OP #283: Favorite Links, B2B Marketing Champs, and More

Happy Tuesday! 🚅

I'm penning this from the Acela Express (or at least, that's where I'll be when you're reading this), heading to New York for a whirlwind 24-hour business sprint. These quick trips always remind me of the energy that comes from in-person connections, even in our digital age.

The real excitement, though, is brewing back in Boston. On January 28-29, I'm hosting our annual Growth Leaders (CMO/CDO/E-Commerce) Summit for portfolio companies. This year's focus? "AI: From Inspiration to Implementation" - and honestly, the timing couldn't be better.

What I love about this theme is how practical it is. We're finally moving beyond the AI hype cycle into the "show me, don't tell me" phase. Real teams are creating real value with AI tools, and that's exactly what we'll be exploring together. Our goal is simple: share those tangible success stories and help each other turn inspiration into action.

How are you implementing AI in your work? I'd love to hear your experiences. Feel free to reply to this email directly and I’d love to hear annecdotes and stories.

Looking forward to sharing insights from both NYC and the upcoming summit!

Lets get started with some good reads from around the web:

• About 25% of US Teens Have Used ChatGPT for Schoolwork (Pew Research Center)

• Instagram and YouTube Prepare to Benefit From a TikTok Ban (NYT)

• The Madcap Rise of Memecoin Factory Pump.fun (Wired)

• ROKT Acquires mParticle for $300M (AdExchanger)

• How Walmart’s ‘Wirkin’ Is Helping Redefine Dupe Culture (AdAge)

📬 Quick Note on Staying Connected

First off, thank you to all our subscribers for making this newsletter part of your weekly routine! Your engagement and thoughtful responses make this community truly special.

📩 Not subscribed yet? Maybe someone awesome shared this with you (thanks for spreading the love!). You can hop on board for free right here to get these insights delivered straight to your inbox.

Drop me a line anytime - I love hearing your thoughts and perspectives on what we discuss here. After all, the best conversations happen when we share and learn from each other. 🤝

Be well, do good.
Darren

P.S. My children can now relax… Tiktok is back for now.

Your Favorite Links from 2024 🔍

I've been holding onto something special - our annual roundup of the year's most impactful links. This tradition has always resonated deeply with readers, and today I'm finally sharing 2024's greatest hits with you.

What follows are the top 10 links that captured your attention throughout the year, ranked by engagement. A quick note on methodology: while these rankings come from beehiiv's tracking data, some interactions inevitably slip through the cracks due to email privacy settings and client configurations. Still, the pattern is clear - these pieces struck a chord then, and I'm confident they'll resonate just as strongly now. Let's dive into what caught your collective eye.

Interest in my notebook from Ink & Volt that I use to keep track of my projects, goals, and schedule. Yes, it’s analog, not digital as I learn more when I write things down. I have used it for a few years and I’m still using it to this day.

My friend Auren Hoffman having fun drawing a birthday chart. It’s clearly a joke and reminds me of the @gapingvoid cartoons, but it’s fun and many of y’all enjoyed it.

Michael Miraflor writing rules for networking UP. I really enjoyed this piece and I find many of his pointers very accurate. #6 is really important regarding research.

Fred Wilson’s 2024 Predictions.  Fred has a lot of fans and followers, especially within the Operating Partner subscriber base. I am one of them. I’ve learned so much from him over the years and my “thinking in public” mantra has been 100% inspired by his original blog.

Any post that lists AI tools will do well; Emmett Shine’s post did extremely well. There is clearly lots of love for AI tools within the OP community. I still reference this list often to inspire my AI learning and knowledge.

How to get rich in the 21st century in The Economist was super popular as well. This piece on finance and economics peeked lots of interest among the OP subscribers.

This piece hit me hard as my daughter Ava was all about this… Videos About GenZ and Gen Alpha Wreaking Havoc at Sephora Are Flooding TikTok. I’m just glad I didn’t see a video of Ava in Sephora circulating…

Benedict Evans is also extremely popular with this group. He’s got a great view on the world and often discusses topics that are near and dear to what I’m focused on. His Presentations link did extremely well and I’m sure it’s updated with some new content.

Ajodeji Awosika wrote a piece on Medium titled, “I’d Rather Re-Read These 10 Books Over and Over Again Instead of Starting New Ones.”   This piece caught the attention of many of you and was highly engaged with. Going back over the reading list, I could agree that many of those books are great.

Conor Grennan, Chief AI Architect of NYU Stern School of Business wrote a LinkedIn post which breaks down his AI tech stack. As you can imagine, this resonated with y’all.  Take a peek at it - it’s not overly complicated but it works.

It’s not as fancy as a Spotify wrapped, but it’s just as fun.

