasha [0:20:31]: Yeah.
Dave [0:20:32]: What is something that you're gonna keep from the
Dasha [0:20:34]: way that Harry dry gives feedback.
Dasha [0:20:35]: I think number one is like, those...
Dasha [0:20:37]: I've been giving Marissa and Maria, like a lot of this feedback recently and even pushing myself.
Dasha [0:20:42]: It's those examples.
Dasha [0:20:43]: It's the, like, show don't tell me.
Dasha [0:20:46]: Yes.
Dasha [0:20:46]: I think right.
Dasha [0:20:46]: I think it show don't tell.
Dasha [0:20:48]: Right?
Dasha [0:20:48]: And so when I'm editing the newsletter now, it's that example.
Dasha [0:20:51]: It's the Sweet green on Bo Street or like, I had one paragraph.
Dasha [0:20:56]: You know how in Slack, you can see, like, the Google Doc comments as you're getting them...
Dasha [0:21:00]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:21:00]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:21:01]: Like Slack bought section thing.
Dasha [0:21:02]: Yes.
Dasha [0:21:03]: I open it up and, like, there's one paragraph and he has the whole thing highlighted and it says, like, Harry Dry, you know, eleven forty nine Pm, and it it all caps.
Dasha [0:21:11]: It just says s.
Dave [0:21:12]: I love that.
Dasha [0:21:13]: And so I think I try to rewrite things too much for the team.
Dasha [0:21:17]: Not because I don't trust them, but that's just like my style of editing like to the stubborn guy thing is like, oh, I'll just let me, like, oh, you send me the draft.
Dasha [0:21:25]: I'll rewrite it.
Dasha [0:21:26]: Yep.
Dasha [0:21:26]: I'm doing a better job now of explaining how I think it should be, and then, like, letting them go feeding fish.
Dasha [0:21:31]: Teaching them to fish.
Dasha [0:21:32]: I'm like, This needs a better example.
Dasha [0:21:34]: So I'm like, needs a better example here.
Dasha [0:21:36]: Needs a different hook here.
Dasha [0:21:37]: Where I'm always like, this needs a different hook and here's the hook I wrote, and I think I learned this in my last company and I forget that I am that guy now.
Dasha [0:21:44]: I think the founder words have a lot of weight.
Dasha [0:21:46]: In that, like, if the founder says it or the CEO, whoever.
Dave [0:21:50]: Right.
Dasha [0:21:50]: Oh, Dave changed the headline.
Dave [0:21:52]: That means that is the exact headline and no other headline.
Dasha [0:21:56]: Right.
Dasha [0:21:56]: Would
Dave [0:21:57]: make get sense here...
Dasha [0:21:58]: So there's multiple ways to win.
Dasha [0:21:59]: It doesn't have to be my way.
Dasha [0:22:00]: And so I think, can do a better job editing.
Dasha [0:22:02]: And it's been fun.
Dasha [0:22:02]: That that is my role.
Dasha [0:22:03]: We talk about our roles in the company.
Dasha [0:22:05]: I think of my role like, the managing editor of sorts of Exit Five or I'm listen the podcast, watching our videos, Looking at our newsletter.
Dasha [0:22:12]: I'm like, change the hook here, Dan, and that's been very helpful.
Dasha [0:22:14]: Good good question.
Dave [0:22:16]: There's a a saying for that.
Dave [0:22:17]: It's, like, when you're a manager, every suggestion sounds more like an order.
Dave [0:22:21]: Yeah.
Dave [0:22:21]: Read that in some book, but it it makes sense.
Dasha [0:22:25]: Write that in some book.
Dasha [0:22:25]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:22:26]: So it's not even just like the...
Dasha [0:22:28]: It's the things he'd give feedback on.
Dasha [0:22:29]: A much more conscious of, like, let's trim a lot of the unnecessary things.
Dasha [0:22:34]: Let's add more specific examples.
Dasha [0:22:36]: Let's be pi.
Dasha [0:22:37]: Let's be wit.
Dasha [0:22:38]: Let's have plenty stories and examples, and then let's also give feedback in a different way instead of rewriting it.
Dasha [0:22:44]: Care what I would like to see.
Dave [0:22:47]: I wanna go back to something You said You said at first, you didn't like the feedback.
