Recorded live, this edition of Ugly Talk dives into the real, unpolished side of building a personal brand as a founder — the cringe, the doubts, the consistency, and the unexpected wins that come from simply showing up online.

Moderated by Ben Buaron (Founder & CEO, Windmill Growth), the panel brings together two operators who’ve turned content into a growth engine:

Ben Sharf (Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Platter) shares how LinkedIn became his top acquisition channel — driving clients, hires, and even a six-figure inbound investment.

Blaine Davis (Co-Founder, Superconnector; GP at Mute Ventures) breaks down how personal brand powers trust, warm intros, and early-stage momentum — even while staying in stealth.

You’ll hear their unfiltered takes on:

• Overcoming the fear of cringe and publishing anyway
• What authenticity actually looks like online
• How founders convert content into revenue, pipeline, and investor interest
• Balancing top-, mid-, and bottom-of-funnel content
• Why personal brand is becoming non-negotiable in 2025

If you’ve ever wondered whether posting is “worth it,” this conversation pulls back the curtain on how founders really build leverage through content.

Want to share your Ugly story?

Visit uglytalk.com/podcast and send us a message.

In this live-recorded edition of the Ugly Talk Podcast at NomadWorks, Times Square in New York City, we hosted an open and honest conversation about how eCommerce brands can pivot in today’s downturn.

Moderated by Manish Chowdhary, founder & CEO of Cahoot, the panel features three founders & strategists digging into how they’re reengineering growth when old tactics no longer work:

Sabir Semerkant (Growth by Sabir) unveils his Rapid 2X Protocol, the model behind $1B+ in revenue across 200+ brands, and warns why many brands won’t survive 2025.

Maya Juchtman (Roswell NYC) blends artistry and performance marketing, sharing how to build brand stories that convert, even when consumer attention is fractured.

London Glorfield (Kickback) talks culture, product, and community: how to launch a youth-forward electronics brand in a time of shrinking attention spans and rising expectations.

🎙️ Expect real talk on:

- What growth tactics are relics now (and need to go)

- Fresh playbooks beyond Meta & Google ads: marketplaces, communities, wholesale, B2B pivots

- How to build resilient unit economics and margin-first growth

- Which experiments are worth backing in a down market

Whether you’re still early in your founder journey or navigating your fifth scaling phase, this episode offers the raw behind-the-scenes of how to build profitable eCommerce when everything else seems broken.

In this episode of Ugly Talk Podcast, Anson and Matthew chat with Sevak Avakians, an AI pioneer who built one of the first artificial intelligence models back in 2008. Sevak shares his journey of tackling the black box problem in AI, building explainable predictive models, and the challenges of scaling a business in an industry filled with skepticism.

Discover how perseverance, innovation, and a deep belief in transparent AI shaped his entrepreneurial path.

Check out Sevak’s work and learn more about explainable AI!

Follow/Contact Sevak Avakians

🔗https://linkedin.com/in/avakians

🔗https://x.com/sevakavakians

🔗https://medium.com/@sevakavakians

For more episodes and to learn more about our mission, visit uglytalk.com.

Want to get on the show and share your Ugly stories? Go to uglytalk.com/podcast and send us a message!