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Horizons Pod with Nate Desmond

Horizons Pod with Nate Desmond

Auteur(s): Marketing insights from the cutting edge of growth
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 Subscribe at: https://horizonspod.com/ Join Nate Desmond as he dives deep into modern marketing. Each week, you'll hear war stories and tactical breakdowns from growth operators who've scaled products from zero to millions – from consumer apps saving tens of millions in acquisition costs to B2B companies charting their course to $100M+ in revenue. This isn't theory – it's a weekly masterclass in growth strategy, featuring makers and marketers who've built the products you use daily. Each episode unpacks the hidden mechanics behind viral loops, marketplace dynamics, enterprise sales motions, and acquisition strategies that actually work.

horizonspod.substack.comNate Desmond Économie
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  • The Secret To Measuring Brand Marketing with Jake Barnett | Horizons Pod

    The Secret To Measuring Brand Marketing with Jake Barnett | Horizons Pod
    Sep 9 2025
    Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple.—Jake Barnett is a marketing data expert and founder of Day1Data who previously led customer data foundations at Farfetch, helping optimize their $300M marketing budget through advanced analytics.Here’s some of my takeaways from this week’s episode…1/ 📊 Perfect is the enemy of profitable: No attribution model tells the complete truth, but some drive real business value. Focus on models that get used daily and match your business context (e.g., last-touch for pure DTC, multi-touch for omnichannel).2/ 💰 Scale before sophistication: MMM isn't for everyone. Three key criteria: spending >$50-100k, diverse media mix, and clean historical data. Start with simpler incrementality tests if you're not there yet.3/ 🎯 Competitors are conversion killers: Rival spending typically causes 10-20% revenue decline in emerging markets. Established brands with strong market share face less impact from competitor spending.4/ 🏪 Physical retail = stealth marketing: Store presence creates significant halo effects for DTC brands. Many successful companies treat retail as an advertising channel rather than a pure revenue play.5/ 📈 Brand + Performance = Winning combo: Performance marketing borrows demand from the future while brand builds it. Modern scale-ups increasingly blend both approaches rather than going pure-play performance.6/ 🧪 Test design trumps analysis: The best incrementality tests start with strong pre-testing power analysis. Choose consistent test markets without noise and secure leadership buy-in before launching.7/ 👥 Change management > tech implementation: 70% of marketing transformation is about managing people, not implementing solutions. Align attribution methodologies across teams and secure executive sponsorship.8/ 📱 Daily tracking needs quarterly context: Use MMM for strategic planning (quarterly/annual) and traditional attribution for daily optimization. No single tool handles everything perfectly.—Where to find Jake Barnett:* Company: https://day1data.co.uk/* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-barnett-37980abb/—In this episode, we cover:00:00 Introduction and Marketing Attribution Philosophy 02:30 What Makes Attribution Models Useful 04:00 Explaining Media Mix Modeling (MMM) 06:30 Experience at Farfetch with MMM 09:36 How Marketers Should Evaluate MMM Reports 13:46 Handling Data Quality Issues 20:20 Brand vs Performance Marketing Balance 25:38 Data Quality and Common Issues 29:06 B2B Marketing Measurement Challenges 34:21 Different Approaches to MMM Implementation 41:42 Impact of Competitor Spend 47:13 Brand Building vs Performance Marketing 51:45 Human Side of Marketing Transformation 57:13 Storytelling and Visualization in Marketing Analytics 1:00:00 Incrementality Testing Best Practices—Obligatory disclaimer: I've worked at YouTube and Google for about a decade in various marketing teams. Nothing I say in my personal spaces is necessarily endorsed by them. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit horizonspod.substack.com
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    1 h et 6 min
  • Why This CEO Refuses to Hire Anyone with Amos Bar Joseph | Horizons Pod

