Spark of Ages
The Spark of Ages podcast is about the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence through a marketing lens.
We are living in the middle of the most important "spark for the ages". Our episodes are either about looking back to teach us what we can learn for this moment, or looking forward for where the next spark might be.
We highlight the stories from business leaders at the intersection of marketing, technology and innovation.
Episodes
63 episodes
How AI is Actually Melting the Org Chart/Mike Ni - Burnout, Context, Outcomes~ Spark of Ages Ep 63
Rajiv talks with Mike Ni (Constellation Research) about why AI makes old go-to-market playbooks less useful and why experience, judgment, and outcome thinking become the real edge. We break down enterprise-grade context, closed-loop learning, a...
Future of Work: How Humans & Agents Will Coexist/Neil Shepherd, Amit Malhotra - Tasks, Tyrants, Org Charts ~ Spark of Ages Ep 62
Rajiv sits down with Neil Sheperd (formerly Cohere, Scale AI, BCG, McKinsey) and Amit Malhotra (formerly buybuy Baby, 1-800-Contacts) to get brutally specific about how humans and Agentic AI will coexist in the future workplace. They disc...
Brand & Demand: The Marketing-Sales Marriage/Randi Barshack, Nicole Fuselier - Alignment, MQLs, Creativity ~ Spark of Ages Ep 61
We break down what great B2B marketing looks like when creative storytelling meets revenue discipline and tighter sales alignment. Randi Barshack (CMO at Dusty Robotics)and Nicole Fuselier (VP of Demand and Growth at SambNova Systems) share how...
From API Economy to Agent Economy/Oren Michels - Barndoor AI, OpenClaw, Agentic Governance ~ Spark of Ages Ep 60
Rajiv talks with Oren Michels about why enterprise AI ROI stalls when tools live in chat and stay stuck in read-only mode. We break down how a control plane for AI agents enables safe write access across SaaS and internal systems while keeping ...
SaaS Isn't Dying. Bad Deals Are/Ankur Srivastava, Priya Ramachandran - Flywl, Cloud Procurement, SaaS-pocalypse ~ Spark of Ages Ep 59
We unpack why the “SaaS-Pocalypse” is less about software dying and more about buyers finally right sizing cloud and marketplace deals with better data. We dig into AI unit economics, token driven cost volatility, and how procurement, FinOps, a...
The Data Moat: A Google Veteran's Investment Thesis for AI/David Yakobovitch ~ Spark of Ages Ep 58
We chart how AI leapt from chat to code, why product is now the leverage point, and how startups can market to algorithms without losing trust. David Yakobovitch shares hard-won views on moats, data, defense tech, and the immigrant energy power...
The Science Behind When Customers Decide to Buy/Patrick Renvoise - Brains, System 1, Value Prop ~ Spark of Ages Ep 57
We explore how real decisions start in the primal brain and how neuromarketing turns that insight into practical steps to capture, convince, and close. Patrick Rénvoisé shares the six stimuli, the Neuromap method, and how to sell with contrast,...
The 100% Open Rate: How Gifting Cuts Through Noise/Kris Rudeegraap - Sendoso, Curiosity, HITL ~ Spark of Ages Ep 56
We explore how intelligent gifting breaks through AI-filtered inboxes, using psychology, data, and timing to earn real conversations and long-term loyalty. Kris Rudeegraap of Sendoso shares playbooks for stage-based sends, retention strategies,...
What to Expect from Agentic AI (aka 2026 Predictions)/Jon Miller, Ashish Aggarwal - B2A, Payments, AI Stack ~ Spark of Ages Ep 55
The Hidden Job Market for Executives in 2026/Andy Mowat - Builders, Whispered, AI Resumes ~ Spark of Ages Ep 54
Why are management layers thinning? How does AI change hiring signals? And how can senior leaders break into the hidden market for unposted executive roles? Andy Mowat shares practical playbooks for proof-of-work interviews, CEO diligence...
Alien Advantage: Pattern-Breaking Innovation/Manan Mehta, Rustam Esanov - Immigrants, Unshackled, mRNA+AI ~ Spark of Ages Ep 53
We explore how removing immigration friction and backing immigrant founders at day zero can produce outsized innovation, through the lens of a VC platform and a biotech founder reprogramming tumors with mRNA and AI. The conversation blends poli...
Fighting Climate Change in the Age of AI/Dan Kalafatas - Prices, Scope 3, Green-Hushing ~ Spark of Ages Ep 52
We confront the collision between AI’s soaring compute needs and a grid unready for 50% peak expansions, then map a practical path to build clean, firm power fast without losing sight of affordability. Dan shares candid insights on markets, per...
