Dive deep into business, brand and strategy.
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How Wealthsimple Wins Hearts, Minds, and Market Share
I spent months dissecting Wealthsimple’s balance sheet, product roadmap, and brand voice. I kept seeing the same pattern: every expensive decision pointed back to one word: simplicity. No side projects. No half-measures. That focus is why a company with no branches now holds $50 billion of Canadian assets, while most banks fight for the same…
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Protected: Who Owns What in Canadian Minds? The Battle for Banking’s Mental Territory
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
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YOUR BRAND IS THE SUM OF LEADERSHIP CHOICES
Introduction Why I wrote thisToo many leadership teams keep changing logos, websites, and campaigns yet feel stuck in the same competitive mud. I see wasted budgets, confused employees, and customers who shrug. The fault isn’t creativity. It’s a missing bridge between inside decisions and outside perception. I wrote this guide to build that bridge. Who…
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Building an AI Product: What I’m Learning in the Trenches
I’m deeply involved in building an AI product that translates complex data into natural, conversational language, leading strategy, UX, positioning, and team-building efforts while working directly with the engineering team. Here’s what I’m learning about the reality of AI development. None of this works without the right people. We’ve assembled a remote team of A-players…
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YOUR CMO Can’t Fix Bad Positioning
Companies hire CMOs to fix positioning problems. But positioning isn’t marketing. It’s architecture. It’s identity. It’s everything. “If you’re not first, you’re last.” – Ricky Bobby, Talladega Nights. It’s funny because it’s wrong. The best companies aren’t first. They aren’t the fastest. They aren’t even “better.” They own mental territory nobody else can touch. The…
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David: The Protein Bar That Refused to Play by the Category’s Rules
When Peter Rahal set out to build David, he wasn’t trying to make a better protein bar. He was trying to rewrite what a protein bar even was. And more importantly, what it could stand for. Most brands in the nutrition space follow the same playbook: flavour-forward packaging, trend-chasing macros, and the kind of messaging…
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Positioning Is Not Messaging
A Field Guide for Product Marketing Managers Tired of Cosmetic Strategy Why most internal positioning work fails, and how PMMs can lead with clarity, not decoration. I. Who This Is For This guide is for Product Marketing Managers in B2B SaaS who are tired of being treated like internal copywriters while being held accountable for…
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The Difference Between Saying and Being
When Patagonia ran ads telling customers “Don’t Buy This Jacket,” sales went up 30%. They didn’t just talk about environmental responsibility. They proved it by discouraging purchases during their biggest shopping day of the year. Most companies do the opposite. They say one thing and do another. Then wonder why customers don’t believe them. Why…
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The Battle You’re Not Fighting (But Should Be): Mind Share vs Market Share
Most founders are losing a war they don’t even know they’re in. You’re tracking conversion rates, user growth, and revenue metrics. Your competitors are doing the same. Everyone is fighting for market share, while the real battle is happening somewhere else entirely. The companies that win don’t just capture market share. They capture mind share.…
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Strategic Review: Matthew Encina’s Rebrand of Mode
An exploration of what was achieved, what was misunderstood, and what remains unclaimed. WHY THIS REVIEW EXISTS This is not a teardown.It’s not a design critique.It’s not a positioning purist sermon. It’s a contribution to a larger conversation: What does it truly take to transform a product into a movement, a brand into a business,…
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From “Yes, But…” to “That’s Us”
Coaching through positioning resistance. Why great positioning fails without conviction and how to build it internally or for your client. Why This Article Exists If you’ve spent any time helping founders, CEOs, or leadership teams work through positioning, you’ve likely heard this line: “Yes, this makes sense… but it won’t work in our space.” This…
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Let’s Clean This Up
After 20 years of practicing, testing, and watching this play out a thousand times over, here’s the no-fluff breakdown of what most people still confuse in brand and business. Copywriting. Messaging. Storytelling. Branding. Positioning. Category. Each sits on a different strategic layer. If you blur them, you make bad decisions. So here’s the clear breakdown,…
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