Dani Dufresne is an Emmy Award-winning executive producer and the Founder of The Auxiliary Co, which provides executive production, consulting, and creative project management for top agencies and brands. With over two decades of experience spanning broadcast, digital, experiential, and branded content, she has led high-impact campaigns for major brands, including Nike, Apple, Google, and Sephora. Dani also serves as an agency leadership consultant, helping creative agencies navigate growth, sales, and operations.

Many brands struggle to create content that truly connects, let alone converts. In a fragmented digital landscape dominated by short-term thinking and data overload, creative work is often diluted, reactive, and forgettable. How can marketers craft branded content that captures attention, earns trust, and builds a lasting community?

Emmy Award-winning executive producer Dani Dufresne urges brands to stop chasing trends and start building deeper relationships through clear, bold, and emotionally resonant storytelling. Integrating media strategy earlier in the process and investing in long-term thinking can dramatically improve creative outcomes. Dani emphasizes thoughtful execution, creative bravery, and audience empathy as the keys to developing a sustainable, long-term creative strategy.

In this week’s episode of the Up Arrow Podcast, William Harris chats with Dani Dufresne, Founder and Executive Producer of The Auxiliary Co, about how to produce branded content that converts. Dani shares how misaligned incentives break creative, why building slow beats burning fast, and what brands can learn from influencers and legacy agencies.

Carly Chenault is the Founder of MARKET EDIT, a strategic advisory and media firm that shares retail strategy and cultural insights through its publication, Retail Roundtable. With over 15 years of experience in retail and luxury brand strategy, she covers fashion and retail trends to empower emerging founders. Carly is also an Advisor at Need It For Tonight, a same-day fashion delivery platform.

Many retail brands believe they’re delivering a compelling customer experience until sales dip and consumers lose interest. Why do so many businesses miss the signs that their customer relationships are slipping? Even with a solid product and strong brand recognition, growth can plateau when companies ignore evolving customer behavior, overlook internal leadership shortcomings, and fail to adapt their strategies. How can brands remain relevant in today’s retail environment?

According to fashion and retail strategist Carly Chenault, overcoming growth plateaus requires founder self-awareness, customer insight, and adaptability. She recommends employing structured experimentation, building community by integrating physical and digital retail experiences, and leveraging technology like digital try-ons and wardrobe AI to streamline the customer experience. Carly also advises innovating with intention, collecting customer feedback, and prioritizing ease, trust, and transparency in customer interactions.

Tune in to this episode of the Up Arrow Podcast as William Harris invites Carly Chenault, Founder of MARKET EDIT, to discuss scaling a retail brand by transitioning back into brick-and-mortar. Carly talks about building a community through immersive pop-ups, the psychology of retail layouts, and how to fail strategically.

Robert Gilbreath is a fractional executive specializing in CEO, CMO, and COO roles for SaaS and e-commerce companies. He provides consulting services in areas including go-to-market strategies, SEO, product development, and C-suite coaching. Robert is also an Executive at Rivur, a technology startup for managing construction projects online. Previously, he served as the Vice President and General Manager of ShipStation, where he led teams of over 175 employees and managed substantial marketing budgets.

Running a business requires constant decision-making, but over time, even high-performing leaders can find themselves mentally drained. The barrage of choices, from the smallest daily tasks to high-stakes strategic moves, can lead to decision fatigue, quietly killing momentum, clarity, and joy. How can founders and executives protect their mental energy while leading effectively?

According to fractional executive Robert Gilbreath, leaders can reduce decision fatigue by simplifying routines, creating clear macro-level goals, and building frameworks that empower teams to make decisions independently. He suggests documenting your decision-making process, blocking out your calendar, and leveraging structured frameworks like SBAR (situation, background, assessment, recommendation) and the double diamond diagram to clarify problems and guide teams. Additionally, prioritizing sleep and exercise and reducing unnecessary decisions allows founders and leaders to preserve mental clarity for crucial choices.

In this episode of the Up Arrow Podcast, William Harris interviews Robert Gilbreath, fractional executive CEO, CMO, and COO, about overcoming decision fatigue in business leadership. Robert talks about breaking decision-making paralysis, how fear impacts leadership choices, and how to empower teams to make informed decisions.