James Gilbert 🙏🏻

Bloomerang

Empowering fundraisers and nonprofits to do what they love and build a world inspired by giving

Vice President Demand Generation

noble

Advisor

CloudSpot

Strategic Advisor

Sendoso

CMO Collaborative

SLC CMO Collaborative Chapter Leader

Flip (formerly RedRoute)

Recruited to bring extreme growth. Structured foundational growth engines. Historical pipeline, MRR, ARR, and retention. Built a team from scratch. Structured a rename, rebrand, and new website within 4 months. Built and ran our podcast, outbound engine, and all growth engines. Led Flip to Pavillion’s category king finalist in 2023. Grew MRR and pipe 12% MoM, 92% retention rate.

Chief Marketing Officer

BUSINESSNEXT

•	Grew from Series A to Series C 
•	Built a demand gen engine which led to a 10x growth in ARR
•	Held a steady CAC ratio of 3:1
•	Decreased sales cycles from 12 to 4 months
•	Developed and led culture
•	Developed our US GTM strategy through partnerships and community.

CRMNEXT

GM North America & CMO

California State University, Long Beach

A focus around Big data. I served as a representation of big data and how it can be leveraged across business units.

Big Data Board Of Advisors

Cisco

- Helped develop a global demand gen process and ABM across multiple products
- Discovered $25M in annual savings from overlapping technology and built a consolidation plan for a single tech stack to be used.
- Continued to lead marketing for CloudCherry post-acquisition
- Helped lead strategy and GTM for the collaboration BU with ABM for APAC, EMEA, North America, and South America. This yielded net new market share, cross-selling opportunities into other BUs, and massive pipe and a 1,110% increase in revenue.

Director RevOps and Insights

Passionate about bringing humanity to business. 

High growth leader, Built teams from scratch from 0-120, 3X CMO with a background in RevOps, Demand Gen, and RevOps. 2 Successful exits. I’m a bit of a data freak but I am super creative and have come up with some insanely fun and engaging campaigns. Enterprise leadership roles at Cisco, Verizon, and AGCO, instrumental in driving massive growth. Strengths are driving a growth engine that can scale while building a solid team that can operate and have fun. $0-$150M and Seed - Series D is what I have done several times now.

The personal side of me: I am a father of 4 with an amazing wife, this is what drives me. I am a sports enthusiast & Utah Jazz fan #takenote. 

I believe the biggest gap in today's world is our lack of being human even when there are differences. Be kind in all that you do, it always pays off.

Today our 19yr old son flies to Madagascar for 2 yrs.

He won’t set foot in the US again for 2 yrs.

Sleeping with a mosquito net every night and doing the Lord’s work.

Seeing his growth in 5 weeks it’s crazy. 

He has already turned into such a great man.

Seeing him learn Malagasy at a basic level, and to be able to say full sentences in 5 weeks is even more remarkable.

We are proud of him. But wow is it hard. 

“Mom and dad I know you guys love me, but I got this. I am ready to be on my own serving those around me.” Those are words that hit us hard last night as we spoke to him.

We don’t know the adventures he will have but we know they will be incredible!

3x CMO | Father of 4 | AI-Driven GTM Strategy | Scaling Startups to Market Leaders

No alternative text description for this image

There’s a part of my story I don’t talk about much anymore.

Not because it’s painful.
But because life got busy.
Work got louder.
And somewhere along the way, the thing that shaped me the most got pushed to the background.

Most people today on here know me as a dad of 4, a previous multi CMO, and a GTM leader.

But long before any of that…
I struggled to share the most important aspect of who I am.

For fear of losing a job or not being able to get the next one, For fear of judgment, you name it and I let it get in the way.

You don’t get to choose what happens to you, but you always get to choose who you become because of it.

At a young age I lost my eyesight. Yes you read that right. 

I sat on transplant lists for 4 years (miracles I will later share here)

It happened faster than I would have hoped.
It broke dreams and things I wanted. 
But… bridged new opportunities.
I don’t, and won’t ever give up!

One day I woke up and realized my world was blurring, literally and metaphorically.

I didn’t know what life would look like.
I didn’t know if I’d ever have a career.
I just knew everything was about to change.

