Eric Holtzclaw

Liger

As Chief Strategist of Liger, Eric evaluates businesses to improve products, services, support and marketing strategies for overall effectiveness. Along the way, Eric teaches companies how to understand their customers better so they build solid teams that deliver to customer expectations.

A trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies and small business owners alike, Eric uses his extensive experience starting, growing and running his own businesses in concert with a knowledge base from over a decade of business and consumer interviews to accelerate a deeper understanding of the true behaviors, motivations, goals, preferences and expectations of customers and teams.  

A sought after speaker, writer and thought leader, Eric's passion is to apply customer-based knowledge to emerging trends in technology creating new opportunities and improving existing business models.

Chief Strategist

Tarkenton Private Capital

Actively guiding the firm's investment strategies and shaping the future of innovative startups and early-stage companies in the portfolio.

Collaborate closely with entrepreneurs, founders, and CEO's, guiding them through growth challenges, refining business models, and providing valuable industry connections. Analyze market trends, identify emerging opportunities, and contribute to portfolio optimization. Contribute to the success of both the firm and the startups we support, fostering innovation and driving impactful returns on investment.

Principal

PossibleNOW

Provide strategic direction for the adoption of the MyPreferences platform within enterprise clients. MyPreferences allows companies to "Listen, Remember and Respond" to their customers' desires for overall engagement and customized experience.

Formation of a Professional Services Organization within PossibleNOW to assist Fortune 500 companies with both the strategic evaluation of enterprise-wide preference management and the implementation of the MyPreferences SaaS solution.  

Serve as the interface between PossibleNOW and industry analysts, potential PSO partners and vendors.  Establishment of proprietary research and best practices for the centralization of preference management and maximizing user adoption with an eye toward existing and future marketing needs.

Chief Strategy Officer

Mansueto Ventures

Weekly column on Inc.com providing advice to business owners and entrepreneurs.  The column covers trends in technology, leadership, employee management and research.

http://www.inc.com/author/eric-holtzclaw

Columnist, Lean Forward on Inc.com

User Insight

As CEO of User Insight, Eric Holtzclaw oversaw strategic service offerings and ensured operational excellence and innovation across the business. 

User Insight's body of work gave Eric the unique opportunity to interview thousands of users across industries where they work, live and play to truly understand "why" they do what they do within different contexts.  User Insight delivers over 150 projects a year supporting the world's largest brands.  This vantage point provided a unique perspective and understanding of the dramatic impact created by relationship-based technologies and a preview of the future based on the "Internet of Things".

Chief Executive Officer

CyberSource

Part of the leadership for a new team tasked with creating a professional services arm within CyberSource to support deployment and extension of CyberSource's core payment and fraud offerings.

Specific highlights include:

- Responsible for negotiating relationship with order fulfillment partner and rollout to organization 
- Creation of stored value offerings
- Supporting United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia in development of emerging markets
- Development of statements of work, pricing and pitches of key high profile projects

Practice Manager

Silicon Graphics

Created Internet Services practice for SGI's newly formed Professional Services organization that generated $30 million a quarter in new business

Responsible for identifying partner companies to add new solutions for extension of SGI hardware

Advised SGI's customers on solutions based on SGI hardware to take advantage of emerging Internet technology to extend and expand upon their core businesses

Solutions Architect, Practice Lead

PrimeWire

Created an employee benefit enrollment system to streamline benefit enrollment for employers working with independent agents.

VP, Technology

OneCoast Network

OneCoast is a consolidation of Manufacturer Representative Agencies from across the United States into one larger entity.

Responsibilities included:

- The application of technology to increase efficiency 
- Centralization of the back office operations
- Creation of enabling technology to equip in-field sales reps
- Development of order entry and commission system for showroom sales
- Build out of corporate headquarters and data center

OneCoast was the one of the largest venture capital backed entities in Atlanta in 1997.

Thomson Reuters

Projects included KnowX, KeyCite, WestLaw on the Web and WestLaw Europe.

