Grow It Yourself – Marketing Made Simple with AI
Plan, create and run your own marketing with AI tools, with no agency retainer needed.
Ask about this talk : Grow It Yourself – Marketing Made Simple with AIKevin D’Ambros-SmithKeynote speaker. Entrepreneur. Investor. Business coach.
Send your room home with a plan, not a pep talk.
An inspiring talk that changes nothing wastes your audience’s day. Kevin turns 30+ years in business, 60+ global brands and 9 companies founded or co-founded into a one-page plan your owners can act on the next morning.
Keynote speaker, entrepreneur, investor and business coach. Based in Auckland, speaking across New Zealand and the USA.
Kevin D’Ambros-Smith is a keynote speaker, entrepreneur, investor and business coach based in Auckland, speaking across New Zealand and the USA. His talks turn over 30 years of big-brand thinking into a one-page plan every owner in the room can act on the next morning. Keynotes, workshops and programme sessions, in person or live online.
- Companies founded or co-founded
- 9 How we count: founded or co-founded by Kevin, including Motherbase Media.
- Businesses coached one-on-one
- 200+ How we count: companies coached one-on-one since 2017.
- Client NPS from coaching clients surveyed through The Icehouse
- +72* How we count: coaching clients surveyed through The Icehouse. An average across a large sample, over many years.
- Global brands worked on
- 60+ How we count: global brands worked on across the agency years at DDB, Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi and in Kevin’s own businesses.
- Companies reached through conference & keynote presentations, webinars, training programmes and workshops
- Thousands How we count: reach across all of these formats, not a count of talks delivered.
* Net Promoter Score from coaching clients surveyed through The Icehouse (New Zealand). Over 30 years in business, including DDB, Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi. Coached 200+ businesses one-on-one across 30+ industries since 2017. Approved Regional Business Partners Network provider and partner of The Icehouse.
From the host of an award-winning NZ business podcast
What a podcast host said after Kevin presented
“Kevin D'Ambros-Smith presented on the Icehouse Owner Manager Programme and he was brilliant… it was the most notes I have ever taken from any speaker.”
Client feedback shared with permission. Results are specific to each business and are not typical.
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For the person who books the speaker
You’ve sat through the talk that changed nothing.
You chose the speaker. You carry the result. Your audience gave you a day, and a talk that inspires and changes nothing spends it.
The day
A day of your audience’s time
Owners leave their business to be in your room. They want one thing they can use on Monday, not an hour of applause.
The habit
The pep talk, and the belief behind it
Big energy, no plan. And in the room, the quiet belief that “I have to be bigger before I can win.” A pep talk feeds that belief. It doesn’t change it.
The cost
What a forgettable keynote costs
The room’s time. Your budget. And your credibility with the people who trusted you to pick well.
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What Kevin does about it
Big-brand thinking at small-business scale. Every talk ends with a written plan.
Kevin spent over 30 years inside the agencies and brands that big business trusts, then built and coached small businesses. He hands that playbook to your owners in plain English, with real stories, and no jargon.
You
The owner knows their market, their customers and their patch. No one can buy that.
Kevin
Brings the big-brand playbook, cut down to small-business size, with an honest challenge.
AI
Does the repeatable work, with the owner firmly in charge.
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The morning after
Your room leaves with a plan and a first step.
Illustrative scene
It’s Monday, 8:40am. An owner opens the one page she wrote in your room on Friday. Three priorities. A name beside each. A first step for this morning. She sends one email before her coffee goes cold, and by lunch her team knows exactly what the week is for.
- Take-home: a one-page plan, written in the room
- Monday morning: one clear first step for every owner
- Your result: an audience that remembers why they came
Next stepFind your best-fit talk
Keynotes, presentations and workshops
Eight talks that change what owners do on Monday.
Each is plain-English, story-led and practical, and built around your audience, your market and the one decision you want them to make. Not sure which fits your event? Find your best-fit talk.
Signature keynote
The Age of the Owner©
Local knowledge. Big-brand systems.
The old rule said bigger wins. That rule is breaking, and your audience is standing in the gap it leaves. Systems that once needed a big team now fit a small one, and local knowledge of customers can’t be bought at any price. Your owners leave knowing where to push, and with the plan to do it.
Book The Age of the OwnerWhy Your Marketing Isn’t Working (and what to do about it)
Why marketing spend falls flat, and the fixes to make before you spend another dollar.
Ask about this talk : Why Your Marketing Isn’t Working (and what to do about it)Truly Understand Your Customer
Who really buys, why they choose you and what they say about you, and how to use what you learn.
