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Growth Under Fire: Surviving the Storm and Scaling Reach | Reed Hansen

🔥 Excerpt

“We need to fill our brains with information from the physical world so we can outpace AI creatively.”

⚡ TL;DR

Reed Hansen shares how early exposure to entrepreneurship shaped his view of ownership, risk, and accountability. He reflects on buying a marketing agency, learning through real client pressure, knowing when to stop forcing an idea, and using marketing automation and AI with discernment. The conversation stays grounded in what founders need most, clear judgment, creative thinking, and the discipline to keep building through uncertainty.

📄 Show Notes

Growth under fire is part of building anything that matters. In this conversation with Reed Hansen, I got to explore what growth under fire looks like when risk is real, cash is personal, and every decision carries weight.

Reed walked through the long arc of his entrepreneurial journey, from working in his father’s landscaping business to buying and expanding a marketing agency. What stood out to me was his honesty. He did not romanticize the process. He talked about the pressure of using retirement savings to buy a business, the cost of chasing an idea too long, and the responsibility that comes with calling your own shot.

We also spent time on marketing automation, AI adoption, and the role of creativity in a world where systems are getting smarter every day. Reed made the case that growth under fire requires human depth, not just technical efficiency. Founders still need lived experience, sharp thinking, and the willingness to keep learning from the world around them.

Growth under fire also demands discernment. Reed knows when to push, when to test, and when to let go. That kind of judgment is what helps founders scale with clarity. Growth under fire is not about noise. It is about staying steady enough to build what lasts.

✅ Key Takeaways

• Risk needs conviction, judgment, and accountability.
• Founders learn fast when real clients put pressure on execution.
• Marketing automation works best when it supports timely, relevant communication.
• AI is powerful, but creativity still depends on human experience and perspective.
• Knowing when to stop forcing an idea is part of scaling wisely.

👑 Host Info

Rick Meekins (https://rickmeekins.com) is a serial entrepreneur, strategic business disruption advisor, podcast guest, and host of The Relentless Pursuit of Winning Podcast, where he explores what it actually takes to build, lead, and sustain meaningful businesses. With over 30 years of experience working alongside founders and leadership teams, Rick focuses on helping companies develop and implement disruptive advantages and developing platforms to explore and distribute human insight.

Interested in working together, having Rick speak, or partnering with the show?

Start here: https://rpowpodcast.com/contact/

🧭 Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Reed’s entrepreneurial roots
01:12 Lessons from family business and early work
05:37 Why Reed chose acquisition and expansion
12:40 Risk, confidence, and learning under pressure
19:02 Knowing when to stop forcing an idea
24:19 Marketing automation, CRM, and AI agents
33:36 Creativity, human insight, and the future of AI
40:42 Practical AI advice for founders
48:01 The relentless pursuit of winning

Biography

Reed Hansen is the Chief Growth Officer at MarketSurge, where he helps businesses grow smarter, faster, and louder through bold marketing systems that actually drive results — not just impressions. A seasoned digital marketing executive with over a decade of experience, Reed has built his career around transforming complex marketing chaos into simple, scalable strategies that generate measurable growth.

Before leading growth at MarketSurge, Reed founded Million Dollar Studio, a boutique marketing agency that helped brands turn creative ideas into revenue-producing campaigns. His expertise spans marketing automation, CRM systems, brand storytelling, and digital strategy — and his work has impacted organizations ranging from scrappy startups to Fortune 500 giants.

Throughout his career, Reed has held leadership roles at Northwestern University, Punchkick Interactive, and Solstice, where he earned a reputation for fusing data-driven precision with creative storytelling. That balance of analytics and artistry defines his approach today — helping clients harness technology without losing the human touch.

As the host of the podcast Inside Marketing with MarketSurge, Reed brings candid, no-fluff conversations to marketers and founders looking to understand what’s actually working right now. Each episode pulls back the curtain on real marketing wins (and fails), featuring top voices from across business, tech, and media.

Driven by a passion for teaching and empowering entrepreneurs, Reed believes marketing should be more than a guessing game — it should be a system for predictable growth. His mission with MarketSurge is simple: help business owners stop chasing tactics and start building engines that scale.

When he’s not recording or helping clients crush their next campaign, Reed can usually be found diving into marketing trends, exploring new tech, or sipping an iced coffee while planning his next big growth experiment.