AI in sales and marketing isn’t about replacing people: it’s about amplifying them.

In this episode of Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?, I sit down with Joe Apfelbaum, Founder of evyAI and CEO of Ajax Union, to unpack what it really takes to scale authentic relationships in the age of AI.

Joe shares his journey from building 100+ websites a year, to scaling Ajax Union into one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S., to creating evyAI...now powering 20,000+ users across 37 countries. Along the way, we dig into:

• 🚀 Why authenticity (not automation) is the real differentiator in AI
• 🧠 How evyAI helps turn LinkedIn into a revenue channel without turning you into a robot
• 🌍 Building a global SaaS product from scratch (and why it almost broke him)
• 🤝 The future of community-driven growth, leadership, and personal branding

💬 Want to see evyAI in action? Text DEMO to 973-841-8868 and get firsthand access.

🔗 Connect with Joe:

• LinkedIn: Joe Apfelbaum
• evyAI: app.evyai.com
• Ajax Union: ajaxunion.com

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Most companies pour money into marketing without connecting it to revenue. Jason Kramer, Founder & CEO of Cultivize, shows how to turn CRM, lead scoring, and simple attribution into hard ROI...and why many campaigns should be trimmed, not scaled.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How a 25-year roofing company cut ~$50k in wasted ad spend by tracking every channel (QRs, call prompts, landing pages) and tying it back to sales activity.
• “Hand raisers,” lead scoring, and seeing buying signals in real time (opens, site visits, video views).
• Why most teams fail CRM roll-outs, and the fast path to a functional build in 4–6 weeks.
• How agencies white-label CRM services to protect LTV, conversion, and retention.

Connect with Jason

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonleighkramer/
• Cultivize: https://cultivize.com/

Subscribe and find more episodes: https://isanythingrealinpaidadvertising.adamwbarney.com/

Most entrepreneurs feel the pressure to run ads before they’ve built a foundation. Abu Kamara, Co-Founder of Green Zone Solutions, took a different path. In just 18 months, he built a consulting business around sustainability, logistics, and operational performance - all through relationships, referrals, and trust, not ad spend.

In this episode, we cover:

• How Green Zone went from wide-net consulting to honing in on manufacturing and distribution niches.
• Why referrals and word-of-mouth still outpace cold ads in today’s noisy market.
• The systems Abu is putting in place to make referrals predictable and scalable.
• The biggest misconceptions about “slow growth” and what it really takes to build traction.

💡 For any founder wondering if they have to pour cash into ads right away, this conversation will reset your mindset.

👉 Connect with Abu:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/abubakarrkamara

Green Zone Solutions: gzsolutions.co

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