My name is Mario. Last name Johnson. I kid. Last name Schulzke.
I started IdeaMensch to share 8,000+ founder stories, cut my teeth in advertising running big-brand campaigns up and down the West Coast, spent a decade as a CMO, and now am the COO at Pathlabs, while teaching marketing at the University of Montana.
I am an immigrant (indigenous German), a grandson of refugees, a (slow)Ironman, and a Costco Exec member. My life mates are a curly-haired wife, a kid who won't nap, an overly affectionate cat named Walter, and a vindictive, long-haired wiener dog.
Minimum Viable
In marketing, "minimum viable audience" means serving the smallest group of people who truly need what you offer. It's efficient, effective, and deeply human — because you’re solving a real problem for people you understand. But what if we applied that same thinking to other areas
Once
Most of us have a million things running through our minds at any given time. It’s certainly the case with me, though it has improved somewhat with age. Or maybe that’s just my brain slowing down—which isn’t necessarily wonderful in other regards. Whatever happens in our
Aspens
At our cabin, Carlyn and I love sitting on the deck and watching the quaking aspens, their leaves shimmering and dancing in the wind. If it wasn't for the whining dog and screaming child, we could do it for hours. The thing about aspens is that they don’
Trust Battery
Think of trust like a battery. When you start a new job, that battery shouldn’t be empty or full — it should be somewhere in the middle. Enough juice to give you a fair chance to prove yourself, but not so much that anyone’s betting the company on day
Systems
Systems are everywhere. Your job is a system. Your house is a system. Your car, your company, your investments—systems. I’m German. Systems are our love language. But here’s the thing: if you don’t manage them, systems turn into headaches, heartaches, and liabilities in no time. At
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