Join hosts Ken Roden and Erin Mills as they reflect on an incredible Season 2 of the FutureCraft GTM podcast. From pilot purgatory to agent swarms, they unpack how AI in go-to-market evolved throughout the year, share their biggest lessons learned, and make bold predictions for 2026.

Season 2 Reflections [00:01:00]

• The slow start vs. strong finish of AI adoption
• Pilot purgatory and why 95% of AI rollouts struggled
• The accordion effect of AI tools throughout the year

Guest Predictions Review - "They Called It" [00:04:00]

• Rachel Tru Air on AI SDRs: Still a work in progress
• Chase Hannigan on no-code agentic systems: Ahead of the curve
• Liza Adams on EQ being the edge: Called it perfectly

Major Themes That Emerged [00:08:00]

• Adoption over tools as the key to success
• AI as teammate vs. AI as output generator
• The "sandwich model" - humans at both ends, AI in the middle
• Curiosity and EQ as critical differentiators

What Failed This Year [00:10:00]

• AI vendor spray-and-pray marketing
• Custom GPT overload (600 GPTs at one company!)
• Rolling out LLMs without proper change management

Business Impact Wins [00:17:00]

• Speed to market improvements
• Analytics accessibility for non-technical users
• 600% more time on site from AI-driven traffic
• Time auditing as a measurement strategy

Personal Lightning Round [00:32:00]

• Most overhyped buzzword: AIEO
• Underrated tool: N8N
• Biggest personal unlock: Self-regulation with AI use
• Best use case: Digital twins and content workflows

2026 Predictions [00:24:00]

• Agent swarms and workforces (Erin's pick)
• Digital twins as the hero (Ken's pick)
• Closed company-specific LLMs
• Fractional AI experts with their own agent teams
• New organizational structures emerging

"AI is like an intern with a PhD who doesn't have any business experience" - Ken

"Digital twins are great, but I think it's gonna be swarms" - Erin

"It's 90% focus on the people and 10% on the execution now, not the other way around" - Erin

"Get your hands dirty. Because this is new to everybody, there's a real need to understand what your team is going through" - Erin

• Liza Adams
• Rachel Truair (Simpro)
• Chase Hannegan
• Sheena Miles
• Rebecca Shaddix
• Chris Penn

1. Change management is critical - 80% focus on people, 20% on execution
2. Start with boring problems - Don't chase the sexiest AI use cases
3. Define acceptable mistakes - Know when to call a pilot a failure
4. Agent swarms are the future - Moving beyond single-purpose tools
5. Communities matter - AI has opened unprecedented knowledge sharing
6. Speed to market - Months-long processes now taking days or hours

• N8N workflow automation platform
• Relevance AI
• Lindy
• ElevenLabs (voice)
• Planet Money AI recruiting segment
• Chris Penn's analytics community

• Human agentic workflows with verification stopgaps
• Agent swarm implementations
• New modalities: voice and video applications
• More on the Iron Man suit approach to fractional AI work

Share what you want to see in Season 3 & Connect with the Hosts:

• Ken Roden
• Erin Mills

About FutureCraft

Stay tuned for more insightful episodes from the FutureCraft podcast, where we continue to explore the evolving intersection of AI and GTM. Take advantage of the full episode for in-depth discussions and much more.

To listen to the full episode and stay updated on future episodes, visit our website, https://www.futurecraftai.media/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered advice. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are our own and do not represent those of any company or business we currently work for/with or have worked for/with in the past.

Music: Far Away - MK2

AI is not overhyped, it is under-implemented. Ken Roden and Erin Mills chat with Sheena Miles on how to move from tool obsession to behavior change, her three stage framework, and the practical KPIs that prove progress before revenue shows up. We also talk AI policy that unlocks safe experimentation, community as an accelerator, and Sheena demos how she spins up n8n workflows from a prompt.

