The Dave Gerhardt Show (from Exit Five)

#332 | Dave is joined by Domi de Saint-Exupéry, CMO at Lemlist, a bootstrapped $40M ARR sales engagement platform, to break down exactly how she turned $1.2M in marketing spend into $31M in new ARR in 2025. Domi shares the full breakdown of every channel, agency, influencer strategy, and partnership play that drove results. This includes how they went from $0 to $500K in paid ads, why partnerships are the most underrated B2B growth channel, how they built a micro-influencer program, and what AI use cases are actually working (and which are overrated). If you want real numbers and real playbooks, this one's for you.
Timestamps

(00:00) - Introduction: $1.2M in spend, $31M in new ARR

(03:36) - What Lemlist does and how the company got to $40M ARR

(06:51) - Going from $0 to $500K in paid ads: what triggered the shift

(11:06) - How to execute paid ads well: outsourcing vs. in-house, and scaling by channel

(17:21) - LinkedIn ads creative: why "on-brand and safe" was the wrong approach

(21:51) - Mistakes made in paid: Snapchat, Spotify, and channels that didn't work

(25:21) - The micro-influencer playbook: how to find, brief, and measure creators

(35:59) - How influencer content compounds with paid ads and outbound (the Julio story)

(41:29) - Partnerships: why $450K went here and why it's the most underrated B2B channel

(49:59) - AI in marketing: what's overrated (content generation) and what's actually working

Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Brought to you by:
Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive.
Optimizely - An AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Get a free, personalized 45-minute AI workshop to help you identify the best AI use cases for your marketing team and map out where agents can save you time at optimizely.com/exitfive (PS - you'll get a FREE pair of Meta Ray Bans if you do).

Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.  

***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
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#331 | Dave is joined by a group of marketing leaders from Ramp, Snowflake, and Hightouch for a discussion about ABM and their plans for 2026. Casey Patterson (Director of ABM, Snowflake), Drew Pinta (Director of Growth Data Science, Ramp), and Brian Kotlyar (CMO, Hightouch) break down what ABM actually looks like in 2026 and what’s working right now inside of their companies. They share how they’re picking target accounts, aligning with sales, and building programs that go way beyond running ads. The group also digs into measurement, personalization, and how teams are using better data and AI to scale ABM without wasting budget. If you need a deeper dive on ABM tactics right now, this is the episode for you

Timestamps

(00:00) - - Why ABM is still a top topic in 2026

(04:31) - - Intros: Snowflake, Ramp, and Hightouch

(07:51) - - Defining ABM (and why sales alignment is everything)

(14:01) - - The “stop list”: ABM tactics they’ve killed

(16:31) - - Why paid social “ABM awareness” is overrated

(19:51) - - Shifting ABM to in-person and physical plays

(24:01) - - Budgeting for ABM and how to start small

(28:59) - - Why ABM measurement is different than traditional demand gen

(34:19) - - How they build ABM audiences using data + signals

(39:39) - - Scaling personalization without making it manual

(45:19) - - Final takeaways and wrap-up

Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Brought to you by:
Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive.
Optimizely - An AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Get a free, personalized 45-minute AI workshop to help you identify the best AI use cases for your marketing team and map out where agents can save you time at optimizely.com/exitfive (PS - you'll get a FREE pair of Meta Ray Bans if you do).

Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.  

