Map & Fire

Map & Fire is a Los Angeles based research and brand consultancy. We help you own a unique space in your market with a mix of research, positioning, and messaging – so you can connect with more customers and grow with confidence.

View happy client testimonials at: https://mapandfire.com

Founder, Brand Strategist

HelloAdvisr LLC

Strategy Advisor

TVGla

• Led a team of 14 producers and was responsible for defining the department's vision and planning, managing overall budget, conducting individual reviews, setting goals and providing guidance on all project work.

• Provided strategic insights and oversaw production efforts for the agency's two largest Digital Agency of Record accounts, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, along with a wide array of campaigns for companies including Sony, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Hard Rock Cafe, Cinemax, A&E, History Channel, Dreamworks and Gruppo Campari.

• Unified and facilitated cross-training of a production department that had been historically split between a team of digital banner producers and web/app-focused producers. In addition, established dedicated production support for the company's quickly expanding social department.

• Worked to build strong relationships with all team members by providing personal support, empowering them to take on deeper responsibilities and challenging them to work on projects outside their immediate areas of expertise.

• Improved overall efficiency and expertise of the department through process refinement, mentorship and the introduction of improved project management and communication tools.

Executive Producer

• Played a key role in building the strategy and relationship that led to the agency's first major Digital Agency of Record account with Wheel of Fortune.

• Beyond production responsibilities, provided additional insight and value by helping to guide UX decisions, as well as input on creative and technical implementations.

• Led over 75 projects for clients such as Google, Sony, Universal Pictures, Mattel, and FOX. 

• Managed and oversaw between $1.5 - 2MM of project revenue annually, consistently delivering work under projected budgets.

Senior Producer

Better You

• Founding partner in startup, responsible for full UX, product management, and technical life cycle of project.

• Wrote business requirements, defined user experience, user flows, and created interactive wireframes for the entire site.

• Designed graphical UI elements for site and prototyped frontend experience.

• Managed developers to build out front and back end coding on a LAMP platform.

Co-Founder, Head of Product Development

Bird Branch

• Worked in a variety of roles including brand strategist, UX designer, creative lead, and developer on over 150 projects.

• Collaborated with a wide assortment of clients on projects ranging from the entertainment industry to consumer products to health care both in project lead and contractor roles.

• Extensive experience with both UI and graphic design.

• Developed front and backend code solutions utilizing existing frameworks as well as fully custom implementations. 

• Responsible for managing project budgets, tracking progress, and coordinating work both with clients and additional resources.

Founder, Strategy, UX, and Design Consultant

G4 Media

Senior Web Developer

Avacus Corporation

Web Developer

O'Neil Data

Unigraphics Solutions

Software Developer

Win with a brand built on research, not guesses | Founder Map & Fire 🔥, SmokeLadder | Contributor at Foundr Magazine

I use a mix of research, positioning, and messaging to help founders and marketing leaders connect with more customers and grow with confidence. 

My writing on strategy and research has been featured in Foundr Magazine and AdWeek. 

More about my background:

I've spent the last 20 years dreaming up and then bringing to life multiple startups as well as a wide range of digital projects. With every twist and turn of that journey there’s been a consistent thread of weaving together strategic problem solving, creative expression, and a curiosity to better understand how people think and make decisions. 

In the businesses I created or co-founded, my primary focus has always been on strategy and user experience. For others, I've worn lots of hats from Executive Producer, to Designer, to Copywriter, to Developer. I've also enjoyed an unofficial Account Services role where I carefully honed the craft of client therapy.

Over the years, I've collaborated with countless passionate small businesses along with several Fortune 500 brands including Google, Sony, Universal Pictures, Mattel, FOX, Dreamworks, CBS, A&E, Home Depot, Roland Keyboards, G4 TV, and the LA Times. 

When not doing mental gymnastics, I like spending time with my amazing wife and son, hiking, surfing, and watching things that make me laugh.

