Biggest mistake made while scaling Thrillist

Summary

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MarTech Podcast ™

Episode: Biggest mistake made while scaling Thrillist
Date: May 30, 2026
Host: Benjamin Shapiro
Guest: Adam Rich (CEO, Known for; Founder, Thrillist)

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Overview

In this episode, Benjamin Shapiro interviews Adam Rich, renowned for scaling Thrillist to 300 million monthly users and now CEO of Known for. The conversation explores the evolving role of personal authority on LinkedIn in B2B marketing, delves into AI’s power for solopreneurs, and highlights how editorial processes from large-scale publishing can translate into manageable, tech-powered systems today.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Shift in B2B Authority on LinkedIn

[01:15–01:43]

• Benjamin Shapiro introduces the central theme: B2B marketing on LinkedIn is increasingly about people rather than brands.
• This signals a paradigm shift where individuals’ expertise and authentic voices drive engagement and business growth.

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2. Using AI to Scale Content Creation

[03:07–04:32]

• Adam Rich describes how generative AI can “amplify intent.” For solopreneurs and small teams, AI tools (he singles out the Claude suite) transform an individual’s ideas and frameworks into scalable workflows and content production systems.
• Adam leverages Notion to build editorial systems with simple, enforceable “plain English” rules, enabling code-like rigor without coding skills.
• He draws a direct line from building editorial processes at Thrillist to his current methods: the same operational discipline, now turbocharged by AI’s ability to translate intent into documented processes or even “enforced code.”

Notable Quote:

“The beauty of the moment with AI is in just how much it can amplify intent... the conversation is starting to coalesce around this idea of intent and that being the thing that, at least for now, we're responsible for.”
— Adam Rich [03:07]

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3. Solopreneurial Leverage and Efficiency

[04:32–04:58]

• Benjamin Shapiro relates to Adam’s perspective, emphasizing that small, focused teams—or even solo operators—can now pursue big projects, thanks to AI-powered content and coding agents.
• Both agree that ongoing experimentation and knowledge-sharing are crucial for leveraging these advancements.

Notable Quote:

“We’re both sort of in the same boat... managing relatively small teams but trying to do really big things. And I think using Claude code or any of the other coding agents allows organizations to be smaller, but also take on a big challenge.”
— Benjamin Shapiro [04:32]

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Adam on Editorial Discipline & AI:

  “That same kind of editorial discipline is something that having AI be this language system really just is like. It's like a one to one comparison.”
  — Adam Rich [04:15]

• Adam on Building Systems as a Solopreneur:

  “I build a lot of my system in Notion just because it's a really handy way to basically create editorial systems that are, you know, plain English but work as real enforced code.”
  — Adam Rich [03:40]

• Mutual Agreement on AI’s Transformative Power:

  “Let's keep exchanging some notes there.”
  — Adam Rich [04:58]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:15: Benjamin introduces Adam and the focus on personal authority in LinkedIn B2B marketing.
• 03:07: Adam explains how AI “amplifies intent” and builds editorial processes in Notion.
• 04:32: Benjamin and Adam discuss how small teams can now scale like much larger organizations thanks to AI tools.
• 04:58: Episode winds down with mutual remarks on ongoing AI experimentation.

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Tone & Style

The tone is conversational, pragmatic, and highly focused on actionable insights. Adam brings a grounded perspective rooted in operational experience, while Benjamin frames questions to elicit practical takeaways for marketers and founders.

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Summary

This episode distills Adam Rich’s hard-won wisdom from scaling Thrillist into practical lessons for today’s marketers and content creators. The key message is clear: as AI and digital tools lower the barrier to executing large-scale projects, individuals and small teams can build impactful content engines—provided they remain disciplined and intentional in their workflows. Authentic, personal expertise increasingly trumps generic brand messaging, especially in spaces like LinkedIn. Both Adam and Benjamin highlight the exponential value of translating big-company editorial processes into nimble, tech-enabled systems.