Director of Product Development

Marketing isn’t just about tactics—it’s about discipline, consistency, and strategy. At Liger, we don’t use cookie-cutter marketing. We specialize in bringing complex businesses to market—financial services, fintech, insurance, PEOs, and more—to clarify their message, amplify their brand, and drive real business growth.

With decades of experience launching, growing, and advising companies, I’ve seen firsthand how the right marketing can transform businesses. I’ve helped Fortune 500 giants and scrappy startups alike, using a mix of research, strategy, and storytelling to uncover what truly drives customer behavior.

Why Work with Liger?

We take brands from being invisible to unforgettable through:
- Strategic Positioning – Crafting messaging that cuts through the noise
- Creative Storytelling – Turning complex ideas into compelling narratives
- Smart Execution – Driving measurable growth with tailored marketing

As a founder of multiple startups—including one of the first profitable internet enterprises—and two, three-time Inc. 5000 honorees, I understand what it takes to scale a business. My experience spans creating new divisions in established companies to challenge the status quo and leading teams that turn bold ideas into real impact.

Let’s connect and explore how Liger can help you become the market leader in your space.

Professional experience includes: founding multiple startup companies, including one of the first profitable Internet enterprises; co-founding User Insight which made the Inc 5000 fastest growing companies 3 years in a row; and the creation of new divisions within established companies to encourage a shift in thinking and change in approach.

Chief Strategist & Dojo Master

As Founding Partner and Chief Strategist of Liger Partners, Eric evaluates businesses to improve products, services, support and marketing strategies for overall effectiveness. Along the way, Eric teaches companies how to understand their customers better so they build solid teams that deliver to customer expectations.

A trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies and small business owners alike, Eric uses his extensive experience starting, growing and running his own businesses in concert with a knowledge base from over a decade of business and consumer interviews to accelerate a deeper understanding of the true behaviors, motivations, goals, preferences and expectations of customers and teams.  

A sought after speaker, writer and thought leader, Eric's passion is to apply customer-based knowledge to emerging trends in technology creating new opportunities and improving existing business models.

Business-minded technologist and growth strategist with 20+ years of experience leading digital transformation initiatives for small to mid-sized firms. I specialize in helping professional service businesses streamline their marketing and operations using scalable technology and smart automation.

🔍 Problem-Solver
From transforming outdated inventory tracking for a national apparel manufacturer to founding a trailblazing technology company, I focus on turning inefficiency into innovation.

📈 Why Do Clients Work With Me?
They’re asking questions like:
1) How can technology drive growth without breaking the bank?
2) How do we future-proof our business in a rapidly evolving tech landscape?
3) Can automation improve ROI while enhancing the customer experience?

The results? My work has enabled businesses to:
✔️ Scale operations seamlessly, from boutique firms to Fortune 500 powerhouses
✔️ Deliver customized solutions that merge goals with exceptional user experiences
✔️ Maximize efficiency, all while preserving scalability and long-term profitability

💡 How My Impact is Measured:
Since founding my tech consultancy, I've had the privilege to:
- Partner with Fortune 100 companies as well as SMBs to implement forward-thinking digital solutions.
- Help clients triple revenue in less than 12 months with data-driven marketing.
- Help clients achieve 1,500 hours per year in operational efficiency through automation.

🎤 An Industry Thought Leader You Need to Know
I aim to not just lead behind the scenes—I've been a speaker, a content creator, and a sought-after voice in the world of technology-driven business growth, bringing insights that have been featured in podcasts, CEO peer groups, and on the internet at large.

Ready to Automate and Accelerate?
Let’s discuss how tailored technology can transform your business. Message me or explore resources at https://robriggs.com.

Rob Riggs

AI doesn’t fail because the tech is bad.

It fails because the strategy is vague.

In this episode of Cracking the Code, I sat down with Ian P. Cook, PhD, SVP of AI at Clue — someone who has actually built AI systems that work in the real world.

Not slide decks.
Not hype.
Not “innovation theater.”

Working systems.

We talked about why most AI initiatives die before they ever produce value.
Here’s the pattern:

❌ Leaders say, “We need an AI strategy.”
❌ Teams spin up pilots.
❌ No one defines the actual business outcome.
❌ Six months later, nothing changed.

