The Human Connection Podcast

Is your business’s growth stalled? Employee churn eating into your profits? Struggling with customer retention? 

You need stronger connections.

Every Tuesday, connect with an expert who’s sharing actionable advice for building stronger relationships with your customers, clients, and stakeholders. Hosted by Karl Pontau, a storytelling super-connector, content system strategist, and survivor of two childhood brain tumors, this podcast’s mission is to fix the underlying cause of workplace and societal dysfunction: the lack of human connection.

Learn more at www.thehumanconnectionpodcast.com

Podcast Host

Squash and Stretch Productions

My heroic mission involves guiding teams to bring visionary Content Systems and strategies to life. By fostering a creative environment where complex ideas transform into compelling visual stories, I've helped clients achieve remarkable results. What drives me is connecting clients' missions with audiences through visually striking content that sparks action. By nurturing talent and overseeing seamless workflows, I ensure our work not only captivates but also delivers on strategic goals.

▶️Led Enovix’s team to clearly and concisely explain the value of their innovative battery tech - taking them from a 45 minute explanation to a 2 minute video – supporting their $1.13B SPAC event and their $250 million contract with the US Army. Optimized creative strategy and message to grab and hold viewer’s attention. Navigated around two major holidays and an unexpected scope change to deliver on time and under budget.

▶️Recruited and managed the team, budget, and timeline for a collaborative animation project that convinced the San Jose City Council to require life-saving firefighting tech in high-rises, catalyzed adoption in 18 other cities, and contributed to a $100M IP sale for my client. 

▶️Designed flexible content system for La Familia's anti-Fentanyl campaign, enabling rapid pivot when major challenge arose; directed production and content adaptation while production team saved two lives through Narcan administration during new on-site shoot; final campaign successfully deployed regionwide.

Freelance Art Director / Senior Digital Creative Producer

SAE Expression College

As a Brand Story Coach, I've helped entrepreneurs translate their knowledge into actionable ideas for their ideal consumer. Additionally, in the classroom, I've had the joy of shaping future creatives. Through developing curricula and adapting to diverse learning styles, I created supportive environments where innovation thrives and students discover their creative potential.

▶️Advised a local coach on connecting client challenges to his solutions, boosting referrals and sales through improved value communication.

▶️Mentored college students at SAE Expressions in advanced motion graphics, editing, and branding, guiding them through complex software challenges to enhance their technical proficiency and creative output. 

▶️Inspired young minds aged 9-17 at iD Tech Camps, fostering creativity and teamwork while leading students through courses including web design, animation, and robotics.

Storytelling Coach / Teacher / Mentor

GuideSpark

My leadership journey began as a production team member, where I discovered my passion for contributing toward a shared vision. I learned that great leadership creates harmony in both team dynamics and the final product. I also learned that my favorite projects are socially impactful and profitable. Each project laid the foundation for my skills in leading cross-functional teams, managing end-to-end production, and turning creative challenges into opportunities for growth and connection. 

▶️Fostered open communication between animators and VFX coordinators and ensured director feedback was thoughtfully implemented as Animation Coordinator for The Glass Butterfly.

▶️Created intricate 3D facial animations for a confidential project, honing my ability to deliver exceptional work on time and under budget while honoring client trust at FlickerLab.

▶️Collaborated with a remote team to explain organizational change strategies and processes that help companies be more agile at Fire Tribe, Inc. 

▶️Contributed to a local team that created 1,700+ accurate employee benefit animations in 3 months at GuideSpark.

▶️Championed i-GATE's vision for a thriving Tri-Valley startup community that now brings new tech from local labs to the marketplace.

Contract Motion Designer

Health/Med Tech companies and nonprofits have vital - yet difficult - stories to tell. 

So, they struggle to explain their value and attract their best clients.

What makes a story difficult?

Stories that…

😨Cover emotionally triggering subjects... (Cancer, Overdoses, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome)
😵Focus on complex or abstract ideas... (Battery tech, Air Tank Refill Systems)
😳Reveal deeply personal experiences... (Founder Stories, Mental Health, Loss)

...are all difficult to effectively tell.

But, I am uniquely equipped to solve these challenges because I:

💗 Show empathy and compassion for clients, team members, and audiences via active listening
🧠 Bring a deep understanding of human decision making and behavior to every project
🚀 Employ an entrepreneurial mindset honed from running my small production agency

I was inspired to focus on these skills after overcoming two malignant brain tumors when I was 15, and am forever grateful for my family, friends, and medical team for showing me what can be accomplished when people care for each other, clearly communicate, and work towards a common goal. 

