Скачать или смотреть Burnout After $10K Months Forced a Pivot to AI Systems That Finally Scaled with Nikita Vakhrushev

In this energizing episode of Built for This: Stories of a Maverick , host Jenna Bayuk sits down with ‪@NikitaVakhrushevTV‬, CEO and founder of ASPEKT, a cutting-edge email and SMS marketing agency powered by creativity, data, and AI. Nikita shares his incredible journey from printing t-shirts in high school to building a thriving remote-first agency that blends tech innovation with marketing brilliance.

As an early adopter of AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude, Nikita reveals how he uses them not to replace humans, but to augment strategy, optimize execution, and deepen storytelling. He opens up about team culture, the power of iteration, and why he believes agencies of the future will be data hubs rather than task runners.

Whether you’re a brand owner, creative strategist, or AI-curious entrepreneur, this conversation is packed with actionable insights, unconventional wisdom, and a look into what’s next in marketing and leadership.

Key Takeaways:
Start Small, Scale Smart: Nikita’s journey began with stickers and t-shirts and evolved into a high-retention email agency by following curiosity and solving real problems.
Fail Fast, Learn Faster: Aspekt thrives on a culture of honest feedback, experimentation, and learning without fear of failure.
AI Is a Partner, Not a Replacement: Tools like ChatGPT boost productivity but still need a human lens for nuance, strategy, and connection.
Email Still Reigns: Despite new platforms, email remains a critical owned channel that can drive 25–30% of a brand’s revenue when done right.
Above-the-Fold Magic: Most brands fail by not optimizing the top section of their emails. Nikita breaks down why that space is critical.
Remote Teams, Real Culture: Building a remote-first company starts with trust, accountability, and shared values, not time zones

Noteworthy Quotes:
“You don’t need an office to have a high-performing team, you need clarity, autonomy, and shared values.” – Nikita Vakhrushev
“AI won’t take your job. But someone who knows how to use AI better than you might.” – Nikita Vakhrushev
“Email isn’t dead. What’s dead is lazy email marketing.” – Nikita Vakhrushev
“Mistakes don’t matter, repeating them does.” – Nikita Vakhrushev
“I don’t care if you fail. I care if you learn and improve.” – Nikita Vakhrushev

Key Timestamps:
00:00 – Trailer and intro to Nikita Vakhrushev and ASPEKT
05:17 – Why he pivoted from drop-shipping to agency work
11:15 – First hires and learning to build a team
17:47 – Human creativity vs AI: striking the right balance
24:32 – Why email still drives revenue and where brands go wrong
31:18 – Building curiosity and psychological safety in remote teams
35:14 – Mistakes are welcome just don’t repeat them
38:38 – The future of agencies: data hubs over task-doers
40:15 – AI fatigue and the coming pendulum swing back to human touch
47:08 – What “Built for This” means to Nikita

FOLLOW OUR GUEST NIKITA VAKHRUSHEV ON
LinkedIn:   / nikita-v  
Website: https://aspektagency.com/
Instagram:   / nikitavakhrushv  
Youtube:    / @nikitavakhrushevtv  
Email: https://aspektagency.com/email-sms-ma...

FOLLOW OUR HOST JENNA BAYUK ON:
LinkedIn:   / jennabayuk  
Website: https://kinshipkollective.com/
Instagram:   / jenna_bayuk  
Email: [email protected]

FOLLOW BUILT FOR THIS: STORIES OF MAVERICK PODCAST ON:
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LinkedIn:   / kinshipconsulting  
X: https://x.com/JBayuk
Tiktok:   / builtforthispodcast  
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