Ian said something I completely agree with:
Specificity beats scale.

If you can’t clearly define the workflow you’re improving, the metric you’re moving, and the constraint you’re removing — AI won’t help you.

It’ll just make you faster at being unclear.

We also talked about where AI actually shines for professional service firms:

👉 Helping experts think faster
👉 Reducing repetitive analysis
👉 Supporting decision-making
👉 Not replacing judgment

That distinction matters.

AI is leverage.
Not leadership.

If you’re a firm owner trying to figure out where to start — or what to ignore — this episode is practical.

No fluff. No futurism. Just clarity.

▶️ Watch the full episode now: https://lnkd.in/eQBFztpB

I leverage technology to drive organizational revenue and efficiency. Strategy, Web, Marketing, Automation, Agentic AI.

Let me guess.

You have a beautiful testimonials page.

It's organized.
It's clean.

It's full of glowing reviews.

And almost no one sees it.

That's the problem.

Most firms treat testimonials like a separate section of the website.

But prospects don't go hunting for proof.
They decide in the moment.

Here's what actually happens:

Someone lands on your estate planning page.

They're thinking:

“Can I trust these people?”

They scroll.
They read.
They hesitate.
They don't see proof right there.
They leave.

Meanwhile, you have 12 glowing estate planning reviews…  sitting quietly on a testimonials page they never visited.

Your proof exists.

It's just invisible at the exact moment doubt shows up.

And that's when proof matters most.

Social proof shouldn't live on its own island.

It should live:

👉 Next to your CTA
👉 On your homepage
👉 On every key service page
👉 Right where decisions happen

Trust is built in context.
Not in a hidden library of compliments.

I've seen businesses change nothing about their service…
But strategically move testimonials throughout the site.

Conversions jump.

Not because they “improved the offer.”
Because they made belief easy.

If you want to see whether your proof is actually positioned to convert or just sitting there unused, take the 2-minute diagnostic.

It will show you exactly where trust is missing in the buyer journey.

Your sales team isn’t underperforming.
They’re just working the wrong accounts.

That’s the hard truth.

In this clip from Cracking the Code, Kris Rudeegraap and I talk about where outbound sales is really headed, and it has nothing to do with sending more emails or hiring more SDRs.

The old model looks like this:

• Pick a “Top 100” account list
• Work it for months
• Hope timing lines up

That approach is already outdated.

What’s coming next (and already starting to happen) is AI-driven account prioritization.

Instead of guessing whom to call, AI looks at real signals in real time:

• Website activity
• CRM data
• Email opens
• Third-party intent signals
• Past interactions

And then it answers one question every morning:
“Who is the hottest account right now?”

Not this quarter.
Not this campaign.

Today.

That changes everything.

Because now:

• Calls happen when interest peaks
• Outreach feels relevant, not random
• Gifts, follow-ups, and calls are triggered by behavior
• Reps stop wasting time on cold accounts

This is the next real breakthrough in outbound, and most teams are completely missing it.

👉 In this clip, we unpack where B2B prospecting is going next, and in the full episode, we go deeper into how teams can actually apply this without burning out their sales org.

🎧 Watch the full episode of Cracking the Code to hear the rest of the conversation: https://lnkd.in/ek2DjRvz

You should be using Google Tag Manager.

Here's why.

Without Tag Manager, every tracking update means:

👉 Call your developer
👉 Wait two weeks
👉 Miss the campaign window

And while you're waiting?

You're running ads without pixels.
Spending money without retargeting.
Collecting zero usable data.

That delay is expensive.

Tag Manager fixes that.
It's a container for all your tracking.

Pixels.
Event tags.
Conversion scripts.

Once it's installed, you're in control.

No code edits.
No bottlenecks.

One business we worked with improved their tracking infrastructure and saw measurable site health improvements within months.

You could literally see the foundation getting stronger.
Invisible infrastructure drives visible growth.

Question:
Do you have Tag Manager installed or are you still submitting tickets?

taplio

The Battle

Eric Holtzclaw

Rob Riggs

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The Battle

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Rob Riggs

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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);}Rob Riggs's LinkedIn Performance

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