Dave [0:22:50]: Say more.
Dasha [0:22:51]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:22:51]: It's uncomfortable.
Dasha [0:22:52]: It's like, a personal trainer telling you like, hey, man.
Dasha [0:22:55]: You wanna like,
Dave [0:22:56]: Perform so.
Dasha [0:22:56]: You wanna lose, like, the little bit of belly fat that you have, Like, you're gonna to stop eating pizza three times a
Dave [0:23:01]: week.
Dave [0:23:01]: Correct.
Dasha [0:23:02]: We know those things.
Dasha [0:23:03]: It's hard to hear them.
Dave [0:23:04]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:23:05]: I know that it was not like, the best thing I ever wrote.
Dasha [0:23:07]: I think it could have been delivered as a totally fine, welcome to drive, welcome address.
Dasha [0:23:13]: And I didn't wanna go through the paint.
Dasha [0:23:15]: I think, because I didn't know the answer.
Dasha [0:23:16]: I didn't wanna...
Dasha [0:23:17]: I knew that the feedback was going to then lead to, like, hard work to get to the outcome it wasn't gonna be obvious.
Dasha [0:23:24]: Like, it was gonna take.
Dasha [0:23:25]: No silver bullet.
Dasha [0:23:26]: No silver bullet like, writing a talk or writing anything.
Dasha [0:23:29]: Unless you're just copying and pasting from Claude, like is hard.
Dasha [0:23:32]: It takes hard work.
Dasha [0:23:34]: I had to sit there for one day at Hula and I wrote for basically, I wrote two thousand words and it took me, like, eight hours to do it because I wrote, like, word bike trim that.
Dasha [0:23:43]: No cut that.
Dasha [0:23:43]: Cut that.
Dasha [0:23:44]: I think I was afraid of...
Dasha [0:23:45]: I knew what it would take, and I didn't wanna go through it.
Dasha [0:23:47]: It's like, I gotta go run this hunter mile old race and I don't wanna do it.
Dasha [0:23:50]: That's why.
Dave [0:23:51]: So what was harder at writing founder brand or this?
Dasha [0:23:53]: Founder brand was, like, a blog post.
Dasha [0:23:54]: You know?
Dasha [0:23:55]: Some guy left a one star review was like, oh,
Dave [0:23:57]: this it's could've of been a blog blog post.
Dasha [0:23:59]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:23:59]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:23:59]: I wrote the book.
Dasha [0:24:00]: I think it's a good lesson.
Dasha [0:24:01]: It certainly wasn't writing, like freaking Harry Potter.
Dasha [0:24:03]: You know?
Dasha [0:24:04]: Wasn't like, my life's work.
Dasha [0:24:05]: It's was like, a cool idea.
Dasha [0:24:06]: And I wonder prove to myself that I had a point of view and write a book about it.
Dave [0:24:10]: But you also wrote a book before Ai.
Dave [0:24:11]: So that's kinda cool.
Dasha [0:24:13]: I did.
Dave [0:24:13]: Yeah.
Dave [0:24:13]: Yeah.
Dave [0:24:13]: Just on your own.
Dasha [0:24:15]: I had a ghost writer.
Dave [0:24:16]: You did?
Dasha [0:24:17]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:24:17]: It was, like, a ghost writer
Dave [0:24:18]: snooze right now.
Dave [0:24:19]: Have you ever said that.
Dasha [0:24:20]: And I don't...
Dasha [0:24:21]: I I haven't, like, announced it publicly, but I think any exact...
Dasha [0:24:25]: Any...
Dasha [0:24:25]: Most figures.
Dasha [0:24:26]: And like I said, this is not my life's work to write this manifesto novel on life.
Dasha [0:24:30]: Basically, like, it's my Ip.
Dasha [0:24:32]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:24:32]: I created that terms.
Dasha [0:24:34]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:24:34]: Many people have to talk about it now.
Dasha [0:24:36]: Like, I created this term.
Dasha [0:24:37]: It was a truly a playbook that I ran at two companies.
Dasha [0:24:40]: I wrote it all down.
Dasha [0:24:41]: It was more of like a editor than a ghost writer and we would do every Tuesday for, like, six months, two hours on the phone.
Dasha [0:24:49]: Of, like, me...
Dasha [0:24:51]: Okay.