00:00, Cold open and disclaimer 01:00, Is AI overhyped, what is really failing 03:20, Early indicators versus lagging revenue, set better goals 04:20, Exec view, target 3 percent faster time to market 06:00, Avoid AI slop, find repetitive, boring work 07:00, Guest intro 09:00, Real state of adoption, dual speed orgs and siloed champions 10:45, Teach concepts, not tools 12:00, Policy, security review, AI council 14:00, Behavior beats features 15:30, Community for accountability and shared assets 17:30, Live n8n demo, import a skeleton workflow and adapt 35:00, AI first versus AI native, embed into workflows 36:30, Influence without authority, solve a champion’s boring problem 38:00, Inclusion and usage gaps, why it matters to the business 40:00, Skills that matter now, prompting, rapid testing, communicating thought process 43:00, Why to be optimistic 45:00, Lightning round 48:00, Host debrief and takeaways

• Hype versus reality, most failures are vague goals and tool-first rollouts, not AI itself. • Measure what you can now, speed to market, cycle time, sprint throughput, ticket deflection, before revenue. • Framework, Activate, Amplify, Accelerate, start small, spread what works, then institutionalize. • Policy unlocks velocity, simple rules for data and tool vetting plus a cross functional council. • Behavior over features, learn inputs and outputs so skills transfer across tools. • Community compounds, accountability and shared templates speed learning. • Start with boring problems, compliance questionnaires, asset generation, ticket clustering, call insights. • AI first versus AI native, move from sidecar to embedded with human review gates. • Inclusion is a business lever, close usage gaps or accept a productivity gap.

Activate, prove value safely • Define the problem, validate AI fit, run a small pilot. • Track accuracy thresholds and time saved. • Example, auto draft responses to repetitive compliance questionnaires from a vetted knowledge base.

Amplify, spread what works • Connect adjacent teams, add light governance, share patterns. • Run cross team pilots and publish playbooks. • Example, connect support tickets, payments, compliance, partner success to detect issues proactively.

Accelerate, institutionalize • Assign ownership, embed training, integrate tools, set ROI guardrails. • Roll out across channels and systems with quality gates. • Example, ad copy system owned by demand gen, content as QA, used across paid, email, social.

“Policy enables speed if you write it to unblock safe experiments.” “Stop memorizing tool steps, learn the concepts so they transfer.” “Solve the boring problem first, that is where AI pays for itself.” “If NRR belongs to someone, it belongs to everyone.”

Resources & Links

• Sheena Miles on LinkedIn
• Women Defining AI, podcast and community
• n8n

About FutureCraft

Stay tuned for more insightful episodes from the FutureCraft podcast, where we continue to explore the evolving intersection of AI and GTM. Take advantage of the full episode for in-depth discussions and much more.

To listen to the full episode and stay updated on future episodes, visit our website, https://www.futurecraftai.media/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered advice. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are our own and do not represent those of any company or business we currently work for/with or have worked for/with in the past.

Music: Far Away - MK2

What happens when an Atlassian marketing veteran who decorates cakes and rides motorcycles decides the traditional marketing funnel is completely broken? You get Ashley Faus, Head of Lifecycle Marketing Portfolio at Atlassian, author of "Human-Centered Marketing," and today's guest on FutureCraft.

Ashley has spent 8+ years at Atlassian revolutionizing how B2B marketers think about customer journeys, replacing linear funnels with her "content playground" framework where audiences can go up, down, and sideways through your content—just like kids on an actual playground.

In this episode, we get into:

• Why ChatGPT 5 might be getting worse for marketing professionals (and what to use instead)
• Erin's live demo of Gemini's deep research for account-based marketing that analyzes hundreds of sources
• Ashley's content playground framework that treats audiences like humans, not funnel steps
• How trust becomes your only defensible moat when AI can fake everything else
• Why organizational silos are killing your customer experience (and how to fix them)
• The "18-month rule" for career evolution in an AI-accelerated world

Whether you're a CMO fighting for budget, a product marketer drowning in requests, or a lifecycle specialist trying to prove ROI, Ashley breaks down how to keep humans at the center while leveraging AI as your creative co-pilot.

