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Nikhil Hunshikatti has built his career at the intersection of legacy media and modern marketing, from Ogilvy in Mumbai to the Chicago Tribune to running fractional CMO work today. In this episode, we get into what AI actually changes for marketers (and what it doesn't), why "write AI, edit human" is the operating principle he lives by, and the specific workflow he uses to turn raw client data into boardroom-ready strategy. Nikhil also shares the 90-10 philosophy that shapes how he approaches his career and what he's teaching his kids about life in an uncertain world.

CONNECT WITH NIKHIL
🌐 Website: https://hunshika.com/about/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilhunshikatti/

CONNECT WITH ANDY
🌐 Website: https://mmg.studio
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
01:30 - From Mumbai to the Midwest
03:00 - The Lakeshore Drive phone call
05:30 - Gen Z has internships backward
09:00 - How the Tribune pivoted into digital
13:00 - Write AI, edit human
18:00 - Raw data to executive deck
20:00 - The AI slop problem
25:00 - The skill AI will never replace
28:30 - Why agentic checkout has limits
30:30 - The 90-10 rule

TEAM
🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/
🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://mmg.studio
🤝 Powered by // AMA Columbus: https://amacolumbus.org and our friends at COhatch (Get 2 free weeks of premium coworking, on us): https://www.cohatch.com/mbd

TEAM

🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/

🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

⚡️ High-Converting Websites Visual Swipe File: https://www.mmg.studio/visualswipefile

Bridget O'Murphy is the founder of Envision Partnerships, where she's spent 20+ years building strategic brand partnerships for companies like Nickelodeon, Tyson, and Coca-Cola. In this episode, we dig into what it actually looks like to build a business on relationships, not just talk about it. Bridget shares how she landed her first client on a plane ride, the gifting habits that create real loyalty, the client she lost by not asking the right questions, and why the compounding effect of daily relationship investment is the most underrated strategy in business.

CONNECT WITH BRIDGET
🌐 https://www.envisionp.com/
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridgetomurphy/

CONNECT WITH ANDY
🌐 https://www.mmgdesign.net/
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/
📸 https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/

TEAM
🎙 Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/
🎥 MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/
🤝 AMA Columbus: https://amacolumbus.org
COHATCH (Get 2 free weeks of premium coworking, on us): https://www.cohatch.com/mbd

⚡️ High-Converting Websites Visual Swipe File: https://www.mmg.studio/visualswipefile

In this episode, I sit down with Clay Ostrom, founder of Map & Fire, to talk about why customer research has become the backbone of every smart brand decision. Clay walks through how his agency evolved from brand strategy into research-first work, why AI can speed things up but can't replace a real conversation with a buyer, and how one research project completely flipped a medical client's positioning. We also get into the creative founder's tension between craft and margin, and how Clay went from hating sales to genuinely enjoying it.

CONNECT WITH CLAY
🌐 https://mapandfire.com/
🛠 https://smokeladder.com/
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/clayostrom/

CONNECT WITH ANDY
🌐 https://mmg.studio/
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/
📸 https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
00:18 Can your parents explain what you do?
04:00 From computer science to brand strategy
07:00 Why entrepreneurs become unemployable
10:00 A day inside a research-first agency
14:30 Hands-on vs. hands-off founder tension
18:30 Protecting your best thinking hours
25:00 How research took over Map & Fire
29:30 The case study that flipped a brand
35:00 Clay's 180 on sales
42:30 Detaching from any single deal

TEAM
🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/
🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://mmg.studio/
🤝 Powered by // American Marketing Association Columbus: https://amacolumbus.org/
☕ Supported by // COhatch (2 free weeks of premium coworking): https://www.cohatch.com/mbd