EP 124: He Built His Own AI Company Then Shut It Down

A toxic hire nearly cost him his agency. Then he made a similar mistake again, this time trying to build his own AI instead of renting one.In this episode, Roger Hurni, founder and Chief Brand Strategist of Off Madison Ave, whose client roster includes Nike, Wells Fargo, PetSmart, and P.F. Chang's, breaks down the culture-first hiring lesson he learned the hard way, why his team abandoned an in-house AI build for an off-the-shelf tool, and the AI philosophy he wrote for his own staff: expand your options, never let AI replace your judgment. Trained in behavior design under Stanford's BJ Fogg and the author of Outthink, Outperform, he also explains why he believes 90% of LinkedIn is now AI-generated content, and the test he runs on every new hire to separate real thinkers from people who copy and paste AI output.You will learn why culture fit can matter more than raw talent, when renting beats building with a new technology, and how to use AI without letting it think for you.Send us Fan Mail Struggling to prove marketing's worth to your board? Grab our free one-page Board-Proof Scorecard: 👉 Download the scorecard 👈Got a marketing problem you would rather not admit to? Reply to this and we will answer it anonymously on the show.Subscribe to our newsletter The mistakes we see marketers make, every fortnight. 👉 [Subscribe here] 👈Follow Chris:X, TikTok, LinkedInFollow Will:LinkedInFollow The Show:TikTok, YouTube