đŸ‘‰đŸ» SUM NEWS: 6.26.25

You don’t need a rosĂ©-soaked panel in Cannes to know what really moves the needle for startup marketing. You’ve got us. This week, we’re serving up scrappy brand-building, mobile musts, growth channels that deliver, and a beer-fueled sprint model worth stealing.

IN THIS ISSUE

  • đŸ”„ From The Ink Well

  • 🎧 SUM Podcast Network

  • 🌎 Around the Web: Influencer Budgets, AI Prompts & Mobile Tips

  • ✍ SUM Poll

  • 📌 SUM Community Events

  • 😂 In the Meme Time

FROM THE INK WELL

How a First-Time Founder Bootstrapped a Trusted Brand

Nathalie Pramanik—former marketing exec and founder of Little Chompions—shares how she built a brand that’s earning trust from working parents without flashy budgets or inflated promises.

Interested in sharing your POV? Submit your pitch to get published in The Ink Well.

SUM PODCAST NETWORK

Brilliantly Wrong

What do most startup partnerships get wrong?

Tim Condon, CRO at Clutch, joins the show to share a no-BS look at how partnerships scale, where they stall, and what it means to create something truly valuable in B2B.

SUM Disruptors Podcast

In the latest episode, Dana Hork, founder and CEO of Beers with Friends, shares how her experience at Jet.com, Walmart, and Wonder inspired her to create a new agency model: five-day “beer run” sprints that deliver fast, focused creative without the traditional agency drag.

AROUND THE WEB

  • US brands are expected to spend $13.B billion on influencer marketing by 2027, up from $10.5 billion this year, eMarketer reports.

  • Check out 30 of the best AI prompts for better communications work. Real prompts from real people doing the work every day.

  • Instagram is rolling out the ability to upload Reels up to 20 minutes long.

  • With 91% of Americans on smartphones and average users spending 4+ hours a day on them, a strong mobile strategy—encompassing apps, SMS, social, and mobile-optimized sites—is essential. This guide shares 8 tips to help marketers define goals, engage users, and optimize for long-term growth.

  • Remember BeReal? The once-viral app is plotting a comeback with new features, campus ambassadors, and a fresh push to bring realness (and users) back to social media.

SUM POLL

What’s the #1 channel driving growth for your startup right now?

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SUM COMMUNITY EVENTS

These events are exclusively available to SUM members. Not a member? Join now.

How to Lead Through PR & Comms in Chaotic Times

Expert Session: Mastering AEO & GEO for Startup Success

IN THE MEME TIME