Ep24 Alan Gold—Sales, Marketing, and AI: How to Survive, Scale, and Avoid Stagnation

Joining us today in the Sky Lounge is Alan Gold, a marketing and sales strategist with decades of experience in M&A, startups, and growth strategy. Alan has been on both sides of the table—helping companies scale, navigating acquisitions, and leading turnarounds. From being part of the launch team for Wi-Fi technology to working on speech recognition and AI-powered business tools, he’s seen how markets evolve and what it really takes to stay ahead. We dive into: M&A trends—why some companies are stuck while others are thriving The hard truth about growth and why some businesses hit a ceiling The real role of strategy in marketing (hint: it’s not just about SEO and PPC) How AI is reshaping sales and marketing, and what’s next for the industry Why most companies miss the mark when hiring sales leadership Plus, Alan shares hilarious and wild travel stories, including a baboon with an attitude and getting detained in Colombia. If you’re in startups, consulting, M&A, or just trying to grow a business, this one’s for you. ABOUT OUR GUEST Alan’s a veteran of the B2B marketing world, having been an executive in startups, international public companies, high-growth technology and services companies, leading marketing and sometimes both marketing and sales efforts. Over my career, I have launched new technologies that are integral to our daily lives, repositioned companies to take advantage of new markets, and been involved in M&A activities on both sides of the process. I’ve worked in many different industries, including software, supply chain, medical and pharma, healthcare applications and services, as well as telecom and AI-driven planning software. Socials Instagram LinkedIn Contact Email: [email protected] Phone: 978-886-1910 What is THE SKY LOUNGE? Tales from the SkyLounge is a podcast where we take you on a journey through the world of business, consulting, and venture investing. In each episode, we gather in our virtual sky lounge, high above the hustle and bustle of the everyday world, to hear stories from the people who are shaping the future of these industries. From entrepreneurs who are disrupting the status quo, consultants who are helping companies solve their biggest challenges, and investors who are making bets on the next big thing. ABOUT OUR HOST Todd Merrill is an experienced software executive who typically assists clients as a fractional or interim CTO and CISO as a partner at TechCXO. He has served in a series of companies as a C-Level executive focused on leveraging the Cloud to bring SaaS offerings to market. Subscribe and turn on notifications to listen to new episodes as they launch! YouTube Spotify Apple Amazon Follow Tales From The SkyLounge on Social Media Twitter/X Instagram Learn more about TechCXO