Learn the System
From AI confusion to marketing precision in four simple steps
Ever wonder how top growth hackers build campaigns so quickly? Our Substack teaches you the exact four-step method that we developed and refined through years of GTM engineering. While others struggle with each AI update, we keep improving these techniques and share them in a clear system that anyone can use.
What You'll Get
- Weekly live videos showing how to build real campaigns from scratch
- Clear lessons on using AI for better marketing
- Access to our collection of tested AI prompts
Community Benefits
- Weekly Q&A time with marketing experts
- Useful data about what works in different markets
- Join forward-thinking marketers who use AI to enhance ideas, not replace them
Whether you're a tech expert or marketing leader, our GTM engineer and growth hacker disciples use these strategies right away and see better campaign results. Join the group that's changing what's possible with AI-powered marketing.
The Latest From our Substack
June 11th, 2025
Jon Miller, co-founder of Marketo, one of the most respected voices in B2B marketing, dropped what we're calling the "attribution extinction event." In a single LinkedIn post, he declared attribution "BS" and dismantled the fundamental assumptions that an entire industry built its promises on.
This wasn't just another hot take. This was a category killer.
When someone with Miller's credibility (29,000+ LinkedIn followers, three successful exits, board positions) publishes a detailed takedown of attribution, every CEO who read it immediately started questioning their marketing tech spend. We predict that within six months, any CMO currently evaluating attribution platforms will face serious scrutiny from leadership who saw Miller's post.
The dinosaurs just got their meteor.
June 2nd, 2025
This June 2025 edition introduces a revolutionary shift from demographic theater to existential reality. We're retiring the traditional ICP approach (don't worry, it's living happily on a farm upstate with all those childhood pets) and replacing it with a methodology that identifies and targets genuine customer pain through Existential Data Points.
What's New in This Edition
Three Game-Changing Prompts:
- SaaS Category Market Analysis - Deep market research for EDP discovery
- Existential Data Point Analysis Framework - Transform research into actionable pain insights
- Pain-Based Segment Evaluator - Quantify and score segment viability
Methodology Evolution:
- Complete shift from ICP demographics to pain-based segmentation
- Introduction of Existential Data Points as the core targeting mechanism
- Data-driven approach to identifying segments that convert
April 3rd, 2025
The Future of Outbound Isn't Dead - It's Just Getting Smarter
Let me paint you a picture.
You're scrolling LinkedIn (because of course you are), and another growth guru with perfect teeth and a ring light is declaring the death of outbound sales. "Cold email is dead!" they proclaim. "The future is community-led growth and authentic relationships!"
Meanwhile, across town, one of Jordan’s clients just booked a meeting with their dream prospect using a cold email. Not just any meeting, a "holy shit, how did you know exactly what keeps me up at night?" kind of meeting.
Here's what the LinkedIn gurus aren't telling you: Outbound isn't dead. Shitty outbound is dead.
And thank God for that.
What our Subscribers Say
Thanks, Chris.
You Rock.
BTW, both Jordan and I believe you should speak to our significant others (Jordan has a robot girlfriend, not that there's anything wrong with that…), especially the bit about expertise…
Either way, thanks for being a subscriber.
Keep Hacking!
Doug & Jordan
Thanks 'new pledged subscriber' (Mom, is that you?)!
We all love Jordan - except his Robot Girlfriend. I hacked it. It now spits soup on him every time he uses Super Whisper.
Keep Hacking!
Doug & Jordan
Thanks, Drew!
Our goal is to keep the free stuff flowing.
You'll always be able to find the last three livestreams on Substack along with the Cannonball prompt library, and hot takes for whenever we learn cool stuff during the show.
You know, AI stuff.
Speaking of AI stuff, Jordan has a ROBOT GIRLFRIEND.
Keep Hacking!
Doug & Jordan
Nilesh! What is up?! Thanks for the love.
If you have any feedback, especially about Jordan or anything Jordan does or says, please, let me…I mean US, know.
Doug & Jordan
That's triggering Roland, thanks.
Did you know 'Mr. Great Guy' still owes me $36 for lunch the other day!?!
Um, like, hello, it's called Venmo. How hard is it to drag your lazy-assed fingers over to your phone and type in THIRTY SIX DOLLARS?
Doug
Thank you, Kat!
BTW, you had a bit of a typo there. You made 'most' plural.
No big deal. Really. Happens all the time.
Like, ALL THE TIME!
Speaking of which, did you know that DOUG (aka "Mr. Great Marketing Mind") misspelled Cannonball on our LinkedIn Page?! HE SPELLED IT 'CANNOBALL'! Yup. No 'n'. One of our fans figured it out. Hold my La Croix, because this is FCKING EMBARRASSING.*
I had to cover for him, obviously. Told everyone "The Cannonball is so fast you don't even see the 'n' as it flies by." Total BS but what else could I do?
BTW - watch my latest video on "7 ways Doug has nearly crashed the Cannonball" before I take it down in 24 HOURS ONLY. To get access just comment with your favorite AI model (and if you say Claude I will KNOW you're a robot).
