My name is Mario. Last name Johnson. I kid. Last name Schulzke.
My life's work is getting more people to start things. IdeaMensch was the first swing at that—8,000+ founder stories later, I'm still at it. I cut my teeth in advertising, running big-brand campaigns up and down the West Coast, spent a decade as a CMO, and now serve as COO at Pathlabs while teaching marketing at the University of Montana.
I'm 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.
Walking
When my grandma died, my grandfather decided his house was too big for just himself. Now in his 80s, he found an apartment in a completely different town - not where he'd lived for decades, not where his son lived. When I asked him why, he said he&
Reps
You need volume first, then you optimize. Too many people try to optimize before there’s anything worth optimizing. They tweak systems, tools, and routines when the real issue is simple: not enough reps. When I needed to pay for college, there was nothing to negotiate. I cleaned toilets. That
Vinyl
Last year, I somehow got into vinyl, which is odd because I don’t really like music that much. I still don’t really like music that much, especially since I don’t understand the lyrics of most English songs anyway. Half the time, I’m just nodding along, pretending.
Books of 25
Many of you read this site exclusively via email. That’s totally fine. Beats the fax subscribers. But you might have missed the book page I launched, where I listed all the books I read in 2025. I’ll be doing the same kind of recap this year—hopefully surpassing
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
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