***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more

#330 | Dave is joined by Ryan Narod, VP of Marketing at Rippling, to break down how Rippling has built one of the stand outbrands in B2B right now. Ryan walks through real examples of campaigns they’ve run over the last year, from scrappy iPhone videos and webinar promos to high-production customer stories and their 2026 Super Bowl commercial. They talk about how Rippling shifted from being great at growth marketing to building a brand people actually recognize, how they inject more personality and “human” into everything they ship, and how they measure brand marketing without losing pipeline accountability.
To see Ryan's real campaign examples, head over to youtube.com/@heydavegerhardt.
Timestamps

(00:00) - - Why Rippling is going all-in on brand

(02:51) - - Ryan’s background and why he joined Rippling

(04:14) - - What Rippling does and how they position the platform

(08:14) - - What “brand marketing” means at Rippling

(10:34) - - Building a story that makes HR the hero

(19:47) - - Ryan shares Rippling marketing examples (ads, videos, webinars)

(27:17) - - High-production customer storytelling (Berries)

(32:39) - - The “HR Deserves Better” campaign

(35:37) - - How Rippling measures brand and pipeline impact

(43:14) - - The Super Bowl commercial and what it takes to pull it off

(45:17) - - Final takeaways and wrap-up

Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Brought to you by:
Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive.
Optimizely - An AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Get a free, personalized 45-minute AI workshop to help you identify the best AI use cases for your marketing team and map out where agents can save you time at optimizely.com/exitfive (PS - you'll get a FREE pair of Meta Ray Bans if you do).

Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.  

***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more

#329 | Dave is joined by Jay Schwedelson, Founder of SubjectLine.com and GURU Media Hub, to break down why most webinars and email programs underperform and what to do instead. They talk about how packaging drives performance, why the word “webinar” kills registrations, and how small tweaks like renaming your session, shortening it to 22 minutes, or adding an “attend to receive” hook can dramatically increase show rates. Jay also shares tactical email plays, from using white space and tighter subject lines to increasing reply rates and improving inbox placement.

Timestamps

(00:00) - Why packaging matters more than the content

(03:04) - Jay’s virtual event business and the GURU acquisition

(05:50) - Why you should stop calling it a “webinar”

(07:45) - The “attend to receive” tactic to boost show rates

(10:19) - Why on-demand is hurting your engagement

(14:28) - Why Fridays and Sundays outperform for B2B email + webinars

(18:01) - How to choose webinar topics based on your goal

(18:28) - Why 22-minute webinars and shorter podcasts win

(29:15) - The white space + no preview text email hack

(37:27) - The “reply with GUIDE” tactic to boost engagement

(39:13) - Final takeaways and wrap-up

Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Brought to you by:
Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive.
Optimizely - An AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Get a free, personalized 45-minute AI workshop to help you identify the best AI use cases for your marketing team and map out where agents can save you time at optimizely.com/exitfive (PS - you'll get a FREE pair of Meta Ray Bans if you do).

Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.  

***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more

#329 | Dave is joined by Emma Robinson, Head of B2B Marketing at Canva, and Kristine Segrist, Global Head of Consumer Marketing at Canva, to break down how Canva is scaling growth across both enterprise and consumer audiences. They talk about how Canva balances brand-building with pipeline accountability, how they turn bottom-up product adoption into enterprise deals, and why brand investment is a long-term growth lever. Emma and Kristine also share how their team structure, data science investments, and creative bets like the Love Your Work campaign help Canva scale without losing the brand identity that made them famous.
Timestamps

(00:00) - – Intro

(03:21) - – Canva’s marketing org structure

(06:21) - – Blurring B2B and B2C

(11:21) - – How Canva measures marketing impact

(16:21) - – Turning free users into enterprise deals

(21:21) - – Data science’s role in marketing

(24:21) - – Balancing brand bets with ROI

(30:59) - – Inside the “Love Your Work” campaign

(37:59) - – How Canva executes large campaigns

(41:59) - – Building enterprise credibility and trust

(44:59) - – FedEx case study on brand governance

(48:59) - – Lessons from Google and Meta

(52:59) - – Why creativity is a marketing superpower

(54:59) - – Closing thoughts

Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Brought to you by:
Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive.
Optimizely - An AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Get a free, personalized 45-minute AI workshop to help you identify the best AI use cases for your marketing team and map out where agents can save you time at optimizely.com/exitfive (PS - you'll get a FREE pair of Meta Ray Bans if you do).

Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.  

***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more