Ask about this talk : Truly Understand Your CustomerFind Your Secret Sauce
What makes your business different and worth choosing, in words your customers will repeat.
Ask about this talk : Find Your Secret SaucePowering Up Your Sales
Sales conversations and habits that win more of the business you already attract.
Ask about this talk : Powering Up Your SalesKnow Your Future
Picture the business and the life you want from it, then work backward to the moves that get you there.
Ask about this talk : Know Your FutureMaking It Happen (Strategy In Action)
The plan turned into weekly actions with owners, dates and measures, so it gets done.
Ask about this talk : Making It Happen (Strategy In Action)Next stepFind your best-fit talk
Which talk fits your event?
Find your best-fit talk.
Five single-tap questions, an instant suggestion, and no email needed.
The stories your audience takes home
Stories that end in a lesson.
One number changed the whole season.
A mountain-bike park earned money eleven different ways, and the owner couldn’t see where to push. Kevin worked backward from the target: 730 season passes, 300 returning, 430 still to sell in ten weeks. That’s six sales a day. “Suddenly you can get on the phone and make six sales a day.”
The lesson: find the one number, then chase it. A big goal becomes a daily job.
A client story, told as Kevin tells it on stage. Client anonymised. Results are specific to each business and are not typical.
Ask Kevin to bring this to your roomHalf the evening meetings went nowhere.
A mortgage brokerage was spending its evenings in meetings that couldn’t go anywhere. Some clients turned up without payslips. Others had bad credit nobody had checked. Kevin mapped the customer journey and found the clunky step: the paperwork came after the meeting, not before. So document upload and a short questionnaire moved online, ahead of the booking.
“We’ve gone from 50% of meetings being worthwhile to about 95% of meetings being worthwhile.”
The lesson: don’t work harder at the wrong step. Map the journey your customer walks, then fix the one step that wastes everyone’s time.
What the room takes away: one clunky step in their own customer journey to find and fix on Monday.
Why it makes a keynote: it’s a plain result from a real client, and every owner in the room can see their own clunky step in it.
A client story, told as Kevin tells it in his training. Client anonymised. Results are specific to each business and are not typical.
Ask Kevin to bring this to your roomThe right message, to the right mother, at the right time.
Before AI, Kevin built Motherbase Media, a direct-to-mothers media business. He ran it for 12 years and sold it in 2017. It reached over 50% of its target audience of new mothers, and it is the only specialist of its kind in New Zealand.
Its edge was timing. Motherbase could reach a mother on the day her child reached a set age: a baby-food sample at six months, a toddler-food sample at 18 months. Brands such as Heinz valued that precision. Its coffee groups gave brands a trusted place to meet mothers who were already gathering.
The lesson: niche right down to your bullseye customer, build the relationship, then deliver the right message to the right person at the right moment. Big brands paid a premium for that. Today, AI puts it within reach of every owner.
Book this talkThe decision he’d undo.
Kevin and his wife went into business with a partner their advisory board introduced. On paper it was perfect. They didn’t ask enough questions, because they trusted the people who recommended him. The partner’s ethics weren’t theirs. Getting out cost well over $1 million, and it took years to rebuild.
“Before you sign the dotted line, let’s do some real due diligence.”
The lesson: ask two questions before you sign. Do I really know who I’m getting into business with? Whose advice am I taking, and who carries the risk if it’s wrong?
Ask Kevin to bring it to your roomNext stepCheck availability for your event
Testimonials
The room tells it best.
Owners left with a plan
Darilyn KaneCoaching and Advisory Lead, The Icehouse“When I organised events at The Icehouse, Kevin was the speaker I wanted in the room. He spoke for us at the Tile Space conference, the Kinetic Electrical conference and a full-day workshop for Mahi Tahi in Nelson. Every audience was different, yet each one felt the session had been built for them. Owners left with a plan, not just a good feeling. Kevin’s combination of deep knowledge, broad business experience and ability to connect with any audience means an engaging session with practical impact. I’d book him again in a heartbeat.”
Feedback has been off the charts
NikkiMahiTahi / Colab“Feedback has been off the charts. The energy in the room was palpable. Kevin, you distilled business, marketing and sales strategy into powerful simple concepts and actions with real life stories of your start-up business and corporate life.”
Electrifies the room
Gareth BaylissSales Manager, The Icehouse“Kevin doesn't just present—he electrifies the room and drives massive, real-world value!”
Hanging on every word
Scott PearceNew Zealand Blood Service“It was a fantastic presentation, we were hanging on every word.”
