Data Planet

by Emma Davis

Season 1

SaaS Implementation: Building Repeatable Processes for Growth with Debbie O’Meara

In this episode of Data Planet, host Emma Davis interviews Debbie O’Meara, SaaS implementation and scaling consultant and founder of ClearWay Projects. Debbie shares how she helps SaaS buyers and providers reduce implementation risk, improve customer outcomes, and build scalable processes. She explains why companies should identify the business problem they are actually trying to solve before buying software, assess internal capacity and stakeholder buy-in, and define measurable outcomes before implementation begins. On the provider side, Debbie discusses the importance of moving beyond founder-led “heroics” by creating repeatable implementation processes that deliver a consistent customer experience and support sustainable growth. She also explores the challenges SaaS companies face when moving upmarket, including whether their product, implementation, support, and overall business model are ready to handle the added complexity of enterprise customers. ClearWay Projects website: https://www.clearwayprojects.com

S1 · E69

Sep 10, 2026

17:56

Custom Software Development: Implementing Technology with Purpose with Rick Huebner

In this episode of Data Planet, host Emma Davis interviews Rick Huebner, Chief Executive Officer of VISTECH. They explore what it takes to build and sustain a technology business through decades of constant change, from the early days of software development to today’s AI-driven landscape. Rick shares why businesses should define their processes and problems before adopting new technology, arguing that AI is ultimately a business process implementation rather than simply a technology upgrade. He also explains how VISTECH has grown through client retention, referrals, and long-term partnerships rather than relying solely on traditional sales funnels, and how the company expanded from custom software development into SolSuite CPQ, a SaaS platform designed to automate complex product configuration, pricing, quoting, and order workflows. Rick discusses the challenges of selling a niche enterprise software product, the importance of building around core competencies, and why surrounding your business with specialists can create a stronger foundation for long-term growth. VISTECH website: ⁠https://www.vistech.com/

S1 · E68

Sep 4, 2026

16:50

Startup Marketing: Scaling from Early Traction to Sustainable Growth with Jono Andrews

In this episode of Data Planet, host Emma Davis interviews Jono Andrews, Marketing Advisor at BlueroomHQ. Jono shares how he helps early-stage and scaling companies identify the marketing strategies that actually drive growth without wasting valuable budget, emphasizing the importance of finding product-market fit, understanding your ideal customer profile, and recognizing the “golden goose” that can be amplified into a scalable growth engine. They explore why founders should resist premature paid media investments, how marketers can build stronger feedback loops between marketing, sales, finance, and product, and why attribution and customer economics matter when deciding where to place bigger bets. Jono and Emma also examine the changing landscape of paid advertising, including Google Performance Max, AI-driven campaign optimization, ChatGPT ads, and the growing role of AI in content and marketing workflows. BlueroomHQ website: https://www.blueroomhq.com/

S1 · E67

Sep 2, 2026

42:37

Performance Marketing: Balancing Attribution, Testing, and Scale with Barrett Cox

In this episode of Data Planet, host Emma Davis interviews Barrett Cox, Director of Performance Marketing at Net32. They explore the complexities of performance marketing in a highly specialized B2B marketplace and how marketers can make smarter decisions when traditional attribution models tell an incomplete story. Barrett shares how Net32 approaches incrementality testing to identify where advertising actually drives additional revenue, why customer segmentation matters when determining where to allocate ad spend, and how the team balances reliable channels with harder-to-measure opportunities such as demand generation, Performance Max, and connected TV. He also discusses the challenges of marketing to a small total addressable market, the risks of blindly scaling campaigns, and why frequency and audience control become increasingly important as budgets grow. Net32 website: ⁠https://www.net32.com/

S1 · E66

Aug 31, 2026

20:32

Product Marketing: Scaling Beyond Bespoke Solutions with Andy Bowden

In this episode of Data Planet, host Emma Davis interviews Andy Bowden, a product management and marketing specialist. Andy shares lessons from more than 20 years in product management, product marketing, finance, and enterprise technology, drawing on his experience at HP, HPE, and technology startups. He explains how to translate complex and often invisible technologies such as cloud, cybersecurity, and software into clear financial value propositions that resonate with both technical users and C-suite decision-makers. Andy also explores how technical users can become internal champions, how companies can navigate long enterprise sales cycles, and why understanding the broader buying committee is critical to closing B2B technology deals. For startups struggling to scale, he emphasizes starting with the customer problem rather than the technology, avoiding overly bespoke solutions, examining customer-level profitability, and making products easier and more transactional to buy.

