Patrick Rife

Navigating the Unknown. Building Businesses Along the Way. And Writing About It.

Join me as I embark on a journey to reclaim control, and build businesses that reflect who I am, and where I'm headed.

Founder

Pixilated

Pixilated is a photo booth company based in Baltimore, MD that produces an easy-to-use, shippable photo booth called PixiTAB that is powered by our B2B photo marketing software; PixiCloud. When not acting as the brain for PixiTAB we license the PixiCloud software platform to companies looking to capture 1st party user data at events and venues through photo experiences, forms, surveys, and other experiential marketing activities.

Co-Founder

Baltimore Creators

Our mission: connect Baltimore's business builders. Whether you're an entrepreneur, advisor, or curious learner, Baltimore Creators is for you.

PixiWeb

Event Photo Sharing Simplified: Create custom event websites that allow your guests to post photos directly to a shared event gallery.

Startup Soirée

Startup Soiree was a grassroots entrepreneurial community and event series dedicated to fostering meaningful connections among Baltimore’s founders, creatives, and business leaders. As Co-Founder, I helped create a space where entrepreneurs could engage in candid, no-pitch conversations, exchange insights, and build lasting relationships.

Key initiatives included:

---> Hosting monthly fireside chat events featuring prominent Baltimore entrepreneurs in unique, intimate settings.
---> Developing community-driven content, including a podcast and blog, to share startup stories and insights.
---> Strengthening Baltimore’s startup ecosystem by providing a platform for founders to connect, learn, and grow.

Startup Soiree played a pivotal role in shaping Baltimore’s startup culture, and its legacy lives on in the connections and collaborations it sparked.

Bonsai Fine Arts

Assist museums, galleries and private collectors in caring for their valuable artworks during transit and installation. Lead small focused teams on installations ranging from small sculptural pieces in private galleries to full scale multi-level commercial art installations.

Art Handler

Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, U.M.B.C.

Worked closely with Gallery Preparator to develop the physical museum space as it pertains to incoming exhibitions, hung and installed traveling exhibitions, took part in the registration, crate building and technical manuals for the traveling exhibition "For All The World to See."

Gallery Assistant/Art Handler

Contemporary Museum Baltimore

Provided primary interfacing to museum visitors and patrons. Oversaw Museum social media program. Provided technical and clerical support to higher museum staff.

Gallery Assistant

Entrepreneur Building Business and Writing About the Process.

Helping founders & leaders find clarity in chaos | Ground Control Newsletter

I've spent years building companies, communities, and connections. Now I help others navigate their own path forward.

As co-founder of Pixilated and creator of Startup Soirée, I've lived the founder journey - from scaling and strategy to the human side of leadership. But what lights me up isn't just what I built - it's who I became along the way.

What I Do Now:

I work with founders and leaders who are:

- Seeking clarity in their next chapter
- Building something meaningful
- Ready to align who they are with what they do
- Looking for perspective, not just strategy

My Approach:

Think of me as your mirror and prism - helping you see your path more clearly and illuminating possibilities you might have missed. Through deep listening and perspective shifting, we find the clarity you need to move forward with confidence.

Ground Control Newsletter:

Every Wednesday, I share raw insights about leadership, transformation, and finding your way. No guru speak. No formulas. Just real talk about what it takes to build something that matters.

Let's Connect:

- Ready for clarity? DM me
- Want weekly insights? Ground Control newsletter (link in bio)
- Looking for perspective? Let's talk

"The real ROI of human connection isn't measured in quarters. It's measured in years, in lives touched, in moments of breakthrough."

#leadership #transformation #clarity #growth #authenticity

Thomas Markland

HYDP

HYDP is the worlds first creator economy company. 

We believe the future of brand communications, commerce and entertainment will be creator led.

We're on a mission to build the creator economy through storytelling, talent, and technology.

Creators are the future of human connection. Brands are the language of belonging. We're leading the next conversation.

