Intrepid

Intrepid is a financial technology company that brings innovation, inspiration, and opportunity to every entrepreneur and business in the creator economy.

Our core product "Superstar" is a creator marketing management software designed to automate the way data-driven marketing teams operate. It offers an integrated platform to manage the entire lifecycle of creator marketing campaigns. 

The objective is to streamline processes from the creator discovery phase to payments, all while leveraging data-driven insights and fostering enhanced collaboration among stakeholders.

I recruit customers, partners and lead our global community.

Co-Founder | Community | Growth 

Activate America

Producer of Amplified Avondale https://www.instagram.com/amplifiedavondale/ 

Activate America leads urban transformation and regenerative placemaking projects, creating vibrant cultural hubs for economic revitalization and fosters community connection and cultural diversity.

As the Founder and CEO of Activate America, I orchestrated a transformative journey that significantly impacted the local community. We've achieved remarkable milestones:

Community Development: Our festival transitioned from a homogenous gathering into a diverse and inclusive event, with over 1,000 monthly attendees representing a rich tapestry of backgrounds, fostering an inclusive sense of community and cultural diversity.

Revenue Growth: Doubled and tripled revenue for local merchants, contributing to the economic vitality of the community.

Urban Revitalization: Pioneered the creation of a net-new entertainment district, catalyzing urban revitalization and cultural enrichment.

Founder and CEO

Delivering over a hundred keynote speeches, panels, and moderated discussions on Fintech, Modern Banking, Web3, Blockchain, AI, and the Future of Work.

Translating deep tech trends into human-centric insights, driven by my entrepreneurial, executive recruiting, and advisory background.

Public Speaker

Silver Creek Partners

Full time through 2016, select long term clients through 2023. Global reach.
Key Contributions:

Recruited and onboarded over 2500 professionals, driving substantial revenue growth and innovation for diverse organizations. Hundreds of customers from idea stage to F50.
Functional areas: Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Corporate Development
Roles: CSuite to individual contributor.
Google, SAP, SingTel, AIA, Flipt, Anheiser Busch, Salesforce,

Key Accomplishments:
Scaled startup engineering teams from initial hires to robust units of up to 40 engineers.

Led talent acquisition for a HealhTech startup from idea to a teams 140+ employees.

Led talent acquisition efforts for a Fortune 100 electronics manufacturer, resulting in 35 senior manager and executive hires within 12 months.

Scaled a Fortune 50 insurance company's newly formed division from a single employee to 35 senior hires in just 18 months, including relocating 25 senior executives to Singapore.

Oversaw organizational design and talent acquisition for a corporate development and Innovation business unit, culminating in 14 executive-level hires.

Drove early success for startups, consistently recruiting first customers in zero to one environments.

Founder | Executive Recruiter

Intrepid Ventures

Intrepid Ventures was a Blockchain and Web3 startup studio and innovation lab for founders and chief innovation officers.

Customer-facing leader with a proven track record of success in growing and engaging communities, launching successful events, and building relationships in the blockchain and Web3 space.

Grew a global invite-only community from 0 to 30,000+ members in 18 months. Community led insights and guidance helped to shape the thinking of community members and position them for success in the rapidly evolving blockchain and Web3 space.

Developed and launched more than 20 sponsored events across Southeast Asia through ecosystem partners including Visa, Prudential, AIA, IFC World Bank, IBM, and others, attracting over 10,000 attendees. 

Facilitated community-driven innovation and collaboration, resulting in the launch of multiple successful blockchain/crypto products across insurance, fintech, security, and gaming.

Intrepid Ventures | Co-Founder | Blockchain & Web3 Venture Studio

Creator Economy | Influencer Marketing | Community | Sales and Partnerships | Recruiting

I help Influencer Marketing teams unify, automate, and scale their operations so they can focus on growth vs. administrative tasks.


I've recruited and helped build amazing teams (onboarded 2500+ professionals).
I've designed and built global communities from zero to 30K+.
Designed, launched and produced 18 Music and Art Festivals, 5 large scale conferences and 100+ events
Co-founded 4 startups in  Blockchain, Healthech, Fintech and AI/Automation.

Zach Piester

Brendan Gahan

With over 18 years of experience, Brendan Gahan is a renowned leader in social media advertising, influencer marketing, and the creator economy. As a former Partner & Chief Social Officer at Mekanism, he significantly contributed to the agency’s growth and innovation, playing a key role in its acquisition by Plus Co in 2022.