S1 · E65

Aug 27, 2026

24:45

Interactive Advertising: Driving Engagement Through Performance-Focused Creative with Joseph Adams

In this episode of Data Planet, host Emma Davis interviews Joseph Adams, VP of Production & Services Growth at CRAFTSMAN+. They explore how interactive and playable advertising can expand the performance marketing mix beyond traditional static, video, and social ads, including applications for non-gaming brands such as skincare and consumer products. Joseph explains how CRAFTSMAN+ uses its interactive ad platform to accelerate creative production, built-in analytics to understand user engagement, and dynamic advertising to personalize experiences based on factors such as location, time, and weather. Throughout the episode, Joseph emphasizes the importance of testing interactive formats without overthinking the creative, focusing on performance rather than aesthetics alone, and recognizing interactive advertising as an emerging channel with applications across mobile, out-of-home, CTV, and other touch-screen experiences. CRAFTSMAN+ website: https://craftsmanplus.com/

S1 · E64

Aug 24, 2026

18:52

AI Adoption Strategy: Reinventing Organizations for Growth with Kevin Williams

In this episode of Data Planet, host Emma Davis interviews Kevin Williams, Founder and CEO of Ascend AI Labs. They explore what effective AI adoption actually looks like inside modern organizations, from moving beyond AI experimentation to building practical, organization-wide capabilities. Kevin shares his perspective on SEO, AEO, and GEO, explaining how marketers can structure brand information, schema, and contextual signals to help AI systems deliver more confident and relevant answers. He also breaks down the three major ways businesses can use AI—to replace tasks, augment human work, or create entirely new capabilities—and explains why successful adoption often requires more than simply purchasing AI tools. Kevin discusses the organizational and leadership bottlenecks that prevent companies from realizing AI’s potential, including disconnected experimentation, outdated organizational structures, unclear ownership, and a lack of executive direction. He emphasizes the importance of strong leadership messaging, AI literacy, connected workflows, and treating AI as an organizational transformation rather than another software implementation. Ascend AI Labs website: ⁠https://www.ascendlabs.ai/

S1 · E63

Aug 17, 2026

26:28

Customer-Centric SaaS: Turning Support into a Growth Engine with Jack Scotti

In this episode of Data Planet, host Emma Davis interviews Jack Scotti, Director of Marketing at ReciPal. Jack shares how ReciPal’s bootstrapped, customer-first approach has helped the SaaS company build sustainable growth without chasing outside investment, hypergrowth, or unnecessary bureaucracy. They explore how being “disarmingly chill” with customers—through flexible pricing, no lock-in, accessible data, and high-touch support—can create lasting loyalty and turn word-of-mouth into a powerful growth engine. Jack also explains why ReciPal stays intentionally small, focusing on expanding capabilities rather than teams, processes, and red tape, and how putting every employee directly in customer support helps the company build better products and respond quickly to real customer needs. ReciPal website: ⁠https://www.recipal.com/

S1 · E62

Aug 16, 2026

18:39

Agency Growth Strategy: Choosing the Right Clients and Driving Real Results with Francois Gau

In this episode of Data Planet, host Emma Davis interviews Francois Gau, Founder and CEO of GrowthHive. Francois shares his perspective on the future of agencies as AI and automation continue to reshape marketing execution, explaining why agencies will need to differentiate through specialization, strategic counsel, authenticity, and measurable business value. He and Emma also explore what makes a bad-fit client, from unrealistic ROI expectations and guaranteed results to slow decision-making, misaligned objectives, and relationships where agencies lack a meaningful seat at the table. Francois explains how GrowthHive approaches business development by connecting marketing and sales to real business outcomes rather than vanity metrics, and why the strongest client relationships are built on strategic alignment, trust, and the freedom to provide meaningful counsel. For leaders evaluating agencies, marketing investments, or their own growth strategy, this episode offers a practical look at how to build partnerships that make sales and marketing count. GrowthHive website: https://www.growthhive-strategy.com

S1 · E61

Aug 5, 2026

31:09

AI Enablement in Highly Regulated Environments with Umesh Krishna

In this episode of Data Planet, host Emma Davis interviews Umesh Krishna, Head of Marketing at AOT Technologies. Together they explore how AOT Technologies helps governments, healthcare organizations, financial institutions, and enterprises modernize complex, highly regulated systems through workflow automation, system integration, and responsible AI adoption. Umesh explains why the company prioritizes customer outcomes over vendor lock-in, sharing how flexible licensing models and open technologies enable long-term partnerships built on trust rather than contracts. He also discusses the realities of bringing AI into compliance-heavy environments, why organizations should resist chasing every technology trend, and how AOT validates emerging technologies through real-world customer collaboration before bringing them to market. The conversation highlights the importance of balancing innovation with stability, integrating modern AI capabilities into existing technology ecosystems, and communicating new technology in ways customers are ready to adopt. For business leaders navigating digital transformation, this episode offers valuable insights into building sustainable AI strategies, maintaining credibility during periods of rapid technological change, and delivering lasting value through customer-first innovation. AOT Technologies website: https://www.aot-technologies.com

S1 · E60

Aug 4, 2026

20:05

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