🛠 Tools & Mentions:

• ChatGPT 5 (improved memory but weaker professional responses)
• Gemini Pro (superior deep research capabilities)
• Atlassian Rovo (AI agents and integrations)
• Notebook LM (content analysis and mind mapping)
• CASINO Framework (Context, Audience, Scope, Intent, Narrator, Outcome)
• Content Playground Model (conceptual, strategic, tactical content depths)

🎯 Try This:

Map your existing content using Ashley's playground framework: sticky note brainstorm → group themes → classify by depth (conceptual/strategic/tactical) and intent (buy/use/trust/help/learn).

🧠 Learn More from Ashley:

Follow Ashley Faus on LinkedIn

Read "Human-Centered Marketing: How to Connect with Audiences in the Age of AI"

Explore Atlassian's Team Playbook

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Disclaimer 02:15 Ken's ChatGPT 5 Reality Check 05:45 Erin's Gemini Deep Research Breakthrough 07:30 Live Demo: Account Research That Actually Works 18:20 Interview with Ashley Faus Begins 20:15 From Classical Singer to Marketing Revolutionary 25:40 Why She Wrote "Human-Centered Marketing" Now 32:10 Trust: The Thing You Can't Automate 38:25 Content Playground Framework Deep Dive 52:30 Breaking Down Marketing Silos Without Losing Your Mind 58:45 The 18-Month Rule for Career Evolution 01:02:15 Gladiator Round: AI-Powered Debate Prep 01:08:30 Lightning Round Rapid Fire 01:12:45 Key Takeaways and Episode Wrap

📥 Subscribe & Share:

New episodes drop weekly. If Ashley's playground framework changed how you think about customer journeys, leave a review, share it with a friend, and tag us with your biggest takeaway.

About our Guest:

Ashley Faus is the Head of Lifecycle Marketing Portfolio at Atlassian, author of "Human-Centered Marketing: How to Connect with Audiences in the Age of AI," and a Forbes contributor. In more than eight years at Atlassian, she's spanned corporate communications, product marketing, and lifecycle leadership. She's become known for replacing traditional marketing funnels with her content playground model, advocating for audience trust over vanity metrics, and showing how creativity—from musical theater to elaborate cakes—makes us better marketers.

Resources:

Ashley's Book: "Human-Centered Marketing: How to Connect with Audiences in the Age of AI"

LinkedIn: Ashley Faus

Stay tuned for more insightful episodes from the FutureCraft podcast, where we continue to explore the evolving intersection of AI and GTM. Take advantage of the full episode for in-depth discussions and much more.

To listen to the full episode and stay updated on future episodes, visit the website.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered advice. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are our own and do not represent those of any company or business we currently work for/with or have worked for/with in the past.

Music: Far Away - MK2

Episode Summary: Rebecca Shaddix joins Erin and Ken to blow up tired go-to-market tropes and rewrite what it means to lead with product marketing in an AI-native era. She shares the frameworks behind “acceptable mistakes,” why critical thinking is the superpower in a world of noisy AI outputs, and how to avoid chasing 80 experiments that go nowhere. If you’re a CMO, PMM, or founder trying to separate signal from AI hype, this is your roadmap.

About Our Guest: Rebecca Shaddix is the Head of Product & Lifecycle Marketing at Garner Health, Forbes contributor, and GTM strategy pioneer. She’s built GTM engines for high-growth SaaS and EdTech, founded Strategica, and is known for making complex data actionable (without losing trust or speed). Her frameworks are shaping the new AI playbook for marketers who want repeatable results, not just activity.

00:59 Ken's AI Sandwich Framework

04:26 Erin's AI-Powered Book Series

07:10 Interview with Rebecca Shaddix

08:24 Rebecca on Acceptable Mistakes in AI Implementation

17:44 AI's Impact on Product Marketing

23:30 Balancing AI Training and Deep Research

28:41 AI Tools and Budget Constraints

30:32 Navigating the Rapid Evolution of AI in Business

30:59 Balancing Risk and Reward in AI Tool Selection

32:44 Effective Team Collaboration and AI Integration

37:08 Building Trust in AI Insights

45:15 The Future of Product Marketing

54:13 Lightning Round and Final Thoughts

Quote of the Episode: “Trust in AI starts with transparency and ends with collaboration. Bring your teams in early, and let them own the process.” – Rebecca Shaddix

