What happens when a student becomes so engaged with an online course that the company accidentally hires their own best case study?

Meet Quinn Palmer, who took a Growclass growth marketing course 4.5 years ago, became deeply involved as a community volunteer, and now leads the very marketing team that once targeted her as a customer.

As Senior Manager of Growth Marketing at Growclass, she's living proof of her company's promise: 83% of graduates get promoted or land new jobs within six months.

In this episode, Charlene Ormo explores Quinn Palmer's full-circle journey from freelancer seeking upskilling to marketing leader.

They dive into how Quinn's student experience shapes her marketing philosophy, why she calls Growclass 'a friendship company cosplaying as education,' and the exact community-building strategies that transformed her career trajectory twice."

If you're wondering how authentic community building can drive both personal growth and business results, Quinn breaks down the exact playbook.

Today, Charlene sits down with someone who's mastered the art of blending strategy with soul in an increasingly metrics-obsessed world. Quinn Palmer is the Senior Manager of Growth Marketing at Growclass, former growth marketer at Interval, and host of the "Say It, I Dare You" podcast. But what sets her apart isn't just her ability to move numbers---it's how she builds authentic community while hitting aggressive KPIs and refuses to sacrifice human connection for conversion rates.

They dive deep into everything from Quinn's "friendship company cosplaying as an education company" philosophy to why she fires underpaying clients (thanks to community support), to how organizing Christmas parties translates directly to growth marketing success. Plus, the simple truth that changed everything: "It's not that serious."

If you've ever wondered how to balance authentic relationship building with data-driven results while maintaining the heart that got you into marketing in the first place, this 42-minute conversation is pure gold.

• Hosts "Crossover Episodes" in Real Life - Her term for mixing different friend groups at parties, which is exactly how she approaches community building at work.
• Got Hired by Her Own Case Study - Jokes that Growclass "accidentally swiped their best case study" when they hired her---she was such an engaged community member that they made her the person running the community.
• Works at a "Friendship Company Cosplaying as Education" - Her exact description of Growth Class, where community members become genuine friends who attend each other's weddings.
• Needed Five Strangers to Fire a Bad Client - Brought her people-pleasing struggle to a Solo Marketers Club where people she'd just met spent an entire hour convincing her she deserved better rates.
• Has a Favorite Food Philosophy for Sales - Believes you're more likely to close a deal by asking someone about their favorite dumplings than by pitching your product first (her favorite answer: any type of dumpling, anywhere, anytime).

"You don't make relationships with people to get things from them. You make the relationships to be able to give things to them." - Quinn Palmer

[02:30] - Beyond the LinkedIn titles: Who Quinn is as a wife, partner, friend, and community builder at her core.

[08:15] - The superpower of organizing: How the same skills that plan family Christmas translate to building marketing communities that drive revenue.

[14:45] - From cold corporate to warm community: Why Growclass showed her marketing doesn't have to be slimy or purely...

Ever wonder what it looks like to turn vulnerability into your greatest business asset while building brands that feel like conversations with your best friend?

Today, Charlene sits down with someone who's not just building marketing campaigns—she's building movements rooted in authentic storytelling and human connection. Hurriyeh Iftikhar is the founding marketing lead at Siena AI, former marketing leader at LiveLike, and a proud Pakistani-Canadian who landed every major job through shameless cold outreach. But what sets her apart isn't just the tech—it's how she calls herself "the most fortunate person in the room" and believes the universe conspires to help you achieve your dreams.

They chat about everything from Hurriyeh's grandfather's challenge that changed her life to why her hands still shake before presentations (despite everyone calling her confident), to how visualization and team psychology turned an "impossible" campaign into their biggest success.

If you've wondered what it means to bring your whole self to work while navigating constant change, this conversation is for you.

Meet Hurriyeh Iftikhar — In 5 Fun Facts

• Landed Every Job Through LinkedIn DMs - Has never gotten a major position through traditional applications. Every opportunity started with a cold message saying what she loves about the brand and what they're doing wrong.
• Still Gets the Shakes Before Presentations - Despite being called "confident" by everyone, admits her hands tremble before every important call or presentation. She's just learned to mask it over time.
• Printed Success Mantras for Her Team - Asked team members how they'd feel achieving an impossible goal, then had "I'm a f*cking genius" graphics printed for everyone when they hit 39,280 leads instead of the client's 15,000 target.
• Her Professional and Personal DISC Were Identical - Was the only leader at Sienna AI whose work and personal personalities matched almost exactly. Refuses to have an "on/off" button for different personas.
• Dreams in Econometrics Stories - Turned advanced econometrics into storytelling by viewing numbers as narratives about the future and past, making her feel like she has "superpower to see what's coming."

