The Strategy and Leadership Podcast with Anthony C. Taylor

The Creator Economy Is Just Getting Started with Greg Selkoe of XSET
What happens when culture, gaming, media, and entrepreneurship converge?
In this episode of the Strategy & Leadership Podcast, Anthony Taylor speaks with Greg Selkoe, a serial entrepreneur who has spent his career building culture-driven companies at the intersection of media, commerce, and community.
Greg is the Co-Founder and CEO of XSET, a gaming lifestyle brand operating at the intersection of esports, content creation, music, fashion, and digital media. Prior to launching XSET, Greg founded Karmaloop, one of the earliest and most influential streetwear e-commerce platforms, which grew to more than $180 million in annual revenue, and later served as the first President and CEO of FaZe Clan, helping scale one of the most recognizable brands in gaming.
In this conversation, Anthony and Greg explore how the creator economy is reshaping modern business, why community has become the most valuable asset for brands, and how gaming culture has evolved into one of the largest entertainment ecosystems in the world.
They also discuss what traditional organizations can learn from creator-led brands, how companies can authentically reach younger audiences, and why the next generation of media companies will be built around people, personalities, and communities.
What You Will Learn in This Episode
Why community has become the foundation of modern business models
How the creator economy is transforming media, marketing, and brand building
What established companies misunderstand about Gen Z audiences
Strategic lessons from building Karmaloop, FaZe Clan, and XSET
Why personalities and creators increasingly drive brand growth
About Greg Selkoe
Greg Selkoe is a serial entrepreneur and culture-focused business leader.
He is the Co-Founder and CEO of XSET, a gaming lifestyle brand designed to bring together esports, creators, fashion, music, and digital media into a next-generation media platform. He previously founded Karmaloop, a pioneering streetwear platform that reached more than $180 million in annual revenue, and later served as President and CEO of FaZe Clan, helping scale one of the most recognized organizations in gaming.
Throughout his career, Greg has built companies centered on community, culture, and digital media innovation.
About the Strategy & Leadership Podcast
The Strategy & Leadership Podcast is hosted by Anthony Taylor, a strategic advisor who works with mid-market leadership teams ($30M–$300M) across North America.
For more than 15 years, Anthony has been in the room with leadership teams navigating growth, transitions, and the alignment challenges that come with scaling complex organizations.
On this show, he interviews CEOs, founders, and senior leaders about what actually works when strategy has to survive execution.
If you lead a team and want to get better at it, subscribe.
Strategy Resources for Leaders
Download the Strategic Alignment Toolkit
https://www.smestrategy.net/toolkit
Book a Strategic Alignment Review
https://www.smestrategy.net/contact
Learn more about SME Strategy
https://www.smestrategy.net
Connect with Anthony Taylor on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyctaylor
Produced by Rednyne Productions
https://www.rednyne.com

Many organizations focus heavily on strategy, but the real differentiator inside high-performing organizations is culture. While strategy sets direction, culture determines whether teams can collaborate, innovate, and execute consistently over time.
In this episode of the Strategy and Leadership Podcast, host Anthony C. Taylor sits down with Chris Deaver, culture architect, leadership coach, and co-author of Brave Together. Chris is the co-founder of BraveCore and has worked inside some of the world’s most innovative organizations, including Apple, Disney, VMware, and Roblox, helping leaders build cultures that enable creativity, trust, and sustained performance.
Chris shares why culture should be viewed as the operating system of strategy rather than a secondary initiative led by HR. Drawing from his experience working with leaders inside Apple and Disney, he explains how culture shapes decision-making, collaboration, and the ability of organizations to innovate under pressure.
Anthony and Chris explore how leaders can intentionally design culture to unlock the full potential of their teams. The conversation highlights why most organizations only access a fraction of their team’s potential energy, how fear limits creativity and performance, and why teams that learn to co-create often outperform groups of individual high performers.
The discussion also explores the future of leadership in a world shaped by AI and automation. Chris explains why technical expertise alone will not be enough for leaders and professionals going forward, and why the ability to collaborate, build trust, and create shared ownership will become a critical differentiator.
In this episode, you will learn:
Why culture should be treated as the operating system of strategy
How leaders can intentionally design cultures that unlock innovation
Why most organizations only tap into a small percentage of their team’s potential
How fear inside organizations limits creativity and performance
Why collaborative teams often outperform groups of individual high performers
How leaders can build cultures where people do the best work of their lives
Enroll in our strategic thinking training today for $0!
https://courses.smestrategy.net/courses/Strategic-Leadership-Toolkit
If you want your team’s execution to be smoother, faster, and easier, your team needs the right tools and coaching. Enroll in the Strategy Leadership Accelerator and level up your leadership team.
https://courses.smestrategy.net/courses/Leading-Strategy-Execution
Connect with Chris Deaver
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-deaver/
Website: https://www.bravecore.co
About the Host
Anthony Taylor is the CEO and Founder of SME Strategy and a trusted expert in organizational alignment and strategy execution. With more than 15 years of experience facilitating strategic planning sessions and helping leadership teams execute their strategies, Anthony works with organizations around the world to build clarity, alignment, and accountability.
Connect with Anthony:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyctaylor604/
About SME Strategy
SME Strategy is a management consulting firm specializing in strategic planning and implementation. They help organizations align their teams around a shared vision so they can focus on what truly drives results.
Learn more: https://www.smestrategy.net
Podcast produced by:
https://www.rednyne.com

