The Business Anthropologist

Hosted by Anusha Ramesh Kannan

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Nov 2026

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The Business Anthropologist is a podcast exploring human behavior, business, AI, technology, marketing, consumer psychology, leadership, trust, organizational culture, and decision-making. We examine how people and businesses adapt to changing technology and what remains uniquely human when execution becomes easier to copy. The Business Anthropologist: https://thebusinessanthropologist.com/ Anusha Ramesh Kannan: https://www.anushakannan.com/

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November 4, 202647 min

Do you actually need AI solutions? | Olivia Gambelin

Your company probably has an AI strategy. But does anyone understand the problem it's actually solving? In the first episode of The Business Anthropologist, I sit down with Olivia Gambelin, a world-renowned AI strategist and one of the early voices in responsible AI. She advises Fortune 500 leadership on AI adoption, created the Values Canvas, and wrote the award-winning book *Responsible AI*. For over a decade, she has helped leaders think more critically about the technology they build, the values behind it, and the people affected by it. We explore why executives feel pressured to appear enthusiastic about AI, how employees can manufacture problems to justify technological solutions, and why automating junior roles could undermine the very process through which future experts develop. We also question whether productivity and output are always the right measures of value, and what we lose when we automate experiences that are meaningful precisely because of the human thinking involved. Because adopting AI, solving a problem, and creating value are not necessarily the same thing. If you're a founder, business leader, or someone navigating the changing relationship between AI, work and human decision-making, this conversation is for you. Which moment stuck with you? Tell me in the comments. Find Olivia: Website: https://www.oliviagambelin.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliviagambelin/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliviagambelin/ Newsletter: https://pursuitofgoodtech.substack.com Google: https://share.google/5jkzw6q3kKB24LZ8v Her upcoming book: Not Every Solution Has a Problem (Wiley) Footage sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPw4N4Lz7yU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMwFCrmg6gA Opening & Closing clip: TEDxPatras: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9Esi2kDUsc Saying hi to you 👋 If you're new to my channel, my name is Anusha Ramesh Kannan. I'm the founder of The Business Anthropologist, a media platform exploring the human decisions, behaviours, systems, and beliefs underneath business, especially as AI and technology change what people can do. The journey... Childhood: Built a home library, made my own stationery brand, and never stopped asking "why?" 2016–2020: Studied Information Technology and realized I was more interested in the people using the systems. 2020–2022: Studied Data Science & Business Analytics, learning to read businesses through data and patterns. 2022: Moved to Boston for a Master's in Marketing at Suffolk University. 2023–2025: Worked across marketing, analytics, customer research, and strategy, including analyzing $2B+ in retail sales data. 2023–2025: Hosted 150+ podcast episodes with founders, executives, and operators, and got more curious about how they think than about their best tips. 2025: Returned to India to build independently through contracting, writing, research, and media. 2025–2026: Built and tested an early-stage social platform, published a working paper on how AI agents could change B2B marketing, and wrote a book. 2026: The Business Anthropologist. Today, I'm trying to understand one question from as many angles as possible: What becomes valuable when technology can do more of the work? BUY MY BOOK https://www.anushakannan.com/book-updates ~ FOLLOW THE BUSINESS ANTHROPOLOGIST ~ ↳ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thebusinessanthropologist ↳ Website: https://thebusinessanthropologist.com/ FOLLOW ANUSHA (HOST) ↳ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anusharameshkannan/ ↳ Website: https://www.anushakannan.com/ ↳ YouTube: @anusharameshkannan ↳. Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/anusharameshkannann TAGS AI and business, AI strategy, AI agents, human behavior, business psychology, consumer psychology, business anthropology, future of work, trust in business, decision making, technology and society, AI leadership, Anusha Ramesh Kannan, The Business Anthropologist, Olivia Gambelin, AI Ethicist, Responsible AI 🎵 Theme Song: ES_Not a Game - Michael Rothery

