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David Boston
Founder of Exit Five and former CMO
David Gerhardt is the founder of Exit Five, a prominent community and resource platform dedicated to B2B marketing professionals. He has a notable background in marketing, having previously served as the Chief Brand Officer at Drift, a company that achieved a valuation of over $1 billion, and as the Chief Marketing Officer at Privy, which was acquired for nine figures.
Career Highlights
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Founder of Exit Five: Launched in November 2019, Exit Five has grown to become a leading community for B2B marketers, offering resources such as a podcast, job board, newsletter, and a membership base of over 3,500 professionals. The community focuses on sharing insights, strategies, and support among marketers to enhance their careers and skills.12
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Previous Roles:
- Drift: Gerhardt played a crucial role in marketing strategies that contributed to Drift's rapid growth and market presence. He joined as a Senior Marketing Manager and was promoted to Director of Marketing and then to VP of Marketing during his tenure.12
- Privy: As CMO, he was instrumental in the company's marketing efforts leading to its successful acquisition.1
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Author and Speaker: Gerhardt authored the book Founder Brand, which became an Amazon bestseller in marketing shortly after its release in 2022. He is also a sought-after speaker, having lectured at institutions like Harvard Business School and participated in various industry events.123
Community and Media Initiatives
Exit Five started as the Dave Gerhardt Marketing Group (DGMG) and has transformed into a comprehensive platform that not only shares marketing knowledge but also fosters a supportive community for B2B marketers. The platform includes articles, videos, templates, and a podcast that features discussions with industry leaders on various aspects of B2B marketing.14
Gerhardt's influence in the marketing community is significant, with a strong following across social media platforms, where he shares insights and engages with fellow marketers.25
Highlights
I feel seen. https://t.co/JfYiA18M7F
A year ago I was toiling away on my business solo.
Today we have a team of five. We have playbooks, standard operation procedures, systems, reporting, plans, meetings and company routines. It's December 19 and we've sold out sponsorship inventory for the first half of 2025 with a real sales operation.
We turned my little Patreon sharing marketing lessons into a full blown company.
We doubled our email list. We doubled our community membership. Website traffic is up a bazillion times. We're doing four in-person events in 2025 and there's already dates and deadlines for the whole year.
I've met people from around the world (not hyperbole; people from Chicago to Denmark to India to Tel Aviv) that said our little marketing community has helped change the trajectory of their career (and as it turns out, humans put a lot of stock/weight into their careers so it becomes this deeply personal thing, even though it's "just marketing bro...")
This is the time of year that brings on a lot of reflection. On life. On career. On work (which is a big part of your life). If you're on the fence between sticking with what you've been doing and going for it in 2025, I think you should just take a big deep breath and go for it. Even if Exit Five crashes and burns, I have already gotten SO much in return in ROI. The learnings from this year alone I can take with me forever for whatever happens from here.
Maybe it's time to make that side thing the main thing in 2025.