Clay Ostrom

Last week I got to do a guest lecture on brand strategy for an entrepreneurship class at UCLA…and something shocked me.


I’ve had the opportunity to do this for several years now and one of my favorite parts is at the end where the students share the business ideas they’re working on. We do a little impromptu work on their positioning and messaging.

I was braced and ready for the tidal wave of AI-centric ideas.

Instead I got:

- A practical car accessory 
- A community support group
- A place to meet up and train for sports
- A finance managing tool
- An eco-friendly pet waste cleanup product

There were 10 or so students who shared their ideas.

*Finally* at the very end there was one who wanted to use AI for creating ad content. 

But that was it. Everyone else was focused on classic, everyday human-centric needs...solved with classic human-centric solutions.

And there were some really creative ideas…I mean I was ready to hand over cash for the pet waste product on the spot.

Not sure what the takeaway here is other than AI feels like it’s everywhere, but it only touches a tiny fraction of what we do every day. 

Even this new generation of entrepreneurs who have every tech advancement at their fingertips isn’t viewing everything through a tech-only lens. 

So yeah, maybe there’s hope for keeping humans around for at least a little while longer. 😅

Founder Map & Fire 🔥 // SmokeLadder.com | Research + Positioning + Messaging | Contributor at Foundr Magazine

Teaching a class on brand strategy at UCLA.

Super excited to share this collaboration I did with Sara Stella Lattanzio and Diandra Escobar for The Workflow! 


In fact I was so stoked about it I couldn’t really nail down just *one* thing I liked so I had to do a full top-10 brain dump:

1. Got to work with two insanely cool people (Sara and Diandra). I’ve known Sara for a while but hadn’t met Diandra before this…they made the whole thing so easy and fun. This is why I keep coming back to LI – getting to build real relationships with smart, awesome, funny people. 🙌

2. The mission of their newsletter The Workflow is to kill off the fluff we get flooded with on LI and share real, practical workflows that people actually use. Could not be more aligned on this!

3. Nerding out about positioning and messaging. Give me an excuse to go deep on one of my favorite topics, I’m so there. 

4. Making positioning and messaging not feel so damn confusing. These topics are notoriously complex and I think when we can break stuff down into smaller pieces it makes it much easier to see how they all work together.

5. Bring a more quantified, data-focused view on these ideas. Again nerd alert! 🤓 But yeah I’m a big believer that navigating your brand’s strengths and weaknesses is much easier when you can compare and contrast with numbers…I’m weird that way.

6. Navigating the insane level of competition out there. The days of looking at 2-3 competitors is over. If you’re trying to position a brand you may need to look at 10-15 or more brands to get a real sense of what’s out there and where you can fit in..and stand out. Doing all that by hand is kinda nuts.

7. Figuring out what AI is good at…and where it falls short…waaay short. AI can’t come up with complex strategic outputs just on its own. Well, it can but they’ll be pure slop. This was a chance to share some ways I leverage AI to build up pieces of positioning and messaging in layers. 

8. Navigating prompts. Speaking of AI, this is also about philosophy on using AI. As much as we want to just feed in a 5000 word master prompt to solve all our problems, it just doesn’t work very well. Again, AI needs context and layers of information to produce good results…that’s what my workflow focused on.

9. A chance to make my own pov even sharper. This was a chance to take my process around positioning and messaging and look at it from a new angle, which is always a great way to make things stronger.

10. A chance to make my product stronger. I also have an app (SmokeLadder) that helps you work on and research positioning and messaging for brands. This workflow was a way to pull out a lite version of some of that functionality. Again, spread the love about these topics!

So, if you’re also a fan of ridding the LI feed of fluff and getting practical workflows on all kinds of marketing topics, you should definitely sign up for The Workflow immediately. Like right now. Stop reading, and do it. It's free! 🤩

Link down below. 👇

Brand Positioning and Messaging with The Workflow

Sure you could pay for a quick digital billboard in Times Square and post about it on LI…but come on, that’s super boring.


