What if the setback you didn't ask for turned into the best decision of your career? Kriste Goad, founder and Chief Firestarter of fuoco, shares the unfiltered story of building a healthcare B2B marketing agency — starting with getting let go and betting on herself instead of going back in-house. Kriste breaks down what 25 years in healthcare marketing taught her about relationships, business development, and brand clarity, plus the hard lessons behind scaling to Inc. 5000 recognition. This episode is for marketers, founders, and agency leaders who want a real look at growth, resilience, and how to use AI without losing the human judgment that makes the work valuable.

Episode Highlights
01:36 – Kriste traces her path into healthcare marketing back to her early days at Healthways
08:06 – The real story behind founding fuoco: "the only reason I started my own agency is I was fired"
10:44 – Where the name fuoco — Italian for "fire" — actually came from
12:04 – What years in business development taught her about swings, rejection, and relationships
22:39 – The most common mistake healthcare B2B brands make when telling their story
30:20 – Lessons from Inc. 5000 growth, including the over-hiring trap many agencies fall into
39:54 – Building the "fuoco operating system" and an AI org chart inside the agency
44:49 – Staying the "human in the loop" when clients bring AI-generated work back to the table

Learn More & Connect
Show Notes + Resources: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/
Connect With Kriste Goad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristegoad/ | https://growwithfuoco.com/
Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner | https://snapshot.agency/health

Our Sponsor - Snapshot: https://snapshot.agency/health

Follow The Spark: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/

#TheSparkPodcast #CreativeAssembly #HealthcareMarketing #AgencyGrowth #BrandStrategy #WomenInBusiness

What does it actually take to keep a booming city from losing what made it special in the first place? On this episode of The Spark, host Mark Scrivner sits down with Stephanie Coleman, President & CEO of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, for a candid look at leadership inside one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. Stephanie traces her path from federal policy work in D.C. to nearly 18 years and seven roles at the Chamber, then digs into the tension every high-growth city eventually faces: how to keep pace with affordability, housing, and infrastructure needs without losing the culture and creative identity that built the city's brand. She shares what she's learned about cross-sector leadership, why trust is the real bottleneck on collaboration, and what becoming the Chamber's first female CEO means to her and to the next generation of leaders behind her. Business owners, civic leaders, and anyone building something in a fast-growing city will walk away with a sharper read on how leadership, collaboration, and intentional growth planning actually work together, covering topics including cross-sector leadership, affordability and housing, Partnership 2030, chamber membership strategy, civic resilience, and Nashville's Super Bowl moment.

Episode Highlights

00:56 – Stephanie on leaving D.C. policy work to build her career in Nashville

06:09 – Nashville's boom years and the affordability tension shaping the region today

11:43 – The "secret sauce" behind successful cities: leadership across every sector

13:43 – Why collaboration can't move faster than trust

16:08 – Becoming the Chamber's first female President & CEO

22:01 – The bold goal to grow Chamber membership by 50%

31:46 – Stephanie's vision for what Nashville looks like in 2031

35:30 – Nashville's Super Bowl moment and its global spotlight

Learn More & Connect
Show Notes + Resources: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/
Connect With Stephanie Coleman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-coleman-1956775/ | https://nashvillechamber.com/
Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner | https://snapshot.agency/health
Our Sponsor - Snapshot: https://snapshot.agency/health
Follow The Spark: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/
#TheSparkPodcast #CreativeAssembly #NashvilleLeadership #ChamberOfCommerce #CivicLeadership #EconomicDevelopment

What happens when you accidentally build a marketing agency out of a side hustle, and then have to decide whether to bet everything on it?

Ashley Robinson, founder and CEO of Green Cardigan Marketing, joins host Mark Scrivner to share how a criminal defense lawyer's side project turned into an agency serving 70 to 90 law firms a month. Ashley walks through her decision to niche exclusively into legal marketing, why she believes "riches are in the niches," and how she's built trust with a client base that's demanding, driven, and skeptical of marketing spend. The conversation covers agency positioning, letting go of control as a founder, building client trust through better questions, and where AI fits into her operations today.

For agency owners weighing specialization against staying general, this episode is a practical playbook: how to pick a lane, communicate it clearly, and build a team around it.

Episode Highlights
04:25 – Ashley shares how she became an "accidental agency owner," starting as a side hustle for a criminal defense lawyer in Atlanta
06:43 – The story behind the name Green Cardigan Marketing, inspired by golf and the Masters' green jacket
09:11 – The moment Ashley decided to go all-in on her agency in the early days of COVID
18:41 – Ashley makes the case for niching down: "riches are in the niches"
23:36 – Her go-to trust-building strategy: ask questions before you talk
25:56 – How Green Cardigan is using AI across operations and client work
33:43 – Ashley's proudest moments as a founder, centered on her team and client impact
39:25 – Closing advice for overwhelmed agency owners: narrow your focus

Learn More & Connect:

Show Notes + Resources: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/
Connect With Ashley Robinson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyrobinsongcm/ | https://greencardiganmarketing.com/
Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner | https://snapshot.agency/health

Our Sponsor - Snapshot: https://snapshot.agency/health

Follow The Spark: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/

#TheSparkPodcast #CreativeAssembly #AgencyGrowth #NicheMarketing #LegalMarketing #AgencyOwner

What does it take for a two-person agency in Nashville to beat out well-known firms from Berlin and London for a global Sony account?

