Don't Feed The Algorithm: Issue 012

🐊 Editor's Note

Hey there,

Welcome back to another Don’t Feed The Algorithm, your weekly dispatch from Averi — where we explore the intersections of marketing, AI and the future of work.

Look… we didn’t set out to win culture awards.

We just set out to build a company that didn’t make people miserable.

No Slack pings at midnight. No glamorizing 80-hour weeks. No celebrating burnout as a badge of honor.

And guess what? It worked.

This week, we’re sharing how anti-’hustle’ became a core part of our marketing system—and why it landed us on Inc.’s Best Workplaces list. We’re also diving into how to build teams without full-time hires and the best freelance platforms for finding modern marketers in 2025.

Because marketing doesn’t have to f’n hurt.

Let’s build.

— ZC & The Averi Team

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📝 The Good Sh*t

How Building Anti-'Hustle' Culture Landed Us on Inc.'s Best Workplaces List

We'll be real with you: we almost didn't apply for Inc.'s Best Workplaces award.

Not because we don't think Averi is a great place to work, our team would probably stage a revolt if we said that, but because most "Best Places to Work" lists feel like a marketing ploy. Companies gaming metrics, optimizing for survey responses, treating workplace culture like another marketing campaign to win.

That's not us. That's not how we build.

1. How to Build a Marketing Team Without Hiring Full-Time→ Read online

2. The Top Freelance Platforms for Marketing in 2025 → Read online

🔥 In Case You Missed It…

• Europe is playing defense on AI. At a recent conference in Stuttgart, Bosch CEO Stefan Hartung warned that overregulation could “kill innovation,” even as Bosch announced a €2.5 billion investment in AI through 2027.

• Drone warfare just leveled up. Both Ukraine and Russia are now deploying AI-powered autonomous drone swarms, raising alarms about the ethics and legality of lethal, decision-making machines.

• Google’s grip on AI search is under fire. UK regulators are considering whether Google must open up its search engine to competitors due to concerns over its dominance with AI Overviews and Gemini-powered results.

• Apple eyes a bold AI acquisition. After lagging in AI innovation and watching its stock dip, Apple is reportedly exploring the acquisition of Perplexity AI to supercharge its chatbot and ads ecosystem.

• China’s Zhipu is expanding fast. According to OpenAI’s latest findings, Chinese competitor Zhipu is rapidly gaining ground in Asia and Africa—raising new questions about geopolitical influence in foundational AI.

• Layoffs rise as AI ramps up. Microsoft and Amazon both announced sweeping layoffs—despite record AI investments. The message? AI growth doesn’t mean job security.

📺 The Algorithm Could Never

Guinness – “Surfer” (1999)

Not a sales pitch. A visceral experience.

This legendary ad opens with tense, black‑and‑white waves and surfers waiting for the perfect beast. As it hits, horses emerge from the water—an unexpected metaphor for conquering challenges.

Why We Love It:

• Aesthetic poetry over persuasion. No bullet points, no CTAs—just form, sound, and raw mood.

• Metaphor that moves. The horses aren’t literal—they’re emotional. They channel the struggle and elation of success.

• Perfect execution. Jonathan Glazer’s direction turned a pint into a pulse—earned Cannes Lions, Clios, and cult status

It’s the kind of storytelling AI can’t replicate—because it isn’t an algorithm or a script.

🗓️ Make Friends

• RADAR AI Edition (Online) | Online | June 26 | → Register

• Tech Weekend June 2025 | San Francisco, CA | June 26–28 | → Register

• VIATEC AI Meetup | Victoria, BC | June 26 | → Register

• Investor-Ready: Funders & Founders Dinner | Atlanta, GA | June 27 | → Register

• MLH AI Roadshow: NYC | New York, NY | June 27 | → Register

🦄 Averi Stories & Startup Spotlight

Clueso: The AI-Powered Toolturning Screen Demos into Standout Docs & Videos

Clueso is streamlining product storytelling—automatically turning screen recordings into polished how‑to videos and step‑by‑step documentation. Think of it as the content shortcut every product or customer team has been waiting for.

The Backstory: Launched out of Y Combinator in early 2023 by IIT-Madras alums, Clueso solved a familiar pain: recording a demo is easy, but turning it into publish-ready documentation? That’s a different story. After raising a $1.4 M seed round, the team built a no-code tool that turns friction into feature  .

Key Innovation: With just a screen capture, Clueso auto-generates clean, branded videos—with zooms, callouts, captions, voice‑over—plus matching text documentation. It’s built for teams who want to move fast and stay sharp.

💡Ask Averi

AI + Human Marketing Tip

Strategy You Can Steal

The “Layered Launch” Playbook

Instead of one big drop, structure your campaign rollout like a 3-act story:

1. The Tease – Use creator whispers, moodboard posts, or behind-the-scenes build-up

2. The Reveal – Drop the main campaign with a bold CTA (paired with Averi-led email + paid)

3. The Echo – Let users carry it forward—share their takes, UGC, follow-up explainer content

It builds intrigue. Extends shelf life. And keeps people leaning in instead of scrolling past.

— Averi

This Week’s Prompt Highlight

“Imagine our brand as a bar. Describe the interior, the music, the crowd, and what someone orders when they walk in. Then turn that into a homepage headline and CTA.”

This founder wasn’t just building a product.

They were building a place people want to hang out.

Averi came back with a whole vibe—and a brand voice that actually meant something.

Test your own creative limits with Averi 👉

🏆 Expert of the Week

💼 Don’t Let AI Replace You

• ServiceNow

  Position: Senior Machine Learning Engineer

  Location: Remote / Santa Clara, CA

  Details: Develop AI/ML solutions to transform enterprise workflows—enabling non-technical users to harness intelligent services. → Apply here

• EvenUp

  Position: Early-Career Machine Learning Engineer

  Location: USA (Remote)

  Details: Dive into AI R&D, working on NLP and generative model features for their Piai claims-intelligence platform. Great for early-career candidates. → Apply here

• Lily AI

  Position: Staff Machine Learning Engineer

  Location: Remote (USA)

  Details: Design scalable ML systems to improve e-commerce personalization and search via computer vision and generative AI. → Apply here

• Typeface

  Position: Marketing Operations Manager

  Location: Seattle, WA

  Details: Typeface is seeking a marketing ops pro to own their martech stack, drive campaign performance, and connect analytics with execution. A hands-on role inside a fast-scaling AI-first startup. → Apply here

• Care Access

  Position: AI-Driven Marketing Operations Analyst

  Location: Remote (USA)

  Details: Care Access is looking for a Marketing Ops Analyst to build AI-automated workflows, optimize outreach, and scale performance across channels—bringing AI into the heart of healthcare marketing. → Apply here

• Abridge

  Position: Marketing Operations Manager

  Location: New York, NY

  Details: Abridge is hiring a Marketing Ops Manager to build campaign infrastructure, support analytics, and streamline execution across their AI health communications platform. → Apply here

Did You Know? — 70% of marketers say brand consistency is more important than ever in the age of AI-generated content. But only 24% have clear internal guidelines to maintain it across teams and tools.

Til next time,

DFTA

If this hits home, we’d love it if you shared it. Send it to a friend, a teammate, or that one person who’s always drowning in a Google Doc.

We’re cooking up a referral program too—think exclusive perks, creative kits, and Averi swag. Stay tuned.