Jordan
If people don't know Leo, he's a gifted growth hacker from Venezuela and founder of the Mexico City Clay Club, and, a favorite of ours.
Leo has initiated the PVP library for our Substack members which we'll be sharing later this spring.
Leo, full disclosure, Jordan and I ONLY know how to copy and paste. We just happened to discover AI and suddenly, we're masters because we have somewhere to paste.
Keep Hacking Brotaterchip,
Doug and Jordan
NO, you ROCK Giedrius. Thanks for being a subscriber and thank you for having the best mustache in the Cannonball GTM community (sorry Youssef, you still have the best beard, worry not). We're not kidding folks, this thing needs it's own name, it is spectacular.
BTW Giedrius - Mustache May is coming up and you've already won.
Keep Hacking
Doug and Jordan
Cannonball GTM Livestream Season 2: Four Formats, Zero Fluff, All Action
See marketing mayhem every Friday at 9am PST on LinkedIn
Season 2 has landed with a SPLASH! We've sliced our episodes to a palatable 60 minutes because let's face it—who has the attention span for more? Choose your marketing adventure: Brand Blitzes where we dissect FOUR companies faster than Jordan can interrupt Doug, Battle of the Brands showdowns that'll make you question everything you thought you knew about messaging, Clay Day deployments where Jordan flexes his Clay.com wizardry (humble brag, he's kind of a big deal), or Vertical Voyages where we cram an entire marketing strategy into one hour and still have time for dad jokes. Same Cannonball magic, just packaged for humans with actual lives.
The Season 2 Lineup (aka Marketing Madness Through June)
We've mapped out 12 glorious episodes of marketing chaos—each one guaranteed to make your current playbook look like it was written by cavemen. Pick your poison based on your marketing kink, or just show up for the unexpected tangents and occasional dad jokes (we make no promises about which of us will deliver them).
Brand Blitz: Finding Pain-Based Segments for 4 Vertical SaaS Brands from Legal Services
Watch our livestream where we battle AI to identify high-converting pain segments for legal tech companies—proving that even when tech fails (hello, StreamYard issues), the methodology prevails.
Battle of the Brands: Narrative Showdown for 2 vertical SaaS Brands from Legal Services
Doug and Jordan went toe-to-toe on the Battle of the Brands to see who could deliver the best PVP for DISCO and Evisort. The result? A tie (though Doug cheated, a lot).
Clay Day: Strategic Deployment
After summarizing the Focus, Investigate, and Narrate steps of our methodology, we dedicated an entire hour to Clay.com deployment strategies for two vertical SaaS brands. Note: paid annual subscribes only.
Vertical Voyage: SaaS Discovery Hour
We took viewers through the complete methodology for two vertical SaaS brands except without the FIND bit….intrigued? We're unveiled the simple, two step Cannonball 2.0, don't miss it!
Category Rodeo: Mapping a Pain-Based Category in One Hour
Watch as we map the EHR and Practice Management Category.
Clay Day: Strategic Deployment with Jeremy Ross
Watch as Jeremy and Jordan explore self-improving AI and an example of wave 1 MCP servers.
AI Agents in the Enterprise with David Boscovic
Watch how Flatfile turned the Cannonball GTM methodology into a $50-per-vertical AI system that discovers existential pain points across hundreds of markets simultaneously, proving that systematic pain-based segmentation isn't just theory anymore.
OG Cannonball with Numeo
We mapped the transportation and logistics technology sector and performed an end-to-end Cannonball for Numeo.ai, an AI-powered dispatch automation platform that handles broker calls, negotiates freight rates, and secures loads for trucking carriers and dispatchers.
The Clinical Trial Approach to Message-Market Fit with Kellen Casebeer
We explored Kellen's Market → Segment → Persona → Angle methodology for horizontal SaaS, proving that systematic message-to-market fit testing can create the same precision for broad markets that our pain-based approach delivers for vertical plays.
Shovels MCP Server: Programmatic Pain Point Discovery
Friday, June 13th | 9 am PST
Watch Jordan deploy the Shovels database via MCP server in Clay to demonstrate programmatic PVP (pain-based value propositions) for 1,800 construction industry prospects from the International Builders Show—proving that systematic pain discovery can scale beyond manual research to deliver personalized insights for every company in your target market.
- June 20: OG Cannonball: One Brand in One Hour, from Soup to Nuts
- June 27: Clay Day: Strategic Deployment
Explore Our Livestream Archives
Success leaves clues (and we're terrible at hiding the evidence)
Miss our MVP season? No worries—we've left a trail of marketing brilliance you can binge-watch like that show you pretend not to love. Season 1 features us fumbling through the FIND framework with various unsuspecting businesses, making surprising discoveries, and occasionally striking marketing gold. Consider it your master class in "what to do" and sometimes "what definitely not to do" across industries that had no idea what they were in for.
Check out this masterclass in defining ICP and discovering pain-based segments.
