I’m Barry Hott, and I help brands scale profitably with high-performing paid media strategies, creative testing systems, and conversion-focused insights.

I’ve personally managed over $600 million in paid media spend since 2008, overseeing Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn campaigns for brands like True Classic, Harry’s, Happy V, Lone River, The Perfect Jean, and many more. I specialize in scaling direct-to-consumer and startup brands spending $200K+ per month on ads with strategies grounded in first principles, logic, and contextualized data insights (tracking what the system sees that you can’t).

I’m known for making ugly ads that convert. Clients trust me to optimize every aspect of their acquisition, from raw creative that cuts through the noise to counterintuitive buying strategies that maximize ROI.

Recent brands I’ve helped grow include Happy V, Keeps, Nuts.com, UrbanStems, MoneyLion, Lumin, Cerebral, Wandering Bear Coffee, Mirror, Athletic Greens, and Spartan Race. In 2020, I helped launch Lone River Ranch Water, which was acquired by Diageo in 2021. All three companies I worked with in 2021 were acquired: Lone River, Thesis, and Jump450.

If you’re a decision maker who wants profitable, scalable ad growth, shoot me a DM.

Barry Hott

You don’t need the most beautifully designed pages in the world.

Too many sites and landing pages are overdesigned.

A lot of "ugly" pages win not because they're ugly, but simply because they're easier to read than their prettier counterparts.

A clean white page with black text in a familiar, unbranded, highly-readable font is easier to consume than a beautiful but busy design 99% of the time.

Does this vary by product, audience, and price point? Of course! As with everything else in marketing:

IT DEPENDS.

But if you prioritize the consumer above all, you usually end up in the same place.

What do they expect?
What do they want to see?
What do they NEED to get them to buy?

What wins regardless of the design:

1. Immediate relevance 🎯

2. CLARITY, readability, and scannability 👓

3. Strong relevant copy and storytelling ✍️

4. LOTS OF relevant real social proof in a variety of styles: text, images, videos ⭐

5. Authority + trust 🛡️

6. SPEED 🏎️

7. Reducing friction ⛸️

8. Handling objections 🙋

9. Minimal distractions and undesired exits 🔇

10. A clear offer and path to purchase 🛒

Growing businesses with ugly ads, streamlined execution, and deep consumer empathy.

I worked at an adtech startup 10 years ago and I remember we had a hackathon, and the coolest idea that got built was a chatbot that could answer questions about your ads.

It never really got built out or worked well, but I always dreamed of having something like that so I can just Slack a bot to get a question answered about my ads.

10 years later and Parker from my biz partner Alex Cooper made this dream a reality. Plus, it does so much more!

I'm excited for y'all to try it:

AI & advertising. Helping you make better direct response creatives. Co-Founder @ Adcrate.

Introducing Parker: the world’s first AI Creative Director. Parker allows any brand to produce 10x more viral ads without hiring more people. 

Here’s how it works:

1) Connect your ad account:
Parker analyzes your historical performance and creative data across your ad account.

2) Add Parker to Slack
Tag Parker like a real employee.
Ask questions. Generate briefs. Break down performance.
Parker works inside your team’s workflow.

3) Enable Autonomous Mode
While you sleep, Parker scans TikTok, identifies winning ad patterns, and delivers production-ready concepts directly to Slack—tagging your team with ads to review.

Parker is not another AI ad maker. AI ad tools are wrappers on top of models like Sora, Veo, or Kling. AI avatars are solved.

What no one solves is the research, analysis, and strategic thinking required to create ads that actually go viral.

Parker solves that.

Check it out here: heyparker.ai
----------
100+ brands including Grüns, Lume Deodorant, and Legends already use Parker to generate more viral ads.

I compiled a list of 100+ AI prompt engineers for hire trained in AI ad creation, including their rates, portfolios, and contact info.

Comment “Parker” and I’ll send it to you. 
----------
If you’ve read this far from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Everything in my life has lead to this moment:

In 2021, I quit a 100k/yr corporate job with no plan. 

I started an ad creative agency and scaled that business to 45 people and $3m/yr making the best ads in the world for David, Huel, Harry's and 50+ more.

Everything I learned, every ad we ever made trained Parker.

Let's normalize turning off our Meta ads one week per year, just to see what happens to the rest of the business (and to take a vacation).

Every brand should do this.

Apps, sites, & software for startups and the big companies they strive to become.

👋 Hi there!  

I'm a serial entrepreneur and founder of SPARK6, a software and product innovation agency focused on helping companies implement AI-powered solutions that create effective organizations and products people love. 

After a decade of working in robotics, I’ve started and sold several companies in both CPG and software. 

I post daily on how AI can be a force-multiplier for leadership, business leverage, and personal productivity - for you, your team, and your customers. 

For actionable tips and insights into the latest AI developments, subscribe to my newsletter Framework Friday.  