What’s *really* cool is getting a spot on the best, funniest B2B podcast in the world: Notorious B2B!

I’ve been a listener since day one and I knew if I was going to promote my product SmokeLadder somewhere this was the place. 

Tas Bober and Tim Davidson are hilarious together and I was glad I finally got to meet both of them at Drive this fall.

But yeah, after getting hundreds of people to sign up for SmokeLadder I decided it was time to pour a little gas on the fire.

And as the first official spot I’ve done for the brand it was a true honor to have Tas do the ad read. 

If you want an easier way to get deeper insights and do faster research for the brand strategy, positioning, and messaging of your brand, your clients, and the endless flow of competitors check out the app.

And if you want a weekly catch up on the latest B2B / LI drama while laughing your ass off definitely  listen to Notorious B2B.

David Gastelum

DASH (the symbol between the birth date and end date)

“Life consists of two dates with a dash in between. Make the Dash count.”
    —Stuart Scott 

Making a web based graphic design/video editing/print-on-demand internet platform that is easy-to-use to allow people to connect with loved ones in a cool new way while preserving memories.

DASH has served hundreds of customers using a proprietary analog process and I will be using their feedback to build DASH. 

Imagine graphic design/video editing/print-on-demand so easy that even a firemen can do it. 

#liveyourbestdash

https://dashqrcodes.com

Founder

City of Los Angeles

•ANNUAL EVALUATION: “Outstanding with an overall Excellent” rating 

•FIELD EXPERIENCE: 30,000 emergencies.

•CORE STRENGTH: Execution 

RESPONSIBILITIES: 
•Prevent firefighter deaths and injuries 
•Mentorship
•Safe precise aerial ladder operation 
•Trained firefighters in standard procedures, tactical driving, maintenance and safe operation of all firefighting equipment
•Teamwork coaching
•Introduced CliftonStrengths based culture (improved cohesion and morale)
•Community relations 

RESULTS: final year zer0 work days lost from work injuries, zero service complaints, and no transfers of team members, and joyful cohesive teammates

QUALIFICATIONS:
•Spanish Speaker - Bilingual Bonus
•Emergency Driving Course
•California Commercial “B” License; AirBrakes, HazMat, Tanks, Firefighting Equip, XX 
•Crew Resource Management -1,000 hrs
•High Rise ICS
•Fire Helicopter Water Refilling
•Instructor Certifications
•S-190 Brush Fire Operations
•Chainsaw Operator Course
•Vehicle Extrication
•Forcible Entry
•Fire Code Inspection Enforcement High Occupancy Apartments
•High Rise Firefighting Operations Tactics Strategy 
•Advanced ElevatorRescue (Car-to-Car/ Blind Shafts)
•Truck Operations Ventilation Academy 
•Building / Roof Construction 
•40 hour HAZWOPER
•HAZMAT First Responder Operational
•HAZMAT Technical Decontamination Team - TF94
•Active Shooter Response 
•Rescue Systems 1
•Trench Shoring
•Confined Space
•Low Angle Rope Rescue Operations
•Emergency Medical Technician-1D (AED)
•Emergency Medical Dispatcher/Bilingual - Spanish 
•Electric / Hybrid Vehicle Firefighting 
•Metrorail Emergency Operations

It was an honor and privilege serving. 

Qualifications after retirement: 
OSHA 500
OSHA 510
OSHA 5109
AED CPR First Aid Instructor
Traffic Control Instructor

RETIRED- Apparatus Operator/ Firefighter

Bagpiper- LAFD Pipes & Drums

Initiated a FEMA project to integrate CRM 

Firefighter Kelly Wong died during a training mishap in downtown Los Angeles in 2017. 

After conducting comprehensive analysis I concluded that Crew Resource Management (CRM) would have prevented his death. 