Ken Byers, founder and CEO of Confidant, has lived that story, and he's spent nearly a decade since turning it into a repeatable model.

In this episode of The Spark, Mark Scrivner sits down with Ken at Creative Assembly's East Nashville studio for a conversation that covers the full arc: from writing a sixth-grade term paper about working in advertising, to landing at Ogilvy & Mather, to going brand-side at Sony Electronics, to founding Confidant in 2016 and growing it into a creative velocity partner for global brands. Ken shares the lessons he learned from living on both sides of the agency-client relationship, what it really means to earn trust with major brands, how COVID forced a repositioning that made Confidant stronger, and where he sees AI fitting — and not fitting — into the creative process. Whether you're running an agency, building a brand, or navigating your own entrepreneurial inflection point, this episode is packed with hard-won perspective on what it takes to climb the next hill.

Episode Highlights
01:05 – Ken traces his journey from a sixth-grade term paper to Ogilvy & Mather
04:39 – The biggest cultural shift moving from agency life to Sony brand-side
14:08 – How a global Sony pitch launched Confidant and led to years of sleepless nights
20:04 – Why big brands are moving away from holding company agencies toward boutique specialists
25:51 – The origin of the name Confidant and the trust philosophy behind it
33:16 – Navigating COVID as an inflection point and how it reshaped Confidant's positioning
38:33 – Why "creative velocity" is now Confidant's positioning — and the insight that unlocked it
45:55 – How Ken approaches AI: research, operations, ideation, and production

Learn More & Connect:

Show Notes + Resources: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/
Connect With Ken Byers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenbyers/ | https://www.confidant.co/
Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner | https://snapshot.agency/health
Our Sponsor - Snapshot: https://snapshot.agency/health

Follow The Spark: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/

#TheSparkPodcast #CreativeAssembly #AgencyGrowth #BrandStrategy #CreativeLeadership #Entrepreneurship #NashvilleCreative #AIInMarketing

What does it take to build a digital marketing agency from a $500 website to a million-dollar business, and then reinvent it for the AI era?

In this episode of The Spark, Mark Scrivner sits down with Michael Epps Utley, CEO of GoEpps, a Nashville-based digital marketing firm. Recorded at the Creative Assembly studio in East Nashville, Michael traces the origins of his business philosophy back to his father's systems-thinking approach and shares how that inheritance has shaped everything from how he builds products to how he evaluates partnerships.

Michael and Mark cover the real state of SEO in an AI-dominated search landscape, why "SEO is dead" is a fundamental misread of the market, the business case for human-in-the-loop AI, how to maximize content ROI through post-production strategy, and the one mindset shift that separates agencies that grow from those that stall. Whether you're building an agency, navigating AI adoption, or looking to sharpen your content strategy, this conversation delivers the kind of grounded, earned perspective that only comes from 14 years in the trenches.

Episode Highlights:
01:56 – Michael traces his journey from a creative writing degree to founding GoEpps
07:00 – The systems-thinking philosophy his father built — and why Michael has spent his life trying to replicate it
11:46 – GoEpps launches AEO: a dashboard for tracking AI search results across competitors
14:24 – "It's not gonna replace SEO, but it might replace Google" — Michael's take on the AI search landscape
21:56 – The $783 moment: how a single instinctual phone call closed GoEpps's first million-dollar year
26:15 – How resilience through recessions, a Nashville tornado, and a global pandemic shaped the business
29:07 – What great partnerships are actually built on: demonstrated behavior vs. delivered information
36:11 – Why the biggest missed opportunity in video isn't production — it's post-production strategy
44:37 – "The answer is go" — Michael's core advice for agency owners and entrepreneurs at any stage

Learn More & Connect:

What separates great brands from forgettable ones? According to veteran marketer Bill Zinke, it starts with understanding what makes your business truly different, and having the discipline to communicate that clearly across every customer touchpoint.

In this episode of The Spark, Bill shares lessons from a 35-year marketing career spanning global brands, franchise systems, private equity-backed companies, and entrepreneurial ventures. From creating emotional connections with customers to aligning sales and marketing teams, Bill breaks down the strategies that consistently drive growth and brand loyalty.

Whether you're a business owner, marketer, agency leader, or creative entrepreneur, this conversation offers practical insights on differentiation, leadership, customer research, franchise marketing, agency partnerships, and using data to make smarter decisions.