Dasha [0:24:51]: Now tell me about this section.
Dasha [0:24:52]: And so, like, she would help me piece it together.
Dasha [0:24:56]: I would get it back and it was never the way that I wanted it.
Dasha [0:24:59]: Or.
Dasha [0:25:00]: So I'd ended up having to, like, write a ton of it myself.
Dasha [0:25:02]: And so I think of it as I'm not saying this as a cop out like.
Dasha [0:25:05]: It wasn't really a ghost.
Dave [0:25:07]: Yeah Yeah.
Dasha [0:25:07]: It was actually an amazing.
Dasha [0:25:08]: It was the equivalent of having a personal trainer, having someone to basically help me get it started.
Dasha [0:25:12]: I would have never gotten into, like, here's the different outline.
Dasha [0:25:16]: Here's the outline.
Dasha [0:25:16]: Here's what each chapter should be about
Dave [0:25:18]: one pushing you, like, be more specific.
Dasha [0:25:20]: Be...
Dasha [0:25:20]: More specific or, like, here's the draft.
Dasha [0:25:22]: Okay, Dave, you're...
Dasha [0:25:22]: You know, now, and then I'd have, like, say, like, two weeks to edit chapter two.
Dasha [0:25:26]: Right.
Dasha [0:25:26]: This is the way we wrote this is really weird.
Dasha [0:25:29]: Like, I'm gonna rewrite it, and I'd suggest a ton of changes and then Yeah.
Dasha [0:25:34]: So I have no problem with how is created.
Dave [0:25:36]: That's cool.
Dave [0:25:36]: Yeah.
Dave [0:25:37]: I'm gonna be interviewing a lot of marketers like yourself?
Dasha [0:25:39]: Yep.
Dasha [0:25:40]: This week.
Dasha [0:25:40]: Yep.
Dave [0:25:41]: Two questions I'm asking everyone that I think only makes sense if I ask you, biggest win of twenty twenty six.
Dave [0:25:46]: Let's do one personal and one professional.
Dasha [0:25:49]: Alright.
Dave [0:25:50]: Because you're a human.
Dasha [0:25:50]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:25:50]: Professional.
Dasha [0:25:51]: I think we have the best version of the Exit Five team that we've had.
Dasha [0:25:55]: You know, you're a manager, your manager people.
Dasha [0:25:57]: I think I said this last night of dinner, but, like, most of the problems with the business is mostly who not how problems.
Dasha [0:26:04]: You know, they said...
Dave [0:26:05]: Like that framing a lot.
Dave [0:26:06]: Okay.
Dasha [0:26:07]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:26:07]: And so I think that this is a simple business, and Dan used mad me when I'd say that because he think, I I think he felt like it was, like, diminishing what we do.
Dasha [0:26:14]: Right.
Dasha [0:26:15]: But my point is, like, it's not the thing that we're building is not complicated.
Dasha [0:26:19]: It's content.
Dasha [0:26:20]: It's a newsletter.
Dasha [0:26:21]: We take the feedback.
Dasha [0:26:22]: We do this thing.
Dasha [0:26:23]: It's not where you're not putting...
Dasha [0:26:24]: You know, we're not saying rockets into space.
Dasha [0:26:26]: Right.
Dasha [0:26:26]: And we've had all these ideas, but you can't execute them yourself.
Dasha [0:26:30]: You need to write people to do them.
Dasha [0:26:32]: And we went through some pain with, you know, hiring and firing and onboarding, and that stuff sucks.
Dasha [0:26:37]: Right?
Dasha [0:26:38]: People is really hard.
Dasha [0:26:39]: And I...
Dasha [0:26:40]: It's emotional.
Dasha [0:26:41]: It's hard bringing on someone new as hard because you don't always know instantly if someone's gonna be awesome.
Dasha [0:26:46]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:26:47]: There's nine people on the team right now, and it's...
Dasha [0:26:50]: As you'd hope, every iteration should be better.
Dasha [0:26:52]: The team is really, really, really good.
Dasha [0:26:54]: We continue to raise the bar on quality.
Dasha [0:26:56]: And for a while, like, you know, this business was built off of, like, my personal Patreon.
Dasha [0:27:01]: For a while, our newsletter was, like, we would take the things I write on Linkedin and turn them into the newsletter.