September 6, 20262 min

If Everyone Has AI, What Gives a Business an Edge? | Trailer

If you’re new to my channel, I'm Anusha Ramesh Kannan. I’m the founder of The Business Anthropologist, a media platform exploring the human decisions, behaviours, systems, and beliefs underneath business - especially as AI & technology change what people can do. I’ve studied engineering, data science, business analytics, and marketing, and spent the last several years moving between technology, analytics, marketing, research, entrepreneurship, and media. The journey... Childhood: Built a home library, made my own stationery brand, and developed an unusually persistent habit of asking “why?” 2016–2020: Studied Information Technology. Learned how systems and technology work & realized I was more interested in the people using them. 2020–2022: Studied Data Science & Business Analytics. Learned to look at businesses through data, patterns, and evidence. 2022: Moved to Boston for a Master’s in Marketing at Suffolk University. 2023–2025: Worked across marketing, analytics, customer research, and strategy. Analyzed $2B+ in retail sales data, worked with marketing technology and customer platforms, and learned what business looks like when you’re actually inside it. 2023–2025: Interviewed founders, executives, marketers, and operators through podcasts and media projects. Roughly 150+ episodes later, I realized I was less interested in asking people for their “best marketing tips” and more interested in understanding how they actually think. 2025: Returned to India and started building independently -contracting, writing, researching, experimenting with products, and creating media from scratch. 2025–2026: Built & tested an early-stage social platform, published a working research paper on how AI agents could change B2B marketing, wrote a book, and spent a lot of time studying what happens when technology changes the rules people have built businesses around. 2026: The Business Anthropologist. Today, I’m trying to understand one question from as many angles as possible: What becomes valuable when technology can do more of the work? This channel is where I think out loud about AI, human behaviour, business, psychology, trust, incentives, technology, marketing, and the decisions that machines cannot make for us. If you want more of my personal side, like the experiences, experiments, questions, and life behind the work - subscribe to the From Zero podcast. If you’re here for The Business Anthropologist side of things - business, AI, human behaviour, psychology, technology, and the questions underneath it all - subscribe to this channel. READ MY RESEARCH My paper: “The Dual-Journey Model of Marketing in the Agentic Era” https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6436240 BUY MY BOOK https://www.anushakannan.com/book-updates ~ FOLLOW THE BUSINESS ANTHROPOLOGIST ~ ↳ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thebusinessanthropologist ↳ Website: https://thebusinessanthropologist.com/ FOLLOW ANUSHA (HOST) ↳ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/anusharameshkannan ↳ Website: https://www.anushakannan.com/ ↳ YouTube: /@anusharameshkannan ↳ Instagram: instagram.com/anusharameshkannann TAGS agentic AI, AI and business, AI in marketing, AI transformation, human behavior, business psychology, consumer psychology, marketing psychology, business anthropology, human behavior and business, future of business, future of marketing, future of work, AI strategy, B2B marketing, B2B customer journey, B2B buying, AI agents, marketing strategy, product marketing, customer marketing, content marketing, brand strategy, brand building, trust in business, decision making, organizational culture, incentives, technology and society, marketing leadership, marketing thought leadership, startup marketing, founder marketing, business strategy, marketing careers, marketing research, Anusha Kannan, The Business Anthropologist 🎵 Theme Song: ES_Not a Game - Michael Rothery

July 31, 202653 min

What Can AI Actually Do in Field Marketing? | Kayla Drake

Field marketing is one of the only channels an algorithm can't fake. So what happens to it when AI takes over everything else? Kayla Drake has spent 13 years running events for IBM, Autodesk, Udemy, Apollo.io, and StackAdapt. She thinks about this differently than most. In this episode, we talk about how to design an executive dinner for 20 people, what to do when 75% of the room is introverted, where AI actually helps a field marketer versus where it gets in the way, why event tech tools cost $100K and still don't talk to each other, how to handle it when your event is falling apart in real time, what makes people trust a brand in a physical room, and what Kayla is quietly building on the side. Kayla Drake is a LinkedIn Top Voice in field marketing, a founding member of the Planwell Collective, and one of the most respected voices in B2B event marketing. ------------ Read my paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6436240 ~ BUY MY BOOK ~ https://www.anushakannan.com/book-updates FREE RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE HERE: https://www.anushakannan.com/360nucleus ~ Follow The 360° Marketing Show on ~ ↳Instagram: / the360degreemarketingshow ↳LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ the360marketingshowwithanushakannan ↳Website: https://t3ms.anushakannan.com/ Follow Anusha (Host) ↳ LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/anusharameshkannan ↳ Website: https://www.anushakannan.com/ ↳ YouTube: / @anusharameshkannan ↳ Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/anusharameshkannann Follow Kayla (Guest) ↳ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayla-d-drake/ 🎵 Theme Song Code Code: DZBHXH6X1SGHZV5E tags: agentic AI, B2B customer journey, AEO, Answer Engine Optimization, Future of marketing, full-stack marketing, marketing podcast, anusha ramesh kannan, b2b marketing, marketing strategy, content marketing, product marketing, marketing analytics, customer marketing, ai in marketing, marketing careers, founder marketing, brand building, demand generation, marketing operations, b2b content, growth marketing, context switch newsletter, marketing thought leadership, customer advocacy, community-led growth, marketing leadership, email marketing, startup marketing, solopreneur podcast, marketing tools, marketing psychology, marketing neuroscience, career in marketing, marketer to founder, marketing advice, ai content strategy, marketing automation

