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Lochhead on Marketing

Lochhead on Marketing

By: Christopher Lochhead
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Lochhead on Marketing™ is the award winning, chart topping podcast for entrepreneurs, marketers, and category designers with a different mind. Most people do not like it.Copyright ©2021 Economics Marketing Marketing & Sales
Episodes
  • 217 America 250

    217 America 250
    Jul 10 2026
    As America marks 250 years of existence, it is worth pausing to ask a question that most people avoid: what is actually true about this country versus what we have been conditioned to believe? The noise coming from cable news, social media algorithms, and political fundraising machines has created a version of America that feels perpetually on the brink of collapse. But the data tells a radically different story. America 250 is not a eulogy. It is a celebration grounded in economic history, human ambition, and the rare national DNA that makes this country unlike any other on earth. The story of America 250 is not just about survival. It is about a country that has repeatedly invented entirely new categories of value from nothing, attracting dreamers from every corner of the globe who recognize something that many native-born Americans take for granted. Understanding what America actually is, rather than what the anger merchants want you to believe, is the starting point for seeing where it is going next. Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind. The Anger Industrial Complex Is Manipulating You The most important thing to understand about the current state of American political culture is that the division you feel is largely manufactured. Politicians, legacy media, and social media algorithms have built extraordinarily profitable business models on your outrage. Fundraising emails do not celebrate progress or bipartisan cooperation. They warn you that the other side is coming for everything you love. Cable news stopped booking reasonable people because screaming is more watchable. Then social media arrived with algorithms engineered to identify with inhuman precision exactly what makes you angry, and serve you more of it every hour. Here is what those category leaders of manufactured rage never want you to know. On guns, taxes, immigration, abortion, equal rights, policing, gay marriage, the national debt, and entrepreneurship, Americans mostly agree. 91% of Americans believe anyone regardless of race deserves an equal opportunity to succeed. 94% approve of interracial marriage, up from just 4% in 1958. 81% of Americans support universal background checks, including 80% of Republicans. 94% believe every citizen deserves a fair shot to start and grow a business. These numbers cut cleanly across party lines and receive zero coverage because agreement does not generate revenue. The pattern is consistent and deliberate. Every time Americans broadly agree on something, the machine finds the 5 to 15% on either extreme of the bell curve who do not, puts them on television, feeds them into the algorithm, and collects revenue by monetizing anger manufactured from nearly nothing. A citizen who stops being angry is a bad customer, and that is precisely why the machine never stops running. America Is a Catapult, Not a Club What makes America 250 worth celebrating is not just its age. It is its architecture. In Gallup surveys conducted across 150 countries since 2007, one question has been asked consistently: if you could move anywhere on earth, where would you go? Every single year, 170 million people choose the United States. The runner-up draws half that number. China has four times America’s population and a foreign-born population of just 0.1%. The United States sits at 15%. People do not want to move to America because it is the best. They want to move here because it is different. Nearly every other country on earth functions like a club, one you are born into or spend a lifetime trying to enter. America was purpose-built as a catapult for people driven by dreams, pirates, innovators, and those desperate enough to bet everything on a different future. The founder of SoftBank, one of the wealthiest people in Japan, was born ethnically Korean and was bullied to the point of contemplating suicide, denied credit in Japanese business specifically because of his ethnicity. That story plays out differently in America, where meritocracy at its best does not ask where you came from or what school you attended. Two families, two wars, two bets on a different future in the same country capture this perfectly. One grandfather left Scotland after World War Two for a rubber factory job in Montreal. One father left Korea to become a janitor and a limo driver in Hawaii. Neither came for comfort. Both came for the removal of limits on what their children could become. America 250 is the story of those bets paying off across generations. The Jevons Paradox and the Next 250 Years In 1865, British economist William Stanley Jevons noticed something counterintuitive. As steam engines became more efficient and required less coal to do the same work, experts predicted coal consumption would fall. Instead, it exploded. Greater efficiency lowered the cost of power, which expanded adoption, which created entirely ...
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    34 mins
  • 216 America is in the Middle of a Startup Super Cycle