Dasha [0:27:08]: And, like, that was okay.
Dasha [0:27:09]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:27:09]: But eventually people were, like, not loving our newsletter.
Dasha [0:27:12]: And we raised the bar.
Dasha [0:27:14]: We brought on two content people and we came up with a whole new process for how we write the news learn and it's like, we do all these podcasts and we make it about other people's voices and it's not like Dave's hot takes and we've pivoted that.
Dasha [0:27:24]: We've, you know, you're on all our webinars.
Dasha [0:27:26]: It's like, that's a legitimate.
Dasha [0:27:28]: It's a production...
Dasha [0:27:29]: Production.
Dave [0:27:30]: It's production.
Dave [0:27:31]: And if you're watching this and you're wondering, do we just show up five minutes before, the answer is no.
Dasha [0:27:35]: No.
Dasha [0:27:35]: But also, like the engagement, the numbers have been off the charts.
Dasha [0:27:37]: And I'm the biggest hype, man, but that's not me h it.
Dasha [0:27:40]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:27:40]: It's real.
Dave [0:27:41]: No.
Dave [0:27:41]: No.
Dave [0:27:41]: Totally.
Dasha [0:27:42]: And that's because we've put in so much work in the product.
Dasha [0:27:44]: And so I think we've always said, like, we're a media company.
Dasha [0:27:46]: The reason we charge money for our events, and we have sponsors is because, like, that is our product is content.
Dasha [0:27:52]: Over the last year is the first year that I really feel like, no No.
Dasha [0:27:57]: We're, like a serious media company, and so I'm really proud of that.
Dasha [0:28:00]: And it's also it's like the Harry Dry thing.
Dasha [0:28:02]: It's like, the more serious you take something the the more quality, the higher bar you have yourself and quality, you get that out of it.
Dasha [0:28:10]: And I'm feeling that now.
Dasha [0:28:11]: So I'm like, let's invest more and more and more and more, you know?
Dave [0:28:14]: You're jazz about the.
Dasha [0:28:15]: Jazz about that.
Dasha [0:28:15]: Yes.
Dave [0:28:16]: Any personal wins.
Dave [0:28:17]: I guess for as a founder, you're personal and your professional who's together, but, like, you're a dad, your husband?
Dasha [0:28:23]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:28:23]: It's not one particular win, but I think, like, something that I'm proud of is I think if you look at me on Linkedin.
Dasha [0:28:30]: If you just look at that.
Dasha [0:28:32]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:28:32]: You'd think, like, I wake up and I'm, like, B2B marketing Yeah mark, I live in brief that.
Dasha [0:28:37]: I think if you found me offline, I'm a very good dad and husband, and I'm very proud of that.
Dasha [0:28:43]: I've had some bad role models in my past, and I'm happy to be like, I think I'm as good of a parent and father and husband as I am at, like, this side of things.
Dasha [0:28:54]: But there's no format to, like, flex about that or be that.
Dasha [0:28:57]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:28:57]: And I'm just...
Dasha [0:28:58]: I'm proud of that.
Dasha [0:28:59]: I think there's this rapper called connor price.
Dasha [0:29:02]: He's like, this little white guy.
Dasha [0:29:03]: And he has this great line that I love?
Dasha [0:29:05]: Because I...
Dasha [0:29:05]: Everyone's like, who your role models?
Dasha [0:29:07]: Who would you have dinner with?
Dasha [0:29:08]: Like, Don't really have any because anytime I've had a role model, you look up to someone.
Dasha [0:29:11]: It's like, oh, I, I love Tiger Woods and then, like, whoops.
Dasha [0:29:14]: And then I love Tom brady and then whoop right.
Dasha [0:29:16]: Then I had a mentor, and then whoops, you know, it's like, I don't really look up to anyone because everyone has flaws.
Dasha [0:29:20]: He says myself in ten years is who I'm inspired by.
Dasha [0:29:24]: And I try to take that to myself.
Dasha [0:29:26]: I'm like, who's my role model?
Dasha [0:29:27]: It's me in ten years.
Dasha [0:29:29]: Like, that's who I wanna be.
Dasha [0:29:30]: And I'm I'm proud of, like, the life that I've built outside of work.
Dave [0:29:34]: I love that.