July 9, 202641 min

B2B Sales, Trust, and Why Spray & Pray Is Dead! | Katie Penner, VP Sales @ InFlu2

Katie Penner, VP of Sales at Influ2, joins us to talk about why buying is never as rational as a pipeline chart makes it look. She's built her career on reading the room in rooms full of dashboards, and she gets specific about what breaks trust in a deal, why AI-written outreach is starting to sound the same to everyone, and the one skill she looks for in reps that can't be trained! We talk about topics like - trust and emotional decision-making in B2B sales - where AI helps outbound and where it flattens it - why reply rate is a misleading metric - thought leadership vs ghostwriting - relationship-first selling over quota-chasing & more! --- Read my paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6436240 ~ BUY MY BOOK ~ https://www.anushakannan.com/book-updates FREE RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE HERE: https://www.anushakannan.com/360nucleus ~ Follow The 360° Marketing Show on ~ ↳Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/the360degreemarketingshow/ ↳LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ the360marketingshowwithanushakannan ↳Website: https://t3ms.anushakannan.com/ Follow Anusha (Host) ↳ LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/anusharameshkannan ↳ Website: https://www.anushakannan.com/ ↳ YouTube: / @anusharameshkannan ↳ Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/anusharameshkannann Follow Katie Penner (Guest): https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathrynpenner/ 🎵 Theme Song Code Code: DZBHXH6X1SGHZV5E tags: agentic AI, B2B customer journey, AEO, Answer Engine Optimization, Future of marketing, full-stack marketing, marketing podcast, anusha ramesh kannan, b2b marketing, marketing strategy, content marketing, product marketing, marketing analytics, customer marketing, ai in marketing, marketing careers, founder marketing, brand building, demand generation, marketing operations, b2b content, growth marketing, context switch newsletter, marketing thought leadership, customer advocacy, community-led growth, marketing leadership, email marketing, startup marketing, solopreneur podcast, marketing tools, marketing psychology, marketing neuroscience, career in marketing, marketer to founder, marketing advice, ai content strategy, marketing automation

May 5, 20261 hr 15 min

What One Influencer Did Differently (Necessary in the Age of AI) | Vahbiz Cooper, Demandbase

VIDEO AVAILABLE ONLY ON YOUTUBE! Liked this episode? Be on The 360° Marketing Show: https://www.anushakannan.com/research-aimkt Read my paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6436240 In this episode of The 360° Marketing Show, we've got Vahbiz Cooper, who leads influencer marketing and employee advocacy at Demandbase. We get into the unicorn piñata campaign that went viral on LinkedIn, why AI-written content quietly tanks your engagement, the influencer relationship that turned into a viral product video, the campaign that flopped (and came back as a win years later), and her prediction about where AI trust is headed in B2B. Timestamps 1:00 — How Vahbiz got to where she is + Updates 11:00 — The influencer who kept missing deadlines (and how one conversation changed everything) 15:32 — Where Vahbiz actually uses AI in her workflow 20:29 — The unicorn piñata campaign that broke the internet 24:14 — Writing the Women in Sales blog with AI end-to-end 29:42 — Why AI-written posts quietly lose engagement 38:30 — The campaign that flopped (and what she learned) 40:23 — The late wins nobody tracks on a dashboard 43:53 — What actually makes employee advocacy work 52:27 — The AI trust cliff that's coming for B2B 1:06:33 — Do it scared, ask the dumb questions ~ BUY MY BOOK ~ https://www.anushakannan.com/book-updates FREE RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE HERE: https://www.anushakannan.com/360nucleus ~ Follow The 360° Marketing Show on ~ ↳Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the360degreemarketingshow/ ↳LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ the360marketingshowwithanushakannan ↳Website: https://t3ms.anushakannan.com/ Follow Anusha (Host) ↳ LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/anusharameshkannan ↳ Website: https://www.anushakannan.com/ ↳ YouTube: @anusharameshkannan ↳ Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/@anusharameshkannann 🎵 Theme Song Code Code: DZBHXH6X1SGHZV5E tags: agentic AI, B2B customer journey, AEO, Answer Engine Optimization, Future of marketing, full-stack marketing, marketing podcast, anusha ramesh kannan,, influencer marketing, b2b marketing, marketing strategy, content marketing, product marketing, marketing analytics, customer marketing, ai in marketing, marketing careers, founder marketing, brand building, demand generation, marketing operations, b2b content, growth marketing, context switch newsletter, marketing thought leadership, customer advocacy, community-led growth, marketing leadership, email marketing, startup marketing, solopreneur podcast, marketing tools, marketing psychology, marketing neuroscience, career in marketing, marketer to founder, marketing advice, ai content strategy, marketing automation