    Why This CEO Refuses to Hire Anyone with Amos Bar Joseph | Horizons Pod
    Sep 2 2025
    Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple.—Amos Bar-Joseph is the CEO and co-founder of Swan AI, aiming to build a $30M ARR business with just 3 founders by pioneering autonomous AI-driven operations that achieve $10M revenue per employee.Here’s some of my takeaways from this week’s episode…1/ 🤖 Digital Leverage > Digital Labor: Instead of building AI to replace humans, focus on creating tools that amplify human capabilities. The goal isn't to build an AI SDR, but rather to create a "100X seller" through human-AI collaboration.2/ 🎯 Incentive Alignment Drives Sticky Revenue: In a three-person company, everyone shares the same goal: sustainable revenue growth. This alignment eliminates the traditional MQL/SQL friction and keeps the focus on long-term customer success.3/ 🔄 Real AI Agents Learn and Adapt: True AI agents aren't rigid automation tools but adaptive collaborators that learn from feedback loops. They should start with quick onboarding and continuously improve through natural interaction, just like a new hire.4/ 💬 Meet Users Where They Are: Swan's success with Slack integration shows the power of embedding AI tools within existing workflows. Don't make users come to your platform; bring your platform to where they already work.5/ ⚡ Decision Velocity is Your Edge: Early-stage startups' main advantage is their ability to make quick decisions. Don't get bogged down in analysis paralysis. Trust intuition and maintain rapid iteration cycles.6/ 📈 Intelligence Scales Exponentially: Unlike headcount which scales linearly, AI capabilities compound over time. Every advancement in LLM technology automatically improves all aspects of your AI-powered operations.7/ 🎭 Narrative > Product in Marketing: Focus on building movements around compelling narratives rather than just product features. Challenge existing challengers while sparking hope, not fear.8/ 🏢 Small is the New Big: In an AI-powered world, being nimble matters more than being large. SMBs with the agility to reimagine their operations around human-AI collaboration will outperform rigid enterprises.—Where to find Amos Bar Joseph:* Swan: https://www.getswan.com/* The Big Shift: https://swan-ai.beehiiv.com/p/welcome-to-the-big-shift* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amos-bar-joseph-5a665a142/* X: https://x.com/amosbarjoseph—In this episode, we cover:00:00 Introduction and Background 04:28 Automated vs High-Touch Sales Approach 07:22 Customer Segmentation Strategy 09:46 Building a Three-Person Company 12:14 Difference Between AI Labor and AI Leverage 16:37 AI Agents vs AI Automation 20:28 How Swan Works in Slack 26:14 Decision Making Velocity in Startups 29:04 Learning from Previous Startups 32:11 Handling Support with AI 38:32 Future of Human-AI Collaboration 43:48 Audience-Led Growth Strategy—Obligatory disclaimer: I've worked at YouTube and Google for about a decade in various marketing teams. Nothing I say in my personal spaces is necessarily endorsed by them. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit horizonspod.substack.com
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    48 min
  • This CMO Got Fired Twice, Then Built Better Attribution with Mada Seghete | Horizons Pod

    This CMO Got Fired Twice, Then Built Better Attribution with Mada Seghete | Horizons Pod
    Aug 26 2025
    Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple.—Mada Seghete is the co-founder and CEO of Upside, a B2B revenue attribution pioneer who previously co-founded Branch and grew it to a $4B valuation.Here’s some of my takeaways from this week’s episode…1/ 🎯 The Courage to Let Go: CMO Success is About Team FreedomStrong ICs often micromanage when becoming managers. True leadership means setting clear goals but giving teams freedom to achieve them their way, even if different from your approach. Your way isn't always the best way.2/ 🔍 Attribution is About Understanding, Not CreditAvoid splitting credit between teams. Focus on understanding what actually drives deals forward. Most successful B2B deals involve multiple touchpoints across marketing and sales working together, not siloed efforts.3/ 🕵️ Forensic Attribution > Basic Attribution Traditional attribution models miss critical hidden signals. The real story lies in email chains, meeting transcripts, and untracked events. Build a knowledge graph to reconstruct the full customer journey, including "shadow touchpoints."4/ 🎮 Company Building is Level-Based GamingEach stage requires different skills, and mastering one level doesn't guarantee success in the next. What works at seed stage won't work at Series A. Accept starting from zero with each new phase.5/ 💰 Right-Size Your FundraiseRaising too little forces premature revenue focus. Raising too much creates unrealistic expectations. Find the middle ground that gives enough runway to properly research and validate product-market fit.6/ 🎯 Hire for Team Gaps, Not Just GrowthMap team skills on a 1-5 scale across key functions. Hire first where current team members score lowest, not necessarily where you need the most help overall.7/ 🔄 Inbound vs Outbound: The Quality TradeoffInbound leads often ghost; outbound prospects show higher commitment. While inbound scales better, targeted outbound lets you pursue ideal customers who may not know they need your solution yet.8/ 🎓 Perfect Data is a MythChoose directionally accurate insights you can act on today over waiting months for "perfect" data. Focus on building trust through transparency and clear methodology.—Where to find Mada Seghete:* Company: https://upside.tech/* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madalina/* X: https://x.com/mada299—In this episode, we cover:00:00 Challenges of Measuring Marketing Impact 05:26 The Journey from Branch to Upside 09:13 Evolution of Attribution Methodology 15:17 Using AI Agents for Data Analysis 21:30 Building the Knowledge Graph 28:37 Lessons from Building Multiple Companies 34:42 Strategic Approaches to Hiring 41:20 Leveraging AI in Marketing 45:55 Venture Capital Strategy 51:21 Finding the Right Co-founders 54:43 Team Building and Role Prioritization 59:10 Leadership Lessons from Gaming 1:02:11 Lightning Round Q&A—Obligatory disclaimer: I've worked at YouTube and Google for about a decade in various marketing teams. Nothing I say in my personal spaces is necessarily endorsed by them. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit horizonspod.substack.com
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    1 h et 8 min
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