#81 Building a Partner-Centric Loyalty Platform | Jason Fuentes, VP Business Development, Wildfire Systems, Inc

04/22/25 • 39 min

This episode features Jason Fuentes, a seasoned affiliate marketer and active member of the Austin tech community, now working with Wildfire. Wildfire specializes in white-labeling loyalty and rewards platforms for businesses, particularly within the financial sector, helping them boost revenue and engagement through shopping companions like Capital One Shopping. These tools offer cashback, rewards, and coupons while preserving user privacy by avoiding predictive advertising. Instead, Wildfire focuses on highlighting existing benefits within users' shopping experiences. Jason shares insights into the recent launch of the Wildfire Commerce Network, a retail media network that enables partner apps to drive transactions through strategic partnerships. The conversation also explores Jason's background in ad tech, his life with three dogs, and his love for Costa Rican beaches.

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#80 Courageous Marketing: Ditch "Safe" B2B Strategies & Stand Out | Udi Ledergor, Chief Evangelist and former CMO, Gong

In this episode, Tye DeGrange is joined by Udi Ledergor to dive into Udi’s new book, "Courageous Marketing: The B2B Marketer's Playbook for Career Success," released on April 10th. Drawing from two decades of experience and insights from top CMOs, the book challenges traditional B2B marketing practices and encourages a bold, strategic mindset.

The conversation covers key themes like overcoming “death by committee,” prioritizing product-market fit over blindly following so-called best practices, and embracing a human-first approach — even in an AI-driven world. They discuss the power of bold branding (with examples like Gong’s distinct visual style) and the importance of tailoring strategies for both the 5% actively in-market and the 95% who aren’t — known as the “95.5 rule.”

Other highlights include building trust through authentic content and personal branding, using frameworks like RAPID for faster decisions in big teams, and leaning into courageous marketing that solves real problems and creates lasting brand impressions — even if they’re not always easy to measure.

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#82 Building Long-Term Value in Fintech Affiliate Marketing | Lawrence Sarpong, Affiliate Marketing Lead, Truist

In this episode, fintech affiliate marketing expert Lawrence Sarpong shares insights from years of hands-on experience in the space. He breaks down how fintech affiliate marketing stands apart from the broader industry — with a stronger focus on customer education and solving very specific financial needs.

Lawrence dives into best practices for building a strong affiliate program, from choosing the right platform (he gives a big nod to Impact) to cultivating genuine, long-term relationships with partners. He emphasizes that authenticity beats flashy influencer deals, especially in fintech where trust is everything.

He also walks us through a powerful online-to-offline campaign that drove real revenue and explains why social media is becoming more critical than ever in affiliate marketing.

Other highlights include common mistakes to avoid (like overlooking partner fit or dropping the ball on communication), plus some personal reflections — including his favorite travel spots and how he thrives as an introvert in a relationship-driven industry.