Brooke MacLean of Marketwake: Building Culture as the Ultimate Growth Strategy

In this episode of The Entrepreneur’s Logbook, Zachary speaks with Brooke MacLean, CEO of Marketwake, an Atlanta-based growth marketing agency that marries data and creative storytelling. Brooke shares how she scaled Marketwake to nearly 80 employees, landed on the Inc. 5000 list six times, and earned a spot on Inc.’s Best Places to Work for five consecutive years. She also reflects on her early leadership crash course as CEO of an email automation startup at 26 and her current passion for backing founders through Marketwake Ventures. Together, Zachary and Brooke dive into the messy, childlike exploration every entrepreneur must embrace, why getting your legal foundations right from day one matters more than perfecting your branding, and how teaching your team to think for themselves builds true leaders. They tackle marketing strategy in uncertain times and explain why cutting ad spend can undermine both your growth and your brand’s perceived health. You’ll hear Brooke’s unconventional take on keeping marketing alive during downturns, plus her vivid anecdotes about annual company retreats (think Iceland, Belize, maybe not Big Sky skiing). The conversation wraps with a deep look at culture as the ultimate growth flywheel. Brooke explains Marketwake’s transparent, profit-sharing model and her “debate room” approach to adopting AI, ensuring human judgment remains central to every decision. From avoiding copy-and-paste marketing traps to reclaiming your brand’s soul in an AI-driven world, this episode is packed with practical lessons for founders, marketers, and leaders looking to scale without losing what makes their company unique. Timestamps Lessons on legal foundations and empowering team leaders – 02:32 Importance of sustaining marketing spend in downturns – 06:04 Treating company culture as a compound growth strategy – 10:25 Profit-sharing and transparency to foster team ownership – 14:57 Responsible AI adoption with debate rooms and critical thinking – 22:23 Connect with Brooke https://www.marketwake.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/brookebmaclean/ https://www.instagram.com/brookebmaclean Sponsored by We Feature You PR - Helping entrepreneurs build thought leadership through strategic podcast placements and launching their own shows. Ready to amplify your voice? Get in touch today. Subscribe & Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! Chapters (00:00:00) - The Future of Ideas Is in the AI (00:00:27) - The Entrepreneur's Output Logbook (00:01:57) - What's One Thing That You Wish You Had Done Differently? (00:05:25) - Have We Caved on Marketing? (00:09:22) - The Secret to Building a Good Culture (00:11:56) - Ways of Building a Good Company Culture (00:14:29) - What Makes a Bootstrapped Company So Different? (00:16:14) - Can You Copy The Competition? (00:21:53) - How We're Using AI in Creative (00:27:50) - In the Age of AI, Creativity is Key (00:28:56) - The Secret to Building a Successful Company (00:31:57) - Marky Wake: Brook Melan on Marketing