The Evolution of AI Video Creation 🎥

I've been watching the video creation space evolve rapidly this year, particularly in how AI is reshaping the landscape. Tools like Synthesia are revolutionizing text-to-video avatars, while Canva and Adobe's Firefly are bringing new possibilities to image generation. Among these innovations, I've found Augie Studio particularly useful for my own Silicon Alley Sports content.

I recently caught up with Jeremy Toeman from Augie, an angel investment of mine, and he's extended an offer to our Operating Partner community. You can explore their no-cost tier on the site, their Studio starter packages, or if you'd prefer, I'm happy to connect you directly with Jeremy and his team.

Augie is an all-in-one AI-assisted video studio, already used by hundreds of thousands of users. We’re seamlessly integrated with key platforms like TikTok, Adobe, Dropbox, Getty Images, and OpenAI, making video creation effortless across workflows.

With Augie, creating video content is ridiculously easy. Here are just a few things we can do:

• Instantly transform a 60-minute video into a 45-second highlight reel.

• Add effects like picture-in-picture, subtitles, and more with a single click.

• Go from prompt to script to voice to video in just a minute — think first draft ready for review.

• Search your footage with natural language and automatic scene detection. No more scrubbing through hours of content!

With Augie Studio, your entire organization can operate like its own video production team — without blowing the budget or disrupting workflows.

Here’s “Augie in a Minute”, and here are a few examples of Augie’s in use:

•  CW local TV market football ad

•  Men’s Journal (Article to Video)

•  Jonathan Haidt book promo

•  “Faceless" video (Prompt + B-roll)

•  Twisted Trailer (Prompt + Movie)

What strikes me most about these developments is the accessibility factor. Just a few years ago, serious video production required significant investment in editing suites. Now, the barrier to entry has dropped dramatically - a smartphone and basic editing software are all you need to create quality content.

If you're interested in exploring Augie Studio or connecting with Jeremy, just let me know. It's been a reliable part of my content toolkit, and I'm always glad to share resources that have worked well for me.

🎯 Calling All B2B Marketing Champions!

Quick favor that could make a huge impact: I'm building a dream team list of B2B marketing talent, and I need your expertise. You know those marketers who consistently blow you away? The ones who craft compelling narratives, drive incredible demand, or create content that actually makes you stop scrolling? Yeah, those rockstars.

Whether they're:

• Demand gen wizards turning leads into gold

• Content strategists who make complex tech feel like storytelling

• Creative minds who bring fresh perspectives to B2B

• Product marketing pros who make features feel like magic

• Or any B2B marketer who makes you think "wow, they get it"

Seniority doesn't matter. If they're good, they're good. Period. I've seen some incredible mid-level marketers outshine VPs and CMOs, and I want to know about all. You do not have to work in b2b to know a b2b marketer. We all know one that’s great.

The ask is simple: just drop their LinkedIn URL in this form. Takes 30 seconds tops. Why bother? Well, apart from building an amazing resource, I'm constantly looking for exceptional talent for Bain Capital portfolio companies. Your nomination could be someone's next big career move! 🚀

Know someone amazing? Share their profile here.

For those who participate, you’ll be entered in a drawing for Rishad Tobaccowala’s new book, Rethinking Work.

PS: Sometimes the best opportunities come from unexpected connections. Your nomination could be the bridge someone needs to their dream role.

OP Links

Below are a few articles I came across this past week that I found interesting. While I may not agree with everything in each one, I think they're worth a read. If you stumble upon an article you think I or the Operating Partner community would enjoy, feel free to share it with me. Of course, I reserve the right to decide what gets featured in the OP.

Amazon Claims Big Worldwide Audience for ‘Beast Games’ (The Hollywood Reporter)

Bleacher Report Secures NFL Highlight Rights Ahead of Super Bowl (Axios)

The Rise of AI Agentic Marketing Platforms (George Schildge)

Inside The UKs Bold Experiment In AI Safety (Time)

Despite VCs Investing $75B In Q4, It’s Still Hard for Starts To Raise Money (Techcrunch)

How TikTok Changed Advertising Forever (Adweek)

Intel Shares Jump On Report It’s an Acquisition Target (Bloomberg)

TikTok’s Time Is Up. Can Donald Trump Save It? (The Economist)

‘I Won’t Touch Instagram’ (The Atlantic)

NVIDIA and IQVIA Build Domain-Expert Agentic AI For Healthcare and Life Sciences (NVIDIA)

AI Agents For Marketing: How Agentic AI Can Transform Demand Generation (Regie.ai)

Agentic AI Will Change Everything - Including Marketing (The Drum)

6 Big Takeaways From This Year’s ICR Conference (Restaurant Business)

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