Featured Team Member – Steve Wolf

What was your first job?

I worked at a Texaco Gas/Service station in San Diego at 16 years old as an attendant, shop boy and Jr. mechanic

How did you get involved in marketing?

I found a love for marketing at 18 years old working as a sales associate at Guitar Center. Truth be told, I tried to get a job at Guitar Center when I was 17, but the manager told me I had to be 18 years old. So I slung burritos at the local Chipotle in Redondo Beach for 6 months, and then, on my 18th birthday, I walked back into the Guitar Center, found the manager and demanded a job. He hired me on the spot.

Guitar Center used to run crazy sales with radio ads like every weekend. Those guys would make up these crazy sales events to get foot traffic in the door and it worked. I caught the bug when I realized that Guitar Center basically was running the same sale every weekend with a different name, but to the consumer, they were excited and would come in and spend money. Marketing magic. I thought it was so cool, the telling of the story, evoking desires in a consumer to bring them to a buying decision. So, I decided to dive deeper in to sales and marketing, eventually went to college for it and have not looked back since.

What do you do at Bolt Goodly?

I primarily head up all things Sales and Marketing. From granular marketing campaigns for Bolt Goodly and our current clients to closing new deals and Business Development etc. I like to have my hands in the day to day and the sales and marketing side so I never lose my edge obsessing on the small details that make a campaign work.

What’s your favorite part of working for Bolt Goodly?

I love that I am building a legacy company. I have had some pretty good corporate gigs in the past working in a director or VP of Sales and Marketing role, but at the end of the day, I was building someone else’s company. The creative aspect of marketing combined with the art of the sales process is something that I hold close to my heart, I love it and with Bolt Goodly, I get to choose the projects and clients who resonate the best with us so I can get excited and passionate about their project. I need that inspiration to create magic, and I can continuously do that when I get to have the final say on who we will and won’t work with.

What’s your biggest business lesson learned?

Be careful choosing partners, it’s basically like a “business” marriage. Easy to start, difficult and messy to end. So I choose wisely.

Where do see the digital marketing world in 5 years? 10 years?

Just about everything besides billboards will be digital. More importantly, marketing will be mobile and personalized. The convergence of A.I., machine learning and Big Data channeled through the smartphone will be the way products and services are sold. We see this happening more and more everyday. Think of the last time you purchased something over the phone. If you’re younger than 30, I wouldn’t be surprised if you have never bought something from a telemarketer. That is a foreshadowing to what is coming next.

If you could give one piece of advice to potential clients, what would it be?

Ask a lot of questions, and ask for the answers to be put into simple terms that you can understand. What Bolt Goodly does is complicated, but breaking it down in a way that you or your company can understand is something that we are experts at.

Proudest business achievement? Personal achievement?

Business – Launching my first company at 18 years old. It didn’t make me a million dollars, but it allowed me to prove to myself that I could make it as an entrepreneur. Personally – Traveling around the world with my wife and daughter.

What do you do in your free time?

I surf, I skydive, and I practice a couple different forms of mixed martial arts. I do all of these things multiple times on a weekly basis if work and family allows.

What’s your favorite band?

The Misfits

What’s your favorite movie?

The Entire James Bond Movie Franchise followed very closely by True Romance.

What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?

I like to paint modern art.