We specialize in designing and building: 

→ Websites (CMS agnostic) 
→ Custom enterprise software 
→ Mobile apps (iOS and Android) 
→ E-Commerce platforms (Like Shopify) 
→ Workflow automations powered by LLMs 
→ AI strategy, training and change management  
→ Conversational AI experiences for customer service 
→ AI agents for internal and customer-facing workflows 
→ AI-powered telepresence and holographic experiences  

Our clients range from startups to global brands across industries like:  

→ Arts  
→ CPG 
→ Telcom
→ Fintech  
→ Fit-tech
→ Logistics  
→ For-cause
→ Education  
→ Healthcare
→ Personal care 

We've been doing this for 14 years, and over that time, we've built for Fortune 500s and scrappy startup teams alike.  The common thread? High-impact work delivered with strategic care and real technical precision. 

Sound like something you're exploring?  Send me a message. Just don’t open with a pitch-slap. And if you're a bot, I'm looking forward to that dad joke 😉 

Let’s build something amazing. 

- Elijah

Elijah Szasz

You can make the right decision,

and still feel like you missed.

That doesn’t mean it was wrong.

Sometimes progress looks like friction
before it looks like momentum.

Plans don’t fail in straight lines.
They bend.
They reroute.
They expose weak assumptions.

What feels like a misstep is often
the system surfacing what needed to change.

In business, in careers, in life,
the fastest upgrades rarely feel smooth.

They feel inconvenient.
They feel confusing.
They feel late.

But detours have a job:
they stress-test who you are
before rewarding where you’re going.

If you’re questioning your direction,
don’t default to self-blame.

Most outcomes aren’t verdicts.
They’re diagnostics.

Three reminders when things drift off-plan:

1. Separate error from information.
→ Not all friction is failure.
→ Sometimes it’s feedback doing its work.

2. Zoom out before you react.
→ Short-term confusion can enable
  long-term leverage.
→ Context changes conclusions.

3. Keep the system in motion.
→ Insight follows movement.
→ Stalling freezes learning.

I’ve shipped decisions that didn’t land.
Built systems that cracked under load.
Chosen paths that forced a rethink.

Each one raised the ceiling
for what came next.

You’re not lost.
You’re iterating.

And iteration is how systems improve.

♻️ Repost to help your network.
🔔 Follow Elijah Szasz for actionable insights on AI, systems, and strategy.

Founder | Follow to leverage AI in Products & Leadership

Everyone at work has a personal story.
 
Almost no one shares it.
 
The teammate who snapped in the meeting?
They are carrying something heavy.
 
The report who missed the deadline?
Their life just changed overnight.
 
The leader who feels distant?
They are running on empty.
 
Kindness is not softness.
It is operational maturity.
 
But kindness is not the same as being nice.
 
Nice avoids tension.
Kindness addresses it with respect.
 
What real kindness looks like at work:
 
→ Asking "What do you need right now?"
↳ Before defaulting to blame
 
→ Designing flexibility into systems
↳ So people do not have to ask for grace
 
→ Noticing behavioral drift
↳ And checking in early, not after damage
 
→ Protecting focus and boundaries
↳ Especially when pressure comes from above
 
→ Building workflows that allow humans
↳ To be human on bad days
 
Strong leaders understand this:
 
You can demand excellence
AND design for reality.
 
You can move fast
AND leave room for struggle.
 
You can be direct
AND lead with empathy.
 
Targets get forgotten.
Moments of support do not.
 
♻️ Repost to help your network.
🔔 Follow Elijah Szasz for actionable insights on AI, systems, and strategy.

You’re not overwhelmed.
 
You’re under-systemized.
 
Most people blame discipline.
The real issue is missing leverage.
 
Here are the AI systems you’re probably not using:
 
1. The AI Systems You’re Not Using
↳ Reduce friction
↳ Increase leverage
 
2. Cognitive Load
❌ Hold everything in your head
✅ Externalize thinking with AI
↳ Notes, summaries, memory
 
3. Task Flow
❌ Repeat the same work manually
✅ Automate recurring tasks once
↳ Let the system handle repetition
 
4. Decision Speed
❌ Overthink small choices
✅ Use AI for fast first drafts
↳ Decide faster, refine later
 
5. Information Intake
❌ Consume everything in real time
✅ Let AI filter and summarize
↳ Focus only on what matters
 
6. Execution Loop
❌ Plan endlessly, delay action
✅ Short cycles: idea to test
↳ Adjust based on feedback
 
7. Personal System
❌ Scattered tools, scattered focus
✅ One trusted system of record
↳ AI keeps it clean and current
 
8. Discipline Design
❌ Rely on motivation and willpower
✅ Systems plus AI enforce habits
↳ Consistency without friction
 
♻️ Repost to help your network.
🔔 Follow Elijah Szasz for actionable insights on AI, systems, and strategy.

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The Battle

Barry Hott

Elijah Szasz

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreBarry Hott's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreElijah Szasz's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Barry Hott

Elijah Szasz

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Barry Hott's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreElijah Szasz's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreBarry Hott's LinkedIn Performance