You don't need more content. You need a better premise. You're smart enough. You’re expert enough. But your IP isn't strong enough. I help you find and own a Big Idea, fueling stronger positioning, speaking, and storytelling, so you can grow from yet-another expert into their favorite voice. Build your business on the impact of your ideas, not the volume of your marketing.
When you matter more, you can hustle for attention less.
I communicate like an Analyst 📊 I have deep expertise but struggle to resonate emotionally and create passionate fans.
(For clients like you, I make your ideas meaningful, moving, and memorable.)
I communicate like an Evangelist 💥 I have big, creative ideas but struggle to focus them and help others adopt them.
(For clients like you, I make your ideas crisp, clear, and concrete.)
I help you dig down to the root of your thinking, articulate what you’re really trying to say to the world in ways that connect, and then embody that idea through messaging, speaking, and public evangelism of your ideas.
Clarity, captured on camera: an online training company CEO, a Fortune 100 SVP-turned-author, a marketing consultant, and a career coach when things finally click.
“The mark of a true expert is someone who can understand how to meld best practices with what is right for you. That’s who Jay is and what he delivered. He’s just that good. He knows what will work and how to make it work for you. Hire Jay. He gets it, and he’s worth it.”
—Michelle Warner (business designer and strategist)
❌ I don’t push one simple system. It’s your business, your ideas, your platform — your voice.
✅ My job is to get the best version of you out there, consistently.
To do so, I take a framework-forward approach to supporting you and developing the work with you as your peer-level advisor, executive producer (and YOU are the talent), and strategic collaborator.
Your premise, shared as a core narrative argument, is why others pick you, stick with you, and refer you.
Your premise is the big idea you explore and own. It’s the perspective you defend, the change you ask others to embrace.
Your premise helps you clarify your choices and strengthen your reputation, making it easier to…
differentiate your message
create consistently high-impact content
craft signature stories, frameworks, and even sellable offers
deliver memorable speeches, guest appearances, and thought leadership
In a world obsessed with empty reach, when you learn to resonate, you don’t have to care about followers. You earn real influence, and reaching the right people gets easier—even when you’re not in the room.
*Michelle and Tucker are clients, Sally and James are great examples, and please someone introduce me to John.
Different is better than better.
—Sally Hogshead
Resonance over reach.
—Jay Acunzo (oh hey, that’s me!)
You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
—James Clear
You don’t need a strategy. You need a sequence.
—Michelle Warner
The keys to innovation are held by poets.
—Tucker Bryant
Creativity is not a talent. It’s a way of operating.
—John Cleese
“I’ve been delivering keynotes for 20 years. In a short period of time, he was able to dissect the message I was struggling with and taught me to actually deliver it concisely. It was waaaaaaay better than I could have done alone. In a few short conversations, he totally understood my voice and gave honest feedback throughout. He found a premise for me that worked and the flow to my new outstanding talk that I cannot wait to release out into the world.”
—Shawn Shepheard (business coach, speaker, and podcaster)
This is a totally free 1:1 call for 60 minutes. I’ll ask some important questions to help you reflect, and together, we’ll use some of my frameworks to understand your business, your ideas, your public platform, and how they all contribute to your business’s goals (or challenges). You’ll walk away with some momentum + useful ideas, even if you don’t hire me.
Established experts worried about feeling generic
Leaders and big thinkers, struggling to differentiate
Soloists and service providers who want to be known for their ideas, not just their services
Business authors who want deeper connections with their audience, not just “more followers”
“Jay doesn’t really help people create a message or talk, though that is an outcome. He helps them better understand themselves and what they think. There's a lot of business power in that.”
—Devin Bramhall (agency growth advisor and fractional CMO)
Like Justin Moore, business coach for creators and one of the best-known voices in the creator economy.
This is a technique called “laddering down” your ideas to connect with others. Read about it here.
When your work matters more, you can hustle for attention less. More and more experts, storytellers, and thinkers share their ideas publicly than ever before. It’s tempting to run faster on the hamster wheel, sharing yet-more expertise and ideas. But so much of that stuff has been commodified. It might be valuable, but I can get it anywhere. YOU are not “anywhere.”
