Escend Media

As the Founder of Escend Media, my mission is to empower businesses to create meaningful relationships with their audiences through highly targeted and compelling email marketing strategies. 

We help DTC brands increase profit, repeat purchases and LTV with email marketing. 

We focus on cultivating authentic, long-lasting relationships with your customers, instead of just pushing 'sales' content down people's throat day in and day out. We meticulously craft an engaging customer experience and manage it end to end, from strategic planning and compelling copywriting to on-brand design. Our data-driven approach also includes A/B testing and optimization, ensuring that each customer interaction is as personalized and as profitable as possible.

Founder

Marketing Agency

Former Founder & CEO (EXIT)

Digital Distillery

It takes time, patience and a sound strategy to build and grow a business in 2020. I help business owners, freelancers and other agency owners overcome the challenges of starting, growing and scaling their businesses online. I help coach 4 different types of people:

Visionaries 💭: You are at the beginning stages of starting up a brand. If you’re not sure who your ideal customer avatar is, you don’t have a funnel mapped out yet or you are in the early stages of growth, but have MASSIVE aspirations, this is you.
 
Innovators 🙌 : You are in the midst of developing, or who have developed, a new & innovative product. If you’ve got a product and want to be first to market, if you’re doing a pre-launch or you are looking to disrupt an industry, this is you.
 
Entrepreneur In-Momentum 🌊: You have been around the block in business. If you’re the CEO or Marketing director of an established company, you’re looking to expand your target market or enter the Facebook advertising space, this is you.
 
Let’s Scale This Puppy📈: You have the budget and the drive to scale their business to the moon. If you’ve got a business with proof of concept, you’ve consistently hit 5-figure months and you have the inventory and budget to scale, this is you.

Business & Marketing Coach

RBC Dominion Securities

Investment Associate

BMO Nesbitt Burns

Marketing Assistant

Responsible Driver Program

Group Coordinator

Helping DTC brands to get more sales & increase profitability using email marketing & SMS. 

As the Founder of Escend Media, Derek's focus is on helping to decrease front end CPAs and to get your customers to spend more, and more frequently.

We focus on cultivating authentic, long-lasting relationships with your customers, instead of just pushing 'sales' content down people's throat day in and day out. We meticulously craft an engaging customer experience and manage it end to end, from strategic planning and compelling copywriting to on-brand design.

Want to learn more? Check out our website here:https://escend.media/

Derek Stroh

Sales and Marketing at CBF Labels

I'm passionate about sharing content & ideas on sales + marketing to help you level up your professional knowledge.

Outside my main role, I've been helping Ecommerce SaaS and AI companies with distribution and promotion.

If you’re looking to advertise to my audience, please send me a message so we can chat further. Thanks!

Jamie Dimond

Working with smart people is great.
But it is not enough.

Because intelligence can solve problems.
But humility and kindness build cultures where problems don’t have to exist in the first place.

Here’s why it matters so much 👇

Kind and humble people:

They make collaboration effortless.
You don’t waste energy defending ideas or egos. 
You build together - faster, cleaner, and with more trust.

They create psychological safety.
When people feel respected, they speak up, share bold ideas, 
and admit mistakes early. 
That’s how teams innovate and grow.

They inspire long-term loyalty.
People don’t leave companies - they leave toxic dynamics. 
Working with grounded, genuine teammates keeps great talent around.

 Ways to practice kindness and humility at work:

Listen more than you talk.
You don’t need to have the loudest voice to have the strongest impact. 
Listening builds connection and earns respect.

Give credit - generously.
Acknowledging others’ work doesn’t diminish your own. 
It multiplies the trust and energy in your team.

Keep learning.
The moment you think you’ve “arrived,” you stop growing. 
Stay curious, stay open, and never let success make you unapproachable.

Kind people build strong teams.
Strong teams create big results.

Credit: Chase Dimond

Most people think social media managers just “post content.”

A nice graphic here, a caption there… and somehow, followers appear.

If only it were that simple.

The truth?
Social media managers are the Swiss army knives of modern marketing.

Behind every single post, there’s:
🧭 Strategy – understanding who you’re talking to and why.
✍️ Copywriting – turning thoughts into emotions that move people.
🎨 Design – making ideas visual, memorable, and on-brand.
📊 Analytics – reading the data, not just the comments.
📢 Ads – amplifying what works (and killing what doesn’t).
💬 Community – replying, engaging, connecting human to human.

