Fame Podcast Host

Ethan Smith
"What I recommend to, and as a fellow founder, I'm rooting for all these founders, so I take no pleasure in people not doing well, but my recommendation to anyone building an AEO tool company or an SEO tool company is to raise no money or raise almost no money and try to make it a lifestyle company where you make a million dollars a year and go to Jamaica and have a nice time, but don't try to build a venture-scale company. I think it's impossible."

Ethan Smith is Founder and CEO of Graphite Growth, a premier SEO and growth marketing agency based out of San Francisco. Ethan has served as a strategic advisor to MasterClass, Upwork, Notion, Ticketmaster, Neiman Marcus, BetterUp, and Honey.

Prior to founding Graphite, Ethan held executive roles in product management and marketing. He is recognized as a leading expert in SEO and growth marketing, and regularly speaks and publishes in Venturebeat, Market Watch, and INC.

Ethan is also an adjunct professor of marketing at IE Business School and is a partner at Reforge.

Ask me

  • 1

    Ethan, you’ve made the bold claim that venture-scale AEO/SEO companies are nearly impossible to build. What fundamental shifts in search and distribution led you to that conclusion?

  • 2

    You advise companies like Notion, MasterClass, and Upwork; how are the most forward-thinking brands adapting their content and growth strategies for an answer-engine world?

  • 3

    What does the modern “organic growth team” look like in an AEO-first era compared to the traditional SEO team structure?

  • 4

    Many marketers still treat ChatGPT mentions like SEO backlinks - what are they misunderstanding about how recommendation engines actually work?

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