The Changemakers

We’re back! After a little hiatus between new guest episodes, we return in style as Dave sits down with Aviv Canaani, Chief Revenue Officer at Datarails, to discuss his firm belief that there is no real way to grow a B2B company without building a brand - especially not today.
Aviv shares his unique journey from marketing leader to Chief Revenue Officer, and how he transformed a traditional outbound sales machine into a high-growth inbound powerhouse through a constant process of experimentation, risk-taking, learning and iterating. Along the way, he and Dave dismantle the myth (prevalent amongst many scaleup marketers) that brand is just "fluffy" creative work. 
We also dive into:
The CRO’s case for brand: Why revenue leaders should obsess over brand as the ultimate "revenue tomorrow" engine.
The outbound/inbound shift: How Datarails moved from 90% outbound to 90% inbound through intentional brand-building and community.
Balancing short-term & long-term: Managing separate growth and brand teams to hit this quarter’s targets while fueling future demand.
B2B doesn't mean boring: How memes, a niche podcast, and sponsoring the Microsoft Excel World Cup drove massive engagement in the typically corporate finance space.
If you’re a marketing leader looking to learn more about brand-building’s impact on revenue growth, or moving beyond over-reliance on short-term outbound activity, this masterclass in modern B2B growth is for you.
🎧 Listen now
Timestamps :
01:57 - The DataRails story: Flipping the script from outbound to inbound.
03:41 - Removing friction: How brand makes the sales call easier.
06:21 - The inflection point: Why DataRails triggered a rebrand early.
07:45 - Memes & CFOs: Proving that "boring" industries can be fun.
10:26 - The 1% Rule: Breaking through the 99% of B2B noise.
11:50 - Revenue today vs. revenue tomorrow: The CRO’s perspective on brand.
13:28 - Structuring for success: separating growth and brand teams.
15:30 - Measuring soft metrics: Why engagement matters more than vanity views.
20:53 - The CEO relationship: Speaking the language of the C-Suite. 
Aviv's LinkedIn Profile
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In this episode of The Changemakers, which was recorded as part of our virtual summit Bring Your Own Bold, Wei Kee (Client Services Director at Shaped By) sat down with Maria McLaughlin (Senior Director, Global Brand and Creative at Abnormal AI) and Tom Ovens (Creative Director at Shaped By) to explore how they successfully navigated a full-scale rename and rebrand, and unpack:
How a partnership based on chemistry and mutual respect delivered an extraordinary outcome.
The criticality of getting key internal stakeholders, including the CEO, fully committed to a pivotal project.
How to manage and deliver meaningful work under "audaciously ambitious" and brutal time scales.
The tangible business success of the rebrand, including Abnormal AI's best financial quarter ever post-launch.
This is an essential conversation if you're looking to understand how to drive ambitious change and prove the commercial value of a bold brand identity.
🎧 Listen now
2. Timestamps
01:21 - The evolution of the client-agency partnership.
02:55 - Why chemistry is one of the key pillars of a successful partnership.
04:19 - Stakeholder engagement: The importance of having the final decision-maker in the room.
07:55 - Building trust and rapport with the CEO.
10:48 - Geeking out: How commonality in thinking helped the connection.
13:35 - The power of positive inter- and intra-team dynamics.
14:58 - Navigating "brutal" and rigid time scales collaboratively.
17:08 - The rewarding outcomes: a durable brand and the best financial quarter ever.
19:30 - The internal and external market reception to the new identity.
24:18 - Advice for achieving extraordinary results with a creative agency.
25:54 - What's next? Up-leveling the work and having fun in 2026.
30:35 - Closing remarks: Success comes from surrounding yourself with good teams.
Send us a message if you enjoyed this episode
If you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech.

👉 Watch episodes on YouTube
👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed
👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics
👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspiration

And finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it!

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In this episode of The Changemakers, recorded as part of our Bring Your Own Bold series, Simon, Design Director, and Justin, Associate Creative Director of Messaging, discuss the importance of visual and verbal branding working together. Two complementary forces essential for a brand’s harmony, balance, and effectiveness.
They look at the whole from their two professional perspectives. That essential balance and interplay between visual identity and verbal identity. They explore how powerful brands use design, logos, and visuals in perfect harmony with their voice, tone, messaging, and storytelling.
Because harmonious, balanced brands better connect with their audiences to win hearts and minds, trust and loyalty.
🎧 Listen now
Timestamps:
02:45 – The Yin and Yang analogy: why visual and verbal identity are inseparable forces.
04:30 – Beyond the box: creating agile visual systems that evolve with culture.
06:40 – More than a logo: how brand systems should cover every touchpoint.
08:30 – The "Feeling" piece: why humans are feeling creatures who think.
10:30 – Verbal branding: giving life and breath to brand strategy through language.
12:30 – The organising thought: using a succinct brand story to kick off ideation.
15:40 – Case study (Shaped By): why we use "Shapelings" and "Studios" to stay human.
20:00 – Point of view: standing for (and against) something to avoid being "wallpaper".
23:10 – Bold examples: how Monzo changed banking with a single color and no photography.
31:00 – Deep dive: positioning Censys as the "map of the internet".
40:19 – Closing thoughts: why bold brands should be more “Yoda".
Send us a message if you enjoyed this episode
If you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech.