Founder & CEO

Atomic London

So many people say that in today's multi-channel world it's never been harder for brands to be heard. Well we don't agree.

We think brands struggle to be heard not because it's too busy, but because their work is too bland.

Never Quiet. It's a principle that drives everything we do. Creating ideas that, are hard to ignore, difficult to forget, easily more effective.

Atomic put brand and activation working not just in the same building, but side by side.

Head of Social Sales and Marketing

cubaka

Cubaka specialises in the development and distribution of social media content. 

We work with a broad range of clients on a retained and project basis including BBC, Toyota, Lexus, Dyno, Savills, Whole Earth, Clipper, Hager, and Mercedes-Benz.

Working at Cubaka I successfully brought in a number of leading brands including Linda McCartneys, Lindt, AXA, Fitness Bug, Avolities, Plan International, Sixt, Loreal and Mattel.

Head of Sales and Marketing - Partner

Livity

Creating award-winning youth campaigns, content and consultancy that has proven business and social benefits.

We borrow from marketing, start-ups and social movements to find the most impactful ideas that bring our partners closer to their youth audiences. We help brands grow by earning them a genuine place in youth culture.

We exist to help young people change the world.

Clients include: Nike Facebook, Dyson, Playstation, Netflix, BBC, Google, and Barclays.

Sales and Marketing Lead (Contract Maternity Cover) 

Kin + Carta

AmazeRealise is part of the Digital Division of Kin & Carta Group (formerly St Ives) and is now offering a powerful, joint-agency combination backed up with individual 20-year histories. The group delivers world-class customer experiences, powered by market-leading insight, technology and creative with a singular focus – measurable business returns.

Business Development Consultant (contract)

Ingenuity London

This role places me on the front-line of marketing innovation, as I meet leading brands and agencies, everyday learning about pioneering industry trends, tech and strategy.
 
My role as Head of Marketing & Innovation involves me:
 
 • Working with our internal team to develop and deliver new products that aid brands and         agencies.

 • Making agency introductions, running chemistry sessions and pitches.
 
 • Working with agencies to develop preeminent new business strategies and campaigns.

 • I led the re-brand of ingenuity working with the team to create new brand guidelines and a website.

Head of Marketing & Innovation

Ingenuity is the UK's leading business development consultancy, serving both the Agency and Marketing communities. Headquartered in London W1, it works in four areas;

1. We help AGENCIES find new Clients, through our consultancy and prospecting services. 
2. We help BRANDS find new marketing services agencies
3. We bring Agency and Marketing people together through regular new business and networking EVENTS.
4. Through sister company Acuity PR, we offer PR services focused on achieving new business objectives

Senior Account Manager

Blue Mango Marketing Ltd

I created Blue Mango while studying at Manchester Grammar School. 

During this time, we primarily serviced SME businesses in the Manchester area. I would go door-to-door on local high streets during the weekends selling digital marketing services to hospitality businesses and independent retailers.

When I left school, I decided to continue building Blue Mango instead of heading off to university. 

We successfully grew the business by hiring new talent and transitioning our client base into medium to large companies. 

We worked on a variety of projects for clients such as Thompson Local, 118 Group, IAS and Mello Drinks, to name a few. 

In 2015 we were shortlisted for ‘Best Digital Marketing Agency’ in the Manchester Business Awards.

Managing Director

Tenant Advisory Group

Worked closely with the founder of Tenant Advisory Group in devising a new business development strategy. Undertook research in London’s commercial property market and in particular, occupier lease expiry events and property agent contacts.

•	Developing a client acquisition strategy
•	Creating potential client and letting agent mailing lists
•	Working with Excel to create databases
•	Utilising Co-Star on-line property database to extract relevant market data

Research Assistant

TM Cards

TM cards was a seasonal business venture which involved selling personalised letters addressed to children from Father Christmas and delivering them on Christmas morning. Letters were sold to parents door to door from a pre-prepared samples menu.  The letters were then manufactured and then delivered by myself on Christmas morning. This business was repeated in 2013 to raise money for Christie's charity. 