Reach is how many see it. Resonance is how much they care. It’s the energy to act they feel when a message or moment with you aligns so deeply with them, they feel amplified. Without action, we don’t see results, so while most obsess over reach, resonance is what drives results. Do you enusre they deeply care? Can you inspire them to act?
We spend so much time trying to convey to others we’re the right one to choose, the top pick … the best. But that’s nonsensical. We can’t determine that, and if we could, it wouldn’t matter. That’s not why people make choices. We are not rational. We’re emotional, then we rationalize our choices later. When we have infinite options, we go with the ones we feel emotionally connected to, the ones who resonate deepest — and the pinnacle of resonating is to become their favorite, their personal, preferred pick for a specific purpose.
—Sarah Stockdale (CEO of Growclass)
Steve Pratt booked me for my short-turnaround “punch-up” offer to develop the keynote associated with his book.
Steve is a veteran of the podcast industry and has worked with clients like Slack, DELL, Shopify, Atlassian, and Adobe.
“Jay’s commitment to craft is contagious. Even rarer, he’s skilled at breaking down and explaining how to assemble specific ingredients for achieving greater resonance in your work.”
—Jenny Blake (globally touring speaker, 2x author, podcaster with 2m+ downloads)
I believe in the power of resonance more than reach. After working for brands like Google and HubSpot, I wrote the book Break the Wheel about the problems with “best practices” and toured globally as a keynote speaker. My journey as a speaker and a business storyteller has been featured in 3 different books, and each year, dozens of creators and entrepreneurs turn to me to craft better messaging and speeches. I’ve hosted podcasts for exciting startups, directed docuseries for scaling brands, and advised creative companies like Mailchimp, Wistia, and Salesforce. I live outside of Boston with my wife, an incredible psychology researcher and educator, plus the best two things I’ve ever created in a lifetime of creativity: my two wonderful kids!
“I never had a creative partner until hiring Jay. He is so strategic and ruthlessly practical. My work ended up lightyears ahead.”
—Mia Quagliarello (Head of Creator Community, Flipboard; prev. Apple, YouTube, Viacom)
“You can go ahead and create more content. Or you can create something special that stirs hearts and engages minds. If you are the kind of person who wants your work to really matter, listen to Jay. He’ll be your perfect guide.”
— Ann Handley (WSJ Bestselling Author of Everybody Writes; globally touring speaker; Partner at training org MarketingProfs)
A refreshing and inspiring look at the storytelling mastery of guests like Seth Godin (marketing legend with 22 bestselling business books), Ann Handley (WSJ bestselling author of Everybody Writes), Chase Jarvis (one of the most influential advocates for creativity in work and life), Laura Gassner Otting (2x WSJ bestseller; Good Morning America correspondent on work and career), Andrew Davis (globally touring keynote speaker), Rand Fishkin (CEO of SparkToro), and bestselling author Simone Stolzoff, who worked out a draft of his entire TED Talk!
You’ll walk away ready to compete on the impact of your ideas, not the volume of your marketing.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Together with Arbez Films, I created a four-part limited series taking you inside my process of developing and piloting my podcast the year it launched.
I partnered with the brand Help Scout to create a three-part docuseries about businesses who believe there’s a better way to build than growth-at-all-costs.
With a diverse range of real-world stories, Break the Wheel offers a simple but powerful way to think for yourself when surrounded by endless advice and conventional wisdom. Say goodbye to average work and hello to doing your best.
“Usually business writing is for people who want to be led, not for people who want to think.
Jay challenges people to think instead, and to remember that we benefit from being whole people not divided into business pieces and not-business pieces. I’ve been reading his work for years.”
- Maggie, a happy reader and think-for-yourselfer
“File this book under completely paradigm shifting.
This will change the way you think about what you need to do to be successful, and free you do do more of what is a unique expression of yourself. It’s easy to get caught up thinking that success lies in best practices. But best practices aren’t best for everyone. Question assumptions and unlock massive impact, revenue, and fulfillment.
-5 Star Amazon Review”
“A rare great marketing book!
A terrific book with important advice for every marketer. It’s not ‘best practice’, it’s how to find what’s best for your specific situation. Smart, well-written and super helpful.”
-5 Star Amazon Review