In this episode of "The Death of Vanilla Podcast," host Stephen Burkhart sits down with Katarina, a revenue operations expert who recently launched her own consulting firm after years in Silicon Valley startups. Discover how she's helping SaaS startups implement enterprise-level revenue strategies without the enterprise-level costs.Katarina shares her journey from immigrant to tech startup veteran to founder, and explains her unique approach to RevOps that includes bringing product teams into the revenue conversation—a game-changing perspective most early-stage companies miss. Learn why your accounting and CRM should tell the same story, how to identify which 20% of efforts will give you 80% of results, and why she focuses on delivering "painkillers" that solve immediate problems before introducing "vitamins" for long-term growth.The conversation explores surprising insights about LinkedIn's effectiveness for B2B lead generation (it's where 100% of her clients come from!), why authentic networking still matters, and her biggest revelation since launching: RevOps systems are completely useless without a culture of accountability. If you're a founder looking to accelerate revenue growth, avoid costly mistakes, and make data-driven decisions about your product roadmap, this episode offers practical strategies you can implement immediately.Connect with Katarina on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katarina-lujic-advisor/Reach out to him on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenburkhart/or by email Steven@stevenburkhart.comBurkhart Creative AgencyHttp://www.burkhartcreativeagency.comSpotlight Socialhttp://www.thespotlightsocial.com

In this episode of "The Death To Vanilla Podcast," host Steven Burkhart sits down with Kendi Brown, a business operations expert who helps overwhelmed entrepreneurs break free from chaos and inefficiency. Kendi shares her journey to founding her own consulting company that serves as an "ops excellence team for hire."Discover why business owners often tolerate unnecessary operational pain, how entrepreneurs unknowingly create their own overwhelming systems, and practical frameworks for identifying your business's limiting factors. Kendi reveals surprising insights about entrepreneurs' relationship with technology and process documentation, plus shares incredible success stories—including how she helped reduce one solopreneur's workload from 70% to just 15% of core processes.Learn about the "big bets vs. quick wins" framework, why employees crave structure while entrepreneurs thrive in chaos, and how proper operations can help you reclaim your time, grow your business sustainably, and avoid burnout. If you're tired of wearing too many hats in your business and ready to build systems that actually work, this episode is your blueprint for operational success.Connect with Kendi here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kendibrown/Check out her website: https://www.coaticonsultingco.com/Reach out to him on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenburkhart/or by email Steven@stevenburkhart.comBurkhart Creative AgencyHttp://www.burkhartcreativeagency.comSpotlight Socialhttp://www.thespotlightsocial.com

John Cantu is the head of marketing for an incredible local coffee chain, Press Coffee.During his time there he has leveraged the incredible awareness Press Coffee has gained through their physical locations across Arizona to expand their subscription services and eCommerce store purchases. How? Well I'm glad you asked. Check out the episode! Connect with John Cantu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjohncantu/--Steven Burkhart is the host and creator of the Death To Vanilla Podcast. In addition to the podcast he has a video production company for SMB's to attract and convert an audience into customers called @burkhartcreativeagency He also recent started a social media marketing company called Spotlight Social which leverages his experience in video production and marketing strategy. He understands that social media marketing is more than graphic designers making cute posts, it's about making data-driven decisions that move the revenue needles through sophisticated and engaging content + strategies. Reach out to him on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenburkhart/or by email Steven@stevenburkhart.comBurkhart Creative AgencyHttp://www.burkhartcreativeagency.comSpotlight Socialhttp://www.thespotlightsocial.com#presscoffee #johncantu #coffeemarketing #ecommmarketing #ecommercesuccess