Applying AI Responsibly Without Overengineering or Chasing Hype with Daniel Hindi, CEO of NOEM.ai
Many organizations are rushing to adopt artificial intelligence, but leaders often struggle with where to start and how to apply it responsibly. While AI promises efficiency and automation, the real challenge is using it strategically without overengineering systems, chasing hype, or creating unnecessary fear within teams.
In this episode of the Strategy and Leadership Podcast, host Anthony C. Taylor sits down with Daniel Hindi, CEO of NOEM.ai, founder, software engineer, and operator with more than 25 years of experience building SaaS companies and leading technology innovation. Daniel has founded multiple companies and achieved several successful exits, giving him a practical perspective on how emerging technologies should be integrated into real organizations.
Daniel shares how leaders can approach AI adoption in a thoughtful and strategic way. Rather than starting with tools, he explains why organizations should begin with the problems they are trying to solve. The conversation explores how AI can eliminate repetitive, shallow work, improve communication inside organizations, and help teams reconnect with the deeper purpose behind their roles.
Anthony and Daniel also discuss why fear is often the first barrier to AI adoption, how prompt engineering reflects leadership communication, and how businesses can deploy AI in practical ways that improve customer support, lead conversion, and operational efficiency.
The discussion highlights a key leadership insight: AI is most powerful when it enhances human work rather than replacing it. When implemented well, it removes low-value tasks and allows teams to focus on deeper thinking, better decisions, and stronger customer outcomes.
In this episode, you will learn:
Why many organizations approach AI adoption the wrong way
How leaders can reduce fear and resistance when introducing AI tools
Why removing shallow work helps teams reconnect with meaningful work
How prompt engineering reflects leadership clarity and communication
Practical examples of using AI to improve customer support and lead conversion
Why responsible AI implementation begins with solving real business problems
Enroll in our strategic thinking training today for $0!
https://courses.smestrategy.net/courses/Strategic-Leadership-Toolkit
If you want your team’s execution to be smoother, faster, and easier, your team needs the right tools and coaching. Enroll in the Strategy Leadership Accelerator and level up your leadership team.
https://courses.smestrategy.net/courses/Leading-Strategy-Execution
Connect with Daniel Hindi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielhindi/
Website: https://noem.ai
About the Host
Anthony Taylor is the CEO and Founder of SME Strategy and a trusted expert in organizational alignment and strategy execution. With more than 15 years of experience facilitating strategic planning sessions and helping leadership teams execute their strategies, Anthony works with organizations around the world to build clarity, alignment, and accountability.
Connect with Anthony:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyctaylor604/
About SME Strategy
SME Strategy is a management consulting firm specializing in strategic planning and implementation. They help organizations align their teams around a shared vision so they can focus on what truly drives results.
Learn more: https://www.smestrategy.net
Podcast produced by:
https://www.rednyne.com

Most leaders believe success comes from better tools, better strategies, or better tactics. But under real pressure, those things rarely determine the outcome. What actually matters is the operator behind them—and whether they can stay focused, disciplined, and effective when conditions aren’t ideal.
In this episode of the Strategy and Leadership Podcast, host Anthony Taylor sits down with Simon Jeffries, former UK Special Forces operator, Royal Marines Commando, and founder of The Natural Edge. After completing Special Forces selection and serving three combat tours, Simon transitioned into entrepreneurship and performance coaching, where he now works with founders and senior leaders to build the capacity to perform consistently under pressure.
Simon shares the key lessons he learned moving from elite military environments into the world of business. While many entrepreneurs focus on tactics, productivity hacks, or motivation, Simon explains that elite performers train something different: performance itself. Without systems for focus, discipline, and emotional control, leaders often fall into boom-bust cycles where short bursts of effort are followed by burnout, distraction, or inconsistency.
The conversation explores how high-performing environments like Special Forces and professional sports deliberately train performance capacity, while most organizations expect people to simply show up and perform without that preparation. Simon breaks down the three pillars of performance—hardware, software, and habits—and explains how leaders can build systems that make high performance repeatable rather than dependent on motivation.
Anthony and Simon also discuss the role of environment in shaping performance, the importance of reducing friction in decision-making, and why preparation and structure allow leaders to stay calm and effective even when pressure increases.
The episode closes with a simple challenge for listeners: choose one habit in your physical health, one mindset practice, and one structural routine—and test them consistently for seven days to see how much your performance improves.

