Welcome to episode 5 of Maximus & The Founder Quest! In this monthly series, Max Greenwald (Co-founder & CEO of Warmly) continues his founder brand journey with Dave Gerhardt (Author of Founder Brand & Founder of Exit Five).

This month, Max shares updates on his role models and anti-role models, including finding a mentor in Derek Schoettle (former CEO of ZoomInfo) and following Peter Walker from Carta for data-driven content inspiration. Max reveals his decision to avoid extreme satire and "doom posting" to stay authentic to Warmly's brand.

Dave and Max dive deep into Chapter 5: Become a Publisher & Get on Social Media. They discuss how social media has evolved since the book's release, the impact of AI on content creation, the changing role of PR versus organic social media, and why consistency matters more than ever. Dave shares his philosophy on posting frequency, the value of weekend content, and why authentic, unpolished posts often perform better than AI-generated perfection.

Tune in to learn how to show up consistently, avoid common founder mistakes, and build publicly without being overly promotional!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro
0:36 Episode Begins
1:10 Max's role model update: Derek Schoettle and Peter Walker
2:20 Anti-role models: Avoiding extreme satire and doom posting
3:24 Dave's shift away from "everything is dead" marketing content
3:51 Moving from Building Quietly to Building Publicly
4:06 Changes in the social media landscape since the book's release
4:39 The importance of having a clear angle and being known for something
5:40 The impact of AI on content creation and authenticity
6:54 Why consistency and substance matter more than ever
8:41 The shift from traditional PR to social media
10:07 Why TechCrunch coverage matters less than it used to
11:21 Earned media through social media vs. traditional publications
12:28 The value of comments and reshares as modern PR
13:31 Common founder mistakes: Inconsistency and being overly promotional
14:09 Posting frequency: How often should founders post on LinkedIn?
16:16 Why weekend content often performs better
17:06 The "five to nine before nine to five" content trend
17:42 Speaking to your audience vs. speaking to a broader group
18:51 The "give, give, give, ask" social media strategy
19:57 How reading and consuming content fuels creativity
21:09 David Ogilvy's wisdom on stuffing your subconscious with information
22:24 Five questions for founders building publicly
23:28 Dave's Readwise tip for capturing and revisiting highlights

Connect with Max on LinkedIn - /max-greenwald

Connect with Dave on LinkedIn - /davegerhardt

Want to convert your website visitors instantly? Try Warmly for free - https://warmly.ai/

Welcome to episode 4 of Maximus & The Founder Quest! In this monthly series, Max Greenwald (Co-founder & CEO of Warmly) continues his founder brand journey with Dave Gerhardt (Author of Founder Brand & Founder of Exit Five).

Max reveals Warmly's new explainer after user testing: "AI tools to build your best lists of prospects and convert them automatically." They refine the messaging around person-level intent signals and debate whether "buying committee" is too jargony for their authentic brand voice.

Dave and Max dive into Chapter 4: Finding Your Role Models, Mentors, and Anti-Role Models. They discuss why most advice isn't statistically significant, how to observe successful brands without needing meetings, and why you should steal bits and pieces from different role models rather than copying anyone wholesale.

Max shares his role models (Adam Robinson, David Risher from Lyft) and they explore the balance between being controversial and being yourself.

Tune in to learn how to build your marketing playbook by cherry-picking the best traits from brands you admire!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
0:35 Episode Begins
1:30 Recap: Warmly's new explainer and tagline
2:24 Drafting off AI trends while staying simple
2:47 Person-level intent signals vs. buying committee language
4:39 Why "buying committee" feels too formal
5:24 Making your explainer authentic and approachable
6:06 Chapter 4: Finding Role Models, Mentors, and Anti-Role Models
6:42 Why most advice isn't statistically significant
7:54 The "experience share" approach to advice
8:12 Multiple ways to succeed in marketing
9:09 Looking beyond SaaS for brand inspiration
10:01 Brand role models vs. technical role models
10:22 Anti-role models: defining what you don't want to be
11:15 You don't need meetings with your role models
12:07 The digital trail: learning from the Wayback Machine
13:05 Max's role model: Adam Robinson and building in public
13:52 Taking ingredients, not the whole recipe
14:51 Buffer's transparency playbook
15:16 David Risher at Lyft: staying close to customers
16:06 Using VCs as mentors for broader data perspective
16:15 Anti-role models: not boring, not too safe
16:42 Getting flamed on LinkedIn no matter what you post
18:09 Being controversial requires conviction and big boy pants
18:39 Defining your anti-role models through your own taste
20:04 Staying authentic when moving upmarket
20:38 Building a mood board of marketing you love and hate
21:09 Having a strong point of view as competitive advantage
22:00 Founder-led marketing beyond LinkedIn posts
23:03 The Patagonia lesson: easier to be yourself than a character
23:55 Clarity on your marketing approach enables authenticity

Connect with Max on LinkedIn - /max-greenwald

Connect with Dave on LinkedIn - /davegerhardt

Want to convert your website visitors instantly? Try Warmly for free - https://warmly.ai/

Welcome to episode 3 of Maximus & The Founder Quest! In this monthly series, Max Greenwald (Co-founder & CEO of Warmly) continues his founder brand journey with Dave Gerhardt (Author of Founder Brand & Founder of Exit Five).

This month, Max shares his progress on defining Warmly's villain (ABM is dead) and niche (technical marketing leaders at mid-market companies), plus his big move to the Bay Area to be closer to his ICP. Dave and Max dive deep into Chapter 3: Creating an Effective Explainer, where they tackle the challenge of explaining what your company does without resorting to buzzword soup or elevator pitch pressure.

Dave breaks down his "So you know how..." framework that turns complex positioning into relatable conversations, and they workshop three potential explainer directions for Warmly - from TAM CRM to person-level intent platform to AI-powered super-marketers. They discuss why education is the best marketing, how to get authentic messaging from customer feedback, and why your story should always be evolving.

Tune in to learn how to create explainers that make people lean in and say "Oh, how do you do that?"

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
1:27 Episode Begins
2:05 Recap: Warmly's villain statement and niche definition
3:14 Max's move to the Bay Area to be closer to his ICP
4:18 The hero story and origin narrative strategy
4:57 Education as the best marketing - lessons from Drift
6:06 The power of manifesto content and strong points of view
7:37 Why messaging comes from customer feedback, not brainstorms
9:17 Chapter 3: Creating an Effective Explainer
9:41 Why Dave hates elevator pitches and tagline pressure
10:19 The conversational approach to explaining your company
11:22 The "first line, second line" copywriting principle
12:15 Taking pressure off the perfect one-liner
13:01 How Dave explains Exit Five using relatable analogies
13:53 Three potential explainer directions for Warmly
14:22 Option 1: The TAM CRM approach
15:15 Why buzzword soup can be problematic
16:15 Option 2: Person-level intent platform
17:09 The shift from inbound nets to outbound spears
18:04 Option 3: Powering super-marketers with AI agents
19:33 Making claims nobody else can make
20:14 Why messaging is never done - the iterative approach
21:33 Using your team to gather explainer feedback
22:01 Understanding your competitive landscape to stand out

Want to convert your website visitors instantly? Try Warmly for free - https://warmly.ai/