Yoann Pavy has built his career transforming how consumers interact with some of the UK's most innovative brands. As a growth and marketing leader at companies like Deliveroo, Depop, and PerkBox, he's helped scale multiple billion-pound consumer businesses. Now, as Chief Growth Officer at AI Apply, Yoann is tackling one of the most stressful consumer experiences: job hunting. AI Apply is an AI-powered job search platform that helps people land interviews faster by creating tailored CVs, cover letters, and applications in seconds. Launched just two years ago with a lean team of four people, the platform has already attracted over 1 million users who are tired of the endless grind of job applications. The company embodies a consumer-first philosophy in a market traditionally dominated by B2B recruiting tools, flipping the script to empower individual job seekers rather than hiring managers.

Episode Highlights:

• The application pain point: Job hunting isn't just hard because of market conditions—it's the tedious application process that makes people procrastinate for weeks instead of applying tonight like they promised themselves
• Speed matters: AI Apply generates a complete "job application kit" (CV, cover letter, and follow-up email) in seconds, helping users get from job discovery to interview prep at lightning speed
• Going viral as a science: The team generated 52 million organic impressions in just 30 days with a blended CPM of just £0.05—proving that "going viral" isn't luck, it's a deliberate, engineered strategy
• The Moneyball approach to content: Success comes from finding 10, 20, or even 100 creators who can post compelling product demos daily—it's a numbers game where volume and consistency beat viral lottery tickets
• Product as acquisition tool: Great consumer products aren't just functional—they're designed to be visually compelling when someone films them for a 10-second TikTok or Instagram Reel
• Fighting fire with fire: Since recruiters already use AI to filter candidates, AI Apply gives job seekers the tools to level the playing field in an increasingly automated hiring process
• The death of the CV: Yoann envisions a future where recruiters can see your entire digital footprint—every project, podcast, and YouTube video—creating a richer, more authentic profile than two paragraphs on a page
• Channel + content + product fit: Profitable growth isn't about spending more on ads; it's about finding the perfect equation where your content format matches your product and fits the channel you're distributing on

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by job applications, wondered how tiny teams build million-user products, or want to understand how consumer brands actually grow in 2025, this episode is for you. Yoann reveals modern growth tactics that most marketers keep secret, sharing exact strategies (and real numbers) that turned AI Apply from a four-person startup into a rapidly scaling consumer platform.

Listen to the full episode now to discover how the job search is being revolutionized and what it means for your career.

Connect with Yoann:

• LinkedIn

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• Curious Customer Website

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Kevin Xu quit his engineering job at Google and Stripe to solve a problem millions of Americans face: how to invest wisely without getting scammed or losing money to Wall Street insiders. After teaching himself to trade through Reddit forums and turning $35,000 into $8 million during the GameStop saga, Kevin founded AfterHour—a social platform where everyday investors can see exactly what successful traders are buying and selling with their real money. Unlike traditional investing advice where you never know if the "expert" actually follows their own recommendations, AfterHour requires users to connect their actual brokerage accounts, so you can see proof of their positions. The platform has attracted over $500 million in verified trading accounts, creating a transparent community where regular people can learn from traders who put their money where their mouth is. Kevin's latest innovation, Alpha AI, aims to be like having a knowledgeable investing friend available 24/7 to answer questions and explain market movements in simple terms.

What You'll Learn:

• Why investing feels so intimidating - How Wall Street deliberately keeps regular people out and confused
• The real story behind GameStop - Kevin's firsthand account of spotting the opportunity before it exploded
• How to spot fake investment advice - Red flags that separate real traders from internet scammers
• Smart money habits - Kevin's simple "all-in" strategy that made him millions
• Free investing education - How social platforms can teach you more than expensive courses
• AI as your investing buddy - Why chatbots might be the future of financial advice for beginners
• Protecting yourself from scams - Warning signs of pump-and-dump schemes and market manipulation
• Building wealth on any budget - Why you don't need to be rich to start investing successfully
• The psychology of money - How emotions and community sentiment drive market movements
• Taking on Wall Street - Why regular investors can compete with hedge funds and win

Why This Episode Could Change Your Financial Future

If you've ever felt locked out of investing or intimidated by financial jargon, this conversation is for you. Kevin breaks down exactly how he went from knowing nothing about stocks to making millions, and more importantly, how he's building tools to help regular people do the same. You'll discover practical strategies for researching investments, learn how to avoid common beginner mistakes, and understand why transparency and community might be more valuable than any expensive financial advisor. Whether you're investing your first $100 or looking to level up your existing portfolio, Kevin's insights on social trading and AI-powered education could be the key to finally building the wealth you deserve. This isn't just another finance interview—it's a roadmap for taking control of your financial future.

Connect with Kevin:

• LinkedIn

Connect with Matt:

• LinkedIn
• Curious Customer Website

Don't miss an episode! Follow Curious Customer on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to get notified whenever we drop a new episode. Your curiosity deserves the latest insights!

Ever wonder why some brands stick with you while others are instantly forgettable? Or how a simple social media stunt can suddenly have everyone talking?

In this episode, One of One Brands founder Arnava Asen reveals the sophisticated psychological tactics that drive your purchasing decisions—often without you even realizing it. From that spontaneous shoe purchase where you later discover everyone else bought the same pair, to why you're drawn to brands that make you work a little harder, Arnava unpacks the "living brand" revolution transforming how companies connect with consumers. He explains why the era of hyper-convenience may be ending, with Gen Z actively seeking friction and authenticity over algorithmic recommendations.

Ready to Decode Your Own Consumer Mind?

Tune in to discover how the brands you love are actually influencing your choices—and why understanding these hidden mechanisms might just make you a smarter, more intentional consumer.

Interview Highlights:

• The Nike epiphany: How a simple billboard with no product—just the words "Yesterday you said tomorrow"—sparked Arnava's 20-year career and demonstrates the power of soft-selling over traditional advertising
• Living brands vs. formulaic brands: Why successful modern brands act like real people with evolving personalities, opinions, and the ability to surprise consumers, rather than following rigid brand guidelines
• The friction revolution: 70% of Gen Z now trust brands that make them work harder, from secondhand shopping to printing photos, signaling a backlash against algorithmic convenience culture
• Consumer behavior patterns: How brand strategists use data and evolutionary psychology to predict purchasing decisions, often understanding consumer motivations better than consumers understand themselves
• The pendulum effect: Why brands that feel irrelevant today have the biggest opportunities, and how cultural shifts always swing back in unexpected directions
• Creative disruption examples: From Liquid Death's provocative marketing to Bjorn Corn's roller disco strategy, how brands break through noise by doing the unexpected
• The embedded approach: Why traditional "brand bible" handoffs are dead, and how successful agencies now work alongside companies as fractional marketing teams for months
• Strategic foresight: How brand builders plan multi-campaign narratives that consumers never see coming, creating deeper engagement over time

Connect with Arnava:

• LinkedIn

Connect with Matt:

• LinkedIn
• Curious Customer Website

Don't miss an episode! Follow Curious Customer on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to get notified whenever we drop a new episode. Your curiosity deserves the latest insights!