"There's power in being yourself and being authentic and being vulnerable. It's not your weakness. It actually helps you be more proud of who you are." - Hurriyeh Iftikhar

[00:07:15] - The grandfather's challenge: The conversation that changed everything—from comfort in Pakistan to chasing dreams in Canada.

[00:12:30] - Brutal job rejection reality: How graduating with honors led to crushing rejections and what her grandfather taught her about jumping pads.

[00:19:45] - The shameless cold email strategy: Being brutally honest about what you love and what they're doing wrong in outreach messages.

[00:23:40] - The COVID career pivot: Working with Pakistani startups during lockdown and how the universe conspired to bring her back to Canada.

[00:28:45] - The 45,000 lead campaign psychology: How visualization, team mantras, and reverse engineering turned impossible into achievable.

[00:32:15] - The LAQS methodology: Listen, Audit, Quantitative analysis, Systematize, Scale—her framework for every decision.

[00:35:20] - Hands still shake confession: The vulnerability behind the confidence everyone sees and why authenticity is her superpower.

[00:38:15] - Brand philosophy revolution: Why brands should hold candles instead of megaphones and ask "How was your day?"

[00:42:30] - Following passion vs. auditing passion:...

Ever wonder what happens when a seasoned Amazon executive trades corporate chaos for toddler tantrums—and discovers it makes him a better marketing leader?

Today, Charlene sits down with someone who's mastered the art of authentic storytelling in an AI-saturated world. Brent Brooks is the Director of Marketing at Texada Software, former Amazon Principal Product Marketer for Alexa Smart Home, and a father of two who took an 8-month career break to focus on fatherhood. But what sets him apart isn't just his tech pedigree—it's how he applies parenting wisdom to marketing strategy and refuses to let his team become "toddlers" while still guiding them like a lighthouse.

They dive deep into everything from Brent's physical ritual of switching to an analog watch each night (his Mr. Rogers moment) to why he tells marketers to "kill your darlings," to how teaching his daughter to cut her nails revealed everything wrong with his leadership style. Plus, the shipping container analogy that simplified Amazon's most complex smart home technology.

If you've ever wondered how to balance authentic storytelling with data-driven results while maintaining work-life boundaries that actually work, this 44-minute conversation is pure gold.

• Has a Physical ‘Mr. Rogers’ Ritual - Switches from Apple Watch to analog watch every evening at 5:30pm, leaves all devices downstairs, and asks his kids "How was your day?" to mentally transition from work mode to dad mode.
• Took 8 Months Off for Fatherhood - Left his Amazon role to be a full-time dad, which taught him patience and how to "guide the ship but let them sail it" with his marketing team.
• Calls Himself a Professional Storyteller - Been listed as "storyteller" in his LinkedIn profile for years and believes you're getting old when you tell the same stories repeatedly—so he actively seeks new adventures.
• Mastered the Shipping Container Analogy - Simplified Amazon's complex Matter smart home standard by comparing it to global shipping logistics, making technical concepts accessible to everyone.
• Learned Leadership from Nail Clipping - Realized he doesn't remember when he started cutting his own nails as a kid, which taught him to let his team struggle and learn rather than doing everything for them.

"You don't know if I'm real until you meet me in person. And so taking that stance means I have to be hyper vigilant in all of my campaigns to make sure I'm leveraging something real." - Brent Brooks

[00:02:30] - The storyteller identity: Why Brent calls himself a storyteller first and how new adventures prevent boring repeated stories.

[00:08:15] - Falling into marketing accidentally: From Econ/Poly Sci degree to discovering the dopamine rush of successful campaigns and real-time analytics.

[00:14:45] - Balancing creativity with data: The modern attribution challenge and why you have to trust your story will resonate over time.

[00:18:20] - Career journey strategy: From local automotive to global Amazon—each step building on the previous skillset.

[00:25:30] - Texada's growth engine philosophy: Selling "through to" the customer that matters and competing on growth paths, not features.

[00:29:15] - The authenticity crisis: Fighting AI content noise with face-to-face events and real customer stories.

[00:32:45] - The analog watch boundary ritual: Physical separation techniques and the Mr. Rogers mentality for work-life transitions.

[00:36:20] - Eight months of fatherhood lessons: How parenting taught patience and the "guide but let them sail" leadership...