April 15, 202611 min

The Agent Bias in Marketing Nobody Is Talking About Yet

| VIDEO ONLY ON YOUTUBE | 👉JOIN THE RESEARCH: https://www.anushakannan.com/research-aimkt Your brand has two audiences now. A human one & an algorithmic one. Most marketers are only building for one of them & it's not even the one making the first call. In this episode, I break down the dual-journey model & the pre-delegation layer: why AI agents already have a preferred brand before your buyer even searches, where that bias comes from, and what it actually means for your marketing strategy in 2026. Read my paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6436240 ~ BUY MY BOOK ~ https://www.anushakannan.com/book-updates 👉 DOWNLOAD THIS EPISODE'S COMPANION GUIDE: https://www.anushakannan.com/360nucleus FREE RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE HERE: https://www.anushakannan.com/360nucleus ~ Follow The 360° Marketing Show on ~ ↳Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the360degreemarketingshow/ ↳LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ the360marketingshowwithanushakannan ↳Website: https://t3ms.anushakannan.com/ Follow Anusha (Host) ↳ LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/anusharameshkannan ↳ Website: https://www.anushakannan.com/ ↳ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@anusharameshkannan ↳ Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/anusharameshkannann Timestamps: 0:00 — The dual audience problem: introduced 0:57 — The three foundational assumptions of marketing 2:08 — What the dual audience problem actually is 2:44 — Amazon Bedrock Agent Core — live proof it's already here 3:22 — How the agent bias works, step by step 4:22 — Mem0 + Perplexity — more live examples 6:16 — How the funnel structurally breaks 7:12 — Where the bias actually comes from 7:18 — The pre-delegation layer, named 8:14 — What to do: 3 strategic moves for CMOs and founders 10:29 — The Inner Game book mention 🎵 Theme Song Code Code: DZBHXH6X1SGHZV5E tags: agentic AI, B2B customer journey, AEO, Answer Engine Optimization, Future of marketing, full-stack marketing, marketing podcast, anusha ramesh kannan, b2b marketing, marketing strategy, content marketing, product marketing, marketing analytics, customer marketing, ai in marketing, marketing careers, founder marketing, brand building, demand generation, marketing operations, b2b content, growth marketing, context switch newsletter, marketing thought leadership, customer advocacy, community-led growth, marketing leadership, email marketing, startup marketing, solopreneur podcast, marketing tools, marketing psychology, marketing neuroscience, career in marketing, marketer to founder, marketing advice, ai content strategy, marketing automation

February 4, 202623 min

New Season: The 360° Marketing Show × From Zero

The 360° Marketing Show is moving under From Zero with Anusha Kannan as I build the anti-LinkedIn & learn more lessons on marketing, branding, positioning. This isn't goodbye - just a new season! Actually implementing the lessons we discuss on this podcast in real time! Get early access to Gen Yodha: https://www.genyodha.com/ Join From Zero: anushakannan.com/newsletterLet's connect:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anusharameshkannannLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anusharameshkannan/Who even am I? https://www.anushakannan.com/

August 26, 20251 min

Taking a Break - Here's What's Next for The 360° Marketing Show

A personal update about pausing the podcast until 2026, plus how to stay connected on our new Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the360degreemarketingshow/ :)

