Daniel Perumal and Nick Alter (ThriveSide/Founders Best Friend) explain why paid ads don’t work like they used to...and what founders should do when they can’t “buy growth” anymore.

We unpack the post-iOS reality, shrinking trust, platform incentives, and ThriveSide’s founder maturity model for building sustainable growth without skipping steps.

You’ll hear when ads still help (micro-validation), why founders confuse spend with strategy, and the simple move most people avoid: build a list, start real conversations, and build community that referrals can run through.

Guests:

Daniel Perumal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-perumal-882a1652/

Nick Alter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasalter/

ThriveSide: https://thriveside.com/

Founders Best Friend: https://www.foundersbestfriend.com/

Host: Adam W. Barney

Transition Leadership Foundation Call (20 min): https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/foundation-call-20min

Jim Matuga (proud resident of West Virginia and Founder of Inner Action Media) has built a 14+ year agency, a statewide storytelling platform, and a leadership philosophy that flips the script: real influence often comes from the middle, not the corner office.

In this episode, we talk about:

• The hidden power of followership (and why it’s not “less than”)
• How to exercise influence right now without a title
• Why most people communicate, but few truly connect
• The “first second” reality of modern attention
• How a consistent local podcast became a compounding impact engine

Guest: Jim Matuga: jim@inneractionmedia.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmatuga/

Inner Action Media: https://inneractionmedia.com/

Book: https://humbleinfluencebook.com/
Positively West Virginia: https://positivelywv.com/positively-wv/

Host: Adam W. Barney

Transition Leadership Foundation Call (20 min): https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/foundation-call-20min

Penny Hill (Three Threads Consulting) brings a reality-first leadership take on one of the most worshiped myths in B2B marketing: that paid ads drive direct revenue.

In 25 years, Penny says she’s never seen paid ads tie cleanly to direct revenue in B2B...and that the real role of paid is often air cover and brand surround sound, not pipeline heroics.

We also dig into the leadership failures that quietly wreck growth:

• ICPs that are too complex to operationalize
• attribution models that create sales vs marketing turf wars
• dashboards that reward quantity over quality

Penny shares what to simplify, what to measure honestly, and how to stop gambling with budget and start building a system sales can trust.

Guest: Penny Hill

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/penny-hill-644a42/

Three Threads Consulting: https://www.threethreadsconsulting.com/

Host: Adam W. Barney

Transition Leadership Foundation Call (20 min): https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/foundation-call-20min