And it did.

Losing my eyesight forced me to learn how to see differently.
To work harder than anyone else.
To think differently.
To listen differently.
To create differently.

It’s the reason I taught myself piano by ear.
It’s the reason I think the way I do.
It’s why I am so creative.
It’s why I care so much about the disability community and giving back.
It’s the reason I see patterns in data, stories, and people that most overlook.

I’m going to start sharing more of that journey again, because it’s shaped every part of who I am as a leader, a builder, a father, and a human.

And because if my story helps even one person who’s in a dark place right now…it’s worth telling.

Losing my eyesight didn’t give me a choice.
But choosing how to respond to it did.

And that’s the part I want to share more of because someone out there is facing their own version of “this wasn’t supposed to happen.”

If that’s you, hear me out:

You may not control the setback.
But you absolutely control the story that comes after it.

A dinner this last week turned into a moment I didn’t see coming.

I was catching up with some old friends at Breakthrough. We went to a dinner invite with a BI vendor we’re exploring when I found myself sitting next to Jerry Henry. Who was one of the first people who ever personalized outreach to me. Back in 2013 or 2014, he reached out about the Utah Jazz, and it stood out because it felt… genuinely human.

Still to this day he is one of a handful who did it right in 20 yrs.

We laughed about that, but then the conversation turned deeper.

Jerry brought up the very first video series I ever shared. It was my story about losing my eyesight, learning piano by ear, and discovering creativity and data as two sides of the same coin. I never knew how closely he followed it.

This was way before video became such a big thing (should’ve stuck to that).

Then as others heard about the vague video series people asked to hear it as well.

And it reminded me of something:

Our stories matter. Not because they’re perfect, but because they’re real.

As soon as I finished, someone shared their mom was struggling with her eyesight even had one of the diseases I had. That opened a conversation about accessibility, the disability community, and how often their needs are overlooked in business.

It sparked Justin Cook telling me I should start a nonprofit, not a bad idea actually. 

All from one story.

Sometimes inspiration doesn’t shout.
Sometimes it shows up quietly, in moments you never expected.

My mom inspired me to make that video series back then, but every time I retell the story to others, it inspires me to keep doing it.

The amount of fake AI profiles on this platform is growing at a crazy rate.

In my scroll today I noticed a weird pattern. So, I dug a bit deeper.

This sparked me double-checking all the other posts I found valuable.

I went through a dozen posts from what I thought were people. 

All with a promise, comment x and I’ll send it. Interesting that all the fake ones used this same format.

7 out of 12 were AI and not humans.

I’m curious who else is seeing this stuff. 🤔

zachmessler.com

Could the way you talk about what you sell be the thing that's holding it back from attracting more buyers and selling more stuff?

Yes.

TL;DR - I work with founders and marketers on what to say and how to say it so you attract more buyers and sell more stuff.

"When Zach helped my team develop a clear and unique value proposition, we saw a noticeable improvement in our brand's messaging and overall effectiveness."

"We took the learnings from the session, ran some experiments, and the copy had the best engagement yet - we definitely connected with the audience."

"After over a year of working with various messaging experts (and I mean industry leading experts) I still felt something was off. Zach pulled the messaging I'm now using in my intro, website header and other crucial places within the first day of our work together. He's just that good."

🤘👊💥😎

Think of it this way.

You have a killer product.
An incredible service.
A brilliant idea.

People should want it...
For some reason, they don't.

Much of the time, it's because of what you say and how you say it.

Your positioning.
Your messaging.
Your copy.

That's where I come in.

Grab time, and learn more here: https://calendly.com/boomshockalocka/30min

🤘👊💥😎

Attract more buyers and sell more stuff. 🤘👊💥😎

Founder Institute - Keystone

I serve as a mentor at the Founders Institute Keystone Chapter.

My focus? You guessed it:

👉 what to say and how to say it so you pull in investors, attract buyers, and sell more stuff! 👈

I srsly love working with founders at this stage.

Their passion, along with the excitement of what could be, make this so much fun. 😁

🤘👊💥😎

Startup Mentor

University of Maryland

"Jade Brown...FROM DOWNTOWN!!! POINT TERPS!!"

