⚡️ High-Converting Websites Visual Swipe File:

⁠⁠https://www.mmgdesign.net/visualswipefile⁠

Mark Szymanski built his audience the “hard way”: consistent, high-value content with little to no selling. But once brand deals and paid requests started showing up, he ran into an uncomfortable truth—getting paid can change your relationship with the work. In this episode, we talk about how to create insane value for free, when not to monetize, and how to make a smart pivot without sacrificing authenticity, trust, or your name.

🔗 CONNECT WITH MARK

🌐 Website: https://markszymanski.co/start/

💼 Business: http://www.motive11.com/

📹 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkJSzymanski

🔗 CONNECT WITH ANDY

🌐 Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Don’t create a problem until you have one

00:30 - Mark’s origin story: WordPress, agency work, and content

03:13 - The early entrepreneurship influence (family business)

06:01 - The real skill: building rapport fast

10:22 - When getting paid “ruins” the thing you love

16:05 - Tool stacks, switching costs, and what actually matters

23:13 - Why WordPress people get emotional (and why that makes sense)

30:46 - Just-in-time learning vs just-in-case learning

38:17 - Daily posting and why Mark can’t stop creating

45:12 - Brand deals: how they happen and how to do them right

51:14 - The idea: Webflow vs WordPress “sell each other” episode

🎙 TEAM

🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/

🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

⚡️ High-Converting Websites Visual Swipe File:

⁠⁠https://www.mmgdesign.net/visualswipefile⁠

In this episode of Marketing by Design, Ben Wiener breaks down why fundraising is actually a marketing problem—not a deck problem. As a venture capitalist and author of Fever Pitch, Ben shares how VCs process information, where founders lose attention, and the one messaging move that neutralizes objections before investors even speak.

If you’re a startup founder or marketer responsible for positioning, storytelling, or go-to-market, this episode reframes pitching as investor marketing and shows you how to do it with clarity, confidence, and leverage.

🔗 CONNECT WITH BEN WIENER

🌐 Website: https://www.benwiener.net/

📘 Book + Free Pitch Tools: https://feverpitchbook.com/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benwiener/

🔗 CONNECT WITH ANDY

🌐 Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Why pitching is really marketing

03:30 – Going 0-for-27 pitching a VC fund

06:41 – How VCs form objections in real time

09:04 – Why founders overload investors

12:10 – Passion vs pressure in startup storytelling

17:34 – What investors actually want to feel

27:01 – The HEART framework explained

36:33 – The highest-leverage move founders miss

40:26 – Branding, websites, and investor trust

45:23 – Fever Pitch + free tools

🧠 YOU’LL LEARN

How to market your startup to VCs

• Why “selling the next meeting” matters more than vision

• How to neutralize objections before the solution

• The psychology behind investor decision-making

• How to package belief, stakes, and differentiation

🎙️ TEAM

Host // Andy Milligan

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/

Production // MMG Design

https://www.mmgdesign.net/

Partners // COHATCH

https://www.cohatch.com/mbd

⚡️ High-Converting Websites Visual Swipe File: ⁠https://www.mmgdesign.net/visualswipefile⁠

Brandon Triola is building a blueprint for creatives who want to thrive — not panic — as AI reshapes the industry. In this episode, Brandon breaks down why talent alone doesn’t create career security, how to increase your value (even if you’re early), and why most creatives hit a ceiling when they tie their income to hours. We also talk confidence, humility, and the mindset shifts that separate creatives who get stuck from creatives who become the trusted voice in the room. Brandon also shares updates on his upcoming book, Save The Creatives, and how he’s thinking about the next decade of creative work.

Key takeaways:

- Why “talent is table stakes” now

- How to build a clear vision for your creative career

- The real reason creatives get cut first in downturns

- How to become more valuable (not just more skilled)

- Why confidence is a practice you can learn

CONNECT WITH BRANDON

Website: ⁠https://www.brandontriola.com/⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-triola-b4793957/⁠

Forrest Co: ⁠https://www.forrest-co.com/⁠

Book waitlist: ⁠https://brandontriola.com/book⁠

Speaking: ⁠https://brandontriola.com/speaking⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://instagram.com/brandontriola⁠

CONNECT WITH ANDY

Website: ⁠https://www.mmgdesign.net/⁠

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

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/⁠

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Why Brandon started writing Save The Creatives

02:48 - Talent is now a commodity (AI reality check)

07:19 - The traits that make creatives indispensable

14:06 - Executives are just as unsure as interns

16:08 - The goal isn’t less fear — it’s being the one they call

21:27 - Vision: the cure for creative career anxiety

27:27 - Why creatives are seen as a cost center

32:09 - The dollars-for-hours ceiling (and how to escape it)

40:08 - You attract the value you believe you have

42:46 - Book launch details + endorsements + Created Con

TEAM

🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/⁠

🎥 Production // MMG Design: ⁠https://www.mmgdesign.net/⁠