Enroll in our strategic thinking training today for $0!
https://courses.smestrategy.net/courses/Strategic-Leadership-Toolkit
If you want your team’s execution to be smoother, faster, and easier, your team needs the right tools and coaching. Enroll in the Strategy Leadership Accelerator and level up your leadership team.
https://courses.smestrategy.net/courses/Leading-Strategy-Execution

In this episode, you will learn:
How elite environments train performance instead of relying on motivation
Why entrepreneurs often fall into boom-bust cycles under pressure
The three pillars of performance: hardware, software, and habits
How leaders can build systems that make success the path of least resistance
Why environment and structure matter more than willpower
How small daily habits compound into consistent high performance

Connect with Simon Jeffries
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonjeffries
Website: https://thenaturaledge.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenaturaledge

About the Host
Anthony Taylor is the CEO and Founder of SME Strategy and a trusted expert in organizational alignment and strategy execution. With over 15 years of experience facilitating strategic planning and leadership development, he helps organizations align their people, accelerate execution, and achieve their biggest goals.
Connect with Anthony: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyctaylor604

About SME Strategy
SME Strategy is a management consulting firm specializing in strategic planning and implementation. We help organizations align their teams around a shared vision so they can focus on what truly drives results.
Learn more: https://www.smestrategy.net
Podcast produced by: https://www.rednyne.com

For many entrepreneurs, growth means hiring more people, increasing revenue, and expanding into new markets. But what if there were another path to scaling—one that uses capital markets, partnerships, and strategic acquisitions to grow faster and more efficiently?
In this episode of the Strategy and Leadership Podcast, host Anthony Taylor sits down with Callum Laing, partner at Unity Group, investor, entrepreneur, and M&A practitioner who has been involved in more than 100 transactions and helped create over $500 million in shareholder value. Callum specializes in helping ambitious entrepreneurs use the capital markets to scale their companies and unlock new opportunities for growth.
Callum explains how small and mid-sized companies can think differently about scaling by leveraging public markets, partnerships, and acquisition strategies rather than relying solely on organic growth. Drawing on decades of experience working with entrepreneurs, investors, and boards, he shares how capital structures and strategic positioning can unlock growth opportunities that many business leaders overlook.
The conversation explores Callum’s work building and leading MBH Corporation PLC, a publicly listed holding company designed to help profitable small businesses scale through an agglomeration model. Instead of forcing companies to merge operations, the model allows independent businesses to retain their identity while benefiting from shared resources, capital access, and strategic alignment.
Anthony and Callum discuss the realities of mergers and acquisitions, the common mistakes leaders make when approaching deals, and why ego and impatience often undermine successful partnerships. Callum also shares why entrepreneurs must think differently when operating in capital markets, and how the strategic “game” changes once businesses move from private ownership to public market environments.
The episode closes with a powerful insight for leaders: scaling a company isn’t only about growing bigger—it’s about building the right structures, partnerships, and strategy that allow businesses to create long-term value.
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Enroll here:
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In this episode, you will learn:
How small businesses can use capital markets to accelerate growth

Why mergers and acquisitions can be powerful tools for scaling companies

How the agglomeration model allows businesses to grow without losing independence

The strategic differences between running a private company and operating in public markets

Why patience and alignment matter more than speed when structuring M&A deals

How entrepreneurs can think differently about partnerships, capital, and long-term value creation

Connect with Callum Laing
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/callumlaing/
Unity Group: https://www.unity-group.com/
Website: https://www.callumlaing.com/
About the Host
Anthony Taylor is the CEO and Founder of SME Strategy and a trusted expert in organizational alignment and strategy execution. With over 15 years of experience facilitating strategic planning and leadership development, he helps organizations align their people, accelerate execution, and achieve their biggest goals.
Connect with Anthony: linkedin.com/in/anthonyctaylor604
About SME Strategy
SME Strategy is a management consulting firm specializing in strategic planning and implementation. We help organizations align their teams around a shared vision so they can focus on what truly drives results.
Learn more: www.smestrategy.net
Podcast produced by: www.rednyne.com