👉 Watch episodes on YouTube
👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed
👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics
👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspiration

And finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it!

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In this episode of The Changemakers, recorded as part of our Bring Your Own Bold series, Dave Corlett sits down with Li-Anne Dias, Executive Creative Director at Brex, to explore the vital practice of "creativity without permission". 
They discuss:
Utility vs. creativity: why designers must break free from the "mandate of utility" to rediscover their creative instincts.
The power of physical constraints: how forcing a "one-mile distance" from your laptop can spark the muscle memory of true art.
Building a cinematic universe: why viewing your work as a holistic body of output, rather than a collection of corporate briefs, changes your perspective.
Subversive inspiration: how finding beauty in old matchboxes and cartoons can sharpen your instincts for high-stakes tech design.
Whether you’re an in-house creative feeling the burnout or a leader looking to inspire your team, this conversation is a masterclass in reclaiming your creative soul. Don't let your "professional self" swallow your "creative self."
🎧 Listen now
Timestamps:
01:43 - What is "creativity without permission"? 
02:22 - The trap of utility and the fundamentals of design. 
03:35 - Operating within business constraints vs. creating for yourself. 
04:29 - Li-Anne’s personal rituals: Sharpies, sketchbooks, and Berkeley trees. 
05:55 - The discipline of the "forcing function" to stay off screens. 
08:28 - How outside art translates into sharper instincts at Brex and Handshake. 
10:31 - Finding influence in matchboxes and subversive cartoons. 
13:00 - Your "Cinematic Universe": Looking at the whole body of work. 

Send us a message if you enjoyed this episode
If you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech.

👉 Watch episodes on YouTube
👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed
👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics
👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspiration

And finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it!

✌️

In this episode of The Changemakers, recorded as part of our virtual summit Bring Your Own Bold, Dave Corlett sits down with Everett Katigbak, founder of Work by Everett, to explore the vital balance between digital innovation and human craft.
Everett, a creative leader who has shaped brands at Facebook, Stripe, and Anthropic, unpacks the concept of "Analog Intelligence", the "other AI" that keeps our work grounded, tactile, and deeply human.
Together they explore:
The Facebook analog research lab: How a "punk rock" print studio in the heart of Silicon Valley became the epicenter of a global company’s culture.
The "Mark of the Maker": Why showing the humanity and even the "mistakes" in our work creates a deeper connection with the audience than perfect digital output.
Designing for AI with a human touch: Behind the scenes of building the Claude brand identity at Anthropic and why physical craft matters even for 100% digital products.
The founder’s disconnect: Why innovative startups often default to safe, "category-standard" stories and how to reclaim your original narrative.
Thinking with your hands: Why reconnecting with physical tools is a non-negotiable meditative practice for the modern designer.
This is a provocative conversation for any creative leader or founder looking to resist the "cognitive offload" of technology and embrace their authentic, inner bold.
Listen now 🎧

Timestamps
01:03 - The Silicon Valley "Lone Designers": Founding the Facebook analog research lab. 
03:35 - Building a dialogue: How physical space and "wheat pasting" transformed corporate culture. 
06:08 - The genesis of Stripe Press: Why a digital giant chose to publish physical books. 
08:03 - Appropriateness in Design: Anthropic (Claude) needed a human-centric identity. 
10:00 - Crafting Claude: using 35mm film, cut paper, and human illustrators in an AI world. 
12:00 - The "Curse of the Marketing Mindset": why brands converge and how to stay distinct. 
14:22 - Striking a chord: why you should be "close to being fired" (in a good way) to make an impact. 
16:12 - Work by Everett: Teasing out the unique founding stories that companies often gloss over. 
20:40 - The pressure of the pivot: why founders get scared of being too "maverick." 
23:41 - Following intuition: Everett joined Facebook and Anthropic before they were "cool." 27:22 - Reconnecting with the ‘muscle’: creativity is a verb and a process, not just an output.
Send us a message if you enjoyed this episode
If you enjoy the chats then there are more ways to quench your thirst for creative inspiration in the world of B2B tech.

👉 Watch episodes on YouTube
👉 Follow us on LinkedIn for regular snippets in your feed
👉 Visit our website for more in-depth thinking on topics
👉 Subscribe to Beyond our monthly collection of insight, opinion and inspiration

And finally please rate our podcast on Apple if you enjoyed it!

✌️