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Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

The Martech Podcast is a proud member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. Looking to launch or scale your podcast, I Hear Everything delivers podcast production, growth and monetization solutions that transform your words into profit. Ready to give your brand a voice? Then visit iheareverything.com.

[Adam Rich]

From advertising to software as a service to data across all of our programs

[Benjamin Shapiro]

and clients, we've seen a 55 to 65% open rate.

[Adam Rich]

Getting brands authentically integrated into content performs better than TV advertising.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

Typical lifespan of an article is about 24 to 36 hours. We're reaching out to the right person with the right message and a clear call to action. Then it's just a matter of timing.

[Podcast Announcer]

Welcome to the Martech Podcast, a member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. In this podcast, you'll hear the stories of world class marketers that you technology to drive business results and achieve career success. Here's the host of the Martech Podcast, Benjamin Shapiro

[Benjamin Shapiro]

I'm Benjamin Shapiro and today I'm joined by Adam Rich, the CEO of Known for, which turns professional expertise into consistent executive content using an Expert in the Loop editorial system. Adam was also the founder of Thrillist, which he scaled to 300 million monthly users before its acquisition by Vox Media. And today Adam is going to explain why LinkedIn authority in B2B marketing is shifting from brands more to people.

[Shift Paradigm Sponsor Voice]

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[Benjamin Shapiro]

What's one LinkedIn best practice that is actually a waste of time. All right, last question for you, Adam. Tell me a little bit about the way that you're using artificial intelligence to manufacture content at scale.

[Adam Rich]

The beauty of the moment with AI is in just how much it can amplify intent. I think that that's something that is. The conversation is starting to coalesce around is this idea of intent and that being the thing that, at least for now, we're responsible for. And so this idea of having all of the. I like the Claude suite, but having all those tools to basically take the ideas of, you know, a solopreneur like myself and turn those into whole systems, whole processes, you know, whether those are living in code or they're things that are, you know, I build a lot of my system in notion just because it's a really handy way to basically create editorial systems that are, you know, plain English but work as real enforced code. That's sort of a remarkable way to translate what I did for years at Thrillist, where you had documentation and you had rules and you had people and you would talk to them about how you did this. And that same kind of editorial discipline is something that having AI be this language system really just is like. It's like a one to one comparison.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

Yeah, it's funny. I think that's one of the reasons why we see eye to eye. We're both sort of in the same boat in the sense of being solopreneurs or people that are managing relatively small teams, but trying to do really big things. And I think that using Claude code or any of the other coding agents allows organizations to be smaller, but also take on a big challenge. So, you know, we'll have to keep doing it and let's. Let's keep exchanging some notes there.

[Adam Rich]

That sounds great. Well, thanks for. Thanks for having me on.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

All right, Adam, great to have you on the podcast. Thanks for coming on and being my guest. And that wraps up this episode of the MarTech podcast. Thanks to Adam Rich, the CEO of Known for, for joining us.

[Shift Paradigm Sponsor Voice]

A special thanks to Shift Paradigm for sponsoring this podcast. Shift is an integrated team of experts who help enterprise brands bridge the gap between strategy data and custom human. First, AI enabled and execution led. They build the blueprints, then stay to develop, deploy and run the engine you need. So stop settling for decks that collect dust and start working with a team that actually builds for you. Visit ShiftParadigm.com to see how they can help you connect meaningfully with your audience.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

If you'd like to get in touch with Adam, you could find a link to his LinkedIn profile in our show notes or on martechpod.com you can always visit his website, which is Get Known for dot com. And if you haven't subscribed yet and you want a daily stream of marketing and technology knowledge in your podcast feed, hit the subscribe button in your podcast app or on YouTube and we'll be back in your feed next week. All right, that's it for today, but until next time, my advice is to just focus on keeping your customers happy. Foreign.

[Podcast Announcer]

Thanks for listening to the MarTech podcast, and I hear everything. Production Looking to launch or scale a podcast like this one for your brand? Then visit iheareverything.com.