July 8, 202530 min

How HubSpot’s PMM Team Drives Retention, GTM & AI Strategy | Alexander Rainford

Ever wonder what product marketing actually looks like inside HubSpot? In this episode (VIDEO ONLY ON YOUTUBE), I chat with Alex Rainford, PMM for Sales Hub, about what it really takes to drive pipeline, retention, and revenue in 2025. We get into full-funnel strategy, using AI without the fluff, working cross-functionally, and the PMM skills that actually move the needle. If you're a marketer looking to level up, this one's for you! Chapters 02:00 – Becoming a full-funnel PMM: acquisition to retention 06:30 – Where product marketing is underestimated 09:30 – Retention & usage: the PMM opportunity 12:40 – When trial conversion stalls: key signals 13:20 – Hiring PMMs: What Hiring Managers Look For 15:30 – Mastering AI & domain expertise in 2025 23:30 – Positioning & messaging, mistakes to avoid 24:30 – Getting your seat at the revenue table 28:00 – The future of PMM: AI, collaboration & product 🔗 Listen & Subscribe 🎙️ The 360° Marketing Show with Anusha Kannan Hub: ⁠anushakannan.com/the-360degree-marketing-show-with-anushakannan 🧠 Explore the 360° Nucleus (Resource Hub): ⁠anushakannan.com/360nucleus ✉️ Newsletter – Context Switch 📧 Sign up to receive Anusha’s newsletters: ⁠anushakannan.com/newsletter 🌐 Socials 💼 LinkedIn – Anusha: ⁠linkedin.com/in/anusharameshkannan 💼 LinkedIn – The 360° Marketing Show: linkedin.com/in/ the360marketingshowwithanushakannan 📸 Instagram (BTS): ⁠instagram.com/anusha_rameshkannan 🎵 TikTok: ⁠tiktok.com/@anusharameshkannan ▶️ YouTube Channel: ⁠@PivotwithAnushaKannan ALEX RAINFORD: LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/a-rainford/ 👀 Featured episode: Anusha on AMA Boston’s Talking Marketing ⁠Watch here: https://youtu.be/klH_zfYc8XY?si=RFbAS_oLTPVQkPy7 🎵 Theme Song Code Code: DZBHXH6X1SGHZV5E, ITVWDILTDI5MA2V7 tags: B2B marketing 2025, GTM strategy, vertical marketing, product marketing, SaaS marketing, FP&A for marketers, marketing ROI, pipeline marketing, demand generation, CFO marketing alignment, CAC payback, GTM trends 2025, marketing analytics, marketing podcast, full-stack marketing, Anusha Kannan, marketing leadership, content marketing, customer marketing, AI in marketing, Context Switch newsletter, brand building, marketing operations, community-led growth, marketing psychology, founder marketing, marketing careers, growth marketing, email marketing, startup marketing, marketing advice, marketing automation, AI content strategy, solopreneur podcast, HubSpot PMM, PMM skills, HubSpot careers, product-led growth, go to market strategy, retention marketing, product marketing tips, full funnel marketing

June 26, 20254 min

Plot Twist: Your Users Don’t Want to Pay You | Why Adoption Doesn’t Equal Growth (Sidebar Chat #1)

Why adoption doesn't mean product-market fit or revenue growth, and how GTM teams miss the conversion gap. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 🔗 Listen & Subscribe 🎙️ The 360° Marketing Show with Anusha Kannan Hub: ⁠anushakannan.com/the-360degree-marketing-show-with-anushakannan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 🧠 Explore the 360° Nucleus (Resource Hub): ⁠anushakannan.com/360nucleus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ✉️ Newsletter – Context Switch 📧 Sign up to receive Anusha’s newsletters: ⁠anushakannan.com/newsletter --------------------------------------------------------------------- 🌐 Socials 💼 LinkedIn – Anusha: ⁠linkedin.com/in/anusharameshkannan 💼 LinkedIn – The 360° Marketing Show: linkedin.com/in/ the360marketingshowwithanushakannan 📸 Instagram (BTS): ⁠instagram.com/anusha_rameshkannan 🎵 TikTok: ⁠tiktok.com/@anusharameshkannan ▶️ YouTube Channel: @PivotwithAnushaKannan --------------------------------------------------------------------- 👀 Featured episode: Anusha on AMA Boston’s Talking Marketing ⁠Watch here: https://youtu.be/klH_zfYc8XY?si=RFbAS_oLTPVQkPy7 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 🎵 Theme Song Code Code: DZBHXH6X1SGHZV5E, ITVWDILTDI5MA2V7 tags: product-led growth, PLG onboarding, SaaS activation, B2B marketing strategy, GTM execution, SaaS retention, marketing funnels, activation metrics, user onboarding, customer lifecycle, marketing, full-stack marketing, marketing podcast, Anusha Kannan, B2B marketing, marketing strategy, content marketing, product marketing, marketing analytics, customer marketing, AI in marketing, marketing careers, founder marketing, brand building, demand generation, marketing operations, B2B content, growth marketing, Context Switch newsletter, marketing thought leadership, customer advocacy, community-led growth, marketing leadership, email marketing, startup marketing, solopreneur podcast, marketing tools, marketing psychology, marketing neuroscience, career in marketing, marketer to founder, marketing advice, AI content strategy, marketing automation.