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• How to Make (the Right) Acceptable Mistakes: Rebecca’s “acceptable mistakes” framework—why defining what you won’t optimize is the move that unlocks true speed and clarity for GTM leaders.
• Experiments Without Strategy Are Chaos: Why most teams run too many experiments and how to build a ruthless prioritization model that gets buy-in before the test.
• The Real Role of AI in Product Marketing: How AI gives PMMs “junior analyst superpowers” but why human discernment, critical thinking, and cross-functional trust still win the day.
• Segmentation, ICP, and the New Power User: How machine learning is uncovering hidden patterns in the middle of your user base (not just among your superfans)—and why most marketers overweight the wrong signals.
• Building Trust in AI-Generated Insights: Rebecca’s battle-tested approach to cross-functional buy-in, demystifying black box outputs, and making AI actionable across the org.
• Budgeting for AI When Cash Is Tight: The no-BS guide to picking AI tools (hint: treat it like every other investment—hypothesis, use case, ROI) and why you should always start manual.

🧠 Next-Level Insights:

• The difference between motion and momentum in modern marketing—why activity ≠ impact
• Why the “blank page” problem is now dead for good (and why that changes who wins in marketing teams)
• How to democratize AI experimentation without losing control—or trust
• The hidden risk: Over-relying on your top users for feedback and missing the 10x opportunity in the “middle layer”

• Audit your own “acceptable mistakes.” What are you over-optimizing that doesn’t matter?
• Try running a single, ruthlessly prioritized experiment—get buy-in, define the problem, THEN launch
• Empower your team to bring AI wins (and failures) to the table—share the learning
• Stop listening only to your power users. Find what the “middle” is doing and why.

Resources Mentioned:

• Human-Centered Marketing by Ashley Faus
• ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini (and why switching tools is easier than switching marketing automation)
• LinkedIn: Connect with Rebecca Shaddix

Stay tuned for more FutureCraft episodes at futurecraftai.media

Liked this episode? Rate us on Spotify/Apple, share with a forward-thinking marketer, or DM us with what you want to hear next. Let’s keep crafting the future of GTM, together.

Music: Far Away - MK2

We talk with Lennard Kooy, CEO of Lleverage, about why nobody actually cares about AI—they care about outcomes. Lennard drops hard truths on why most companies are moving too slow, how to accelerate adoption by assisting before replacing, and where agentic workflows are creating real ROI. He also demos a live “gladiator challenge” of building a cold outreach AI agent from scratch, and outlines what every GTM leader needs to do right now to stay relevant.

Whether you're a RevOps pro, a BDR sick of cold calls, or a CMO trying not to get fired—this is your wake-up call.

04:43 Interview with Lennard Kooy

09:36 AI-Powered Recruitment and Sales Automation

14:29 Adopting AI in Business Processes

21:29 Practical AI Workflow Demonstration

23:40 Generating Company Lists and Lead Data

24:24 Simplifying Automation for Users

24:47 User Experience and Customer Support

25:39 Quick Wins for New Users

28:10 Potential of Agentic AI in Go-to-Market

30:59 Guardrails for Adopting AI

32:32 The Power of MCP in AI Integration

35:25 Mid-Market Focus and ROI

37:34 Future of AI in Professional Roles

39:41 Advice for Go-to-Market Leaders

42:29 Quick Hits: Practical AI Tips

44:57 Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Key Topics

• Reality Check: Why most businesses don’t care about AI—and what they do care about
• The Trust Layer: How “assist before replace” is the cheat code for adoption
• Recruiting Reinvented: How Lleverage AI automated 70% of their hiring pipeline
• Agentic GTM: Where agent workflows are replacing cold calls, research, and lead scoring
• Demo Time: Watch Lennard build an AI agent live, in under 5 minutes
• MCP Advantage: Why this new spec removes dev bottlenecks and boosts AI usability
• Speed > Perfection: Why going slow will kill your competitive edge
• Hard Truths for Leaders: You will get replaced if you don’t move faster
• Future of Work: What GTM roles look like in a near-agentic future

About our Guest:

Lennard Kooy is a seasoned tech entrepreneur focused on how emerging technologies can transform business operations. As CEO of AI platform Lleverage, he helps companies automate complex processes without requiring technical expertise, drawing from his experience building and selling martech company Storyteq to ITG.