Once you optimize your story, you’ll need to get it in front of your audience.

That takes a Content System.

These:

💡 Starts with a comprehensive Content Strategy
📚 Delivers a custom asset library for your brand
📲 Generates adaptive content for multiple platforms
💰 Results in greater cost savings and ROI over time

For example:

🎉 Led Enovix’s team to clearly and concisely explain the value of their innovative battery tech - taking them from a 45 minute explanation to a 2 minute video – supporting their $1.13B SPAC event and their $250 million contract with the US Army. Optimized creative strategy and message to grab and hold viewer’s attention. Navigated around two major holidays and an unexpected scope change to deliver on time and under budget.

🥂 Recruited and managed the team, budget, and timeline for a collaborative animation project that convinced the San Jose City Council to require life-saving firefighting tech in high-rises, catalyzed adoption in 18 other cities, and contributed to a $100M IP sale for my client.

If you are interested in discussing how I can add value to your team and accelerate your company's growth, please email me at kpontau@gmail.com or send a DM.

Let's talk!

(I’m open to contract or full time employment.)

Karl Pontau

Andrew Filar 🚀

Chief Executive Officer

Peachy Insurance

•	Provide exemplary employee-experience for 50+ people in a fully remote environment  
•	Negotiated prices and terms on seven acquisitions of Allstate Agencies
•	Grew from $0 to $40,000,000 in Annual Premiums in 6 years

Managing Partner/CEO

Next Call Club

Co-Founder

Ted Todd Insurance

• Created, optimized, and scaled outbound sales process to grow rapidly.

•	Led expansion into new market achieving 600% of target sales and maintained 350% sales growth 
        YOY
•      Successfully led implementation and deployment of Salesforce across multiple departments. 
•	Re-built formal organizational chart creating department heads and middle managers reducing 
        the average employee to manager ratio from 15:1 to 6:1.
•      Established Analytics Department to drive efficiency, establish monitoring systems, and improve
        forecasting.
•      Lead and professionally develop firm's employees to increase morale, performance, and turnover.

Chief Operating Officer

• Led an initiative to increase involvement in the employee tuition reimbursement plan resulting in a 5x
  increase in participation rate (↑ 50%)
• Implemented weekly one-on-one's for every employee leading to increased morale, individual 
  performance, and agency sales production. 
• Implemented new recruiting process and hired an in-house recruiter to reduce employee acquisition 
  costs by 30% and fuel growth.

Director Of Operations

• Increased sales by 75% (+$2.5 million in sales) while lowering departmental payroll 30% ($350k) in first
  18 months.
• Led, coached, and mentored an amazing team of 25 en route to three straight record sales months in 
  2017 and a record sales year.
• Oversaw build out, maintenance, and continuous improvement of our sales crm.
• Successfully developed a training program that reduced ramp up time for new sales persons by 50%
• Designed and implemented a merit based compensation plan to fit within existing bonus scheme to 
  align incentives of the organization with the sales team.
• Built and maintained fortuitous relationships with marketing partners in the internet lead space.
• Overhauled the marketing strategy reducing Cost Per Sale by 55% and remained within budget.

Director of Sales

• Introduced new sales process by implementing digital marketing funnels in conjunction with high volume outbound calling.
• Trained and led team of 5 to work new process that provided a rapid increase to sales.
• Conducted research and outreach to innovative technology companies in the insurance space.
• Promoted to Director of Sales within 4 months.

Sale Representative

State Farm

• Prospected into local businesses for commercial auto insurance - Sucked for the first 8 months. 
• #1 ranked sales numbers in the state of Florida in second year ($1,650,000 in sales).
• Implemented a training plan for new salespeople
• Measured marketing campaign performance and made recommendations to ownership.
• Developed best practices around Life Insurance to drive a 250% increase ($60,000) in sales over prior year.

Sales Representative

10,000 Hours of Lead Management experience | Growing to $100million in Insurance premiums | Helping Small-Business Owners scale through outbound sales |

How did I grow my agency from $0 to $45 Million in 7 years? 

Through a combination of intentional outbound selling and data-influenced approaches to marketing. 

The method is simple. Not easy. 

Now I'm helping other small business owners do the same. 

Want to scale rapidly?

Curious about what it looks like to work with me? 

Shoot me a DM!

•	Provide exemplary employee-experience for 50+ people in a fully remote environment  
•	Negotiated prices and terms on seven acquisitions of Allstate Agencies
•	Grew from $0 to $32,000,000 in Annual Premiums in 5 years

taplio

The Battle

Karl Pontau

Andrew Filar

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