Your buyers are doing weeks of research in ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity before they ever fill out your demo form. And you have zero visibility into any of it.

In this episode, Stacie sits down with Jenna Hannon—first marketing hire at Uber Eats and founder of GetHatter.ai—to break down the shift from SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), and what it means for your attribution model, your pipeline, and your competitive position.

This isn’t just about “showing up in AI search.” It’s about making sure your company, your founders, and your thought leaders are the ones being cited when your buyers are doing that invisible dark funnel research.

What does it actually take to build an Inc 5000 business without letting it eat you alive? That's exactly what we dig into with Brittany Fox. Brittany and her husband bootstrapped Focus Global Talent Solutions from their second bedroom in Miami — no outside funding, no playbook — and hit $2M in revenue their first year. Last year, they made the Inc 5000 list. But here's the thing: Brittany didn't just build a successful business. She built a sustainable one. And that distinction? It changes everything.

In this episode, we get into the real stuff. The psychology behind why high achievers burn out, what it actually took for Brittany to go from "grinding and hiding" to building a community of ambitious women who are done with surface-level conversations. We talk about morning routines that aren't just checklists, the power of doing hard things before they're trendy, and why showing up to one room can completely change the trajectory of your life.

This one's for the founders, the co-founders, the C-suite leaders who are crushing it professionally but quietly wondering: is this pace actually sustainable?

In this episode, Stacie sits down with Jennifer Yousem, Founder of iHeartEBITDA, to unpack the financial realities behind marketing and sales performance—and why CMOs are often asked to defend results without being given the right financial context.

They explore why top-line growth is a vanity metric, how margin degradation creeps into service businesses, and why honesty in forecasting matters more than aggressive targets. This conversation bridges the gap between marketing strategy and financial truth.

If you’re a CMO expected to drive growth, justify spend, and align with finance—this episode is required listening.

 In this solo episode of C-Suite Strategies, Stacie Sussman breaks down the five biggest trends she’s seeing as we head into 2026—starting with a surprising pattern: CMOs at $30M companies quietly fearing their next board meeting.

Stacie shares why brilliant marketing leaders are losing confidence in the C-suite, what’s driving the rising demand for clean attribution, and why most companies are wildly overestimating their AI maturity. She also unpacks how leaner teams will depend on stronger processes, and how consulting roles will evolve as AI becomes a core operating system rather than a shiny add-on.

In this episode, Stacie Sussman sits down with Rachel Rozen, a former hospitality executive turned connection strategist, to break down how high-performing leaders can turn authentic relationships into career-defining opportunities before they ever start job-hunting.

Rachel shares how meeting 300 people in one year reshaped her career and how you can apply the same mindset to build a future-proof professional network.

In this episode of C-Suite Strategies, host Stacie Sussman sits down with Matt Austin, a seasoned sales leader with deep expertise in B2B growth and operational excellence. Together, they unpack what it truly takes to scale a business—from navigating the transition to a recurring revenue model to ensuring alignment across leadership and sales teams.

Matt shares lessons learned from years of leading global sales organizations, highlighting the importance of validating product-market fit, implementing structured sales processes, and embedding sales training into company culture. The conversation also explores team dynamics, leadership alignment, and how understanding the context behind every sales strategy can make or break growth efforts.

Whether you’re a CRO, CMO, or founder seeking clarity on how to scale sustainably, this episode delivers practical, grounded insights for driving consistent revenue and organizational alignment.

In this solo episode of C-Suite Strategies, Stacie Sussman explains why AI won’t save broken systems—and how C-suite leaders can fix their foundations before putting AI to work.

In this episode of C-Suite Strategies, host Stacie Sussman sits down with Jen Goldman, Founder of My Virtual COO, to explore how leaders can identify and fix the friction points holding back productivity and profitability. From rethinking team structure to visualizing organizational changes, Jen shares practical, neuroscience-backed tools for creating clarity, accountability, and momentum at the top levels of business.

In this solo episode of C-Suite Strategies, Stacie Sussman, founder of RevUp Advisory, pulls back the curtain on one of the most common problems she sees in professional services, HR firms, and small businesses: spending heavily on marketing without knowing what’s actually driving results.

Can working dads build successful companies and still master intentional parenting without losing family-work life balance? Greg Garunov thought he had it all—nice house, great job, healthy kids. But something was missing. After 20 years climbing the corporate ladder, he felt empty and disconnected from what mattered most.

What makes one executive candidate irresistible while another gets passed over? When Conway Shui cold-emailed the CHRO of CBS looking for a career pivot, he got a response within an hour, which landed him in the top leadership roles at CBS and Time Warner. Now, with 40+ years combined experience at C&C Talent Partners, Conway reveals the bold moves that separate elite C-suite candidates from the rest.

When Celi Arias was just 10 years old, she built her first business—not a lemonade stand, but a full-fledged babysitting operation inspired by The Babysitter's Club that funded her ballet dreams.

How are successful B2B companies navigating the complex intersection of marketing and sales efforts as they scale?

How do you transform from a high-performing individual contributor into an exceptional executive leader? In today's episode, we’re uncovering the game-changing role of leadership coaching in unlocking executive potential.

How often do you find yourself gasping through your day, moving from one crisis to another without taking a real breath? In today's fast-paced world, high achievers often pride themselves on superhuman productivity while sacrificing their inner calm. But what if the key to peak performance isn't pushing harder, but breathing better? 

When you improve the culture of a company, you’re helping yourself and your team avoid burnout. How? By addressing the concentric circles of a business (the individual, the team, and the company), you improve stress levels for everyone involved. And that leads to increased productivity, higher standards of excellence, and an improved sense of achievement across the board.

We hear all about successful startups but not nearly enough about startups that fail. Why do they fail? What lessons have they learned? Did they do enough research before launching? Well… what if someone could save you time and effort by sharing their startup failure story?

There’s incredible power behind storytelling and personal brand building—especially for entrepreneurs! But many of us get stuck when we hear that we need to talk about ourselves. What do we talk about? And what if we’re terrible storytellers to begin with?

To grow your business and have the impact (and revenue) you want to, you need repeatable processes. And—you need automation. For many of us who feel like control freaks, that can be a lot to ask. There are so many unknowns, starting with the tech! Luckily, we don’t have to figure this out on our own. We get to work with an integrator like Adam Judeh.