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Intelligent Artifice: become a 10X performance marketer
Welcome to Intelligent Artifice, the podcast that helps you become a 10x performance marketer.
Intelligent Artifice explores the cutting edge of the intersection of AI, creatives and performance marketing.
Every week, we deconstruct the ad systems behind high-performing advertisers using our in-house semantic analysis system, BruteForce AI , or we sit down with top operators redefining how advertising gets done in a Gen AI world.
Whether you’re scaling user acquisition, leading a creative team, or building a creative engine with AI, this podcast is your unfair advantage.
Intelligent Artifice is hosted by me, Shamanth Rao, the founder and CEO of the boutique growth marketing agency Rocketship HQ.
Find out more:
Work with us: rocketshiphq.com (ideal for advertisers spending $50k+/month on paid social)
Website: IntelligentArtifice.net
Intelligent Artifice newsletter: https://intelligentartifice.kit.com/
Intelligent Artifice: become a 10X performance marketer
Building defensible AI apps: product loops, retention & data flywheels: with Phil Carter
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🚀 In this episode, I’m joined by Phil Carter, the Founder and CEO of Elemental Growth. A former growth leader at Quizlet and Faire and a Stanford GSB grad, Phil has actually done the work: scaling world-class subscription apps from the inside and building frameworks that last.
🎙️ What we cover in this conversation:
✅ The "Subscription Value Loop": Phil's framework for building an enduring business.
✅ How to build a defensible AI product, not just another commodity "wrapper."
✅ The "Tourist Effect": Why AI hype drives traffic but kills your retention (and how to fix it).
✅ The new unit economics: How to manage high LLM costs and stay profitable.
✅ Scaling acquisition with AI tools without creating "AI slop" that floods channels and fails to convert.
Whether you’re a founder, product manager, or growth marketer, this episode will give you a clear framework for building an enduring AI business. This is about creating real, defensible value, not just riding the hype cycle.
🎧 Whether you’re a growth marketer, creative strategist, or startup founder, this podcast gives you the unfair advantage you need in the new AI era.
🔗 Learn more:
🌐 rocketshiphq.com — Growth systems for high-spend advertisers
🌐 intelligentartifice.net — Podcast hub
📩 Subscribe to the newsletter: intelligentartifice.kit.com