You can learn more from a marketer's work than from their follower count.
That's worth remembering now that "cracked" has reached marketing. On November 7, Greg Isenberg posted that he thinks "we've reached the point where the cracked marketer is more in demand than the cracked engineer". Zack Brenner quoted it with a simple question: "Who are the most cracked marketers that you know?"
Here are nine people whose work we'd suggest studying, plus one shameless plug for ourselves. Greg's comparison is an opinion, not a measure of demand. Zack's question is an invitation to suggest names, not a verdict on who belongs here.
What cracked means for a marketer
Cracked is internet slang for unusually good at something. Founders often use it for engineers who ship working software fast. PostHog's cracked manifesto is a useful example of how that culture thinks about it. It talks about ownership, craft and helping others.
For a marketer, we'd put it simply. A cracked marketer does the work, ships it and shows you how. You can point at a launch, a campaign or a workflow and see the thinking behind it. It isn't a job title, a follower count or an award.
So if you're a founder, CEO or marketing executive, the useful question isn't "who is cracked?" It's "whose work can I learn from this week?"
How we picked these people
We started with the posts above and with Matt Epstein's "People to follow in tech" list and its replies. Not everyone below was put forward as a cracked marketer. Some were listed as operators or in AI. We kept the people whose recent work we could open, read and learn from, and we checked who they are and where they work.
This list isn't ranked. The order means nothing. And yes, we put ourselves in it. You'll see.
Hector Serrano and Wispr Flow's paid creator ads
For Wispr Flow's paid creator ads, start with Hector Serrano. His X bio currently says "marketing @whop (ex: wispr flow)". Lenny's Newsletter names him as Head of Content for the Wispr Flow work.
Hector built Wispr Flow's paid UGC creative program, meaning the paid ads made from creator-style videos. What makes his work worth studying is that he explains it in the open.
- How he built the paid program, and how he'd rebuild it in 30 days, a first-person breakdown
- The interview on the creator program, which he shared himself
The interview credits teammates for the earlier organic UGC program and media buying. Hector's remit here is paid UGC creative, not the whole company's marketing. Read his breakdown for how he built the program and how he'd start again.
James Dickerson studies marketing for boring businesses
James Dickerson posts as @boringmarketer. His bio doesn't name an employer. It says he uses AI to grow "boring" businesses and builds marketing tools like boringfunnels.com, then shares what he learns.
Start with his plumbing landing page teardown, then read how he finds businesses and analyzes their funnels. The examples make his approach to offers and prospecting easy to inspect.
- A plumbing landing page teardown, with the offer he'd use instead
- His client-finder workflow, from finding businesses to analyzing their funnel to pitching them
- His Boring Marketing community, which describes the work in more detail
We like anyone who treats boring as a compliment.
X | LinkedIn | website | GitHub
Mitchell Rusitzky on launches people talk about
Mitchell Rusitzky sums up his own work well. His bio says "Now I make tech companies go viral @shownmedia" (Shown Media). Shown Media's about page lists him as Campaign Director.
If your launches tend to land quietly, read his guide to differentiation and distribution.
- Startup marketing advice in the age of AI, a full article on differentiation and distribution
- His account of the social and creative work at Devour, in his own words
Oren John looks past the view count
Oren John describes himself as "CD, internet" and a partner at Darkroom (@darkroomagency_).
Oren's posts connect attention to landing pages, CRM work and sales. If your content gets views but few inquiries, start with his post on turning attention into leads.
- From attention to leads to sales, and why the landing page matters
- What modern marketing training should cover, plus two metrics he finds useful
- Training your team to run the CRM
Tanvi Reddy writes Clay's launches
Tanvi Reddy describes herself as a product marketer at Clay.
She works at Clay, and her name is on Clay's launch posts, so you can read the positioning straight from the source.
- The Clay Ads launch
- The Clay Sequencer launch
- Her portfolio, which sets out what she did on positioning, launch films and product demos
If you write launch announcements, compare how she explains a new product with how you explain yours.
Growth Experts, because it's our list
Yes, we put ourselves in our own list.
We're a bunch of cracked marketers. Growth Experts does the strategy, the content, the website, the CRM and the campaigns for companies that want their marketing handled. We also write about how we do it on our blog, so you can judge the thinking before you ever talk to us.
Treat this entry as an ad in the middle of an article. Read the work, judge for yourself, and come try us.
Eric Nowoslawski and outbound that's researched first
Eric Nowoslawski is "PLG Growth Leader @ Clay", according to his bio, so he also works at Clay. Clay's own account put him forward in the replies to Matt's list.
Eric shares AI-assisted lead research and campaign design. His examples cover what to research, how to build a list and how to test whether your emails reach the inbox.
- Turning a fireside chat transcript into a lead research workflow
- A rule for building cold email lists, and an AI campaign agent
- A test you can run to check your emails reach the inbox
Oliver Brocato, a founder who markets
Oliver Brocato isn't a hired marketer. His bio says "Tabs Chocolate (Exited)" and that he's now building Bustem, which hunts down copycats and counterfeits.
He's here for his accounts of founder-led marketing and customer-retention work. Read the booked-call story as his report of what happened, not a promise that posting will do the same for you.
- What happened when he posted as a founder, in terms of booked calls
- How his team watches for at-risk customers and responds
Ayush Sharma turns updates into stories
Ayush Sharma is, in his bio's words, "CEO at Warp (@warpdotco), AI-native employee management platform for ambitious companies", and Warp's team page lists him as Founder and CEO.
He's another founder rather than a marketing hire. Compare his product launch with his chart-led company update for two ways to tell a company story.
- The Warp Custom Fields launch
- Warp's Q3 update, told through one payments volume chart
If your product updates read like release notes, see how he does it.
Greg Isenberg connects ideas to distribution
Greg's post was one starting point for this list. Greg Isenberg hosts the Startup Ideas podcast, and his bio reads "CEO: @latecheckoutplz we build companies like @ideabrowser, @meetLCA, @boringmarketer etc".
Greg's posts are less about one campaign and more about how a small business finds customers.
X | LinkedIn | website | GitHub
What these marketers have in common
You don't have to adopt the label to borrow the habit. Pick one example above, read the work and discuss what you'd do differently for your own customers.
Then ask your team to show you something they shipped this month and explain the decisions behind it.
That's more useful than arguing about who's cracked. If you want a few more, you know where to find us.
Jason Bagley
Founder, Growth Experts
I'm a business builder, the founder of Growth Experts, sometimes public speaker, and a member of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. Mostly though, I'm just a dad to Eva & Cruz and a husband to Karina.
