Highlights And Quotes From 2024

Welcome to SparkTogether! Your hosts will set the stage for the day, discuss the rules of engagement, and maybe — maybe — we can convince Rand to tell us a story he's never told before.

We all want our work to matter more. Too often, we merely market more. As a result, we look and sound like everyone else. A brighter shade of beige. “Just Like The Rest” in flashing lights. In this era of AI-everything and mediocrity produced at breathtaking scale, it turns out humanity has its own “LLM.” We can use it to differentiate and resonate more easily—if only we’d rely on it more. In this eye-opening talk, author, speaker, and founding member of the Association of Non-Douchey Dudes in Marketing Jay Acunzo will share tales of losing himself and fighting his way back, just in time for the most annoying marketing moment since all the other ones. In the end, the problem isn’t bots replacing marketers. The problem is too many marketers are acting like bots. Enough is enough.

This talk is for anyone who has ever stared down a KPI or metric and wondered how to make the money machine go brrr when you've already tried everything (either for your own business or a client's). Truth is, data don't talk, but people do. Asia Orangio, founder of DemandMaven and troubleshoot-er of slow, frustrating growth, walks through three ways to make slow or poor performance tell you how to fix it.

Inventor and solopreneur Scott Heimendinger wanted to build a better chef's knife. Now nearly six years into his "six month project plan" his invention may finally see daylight. A founder's path is never dull.

We’re told to "love what you do" but what happens when the industry that gave you a name starts to break your spirit? Justine shares what she learned about identity, agency, and bullshit while navigating burnout, getting acquired, and a personal brand she didn’t always want.

Most of us are caught in orbit around “more”.

We forever seek more money, more recognition, and more achievement, believing that somewhere out there is the moment we’ll finally feel like we’ve arrived. But what if “enough” isn’t a moving target to chase, but a force we can actually generate for ourselves?

In this raw, story-driven session, Amber Naslund shares the unpolished truth about the milestones and dreams that didn’t deliver, the silent weight we carry from every difficult job or career experience we’ve had, and what it really takes to break free from the pull of “too much but somehow never enough”.

You’ll leave with a fresh lens on defining success for yourself—and the courage to stop circling someone else’s version of it.

Mike will walk through how he helped The Dalmore, a legacy brand founded in 1839, step confidently into 2025. The heart of his work comes from deeply understanding this audience, and yeah, sometimes he learns the most from buying strangers a glass of whisky.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but things are…tough right now. Things are changing faster than most of us can keep up with. Markets flip overnight. Technology rewrites the rules before lunch. Politics lurch from chaos to crisis. And in the middle of all that, marketers are expected to stay creative, stay relevant, and keep delivering results.

This talk is about optimism that works in the real world - not wishful thinking, but a practical, actionable mindset you can use to cut through noise, lead teams, and make confident decisions in messy times. You’ll leave with tools to reframe challenges, spot opportunities others miss, and keep moving forward (even when the brief changes, the budget shrinks, or the world feels upside down)

Because the future isn’t built by the most cynical voice in the room. It’s built by the people who can still see what’s possible and make it happen.

Coming Soon