Dasha [0:29:35]: Here I am taking a week away from my kids just chilling in the hotel room.
Dasha [0:29:38]: Right.
Dasha [0:29:38]: This is my super bowl this week.
Dave [0:29:39]: This is your super long.
Dasha [0:29:41]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:29:41]: Yeah.
Dave [0:29:41]: And what is your big bet for twenty twenty seven?
Dasha [0:29:45]: More of this.
Dasha [0:29:45]: This is a crazy because I think we live in a world of, like, more, more, more, more, more, growth, growth, growth, double triple Quadruple da.
Dasha [0:29:52]: I think we have a great business right now.
Dasha [0:29:55]: We'd like to grow it a little bit next year and just continue to raise the bar on quality and our number one goal is to be Our goal is to be the number one resource for B2B marketers and to have Exit Five continue to be, like, it used to be, like, Dave has Exit Five.
Dasha [0:30:11]: I think it's to continue to surpass that, and I just happened to be the guy who like, started the company.
Dasha [0:30:15]: Right.
Dasha [0:30:16]: But people know Dan and they know Dasha, and they know Anna and Allison and Maria and Marissa.
Dasha [0:30:21]: Like, that's the go.
Dasha [0:30:22]: I don't I really have a big goal, honestly.
Dasha [0:30:24]: It's like, let's just do...
Dasha [0:30:25]: Let's just keep doing a little bit
Dave [0:30:27]: better down.
Dasha [0:30:27]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:30:27]: Double that is that that's not a cool answer.
Dasha [0:30:30]: I'm sorry.
Dave [0:30:30]: No.
Dave [0:30:30]: But I feel like It's the simple answer, you know?
Dasha [0:30:34]: We have a good thing.
Dasha [0:30:35]: I just wanna keep...
Dasha [0:30:36]: We're just gonna, like, keep getting better at it and keep sharpening the sword, you know?
Dave [0:30:40]: Without losing blink.
Dave [0:30:41]: Would do you not wanna lose as you keep building.
Dave [0:30:43]: I feel like a lot of companies lose the, like, secret sauce that fade them great as they grow.
Dasha [0:30:49]: I think, like, authenticity, I think that's what makes us who we are just being...
Dasha [0:30:52]: But I don't think that's gonna go away because I'm not...
Dasha [0:30:55]: Think we're doing it our way.
Dasha [0:30:57]: And it's very it's very fun to, like, be the owner of this company.
Dasha [0:31:01]: It's almost like, you know, you realize what you're, wait.
Dasha [0:31:04]: I'm a grown up.
Dasha [0:31:04]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:31:04]: I have my old money I have my own bank account.
Dave [0:31:07]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:31:07]: Oh, I can...
Dave [0:31:08]: Inside you're like, I'm just a boy.
Dasha [0:31:09]: I can...
Dasha [0:31:09]: It's monday night, and I can, like, stay and watch you movie my ice cream.
Dasha [0:31:13]: I think there's so much nonsense with Ai and business books and all this other stuff.
Dasha [0:31:17]: Like, I just wanna...
Dasha [0:31:18]: I wanna have like, a quirky cool business that is, like, injected with personality.
Dasha [0:31:23]: I think that's gonna be more important than ever you mentioned, you know, we're in the home of Ben and Jerry's.
Dasha [0:31:27]: Mh.
Dasha [0:31:27]: They've built an incredible brand over the years has been ups and downs in them, but they were, like, true to themselves and we're able to, like, make money and be, like, the good kind capitalist at the same time, and I think like, that's how I think about this business the next Exit Five.
Dasha [0:31:42]: Yeah.
Dave [0:31:43]: Awesome.
Dave [0:31:43]: K.
Dave [0:31:43]: I promised I would return you to your team, but before you
Dasha [0:31:46]: go.
Dasha [0:31:46]: Packs.
Dave [0:31:47]: We brought all these snacks.
Dave [0:31:48]: You must need a ketchup up at least before you go.
Dave [0:31:50]: I brought you some deli from...
Dasha [0:31:52]: What am I gonna done?
Dasha [0:31:53]: What I I even saw?
Dave [0:31:54]: You're gonna be late for your tech.
Dasha [0:31:56]: Tech check.
Dave [0:31:57]: Check or ketchup up chips.
Dasha [0:31:58]: Oh, alright.