Known for his pragmatic approach to AI adoption, Lennard regularly shares insights on making advanced automation accessible to everyday business teams. He's passionate about strengthening Europe's position in the global AI landscape and frequently writes about the practical realities of implementing AI in enterprise settings.

🔨 Practical Takeaways

3 Quick Wins for New AI Users

1. Start with something visual, with visible output, not backend automations
2. Keep workflows small (≤5 blocks) to understand what’s happening
3. Build in areas where you have subject-matter expertise—test what you know

Stay tuned for more insightful episodes from the FutureCraft podcast, where we continue to explore the evolving intersection of AI and GTM. Take advantage of the full episode for in-depth discussions and much more.

To listen to the full episode and stay updated on future episodes, visit the FutureCraft GTM website.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered advice. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are our own and do not represent those of any company or business we currently work for/with or have worked for/with in the past.

Music: Far Away - MK2

Episode Summary: In this packed episode, Lacey Miller joins Erin and Ken to demystify what it means to be a "Go-to-Market Engineer" in today’s AI-fueled marketing landscape. She breaks down how she uses agentic AI workflows to build repeatable, high-output growth systems without the team bloat. If you’ve ever wondered how AI changes content strategy, brand building, or TikTok for B2B... this is your playbook.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• Why the first 100 days in a marketing role now demands a full AI-first mindset
• How AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) flips SEO on its head and what it means for your content
• The creative tech stack behind Lacey’s agent-led outbound machine (yes, Lindy + Replit + persona recognition)
• Why brand visuals and voice need prompt engineering too
• How AI is changing buying behavior—and what smart marketers are doing in response
• Practical ways to use podcasts, transcripts, and conversational content to win in LLM search
• The real ROI of TikTok for B2B and why your team needs a “TikTok hour”

🛠️ Gladiator Round: Behind the Scenes of Lacey’s Stack Lacey walks through how she classifies inbound leads, triggers AI workflows, and scales one-to-one GTM—all without a dev team. You’ll see her build live in Replit and Lindy.

• Try using NotebookLM to create your own podcast content
• Share your AI wins or roadblocks with us on Twitter @FutureCraftpod

01:00 Ken's AI Journey: Building Connectors

02:16 Erin's AI Research Project

03:37 Guest Introduction: Lacey Miller

04:24 Lacey Miller's Marketing Insights

07:43 The Role of AI in Modern Marketing

11:37 AI-Driven Search and Content Strategies

16:57 Challenges and Opportunities in AI Marketing

22:12 Future of AI in B2B Marketing

25:01 SEO Strategies for AI Enthusiasts

25:38 Trends in User Engagement

26:50 The Evolution of Search Behavior

29:22 Disrupting Traditional Advertising

36:01 The Rise of TikTok in B2B Marketing

40:20 Practical AI Tools for Marketers

41:17 Lightning Round: Quick Marketing Insights

44:09 Final Thoughts and Takeaways

About our Guest: Lacey Miller

“Robots are making us sound more human.” “You can’t blog your way into LLMs—you need conversation.” “AI is not your replacement, it’s your multiplier.” “Your GPT isn't a toy. It’s your co-pilot.” “We’re not just building campaigns anymore—we’re building products.”

Resources:

Lindy.ai

Stay tuned for more insightful episodes from the FutureCraft podcast, where we continue to explore the evolving intersection of AI and GTM. Take advantage of the full episode for in-depth discussions and much more.

To listen to the full episode and stay updated on future episodes, visit the FutureCraft GTM website.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered advice. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are our own and do not represent those of any company or business we currently work for/with or have worked for/with in the past.

Music: Far Away - MK2