Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake Finkelstein.
Hi Jake, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m a serial entrepreneur, having started my first business (a record label) as a teenager. But I really got my start in the music business, back when people were still going to record stores to buy albums. Early in my career I worked in marketing at Sony Music, where I had the chance to support campaigns for artists like Bruce Springsteen, Oasis, System of a Down, and The Offspring. Working there was a ton of fun and an incredible training ground. I got to work with amazing creatives and learn the ropes of marketing and storytelling from some of the most experienced marketers I’ve ever met.
After Sony, I moved into the agency world and helped launch an entertainment and lifestyle marketing firm in New York called Universal Buzz Intelligence. We worked across music, film, television, gaming, and consumer brands like Virgin, Olympus, American Express, and Uniqlo. It was a really fun chapter. We were producing big creative campaigns, live experiences, publicity stunts, and early digital work, long before digital became the center of everything.
But around 2007 and 2008, the economy started to turn, and our clients were under a lot of pressure. Budgets and teams were being cut, but expectations for results were high. And honestly, as much fun as it is to get paid a million dollars to produce a concert tour, when I really challenged myself, what I was giving back to my clients was pretty pictures and good press. I knew there had to be a better way to make marketing accountable to the business. it was that, and some personal reasons, I decided to exit Universal Buzz Intelligence and launche Method Savvy, an integrated marketing consultancy based on Durham, NC.
At Method Savvy we helped brands take a more modern, data-driven approach to growth. Over nearly 15 years, we grew from an idea on a napkin into a firm with dozens of employees, serving brands like Lenovo, Skillsoft, Roses, and Jerry’s Artarama. I’m incredibly proud of what we built and the impact we had. In 2023, after a very difficult stretch financially, I had to wind the business down. Professionally and personally, that was one of the hardest moments of my life. But it also forced me to step back and look at the industry with fresh eyes.
At the same time, I had become deeply interested in how AI and automation were beginning to transform marketing. What stood out to me was that this wasn’t just about doing the same work faster. It was about fundamentally changing the economics of marketing, how strategy gets developed, how campaigns get executed, and how lean teams can produce outsized results.
That’s why I started 10cubed, an AI-native digital marketing agency for B2B companies. We combine senior-level strategic marketing expertise with proprietary AI and automation technology to help brands move faster, work more efficiently, and generate better outcomes from their marketing. The simplest way to say it is this: we built a unique technology platform that we combine with deeply experienced serviced to help companies build modern growth engines. Ones that are smarter, more accountable, and better suited for the way business works today.
I started 10cubed because I’ve lived both sides of the agency world. I’ve seen what the traditional model does well, and I’ve seen where it breaks. I believe there’s a better way to help businesses grow, and I think AI, when paired with strong strategy and real operating discipline, creates a huge opportunity to do exactly that.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’m a serial entrepreneur, so I’ve fought lots of battles and have the scars to prove it. From moments where I’m barely making payroll or dealing with difficult clients to challenging competitors and struggling with employee management issues. By the same token, I’ve ridden the highs where I’ve won big deals, executed highly successful campaigns, have had customers tell me I’ve immeasurably improved their business and created innovative technology that’s exciting to build and fun to use. I could tell many stories of failure and success, but what I’ll say is that every entrepreneur has to focus on themselves holistically – that means being intentional about and taking care of themselves, their family and their business. That takes a lot of strength, fortitude and mindfulness. And its rarely easy.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about 10cubed?
10cubed is an AI-native digital marketing agency built for B2B companies that want to grow smarter.
At a practical level, we help businesses build and run more effective marketing systems, everything from strategy, positioning, and messaging to campaign execution, optimization, and performance improvement. We work primarily with B2B brands, especially in areas like professional services, manufacturing, and technology, where the sales cycles are longer, the offerings are more complex, and marketing has to do a better job of creating trust and driving qualified opportunities.
What really sets us apart is that we’re not just another agency layering AI on top of a traditional service model. We were built from the ground up to operate differently. We combine senior-level strategic marketing expertise with proprietary AI and automation technology, which allows us to move faster, reduce manual work, improve consistency, and deliver more value to clients without the overhead and inefficiencies that often come with the conventional agency model. In simple terms, we help clients build modern growth engines.
I’d say we’re known for a few things. First, we bring a strong strategic lens to the work. We’re not interested in random acts of marketing. We want every initiative tied back to business goals. Second, we care a lot about execution. Great strategy means very little if it dies in a slide deck. And third, we’re deeply focused on using AI and automation in a practical way, not as hype, but as a real operating advantage for our clients.
What I’m most proud of brand-wise is that 10cubed stands for a more modern and more accountable way of doing marketing. We’re building a brand around the idea that marketing should be both strategic and efficient, both creative and measurable. There’s a lot of noise in both the agency world and the AI world right now. We’re trying to be the opposite of noise. We want to be known for clarity, substance, innovation, and results.
What I’d want readers to know is that 10cubed isn’t just selling marketing services on the foundation of proprietary technology. We’re helping businesses rethink how marketing gets done. The old model of bigger teams, slower execution and more manual effort, is starting to break down. We believe the future belongs to businesses that can combine smart strategy, the right systems, and the right technology to create leverage. That’s the opportunity we’re helping our clients capture.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
That if you get the right people in the room and give them your trust, freedom and flexibility all things are possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.10cubed.co
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakefinkelstein/
- Twitter: https://x.com/tundro