Dasha [0:31:58]: I'm gonna have a ketchup up.
Dave [0:32:00]: Have a ketchup up trip, and then we'll let you go.
Dasha [0:32:04]: Alright, I have feel like it...
Dave [0:32:07]: Alright.
Dave [0:32:07]: You gotta describe it.
Dasha [0:32:08]: What's your take on these so you?
Dave [0:32:10]: Love.
Dave [0:32:10]: You?
Dave [0:32:10]: Yes.
Dave [0:32:10]: Alright.
Dasha [0:32:12]: I love a ketchup up up.
Dasha [0:32:14]: Wow.
Dave [0:32:15]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:32:18]: Wow.
Dasha [0:32:18]: Interesting.
Dave [0:32:21]: How would you...
Dasha [0:32:22]: No?
Dasha [0:32:22]: Are you know you know about this?
Dasha [0:32:23]: Are you about this life?
Dasha [0:32:24]: There's Ross?
Dasha [0:32:25]: Ross second canadian.
Dasha [0:32:26]: She brought me all...
Dasha [0:32:27]: She brought me...
Dasha [0:32:27]: She get out of here.
Dasha [0:32:29]: You guys are ridiculous.
Dasha [0:32:30]: She brought me all these Maria too.
Dasha [0:32:32]: She brought me all these Canadian snacks.
Dasha [0:32:34]: Hey?
Dasha [0:32:34]: It's okay.
Dasha [0:32:35]: Really?
Dave [0:32:36]: Yeah.
Dave [0:32:36]: It it gives me, like, a shade of salt and vinegar chip.
Dave [0:32:39]: Okay.
Dave [0:32:40]: But then try this all dressed.
Dave [0:32:41]: Maybe you'll like these better.
Dave [0:32:43]: Let's show the camera.
Dasha [0:32:47]: All dressed.
Dave [0:32:48]: All dressed.
Dasha [0:32:49]: Assess on these.
Dasha [0:32:49]: Assess on these.
Dave [0:32:56]: I'm...
Dave [0:32:56]: They they might be more up your alley.
Dasha [0:33:01]: Oh, yeah.
Dasha [0:33:01]: This is the one.
Dave [0:33:02]: Yeah.
Dave [0:33:02]: That's good.
Dasha [0:33:03]: I'm a salt and vinegar guy.
Dasha [0:33:04]: Yeah vinegar guy.
Dasha [0:33:04]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:33:05]: This is the one.
Dave [0:33:06]: It definitely has vinegar.
Dasha [0:33:07]: What else do you got?
Dave [0:33:08]: I got hickory sticks.
Dave [0:33:09]: Have you ever tried these?
Dasha [0:33:11]: No, dude.
Dave [0:33:12]: Are you sweet or savory?
Dasha [0:33:15]: Depends a little bit...
Dasha [0:33:16]: A little bit of both.
Dasha [0:33:16]: These are like, potato potato sticks.
Dasha [0:33:19]: Right?
Dave [0:33:19]: Yeah.
Dave [0:33:19]: They don't have, like, they're not seasoned.
Dasha [0:33:24]: This is, like, we have we have chips like this.
Dasha [0:33:25]: I feel like.
Dasha [0:33:26]: Okay.
Dasha [0:33:26]: Okay.
Dave [0:33:27]: And then some chocolate.
Dasha [0:33:28]: These are good, though.
Dave [0:33:29]: Yeah.
Dave [0:33:29]: Alright.
Dave [0:33:30]: There's coffee crisp.
Dasha [0:33:32]: K.
Dave [0:33:33]: If you go trick treating in Canada and you get, like, these are like do that.
Dave [0:33:36]: Yeah.
Dave [0:33:37]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:33:38]: Oh, yeah.
Dasha [0:33:39]: This is good.
Dasha [0:33:39]: This this is like a kick kat.
Dave [0:33:42]: Do you have...
Dave [0:33:42]: Okay.
Dave [0:33:42]: Yeah.
Dave [0:33:43]: We have kit kat, but with coffee.
Dave [0:33:44]: Kick kat has no caffeine, I think.
Dasha [0:33:46]: No caffeine.
Dasha [0:33:46]: Yeah.
Dasha [0:33:47]: This has caffeine in it?
