Marketing a Dual Mandate: Products and Equity Simultaneously

In this episode of The Future of Marketing, host Brett Stapper interviews Curtis Schlaufman, VP of Marketing and Communications at DeFi Technologies. Curtis shares his journey from crypto skeptic to marketing leader at a publicly traded digital asset company that nearly went bankrupt during the 2022 bear market. DeFi Technologies survived by maintaining an aligned management team willing to make extreme personal sacrifices—including going without pay for six months, selling homes, and taking out second mortgages. Today, the company manages the most diverse array of regulated crypto products globally, marketing to both traditional investors seeking regulated crypto exposure and equity investors looking for broad industry exposure. Curtis reveals how to build trust and credibility in a highly volatile, fast-moving industry while managing multiple business lines, subsidiaries, and constant evolution. Topics Discussed: Surviving a near-bankruptcy during the crypto bear market through management alignment and personal sacrifice Marketing a dual mandate: products to consumers and equity to investors simultaneously Building trust and credibility as the foundation of all marketing in financial services Evolving brand narrative while rapidly scaling from one to six+ business lines Coordinating marketing across multiple subsidiaries with different names and identities Navigating the unique challenges of public company marketing in crypto Executing integrated news releases across multiple channels and stakeholder groups Identifying and avoiding scammers in the crypto marketing vendor ecosystem