It’s not just about pressing “publish.”

It’s about building trust, consistency, and brand recall one post at a time.

So the next time someone says “you just post memes all day,” smile, sip your coffee, and remember:
you’re not just managing social media.
You’re managing perception, connection, and growth.

👉 To every social media manager out there keep the brand alive, one post at a time.

Credit: Bind Reka (go follow him)

About 35 million people in the US work from home at least part of their week.

We used to think work could only be done one before the pandemic.

Commutes.
Busy offices.
Never-ending days.

But what we’ve learned is that how we work shapes how we live.

Going back to the office means:

→ rigid hours
→ time lost commuting
→ stressing over traffic
→ less time with loved ones
→ no time to focus on health
→ constant office distractions

On the flip side, remote work means:

→ slow mornings
→ flexible schedules
→ time and money saved
→ better focus and efficiency
→ more time for the ones you love
→ space to focus on your health and wellness

It’s not just about a location, it’s about what we get back.

More energy.
More time.
More life.
More.
More.
More.

Sooner or later, I hope more companies will start offering remote work again.

If a company doesn't want to offer remote—others will happily take their best employees.

Because people want options (whether in-office, hybrid, or fully remote)

So let's be flexible and give people options & choice!

Credit: Dominick Namis

Don't hire the smartest person.

The best teams I’ve worked in weren’t full of geniuses.

They had good humans. 

People who worked as a team.

They asked good questions, shared credit, supported each other. 

And they never let ego get in the way of progress.

That’s what builds real culture.
And it all starts with who you hire.

(Credit: Dan Mian)

5 Ways To Build A Great Team Culture:

1️⃣ Hire For Character, Not Just Skills
↳ You can teach tools and systems.
↳ But you can’t teach curiosity, humility or drive.

2️⃣ Collaboration > Competition
↳ Reward those who lift others up.
↳ Knowledge hoarding kills momentum.

3️⃣ Growth Mindset 
↳ Encourage people to ask questions.
↳ It’s how teams learn, adapt & get better.

4️⃣ Keep It Light (But Focused)
↳ Great teams don’t take themselves too seriously.
↳ But they take the mission seriously — and they deliver.

5️⃣ Leave Egos At The Door
↳ Be kind, approachable & low-maintenance.
↳ Being easy to work with is an underrated superpower.

Tolerating a toxic employee is the fastest way to break trust and lose your best people.

Culture isn’t built by perks or policies.
It’s built by people.

Managers may have status.

But leaders create true impact.

Here is what impactful leadership is not:

- Neglecting professional development and training
- Not acknowledging and actioning feedback
- Micro-managing every single detail
- Avoiding difficult conversations
- Favouring people over others
- Setting unclear expectations
- Taking all the credit
- Ignoring team input
- Being inaccessible
- Resisting change

Impactful leadership is:

- Listening actively
- Taking full responsibility
- Treating everyone equally
- Being friendly and approachable
- Empowering everyone around you
- Having difficult but necessary talks
- Embracing change and adapting fast
- Accepting feedback and taking action on it
- Celebrating achievements no matter what size
- Providing clear guidance, especially in difficult times

The best leaders focus on:

↳ Setting the example
↳ How they make people feel
↳ Bringing the best out of everyone

It’s far more than a title.

Know a leader who’s changed your life?
Tag them below to show them they are appreciated! ⬇️

♻️ Repost this to support the leaders in your network.
Credit:  Chris Donnelly

Uncomfortable truth.. 

Work is NOT a family

A red flag we don't talk about enough? 

🚩 Companies that say "family" when they really mean "team" 

(Especially the big ones) 

I have worked in cultures like this, and I know how toxic it can be

This is a lesson I learned the hard way, but you don't have to

The "work-family" mindset : 

🚫 Blurs the lines between home and work 
Saying "no" feels like a betrayal and creates burnout
 
🚫 Makes feedback feel personal and targeted
This can drive internal divisions and personal attacks 

🚫 Sets unrealistic expectations 
People don't owe anything to the company except what they're paid for 
 

Work is important, but it's not on par with your family 

No matter how collaborative and supportive your team is 

Here's what a healthy workplace looks like:

● There are clear boundaries 
↳ A real work-life balance is nurtured and encouraged 

● Everyone maintains their perspective 
↳ Work comes first in the office, but life comes first outside

● There is a focus on respect, not "love." 
↳ You don't need to be family to trust and support each other 

Your family loves you unconditionally and is your support system 

Your team respects you and works with you toward shared goals 

P.S. Have you been part of a "work-family" culture? 