I contacted NASA Ames Research Center the birthplace of CRM, and United Airlines, the first airline to implement CRM for help and they called me back. 

Special thank you to: Dr. Terry VonThaden for writing and submitting the FEMA grant (without her this effort would not have been funded), Dr. Barbara Burian, Dr. Immanuel Barshi, Dr. Eduardo Salas, Mr. Rob Strickland (United Airlines), Dr. Lacy Schmidt, the late Dr. Key Dismukes, and Mr. Bill O’Keefe.  I will forever be indebted to them. 

These world renowned human factors scientists, practitioners, and instructors showed us how we could prevent tragic mishaps by taking a scientific approach to human interaction. “Don’t be a team of experts, be an expert team.”

In loving memory of Dr. Key Dismukes. 

What two years of research yielded:

Crew Resource Management workgroup

Every 24 hours in the city of Los Angeles, 2,000+ people call 911 for help.  Answer the phone when you call 9-1-1 and dispatch.  Learned a whole other side of firefighting.

Firefighter- Emergency Medical Dispatcher/Resource Controller

As a part of the LAFD ten member task force concept I learn fast-paced, kenetic procedures, center-hallway apartments, high rises, Victorian homes, Metro-rail (cut my teeth).

Firefighter

City of Ontario

Los Angeles County Fire Department

Full-time paid internship:
•Anticipate needs of executive command staff •Foster excellent relationships with Los Angeles area major news outlets
•Tend to and support public relations projects
•Learn the inner workings of high level executive leadership 
•Learn how to carry out company initiatives directly from the executive team

Public Information Office & Media Relations

West Covina Fire Department

Auxiliary Firefighter

Fire Prevention Safety Specialist

Fire Safety Instructor

U.S. Forest Service

Wildland Firefighter

Subway

Founder | Future of Memories | Dad | Retired Firefighter | 🇺🇸

Veteran L.A. firefighter EMT working on a tech startup to save people from becoming forgotten. 

For decades I had a front row seat to seeing thousands of people die and their memory fade away.

In 2017 a dear colleague was killed in the line-of-duty. He was 29 with a young wife and baby at home. I, along with his widow, friends, and family made a tribute slideshow, and an engraved QR code so people could watch his tribute slideshow. There were no easy solutions to do this. 

My experiences have forged the vision, passion, and grit for my startup. 

#liveyourbestdash

“There is a solution to everything in this life.” 

—my mother 

Founder and CEO

“Life consists of two dates with a dash in between. Make the Dash count.” 
    —Stuart Scott

Raising capital to build an AI platform to ensure we are not forgotten after we die. In the meantime I am making my services available manually, personally. 

You only have one chance to get a funeral right. Contact me to make a life storytelling slideshow-video to show at your loved one's memorial service. I print QR codes on the memorial programs, this allows attendees to view memories of your loved one so they are never forgotten. I also offer QR codes that are laser engraved, or embedded in timeless lucite, or greeting cards. I am skilled at video editing, graphic design, and I have relationships with vendors in California, Nevada, Washington, Texas, New Mexico, New York, Illinois, Florida, and growing. Everything is made in U.S.A. at small independent businesses with ethical wages and working conditions. 

Slideshow and complimentary graphic design: $400 & up (next day rush: $1,000 & up)
Going to your home and scanning photos: $200 & up (travel fees may apply)
Engraved metal QR codes (choice of colors and sizes): $100 & up
Lucite QR code/photo/urn embedments (5"x7"x1.5"): $1,000
Cast bronze bench plaques: $600 & up
Cast bronze grave markers: $6,000 & up

I have served 300 satisfied clients. I have played the bagpipes at memorials, and I have planned and coordinated large firefighter funerals so I understand the stakes. Your loved one's memories are in good hands. 

Sincerely,
David Gastelum

LIVE YOUR BEST DASH

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The Battle

Clay Ostrom

David Gastelum

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