Gahan has been a pioneer in influencer marketing, leading one of the first YouTube/influencer activations in 2006. He also founded Epic Signal, a prominent influencer marketing agency, which was acquired by Mekanism in 2015. 

He is an active investor/advisor in the creator economy and advertising sectors, contributing to companies such as Stan, Little Chonk, Orca, Glystn, and Trendpop (acquired). Additionally, he serves as a scout for Bessemer Venture Partners and Lunar X.

His industry involvement extends to his role as a VidCon Advisory Board member and as a co-host of the Creator Economy Live podcast. He was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in 2012, and his agency was recognized as Digiday’s Digital Video Agency of the Year in 2017.

Recognized as a LinkedIn Top Voice, Gahan's deep understanding of social media and influencer marketing has not only earned him a following of over 125k on TikTok but has also led to features in major publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, The Guardian, Ad Age, and CNBC.

Advisory Board Member  

𝗜 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝟱𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀. 

That's a lot of new faces. So let me reintroduce myself.

I've been in the creator space for nearly two decades. My first brand deal with YouTubers? 2006.

Since then I've worked with the Olympics, Pepsi, Unilever, Chevy, and even the Obama administration. For most of my career, I was behind the scenes.

Then in 2020, I posted to LinkedIn every day for a year. What I saw reminded me of the early YouTube days. This is still a nascent creator ecosystem with massive untapped potential.

So I scratched that entrepreneurial itch again.

A little over two years ago, I co-founded Creator Authority. We were the first influencer marketing agency really focused on LinkedIn That's probably how I first came onto your radar.

20 years after my first YouTube brand deal, I'm doing the same thing here on LinkedIn. Different platform. Similar opportunity.

And we're just getting started.

Thanks for the follow. 🙏

CEO/Co-Founder Of Creator Authority (Influencer Marketing Agency)

𝟵𝟰% 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗱𝘀. 𝗬𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟱.

The answer? Most haven't caught up to where the trust actually lives.

I've spent nearly two decades in influencer marketing. The opportunity in front of us on LinkedIn right now is unlike anything I've seen since the early days of YouTube.

𝟭) 𝗕𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀. 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀.
• 87% of B2B buyers prefer content from trusted industry voices over brand messaging
• 82% say creator content directly influences their purchase decisions
• 52% discover new brands specifically through creator content

𝟮) 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝗽 𝗜𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲.
• Creator content drives 20x the Earned Media Value of brand channels for Fortune 100's
• Thought Leader Ads deliver 252% higher CTR than conventional single-image B2B ads
• Cost-per-lead drops 23% with creator-led campaigns

𝟯) 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱.
• Investment is up 143% over four years. But we're still early.
• 78% of organizations plan to increase creator spend in the next two years
• The total market hits $7.7 billion by 2025

LinkedIn is the platform where all of this converges. It's the most trusted social platform. Its audience has 2x the buying power of the average web user. And unlike platforms that became Million Follower Factories, it rewards expertise over reach.

Creators here are wildly undervalued.

That won't last.

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Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network & follow Brendan Gahan for more.

The window is open. If you want to explore LinkedIn creator partnerships before the market catches up, reach out to Creator Authority.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱'𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀?

Keith Bendes and I sat down with Jessica Dove, Director of Social Media and Influencer Marketing at MGM Resorts, for the latest Creator Economy Live episode.

Jess has been with MGM for over 10 years. She runs influencer programs across Aria, Bellagio, Cosmopolitan, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, and more.

That's not one brand. That's a portfolio of properties. Each has a distinct audience, different voice, nuanced set of expectations from creators.

We got into the operational realities of running creator programs inside a massive organization:
• How to handle influencer partnerships across a diverse portfolio?
• What does creator selection look like at scale?
• How have the strategies evolved over a decade?
• What role do experiences and events play vs. everyday content?

We also caught up on some of the biggest creator news from the week:
• MrBeast + Salesforce at the Super Bowl
• The NFL hosted 160+ creators during Super Bowl week
• The mystery behind BoyThrob, the viral TikTok boy band 
  
If you're building or scaling an influencer function inside a large organization, this one's worth your time.

🎧 Link to the full episode👇

Open article: The Strategy Behind MGM’s Influencer Empire with Jessica Dove by open.spotify.com

The Strategy Behind MGM’s Influencer Empire with Jessica Dove

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The Battle

Zach Piester

Brendan Gahan

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Performance ScoreBrendan Gahan's LinkedIn Performance

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The Battle

Zach Piester

Brendan Gahan

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);}Brendan Gahan's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreBrendan Gahan's LinkedIn Performance