03:45 – How studying psychology laid the foundation for a career in marketing

12:18 – Why differentiation is the key to successful marketing

14:28 – Marketing as a growth engine, not a cost center

17:05 – The emotional connection that transformed Chem-Dry's brand strategy

22:05 – How consumer research unified more than 1,000 franchise locations

28:40 – What great agency-client partnerships have in common

57:10 – Why marketers need to spend more time analyzing performance data

Learn More & Connect

Show Notes + Resources: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/

Connect With Bill Zinke: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-zinke/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/bill-zinke-cmo-board-services/

Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner | https://snapshot.agency/health

Our Sponsor - Snapshot: https://snapshot.agency/health

#TheSparkPodcast #Marketing #BrandStrategy #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #cmo

Snapshot Health | Behavioral Health Marketing Built for Growth and Impact

Snapshot Health is a strategic growth and marketing partner for behavioral health organizations nationwide. We help treatment centers, mental health providers, and recovery programs grow responsibly by aligning brand, digital strategy, and patient acquisition with clinical integrity and long-term outcomes. Our team specializes in performance-driven marketing for behavioral health, including SEO, paid media, branding, marketing strategy, website development, and admissions enablement. We focus on attracting the right patients, improving conversion, and building scalable systems that support sustainable growth. Snapshot Health brings deep expertise in compliance, ethics, and trust-based marketing. We partner closely with executive teams to drive predictable admissions growth while protecting reputation, mission, and quality of care.

Few creatives have left a mark on Nashville quite like Chuck Creasy. From serving in Vietnam to studying under legendary artists, working alongside advertising icons, helping launch major brands, shaping Nashville's identity, and even playing a role in bringing the Predators to Music City, Chuck's story is packed with lessons on leadership, persistence, curiosity, and creative excellence.

In this episode of The Spark, Chuck shares the moments that defined his career, the mentors who shaped him, and the principles that guided decades of award-winning work. Along the way, he reflects on the importance of work ethic, lifelong learning, giving back, and always asking one critical question: "Is it great?"

15:19 – Chuck gets hired on the spot by legendary creative leader Eric Erickson after showing up with a portfolio in a department store shopping bag.

36:27 – The story behind the phrase "Nashville is Music and More" and how Nashville evolved beyond its musical roots.

44:52 – Chuck explains why curiosity remains one of the most important traits for any creative professional.

49:40 – Why great creatives should give back and use their talents to support meaningful causes.

56:35 – Chuck shares one of the proudest moments of his career: helping launch the Nashville Predators.

57:40 – The creation of the iconic "Got Hockey?" campaign that helped secure Nashville's NHL franchise.

59:10 – Lessons from decades of leadership, mentorship, and building great creative teams.

Listen: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/

Watch: https://youtu.be/-Ys2J-kDE4U

The Spark Podcast: Hear Stories from Nashville Creatives

Tune into the The Spark Podcast for inspiring conversations with creatives, entrepreneurs, and industry experts to fuel your creative journey.

Learn More & Connect

Show Notes + Resources: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/

Connect With Chuck Creasy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-creasy-bb35b11/ | https://chuck-creasy.pixels.com/

Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner | https://snapshot.agency/health

Our Sponsor - Snapshot: https://snapshot.agency/health

Snapshot Health | Behavioral Health Marketing Built for Growth and Impact

Snapshot Health is a strategic growth and marketing partner for behavioral health organizations nationwide. We help treatment centers, mental health providers, and recovery programs grow responsibly by aligning brand, digital strategy, and patient acquisition with clinical integrity and long-term outcomes. Our team specializes in performance-driven marketing for behavioral health, including SEO, paid media, branding, marketing strategy, website development, and admissions enablement. We focus on attracting the right patients, improving conversion, and building scalable systems that support sustainable growth. Snapshot Health brings deep expertise in compliance, ethics, and trust-based marketing. We partner closely with executive teams to drive predictable admissions growth while protecting reputation, mission, and quality of care.

In this episode of The Spark, Mark Scrivner sits down with Robert Froedge, EVP and Executive Creative Director at Lewis Communications, to explore the mindset behind decades of award-winning creative leadership. From growing up in Nashville to leading teams across multiple offices, Robert shares how storytelling, craft, and curiosity have shaped his approach to branding, advertising, and creative problem-solving.

The conversation dives deep into the evolution of the creative industry, from drafting tables and early computers to AI-powered workflows transforming agency life today. Robert offers practical insights on embracing change, mentoring young creatives, balancing creativity with measurable business results, and why human connection still matters in a rapidly evolving digital world.

00:04 — Robert reflects on growing up in Nashville and returning to the church where he spent much of his childhood.

05:24 — A high school poster contest sparks Robert's passion for graphic design and creative storytelling.

11:20 — Robert shares the emotional story of nearly turning down his job at Lewis Communications and why Larry Norris' belief changed everything.

15:28 — The "magic spot" of great creative work: giving audiences just enough to connect the dots themselves.

16:53 — How Lewis Communications is embracing AI as a creative tool instead of fearing it.

33:13 — Advice for young creatives on adapting to change, embracing AI, and continuing to learn.

35:17 — Why in-office collaboration still matters for mentorship, culture, and creative growth.

Learn More & Connect:

Show Notes + Resources: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/

Connect With Robert Froedge: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-froedge-33a566a/ | https://lewiscommunications.com

Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner | https://snapshot.agency/health

Our Sponsor - Snapshot: https://snapshot.agency/health