•	Carried out door to door sales targeting affluent neighborhoods
•	Hand delivered letters on Christmas morning (4am start!)
•	Profit was invested into other business.
•	Sales monies were paid upfront demonstrating the level of trust established from the sales process.

Owner

Bootsandrackets.com

I created Bootsandrackets as a tennis and football equipment resale business. I sourced and resold rare and ‘on trend’ sports equipment in an online shopping environment. Items were sourced both online and door-to-door and then sold for a profit. 

•	Carried out door to door sales
•	Sourced undervalued products on-line by targeting mis-described or incorrectly listed items 
•	Created an online shop and arranged shipping globally.
•	Acquired a variety of transaction skills from carrying out buy/sell trades online and in person.

Founder at HYDP

WE'RE IN A NEW ERA OF MARKETING AND ADVERTISING!

There are now 200,000,000 people who regard themselves as content creators!

Our speciality is getting these people to solve brand challenges across the marketing mix.
 
From organic social content and paid media assets to the next generation of influencer marketing, creators power our strategies. 

Delivering guaranteed ROIs and better creative output.

Founder & Managing Director

🧙. Prompt engineering isn't magic 🧙. It's starting to look a lot like real engineering.

A tech lead recently spent over a thousand hours analysing how to optimise the performance of AI models. 

Not by writing essays or clever riddles, but by treating prompts like code: short, structured, and repeatable. He distilled it into six patterns called "KERNEL." 

❓ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 ❓ 
Their team's success rate with models like GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, and LLaMA jumped to 94%, and token usage dropped by half.

🧠 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁. Prompt writing isn't guesswork or artful persuasion anymore. It's becoming a discipline with frameworks, testing, and measurable outcomes.

We're moving from "just try stuff and see what works" to a world where prompt architecture is as serious as software architecture. 

Maybe the next generation of engineers will be just as fluent in prompt patterns as they are in Python❓

Are we ready to treat prompt engineering as a core skill, not a side hustle? Or does the real creativity still live in the grey areas?

Curious to hear how others are approaching this shift. Is your team already thinking like this?

Useful links:
https://dub.sh/lx589Lg
https://dub.sh/5Nm3VEB
https://dub.sh/BG8pNXW
https://dub.sh/qyp4JGM
https://dub.sh/kMPVFjS
https://dub.sh/WUwL0Si

#AI #PromptEngineering #FutureOfWork

Founder & CEO @ HYDP | All things Creators & Influencers!

❤️‍🔥 Carousels are quietly dominating both in organic reach and as paid ads. ❤️‍🔥

I’ve seen it firsthand: the right carousel can outperform a slick video or static post, hands down. But it’s not just about tossing a few slides together and hoping for the best.

Here’s what’s working for me (and the brands I work with):

⚡ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. If it doesn’t stop you mid-scroll, it’s not good enough. My personal favourite? That time I interviewed a showerhead. Yes, really.

💭 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲. If someone can DM a single slide to a friend or repost it as a story, you’ve struck gold. Those “secondary shares” are the secret sauce for virality and maximising your return on ad spend.

🔥 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘀: super simple, almost generic visuals vs. highly designed, branded slides. You’ll be surprised which wins.


Here’s my last reminder: if you have a great video, you probably have the bones for a killer carousel too. 

Don’t let it gather dust.

If you’re running ads, these are useful:

➡️ 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗹 𝗔𝗱𝘀: https://lnkd.in/eTMhHWx7

➡️ 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗹 𝗔𝗱𝘀: https://lnkd.in/eGgUuyqd

What’s your go-to move for making content shareable? Curious if carousels are working for you, or if you’re still all-in on video.

#CreatorEconomy #ContentStrategy #BrandDesign

taplio

The Battle

Patrick Rife

Thomas Markland

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreThomas Markland's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Patrick Rife

Thomas Markland

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);}Thomas Markland's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreThomas Markland's LinkedIn Performance