I did public address announcing for a top athletic program in the Big 10 Conference, Division I of the NCAA.

It was as cool as it sounds. 

I miss it. But stuff happens.

Sports I called at Maryland included: Women's Volleyball, Men's Lacrosse, Baseball, Women's Basketball, Women's Lacrosse, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Gymnastics, Wrestling, and others.

I even got a tryout to do Men's Basketball after Gary Williams retired. You should ask me about that one. It's a fun story.

I will always look back on my time announcing Women's Volleyball with a full heart. Sad it ended how it did. Loved every minute. Wish I could still be announcing my Terps.

🤘🏐💥🐢

Public Address Announcer

Appian Corporation

At Appian, I brought the #BOOMshockalocka to Marketing.

What's that, you ask?

#BOOMshockalocka is excitement...it's taking calculated risks and hitting grand slams...it's motivating and inspiring departments and teams and individuals...it's doing what you love and making things happen.

So what's the #BOOMshockalocka delivered at Appian? For me, Two things stand out.

►One: I partnered with two colleagues to usher in Agile Product Marketing. This helped us produce more relevant content, faster...It also helped us better address the continually changing needs of our buyers.

►Two: I changed the way people talk, flipping the dialogue from inside-out to outside-in. In other words, using the buyer perspective to help tell stories that capture attention...that help explain why change is so important to survive in the digital age. Stories like this one...my favorite of them all:

Those solutions you bought to help run your business? They've accidentally spawned a monster! And, it's bigger and badder than you could possibly imagine.

It holds your data hostage. It slows down operations. It wreaks havoc on your mission, your goals, your profits...without you suspecting a thing.

Perhaps you recognize the signs of a problem:
→ You navigate multiple systems searching for something you’re not sure exists.
→ You’re never sure the data you have is current or complete.
→ Your employees spend nearly half their time looking instead of doing.

So what can you do? 
More stacks? The monster loves that. 
Better, faster servers? That just speeds the wrong decision.

Instead, slay the beast once and for all...with Appian.

Appian unifies your data and aligns it with your processes. So you make the right decisions and take the right actions.

Process + Data = no more monster. 
Process + Data = your success.

This is Appian. The one application platform for your success.

Product Marketing Guy

Contact Solutions

This one was fun. 

I was brought in to Contact Solutions to create a solutions marketing mindset...to help move the company from a sales-driven technology company to a market-driven solutions company.

There was a good amount of infrastructure to pop into place. And, I started with some standard product marketing and messaging approaches. This evolved into sales enablement and even content marketing, too. 

Contact Solutions also represents the first opportunity I had to take a product--My:Time--from a glimmer in the eye of the chief executive...through market seeding...to market launch...and finally GA. Here's a taste of some messaging I put together in support of the launch...
-----
We are all consumers. And I bet you'll agree that the mobile customer care experience is just not aligned with your mobile lifestyle.

Every organization has an app, and a lot of them are REALLY good. But if you need customer service, what happens? 

You call. And you wait.......for.......an.......eternity. 

"Why is the business' time more important than mine?!?!" you think.

What if mobile care could empower your customers with control of their own service? 

What if it could simultaneously create your very own customer brand evangelists AND reduce your 
customer service costs?

What if it could provide you with noticeable differentiation from your competition?

It could...if only it operated on My:Time.

www.mytimemobile.com

Director, Solutions Marketing

Philips

VISICU was acquired by Philips Healthcare in February, 2008.

And the integration of VISICU into Philips was the best I've ever experienced. Philips Healthcare management ran a campaign they called "do no harm." And that was that. We kept our processes and our people, and yet we had all the resources of the broader Philips organization.

It was a full year before new processes were introduced. And, in that time, we had an impact on how the larger Philips Healthcare enterprise operated...at least in Marketing. It was a true collaboration between organizations, as well as a real, trial-by-fire lesson for me for how to influence across different organizations. 

At Philips, I continued the work I had started at VISICU, and I picked up additional product lines as well. 

All in all, my VISICU and Philips experience was a great one.