    216 America is in the Middle of a Startup Super Cycle
    Jul 1 2026
    America is in the middle of something extraordinary, and most people are not paying attention. Since 2021, Americans have filed more than 20 million new business applications. In 2024 alone, the U.S. averaged roughly 430,000 new business applications per month, which is approximately 50% above pre-pandemic levels. This is not opinion. This is data, and it points to one of the most powerful entrepreneurial movements in modern history. The rise of AI has supercharged this momentum, giving individuals the kind of leverage that once required entire departments, massive budgets, and large technical teams. A new class of economic person has emerged, the creator capitalist, someone who turns expertise, judgment, and intellectual capital into scalable value. And nowhere on earth is this happening faster or more powerfully than in America. Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind. America’s Culture of Building Is Its Greatest Asset America became the dominant economic power because generation after generation of people who grew up here or came here believed they could create a different future. From Ford and Disney to Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, and OpenAI, this country has repeatedly produced environments where entrepreneurs become category kings. The entire Magnificent Seven are American companies, and the next wave of defining businesses are American too. The United States currently has over 600 unicorn companies, defined as businesses worth one billion dollars or more. Europe, which has a larger population, has roughly 130 to 140. That is not a small difference. That is a civilization-level gap, and it is a direct result of America’s cultural commitment to honoring the people who build things. The Divergence Between America and the Rest of the Western World While America accelerates, much of the Western world is moving in the opposite direction. Canada has seen business formation growth slow to almost nothing. The United Kingdom saw company starts decline 10% year over year. Germany continues to struggle with startup velocity relative to its economic size. Across too many countries, there is a growing cultural hostility toward success, where entrepreneurs are treated as suspects rather than builders of the future. This matters deeply because entrepreneurship is not merely economic. It is emotional, cultural, and civilizational. Every new company started is a radical act of optimism. Societies that respect ambition attract ambitious people. Societies that punish risk-taking and vilify wealth creation are essentially opting out of the future, whether they realize it or not. The divergence between America and these economies is not subtle. It is stark and it is accelerating. Why Experienced Professionals Are the Biggest Winners of This Moment Most people assume the biggest winners of the AI era will be 22-year-olds in hoodies. The reality is far more interesting. The average age of a startup founder is in the mid to late 40s. The people with 20 or more years of accumulated experience, pattern recognition, relationships, and hard-won judgment are uniquely positioned to thrive right now. AI is exceptional at commoditizing existing knowledge, but it cannot replicate the intellectual capital that comes from broken bones and lived experience. AI is collapsing the barriers that once kept experienced executives locked inside large organizations. Previously, you needed big teams, expensive infrastructure, and massive capital. Today, those barriers are disappearing. What remains is what experienced professionals already have, their four capitals: intellectual capital, relationship capital, reputation capital, and financial capital. America is not just creating new startups. It is creating a new generation of people who believe they can design entirely different futures for themselves, their customers, their communities, and yes, sometimes even the world. To hear more from Christopher Lochhead and his thoughts about America in its 250th year of Independence, download and listen to this episode. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Lochhead on Marketing™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and subscribe on Apple Podcast / Spotify!
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    29 mins
  • 215 The Asset AI Can’t Steal with Gina Bianchini of Mighty Networks

    215 The Asset AI Can’t Steal with Gina Bianchini of Mighty Networks
    Jun 25 2026
    On this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, the Category Pirates talk with Gina Bianchini about how AI is changing the way we work faster than most people expected. In just a few short years, it has transformed how we access knowledge, complete tasks, and think about productivity. For many professionals, creators, and business owners, that shift raises a pressing question. If AI can do more and more of what we once considered valuable, where does that leave us? That question sits at the heart of a powerful conversation between Gina Bianchini, Christopher Lochhead, and Eddie Yoon. Together, they explored what AI makes possible and what remains uniquely human. Their conclusion was clear. The future belongs not just to those who use AI well, but to those who understand the human assets that technology cannot replace. Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind. AI Is Changing Work, Not Eliminating Human Value According to Christopher Lochhead, AI is making knowledge and execution more accessible than ever. Tasks that once required years of experience can now be automated or assisted by intelligent systems. But AI is not eliminating value. It is shifting where value is created. Instead of competing on knowledge alone, professionals must focus on creating new ideas, exercising judgment, and solving meaningful problems in ways only humans can. Gina Bianchini on the Four Capitals That Matter Gina Bianchini emphasized that thriving in the AI era requires more than financial success. Reputation capital, intellectual capital, and relationship capital all play critical roles in long-term growth. These forms of capital represent the real assets individuals build over time. They shape how people create impact, share wisdom, and earn trust. In a world increasingly shaped by AI, these human strengths become even more valuable. Why Relationships Are the Asset AI Cannot Steal For Gina Bianchini, the most powerful advantage in an AI-driven world is people magic. Human connection creates trust, collaboration, and transformation in ways technology cannot replicate. As AI improves efficiency, relationships become more important, not less. Communities built on shared purpose and meaningful outcomes will define the future. The strongest businesses and creators will be those who use AI to scale value while keeping human connection at the center. To hear more from Gina Bianchini and the Category Pirates on what AI Assets cannot steal, download and listen to this episode. Bio Gina Bianchini is the CEO and Co-founder of Mighty Networks, a platform helping creators, entrepreneurs, and brands build communities centered on connection and transformation. She is widely recognized as a leader in community-driven business and digital innovation. Before founding Mighty Networks, Gina was the CEO of Ning, one of the earliest platforms for creating social networks. Her work has consistently focused on empowering people to bring communities together online. Gina is known for championing “people magic,” the belief that meaningful relationships drive lasting growth and impact. Through her leadership, she continues to shape the future of community building in the age of AI. Links Connect with Gina Bianchini! LinkedIn | Instagram | X (formerly Twitter) We hope you enjoyed this episode of Lochhead on Marketing™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and subscribe on Apple Podcast / Spotify!
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    1 hr and 3 mins
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