Wisdom and insight
Liz WotherspoonDirector, The Icehouse“One of highlight presentations during OMP. Really enjoyed your wisdom and insight thanks Kevin!”
Client feedback shared with permission. Results are specific to each business and are not typical.
Rooms Kevin has spoken in
- The Icehouse Owner Manager Programme
- Growth Presentations for BNZ clients across New Zealand
- MahiTahi / Colab food and beverage workshop
- Tile Space conference
- Kinetic Electrical conference
- New Zealand Blood Service
Kevin has worked with 60+ global brands, including
Agency years at DDB, Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi
- McDonald’s
- BMW
- General Mills
- IBM
- GSK
- Heineken
- Unilever
- Telecom
- Kimberly-Clark
- Daewoo
- Woolworths
- Lion Breweries
- NZ Dairy Foods
- Monsanto
- NZI
Clients of Motherbase Media, Kevin’s direct-to-mothers media business
- Samsung
- Nestlé
- Johnson & Johnson
- Westpac
- Mattel
- BNZ
- Fonterra
- Colgate
- Hasbro
- Purina
- Heinz
- Reckitt
- Procter & Gamble
- Clarins
- Fujifilm
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About the speaker
Meet Kevin D’Ambros-Smith.
Keynote speaker, entrepreneur, investor and business coach. Based in Auckland, speaking across New Zealand and the USA.
Kevin began in advertising at DDB, Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi and has worked on 60+ global brands. He has founded or co-founded 9 companies, including Motherbase Media. Some were very successful and some were failures, and those scars are what make his talks practical.
Since 2017 he has coached 200+ businesses one-on-one across 30+ industries. He has presented on The Icehouse Owner Manager Programme and led Growth Presentations for BNZ clients across New Zealand.
Read Kevin’s full storyNext stepCheck availability for your event
Is Kevin right for your event?
Right fit, and not the right fit.
Right fit
- Your audience is owners and leaders of small and medium businesses
- You want the room to leave with a written plan, not just a good feeling
- You’re happy to have a short pre-event conversation so the talk is built for your people
- In person in New Zealand or the USA, or live online
Not the right fit
- You want a pure motivational pep talk with no follow-through
- You want a recycled keynote with your logo on the slide
- You’d rather skip the conversation about your audience and the decision you want them to make
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Book Kevin
Tell Kevin about your event.
Fees depend on format, audience size and travel. You’ll get a clear quote after a short pre-event conversation.
What happens after you click
- You send the enquiryYour audience, date, location or online format, and the outcome you want.
- Kevin replies and you talk it throughKevin replies personally. A short pre-event conversation covers your people and the one decision you want them to make.
- You get a clear quoteBased on format, audience size and travel, with a talk tailored to your theme, market and audience.
A pre-event conversation, a talk tailored to your theme, market and audience, and a one-page speaker sheet you can share with your committee, sponsors or board.
Looking for something else?
The talk is the start.
Running a business and want a coach?
Simple-Growth is where Kevin’s one-on-one coaching and advisory lives. Start there, or book a free 30-minute call.
Questions organisers ask.
Who is Kevin D’Ambros-Smith?
Kevin D’Ambros-Smith is a keynote speaker, entrepreneur, investor and business coach based in Auckland, speaking across New Zealand and the USA. He has coached 200+ businesses one-on-one across 30+ industries, has worked on 60+ global brands at DDB, Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi and in his own businesses, and has founded or co-founded 9 companies.
What does Kevin speak about?
Kevin presents eight talks: The Age of the Owner (Local knowledge. Big-brand systems.); Grow It Yourself – Marketing Made Simple with AI; Why Your Marketing Isn’t Working (and what to do about it); Truly Understand Your Customer; Find Your Secret Sauce; Powering Up Your Sales; Know Your Future; and Making It Happen (Strategy In Action). Each can run as a keynote, presentation or workshop, built around your audience, and each ends with a written plan.
How much does it cost to book Kevin?
Fees depend on format, audience size and travel. You’ll get a clear quote after a short pre-event conversation. To start, request the fee guide and availability through the speaker enquiry form.
Can I book Kevin for an event in the USA?
Yes. Send the details on the speaker page: your audience, date, location or online format, and the outcome you want. Kevin replies personally. Keynotes and workshops can run in person or live online.
Can I work with Kevin as a coach?
Yes. Kevin coaches owners in New Zealand and the USA by video call. Start with a free 30-minute call, or visit Simple-Growth to see how coaching works.