Marketing Programs, Enterprise Patient Informatics Solutions

VISICU

I was brought in to VISICU as the first Product Marketing hire. VISICU was already public, with an incredible product--the eICU Program, an advanced telehealth system for intensive care. It was a complex sale to health systems; a focus on leaders (vs. laggards) in an industry that has a reputation for moving slowly and deliberately. There was a great need to simplify messaging and communications, as well as provide Sales with guidance and tools to help them sell. 

I came on board and installed Product Marketing infrastructure. I became the conduit between Product Management and Sales...a translator of sorts. It was a highlight of my career.

(VISICU was acquired by Philips Healthcare in February, 2008)

There's a big problem in healthcare, and it's not one you'd ever consider...that is, unless you know someone in really bad shape.

There are not enough critical care specialists...intensivists to those in the know. And that's a bad thing, especially when studies show that much fewer ICU patients die with an intensivist-led care team in place. 

That's where the eICU Program comes in. The eICU Program is an advanced telemedicine solution that centralizes a health system's intentivists and enables them to lead care across multiple ICUs. And it works. eICU Program health systems have reduced ICU mortality and length of stay by more than 25%! That's healthier patients AND healthier hospitals.

Director, Product Marketing

SoftMed Systems

SoftMed merged with 3M Health Information Systems on December 15, 2006.

Product Marketing Manager

3M Health Information Systems

SoftMed Systems merged with 3M Health Information Systems on December 15, 2006.

Strategic Messaging and Branding

Q.Know Technologies

Marketing

Simple messaging turns heads. | Clarity is more than you think. | Become perfectly understood. DM me. | #BOOMshockalocka

It's simple, really.

There is a constant stream of incredible ideas...cool innovations...products and services and offerings that do fantastical things. 

That should be the end of an amazing story.

Sadly...it's not.

Too often, success is limited by the wrong positioning…the wrong story...the wrong message at the wrong time.

Creating the positioning that conveys your core value…the story that grabs your audience…the messaging that compels your audience to act.......

That's what I do.

-----

Messaging and positioning guy with "...an uncanny instinct for the right thing to say and how to say it."

Experience creating remarkable messages and compelling stories, launching new products, building awareness and demand, and enabling sales with a specific focus on founder-led companies, marketers, and entrepreneurs looking to attract an audience, transform an industry, or otherwise ignite a revolution.

Specialties:
► Product Marketing
► Brand Messaging
► Sales Messaging
► Product Messaging
► Positioning
► Sales Enablement
► Strategic Communications
► Go-to-market Strategy
► Marketing Communications
► Content Marketing
► Audience-Centric Messaging
► Coaching
► B2B Tech
► Enterprise Software

-----

"Zach provides a service that delivered transformative results..."

"...has an uncanny instinct for the right thing to say and how to say it."​

"...can take the complex and simplify it with compelling prose that both intrigues and informs the reader but also compels them to act."

"...has a way with words that I've never seen before..."

"...completely changed the way I approached sales conversations, bringing reactions from good to great...”

"In the 30 days since we've rolled out his SalesPak recommendations thru our sales and marketing business, we've already seen an increase in the volume of new business opportunities."

"...his energy and enthusiasm is contagious."

"...he injected a level of energy and enthusiasm that elevated everyone's game."

"...makes everyone around him...better."

"...his approach to messaging just works."

"...provided me and my team with the right tools and frameworks to make a real difference in the way we communicate to our market..."

"...one of the most creative people I’ve had the pleasure to work with."

"...always pushing the limits, innovating, and doing it so fast that some people can’t even keep up."

"For clarity of purpose, clarity of content, and meaningful, creative marketing, I cannot recommend Zach Messler highly enough."

"I can't wait to see what he comes up with next!"

Zach Messler

A Friday Toast on a Wednesday?!
Yep! A solid prequel to Thanksgiving...
🤘👊💥🥃

Since this Friday I'll be visiting with family, it's a special edition this week!

What? You've never experienced the Friday Toast?!

Welcome!

The Friday Toast is a practice in gratitude that makes every week feel amazing.

Here's how to participate:

• Look back on your week.
• Find the people who stood out for good.
• Pour a glass of a beverage you really enjoy.

