Ignite Marketing: Building Full-Funnel Growth Engines for Startups with Anthony Chiaravallo | Ep192

Ignite: Conversations on Startups, Venture Capital, Tech, Future, and Society

Anthony Chiaravallo is the Founder and CEO of Vallo Media, a performance marketing agency that’s helped brands from startups to Fortune 500s—including Nike, Amazon, and FedEx—turn ad spend into measurable growth. With 16+ years of experience and more than $100M in media spend managed, Anthony is a recognized thought leader and PR Week 40 Under 40 honoree, known for cutting through vanity metrics to focus on real business outcomes.

With deep expertise in paid media, performance strategy, and scaling growth engines, he offers insights into how startups and established companies alike can avoid costly mistakes, build full-funnel systems, and leverage AI to stay competitive in today’s fast-changing landscape.

In this episode, he discusses the philosophy behind performance marketing, the myths that frustrate him most, and the future of paid media in the age of AI.

In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

00:00 – Anthony’s background: from sales to launching Vallo Media

01:24 – Breaking into digital marketing and moving from sales to strategy

03:20 – From big agencies to starting his own firm during COVID

05:30 – The freedom and growth potential of entrepreneurship

06:43 – Defining performance marketing and why it still matters today

07:52 – The biggest mistakes startups make with paid ads

10:31 – When startups should turn on performance marketing

12:39 – Why outsourcing to experts often saves time and money

14:20 – Case study: scaling Playa Bowls from a sidewalk stand to a $100M+ acquisition

20:58 – Why clicks and impressions don’t equal results

22:29 – KPIs that actually matter for growth

25:59 – How to know when to scale or move on from a channel

28:03 – Best starter channels and the rise of AI-driven discovery

30:48 – How AI is reshaping paid media campaigns

34:07 – The future of search with ChatGPT, Gemini, and AI assistants

37:15 – The importance of creative in performance marketing

41:46 – Why you should start at the top of the funnel

43:40 – Balancing the art and science of marketing

45:45 – The most frustrating performance marketing myth

47:11 – The most misunderstood part of campaign attribution

49:48 – The future of paid media in the next 3–5 years

52:36 – Rapid fire wrap-up: metrics to kill, favorite brands, overrated platforms, and more

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