Join the host of the Account Experience Podcast, Adam Dorrell, CEO & Co-Founder of CustomerGauge, as he explores how some of the world’s top brands in Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) are listening to B2B channel feedback in real-time using Net Promoter Score and arming their front-line sales teams to grow revenue and market share.
"If you wanna have a bestseller, you gotta be a bestseller" with Lou Shipley, author of Unlikely Entrepreneurs
In this episode of The Account Experience Podcast, Adam Dorrell sits down with Lou Shipley — former three-time software CEO, Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School, board member at CustomerGauge, and author of the new book Unlikely Entrepreneurs, already a top-three Amazon bestseller ahead of launch.
Adam and Lou reflect on more than twenty years of working together, using that shared history to explore what really separates successful B2B companies from the rest. Lou shares key lessons from his book, including why entrepreneurship doesn’t follow a single path — and why experience, judgment, and empathy often matter more than youthful bravado.
A central theme of the conversation is customer and account experience as a leadership signal. Drawing on Lou’s time at Black Duck, they discuss how listening to customers cuts through operational noise, reveals hidden risk, and exposes growth opportunities long before they appear in dashboards or forecasts.
The episode also explores what it’s like to build and lead companies later in life, the advantages of pattern recognition and perspective, and why founders and CEOs should treat customer insight as a strategic asset — not a “soft” metric.
A thoughtful, practical conversation for founders, CEOs, and B2B leaders focused on building trust, resilience, and long-term value.
Find Lou on loushipley.com
12 Nov 2025TRANSCRIPT
Taylormaking Your B2B Experience: Ken Hughes on Lessons from Pop's Biggest Brand
In this episode, Adam Dorrell chats with CX royalty, Ken Hughes (the King of CX), about the human side of experience.
They explore how emotion drives loyalty and trust, drawing lessons from B2C giants like Taylor Swift for the B2B world.
Ken shares some great anecdotes about how storytelling and vulnerability make ga reat CX experience. He emphasizes that CX is a philosophy, not just a department, and shares insights on building genuine emotional connections with customers.
Ken’s new book is Taylormaking — get the details from https://www.taylormaking.com/
6 Nov 2025TRANSCRIPT
The Man Who Interviewed 10,000 Customers
In this episode, Adam Dorrell, CEO of CustomerGauge, speaks with Mark Fonseca, Partner at Pragmetrics, about his experience conducting over 10,000 customer interviews.
Mark shared his unique three-question approach to B2B customer loyalty assessments, focusing on Net Promoter Score, understanding the "why," and identifying what it takes to achieve a perfect score.
Mark spoke about the importance of creating a "safe harbor for the truth" and building trust quickly to uncover candid insights.
He also discusses how his role as an agnostic third party allows customers to share feedback they might not otherwise, leading to surprising discoveries about customer loyalty and potential revenue opportunities.
Inside a recent episode
"If you wanna have a bestseller, you gotta be a bestseller" with Lou Shipley, author of Unlikely Entrepreneurs
Published 24 Dec 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] It just didn't think there was a market for it. So he went and created another version of that product called Factile. He's the CEO of this company, Factile Friving Business. So it's a great example of when you're older, you have, you know, you have experience, you've seen failures, you have a network, you might have a little cash if your kids are through school. It's actually at almost a better time. In some cases, a better time to become an entrepreneur. And I think the pressure on students to do it in their 20s is sort of unnatural. It shouldn't feel badly that you don't start a company. If you don't have a real problem to solve. […]
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