The Security Gap When AI Agents Have Access/Chithra Rajagopalan, Vamshi Sriperumbudur - Governance, NRR, Buyer Groups ~ Spark of Ages Ep 51
We weigh the promise and peril of the AI agent economy, pressing into how overprovisioned non-human identities, shadow AI, and SaaS integrations expand risk while go-to-market teams push for speed. A CMO and a CFO align on governance-first pilo...
Why You Can't Build Sovereign AI Alone/David Keane, Akash Agarwal, Abhi Ingle - SCX.ai, SambaNova, Australia ~ Spark of Ages Ep 50
Australia needs control over its intelligence layer, not just its data. We explore SCX’s sovereign AI cloud, Project Magpie’s cultural reasoning, and why inference economics and time-to-market beat hype-driven buildouts.• sovereign AI a...
Revenue Culture That Survives the Boom/Jeff Perry - Carta, Cap Tables, Private Capital ~ Spark of Ages Ep 49
We sit down with Jeff Perry, CRO at Carta, to explore how growth leaders redefine success when capital tightens, buyers get smarter, and AI reshapes cost structures. We unpack how growth has changed, why IPO-ready now means post-IPO durab...
How to Finance a Law That Saves Women's Lives/Bhairavi Parikh, Richard Arney - 2%, WHIC, Voter Initiative ~ Spark of Ages Ep 48
We map the data, policy, and funding failures that created the women’s health gap and lay out a California-led plan to fix it with research built for women, agile AI governance, and voter-backed capital. The goal: better outcomes, lower costs, ...
The Moneyball of Go-To-Market (GTM)/AJ Gandhi, Omar Akhtar - Benchmarker, B2B Recession, Coachella ~ Spark of Ages Ep 47
The B2B SaaS market is experiencing a significant slowdown with growth rates dropping, while traditional marketing channels deliver diminishing returns in an increasingly saturated landscape.• Marketing benchmarks show companies growing...
AEO Fundamentals: Moving to Content for Machines/Rishi Mallik, Eric Nalbone - SEO, Author of Truth, FAQs ~ Spark of Ages Ep 46
We explore the monumental shift from SEO to GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) as AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity become the new front doors to the internet, fundamentally changing how customers discover businesses online.• T...
Product Launches in Minutes Not Months/Position2 - StudioX, 3d Democratization, Biryani ~ Spark of Ages Ep 45
Position Squared introduces StudioX, an innovative 3D rendering platform designed specifically for marketers in consumer electronics, computing, and automotive industries who need high-quality product visualizations without technical expertise ...
Flipping the Information Game Banks Play/Brad Stroh - Achieve, Recession, Lacrosse ~ Spark of Ages Ep 44
Brad Stroh, co-CEO and co-founder of Achieve, shares how he's built one of the most impactful fintech companies by taking a completely different path from the typical Silicon Valley playbook. Through bootstrapping rather than chasing venture ca...
How a CMO Transforms a SaaS Brand/Mandy Dhaliwal - Nutanix, Team Alignment, Perfect Pairings ~ Spark of Ages Ep 43
Mandy Dhaliwal, CMO at Nutanix, shares her journey transforming a technical infrastructure company into a leader in hybrid multi-cloud solutions, driving market value from $5 billion to $20 billion through strategic marketing and positioning.
The Freemium Formula: Converting Fear Into 10X Growth/Bill Macaitis - Slack, PLG, Pivots ~ Spark of Ages Ep 42
Subscribe now to get more insights delivered to your inbox from today's most innovative business leaders and marketing pioneers who are redefining how companies grow in ...
The Ecosystem Growth Playbook Designed for Canva/Indy Sen - Cha-Ching, Zen, Batman ~ Spark of Ages Ep 41
Indy Sen, ecosystem marketing lead at Canva, shares his journey through tech giants like Salesforce, Box, MuleSoft, Google, and now Canva, where he's applying his unique "messaging as an API" philosophy to build an ecosystem that serves as a po...
How US Defense Could Fight at Machine Speed/Matt Bigge - DefenseTech, X-Bow, F.I.R.E. ~ Spark of Ages Ep 40
Matt Bigge, partner at Crosslink Capital and former 10th Mountain Division infantry officer, shares his unique perspective as a venture capitalist, military veteran, and deep tech investor on the revolution happening in defense technology...
Building a Growth LM That Actually Gets Your Business/Position2 - Arena, Calibrate, LSTM ~ Spark of Ages Ep 39
In this eye-opening conversation, join host Rajiv Parikh as he unveils Arena AI – their revolutionary platform that's transforming how marketing campaigns are planned, executed, and optimized. Sajjan Kanukolanu (VP of Global Operations) and Vik...