AI Influencers: Modern-Day Brands, Not Just Technology
AI influencers are modern-day brands — and they’re changing what we teach, build, and bet on. It started with a LinkedIn post. Cynthia Lieberman, a Hollywood publicist turned educator I taught alongside at UCLA, dropped a short video she’d co-created at an AI workshop. She asked: “Are AI-generated influencers actually gaining traction — and how […]
The Cult of “Busy”
You know the type. Always too “slammed” to text back, treats their inbox like a digital graveyard, reschedules the same meeting four times with increasingly creative excuses. They think slow responses prove their importance. Plot twist: It proves the opposite. What Real Influence Looks Like Being “busy” doesn’t mean you’re successful. It usually just means you […]
The Polo Lesson Every Brand Needs to Hear
Summer Lesson From Sotogrande I spent the summer getting schooled at polo. Not just by the sport itself—though watching me attempt to hit a ball while controlling a horse was, let’s just say, proof that some content should stay in drafts. (If you follow my Instagram, you know I posted it anyway.) But by the […]
The Word That Drives Me Crazy
The Word That Drives Me Crazy I was in a founder dinner last week when someone asked me about “influencer ROI metrics.” The entire table went quiet. Not because the question was profound, but because I visibly winced. What’s become overtly clear to me: I built my career around a word I despise. Influencer. I was […]
You Can’t Buy Community
Let me tell you how I accidentally built my first real community — long before Slack channels or business cards. When I first moved to New York, I had no visa, no credit history, and not a single person to call. What I did have was a bike. At 5 a.m. in Central Park, I found a […]
How to Stay Everywhere… Even If You Stop Posting
The champagne was cold. The ponies were restless. The backdrop was one of the most elite polo communities in the world. I spent part of the summer in Sotogrande, Spain — a place where influence is built over glasses of rosé as much as on the playing field. And while this week’s episode isn’t about polo, being there […]
The Truth About Content Creation (That No One on LinkedIn Wants to Admit)
There’s a quiet epidemic inside brands today: Teams drowning in content calendars. Reels. Carousels. Caption hell. All for… what exactly? Visibility? Maybe. Burnout? Definitely. And the worst part? Most of them don’t even want to be doing this. If you’re not a natural-born entertainer (or a full-time media team), this “be everywhere” approach doesn’t just […]
Status Isn’t Sold. It’s Engineered.
The world’s most desired brands don’t sell products. They sell permission. Take Rolex. They didn’t break a $10B record by selling time. They sold identity. Every Rolex ad whispers: “This is what you’ve earned.” Not “Here’s how accurate our watch is.” Then there’s Hermès. The Birkin isn’t bought. It’s bestowed. You don’t just pick one off […]
The Real Secret to Exclusivity? It’s Not What You Think.
This isn’t a story about nightlife. It’s a story about emotion. And what people are really buying when they pay for exclusivity. Back in 2008, when the markets were crashing and luxury felt tone-deaf, two brothers midwestern raised Derek & Daniel Koch, launched a brunch party in New York City. No celebrities. No publicists. Just word-of-mouth, long […]
A $40 Bottle. A Placebo Pill. A Lesson in Perception.
We’ve all heard the line: “Luxury isn’t about being expensive.” I’ve said it myself. And I still believe it. But here’s the nuance most people miss: Price isn’t the enemy of experience. It’s part of it. Because in business, pricing isn’t just about math. Price is your first impression. It’s the first story someone hears […]