THEN

• Raise that glass high.
• Think of those awesome peeps.
• Take a sip of that drink you enjoy.
• BONUS: Share your toast with them...or the world!

That's it!

This week, I'm breaking from the traditional practice...

𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗜 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗬𝗢𝗨! (𝙔𝙚𝙨, 𝙮𝙤𝙪!!)

Whether this is your first time here, 
or you've experienced all 48 so far in 2025,
thanks for being a part of the OG Friday Toast.

I really appreciate all the support and engagement.

🤘👊💥😊

And HEY! If you're a tech founder (𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵-𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺) and wanna be part of a new Friday Toast tradition, shoot me a DM. 🤘👊💥👀

Friday Toast LIVE is coming in December.

(𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘐𝘕)

🤘👊💥🥃

This week I'm toasting with a new pour I just picked up for Thanksgiving.

Penelope Bourbon's Project X is an experimental release program with unique cask finishes and experimental mash bills.

This bottle is a single-barrel, barrel-strength rye (bottled at 114 proof) finished in a Canadian maple brûlée cask.

So yeah. It's sweet!

𝘖𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺, "𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘵!"

Definitely more of a dessert whiskey, this one oozes maple and caramel with a medium to long finish that brings out the higher proof rye's spiciness.

Super balanced between sweet and spicy for me!

Glad I bought this one...

🤘👊💥🥃

So? Who stood out in YOUR week (so far)?

Tag 'em.
Share why.
Let's raise our glasses...

TOGETHER!

Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

And to my friends in Europe, Canada, and elsewhere...

Have an awesome Thursday!

#BOOMshockalocka 
🤘👊💥😎

#FridayToast

Zach Messler 🤘👊💥😎

Your killer message is buried in years of thinking. Let’s find the spark. | Message Clarity for Tech Founders | “...the kind of partner who helps you think.” | #BOOMshockalocka

I’ve held 98% of my founder convos over Zoom this year.
 
Yesterday changed that.
 
And now I can say with full confidence...

In-person is better.

🤘👊💥😎
 
I block off Wednesdays to connect with smart people.

If you're a tech founder near DC, Baltimore, or even Philly...
 
Let's grab coffee, lunch, or hell...even a whiskey on a Wednesday.

No agenda. Just real talk and shared wisdom.
 
You game?
 
DM me or comment to set one up. 👇
 
🤘👊💥😎
 
SO AWESOME seeing you yesterday, Seth Kessler!

You got a killer company and great energy, my dude! 

Here's to the next round...

#BOOMshockalocka 
🤘👊💥😎

New headline...
Who dis?

#BOOMshockalocka 
🤘👊💥😎

Before they buy what you’re selling...
They gotta buy something else first.
(𝘈𝘯𝘥,𝘮 𝘯𝘰. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪.)
 
𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗡𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗕𝗨𝗬𝗦 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗩𝗘𝗦 𝗔 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗠.
 
Don’t fully agree? Let’s test it.
 
Not every purchase looks like ti addresses a problem...but it does.

You just gotta know what to look for:
 
𝗔 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹
𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗠𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗞: This is not a problem.
𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗠: I can’t show up empty-handed.

 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶 𝟮𝟵𝟲 𝗚𝗧𝗦 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗲
𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗠𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗞: I don't need a Ferrari to get from here to there.
𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗠: I don’t feel even CLOSE to as as cool as I would driving that thing. 👇


𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸
𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗠𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗞: We need a quick tune-up before our next release.
𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗠: I'm the founder. Why is messaging and narratives such a blocker for me?

 
Old-school? Maybe.
 
Still effective? Absolutely.
 
𝗦𝗼...𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀?

Share below!

𝘩/𝘵 𝘵𝘰 Eve Horne 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵) 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺.

#BOOMshockalocka 
🤘👊💥😎

taplio

The Battle

James Gilbert 🙏🏻

Zach Messler

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreJames Gilbert 🙏🏻's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreZach Messler's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

James Gilbert 🙏🏻

Zach Messler

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}James Gilbert 🙏🏻's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreZach Messler's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJames Gilbert 🙏🏻's LinkedIn Performance