Dasha [0:33:48]: Coffee, Crisp?
Dasha [0:33:49]: Oh, does it.
Dave [0:33:50]: I would maybe not, Actually.
Dave [0:33:51]: Like, if they're giving it to kids.
Dave [0:33:52]: I don't know.
Dave [0:33:53]: Alright.
Dave [0:33:54]: Misleading.
Dave [0:33:55]: And then arrow is like, chocolate that has bubbles inside.
Dave [0:33:59]: It's like air rated chocolate.
Dasha [0:34:03]: Wow.
Dasha [0:34:03]: How are
Dave [0:34:03]: we feeling about that?
Dasha [0:34:04]: Alright.
Dasha [0:34:04]: These are the winners.
Dave [0:34:07]: Okay.
Dave [0:34:07]: You heard it here first.
Dasha [0:34:09]: These are the winners.
Dasha [0:34:10]: Alright.
Dasha [0:34:10]: I'm proud of you.
Dasha [0:34:12]: You're a good job.
Dasha [0:34:13]: You're a good person, you're a good host.
Dasha [0:34:14]: It's fun to have your energy around.
Dave [0:34:16]: I'm...
Dave [0:34:16]: Oh, my god.
Dave [0:34:17]: Before...
Dasha [0:34:18]: Okay.
Dasha [0:34:18]: You've got me out of
Dave [0:34:19]: the podcasting rut.
Dave [0:34:20]: I'm so glad.
Dave [0:34:21]: I wanted to show you this tech I sent
Dasha [0:34:23]: my hand.
Dasha [0:34:23]: My handler is is I know she's they're gonna
Dave [0:34:26]: I literally promise to return you on time.
Dasha [0:34:28]: I'm gonna be...
Dasha [0:34:28]: I'm gonna be wild wild off of this coffee chocolate.
Dave [0:34:31]: Look, what I set my husband?
Dasha [0:34:34]: A year ago.
Dave [0:34:35]: A year ago.
Dave [0:34:36]: No.
Dave [0:34:36]: Because I found it.
Dasha [0:34:38]: I met Dave.
Dave [0:34:39]: Met Dave by the way.
Dave [0:34:39]: This is last year.
Dave [0:34:41]: In.
Dave [0:34:41]: That's cool.
Dave [0:34:43]: I'm like, met Dave.
Dave [0:34:44]: That was my goal for the conference.
Dave [0:34:45]: To.
Dave [0:34:45]: Do you remember I like, hang Like, hey dave.
Dave [0:34:47]: It's.
Dave [0:34:48]: I just wanted to say, like, I've been I've been part of the community since Patreon, and, like I love it, and thanks you so much.
Dasha [0:34:53]: Should make sure you're not being billed still.
Dasha [0:34:54]: Alright.
Dasha [0:34:56]: Alright.
Dasha [0:34:57]: We're out of here.
Dasha [0:34:58]: Please.
Dasha [0:34:58]: Thank you.
Dave [0:35:03]: Hey.
Dave [0:35:03]: Thanks for listening to this podcast.
Dave [0:35:05]: If you like this episode.
Dave [0:35:06]: Do you know what?
Dave [0:35:07]: I'm not even gonna ask you to subscribe and leave a review because I don't really care about that.
Dave [0:35:11]: I have something better for you.
Dave [0:35:12]: So we've built the number one private community for B2B marketers at Exit Five, and you can go and check that out.
Dave [0:35:18]: Instead of leaving a rating your review.
Dave [0:35:20]: Go check it out right now.
Dave [0:35:22]: On our website Exit Five dot com.
Dave [0:35:24]: Our mission at Exit Five is to help you grow your career in B2B marketing, and there's no better place to do that than with us at Exit Five.
Dave [0:35:31]: There's nearly five thousand members now in our community, people are in their posting every day asking questions about things like marketing planning, ideas, inspiration, asking questions and getting feedback from your peers, building your own network of marketers who are doing the same thing you are so to have a peer group or maybe just venting about your boss when you need to get in there and get something off your chest.
Dave [0:35:52]: It's a hundred percent free to join for seven days so you can go and check it out risk free, and then there's a small annual fee to pay if you wanna become a member for the year.
Dave [0:36:01]: Go check it out, learn more, Exit Five dot com, and I will see you over there in the community.