Credit: Hamza Rauf Khan

The fastest way to learn anything?

Start before you're ready.

Here's what most people do: 

→ Research for months 
→ Plan every detail 
→ Wait for the "perfect" moment 
→ Never actually begin

Meanwhile, the people who succeed are already figuring it out.

You can't learn to swim by reading about water.
You can't learn to code without writing messy code. 
You can't learn to sell without making awkward pitches.

The real education happens when you're doing the work.

Every successful person has this in common: 

→ They started with incomplete knowledge 
→ They learned by making mistakes 
→ They adjusted as they went 
→ They got better through repetition

The market is the best teacher. 

Customers are the best feedback. 

Experience is the best education.

Planning has its place, but action has the power.

Your idea doesn't need to be perfect. 
Your plan doesn't need to be bulletproof. 

Your skills don't need to be complete.
You just need to begin.

The road reveals itself as you walk.

Сredit: Noemi Kis✨

If your marketing team is being forced to justify every single action by ROI or ROAS, you're strangling your own growth.

The biggest driver of sales: brand trust, word-of-mouth, cultural relevance - these don't show up on your Google dashboard.

95% of your future customers are not in-market today. If you're only measuring short-term returns, you're ignoring the other 95%.

Companies that balance brand + performance grow x2 faster and x2 more profitability.

Yet many leadership teams still treat marketing like a vending machine: put a dollar in, expect two out tomorrow. This type of mindset kills brands.

ROAS tells you if you made money this week.
Brand tells you if you'll be around in five years.

Brand equity is key as well, not just performance.

Credit: Iman Syami

And the award for most creative resume goes to...





Credit: Libby Moyer

Marketing is a humbling profession.

Sometimes the idea you’re certain is going to work doesn’t work. Or the idea you know definitely won’t work for some reason does work. Or the thing that used to work stops working. You need to continuously learn, re-learn, and un-learn.

Credit: mkobach on Twitter/X

After two successful exits (Google & Zynga)

you need THIS "Decision Layer" to win deals 👇



What I call "Layer 3"

Let me explain:


1️⃣ Surface Layer (Table Stakes)
→ Company data
→ Basic tech stack
→ Team structure
→ Recent news
→ Public metrics


But this is where most stop.

Because it's easy to automate this research.

If you want your outreach to land?

You need to hit these layers:


2️⃣ Strategic Layer (The Context)
→ Growth vectors
→ Tech architecture
→ Market position
→ Competition map
→ Customer sentiment
→ Investment areas
→ Product roadmap


And how you really stand out?

Layer 3 "Decision Layer" data:

3️⃣ Decision Layer
→ Stakeholder dynamics
→ Internal processes
→ Budget ownership
→ Success metrics
→ Career motivators
→ Risk tolerance
→ Change appetite



👀 The reality in my experience?

95% of sales teams never reach Layer 3.

Because it requires:

→ Systematic thinking
→ Pattern recognition
→ Deep industry knowledge
→ Cross-functional understanding
→ Technical acumen

Most teams are under pressure to deliver.

And can't create the space / resources to hit layer 3.



But...

Those who master all 3 layers?

They don't just sell. They consult.


That’s how you’re seen as a strategic advisor in your deals.

That’s how you up your ACV and your win rate.

Credit: Jeff Chen

Without SEO, your brand is invisible.

This visual says it all:

Without SEO, no one can see your brand.

No one can listen to your message.

And no one will speak about your value.


SEO isn’t just about ranking on Google—it’s about visibility, trust, and communication.
If your ideal audience can’t find you, you don’t exist in their world.

So before you invest in flashy ads or branding, make sure your SEO foundation is solid.

It’s time to let your brand be seen, heard, and talked about!

Credit: SUMANT SINGH

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The Battle

Derek Stroh

Jamie Dimond

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The Battle

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Jamie Dimond

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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);}Jamie Dimond's LinkedIn Performance

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