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Jose Baptista is Co-Founder & CEO of Flint Strategy (PlayWithFire.ai), a human-powered AI…
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Jose Baptista shared thisGreat article by Christopher Everett. Worth the wuick read to get a different perspective on what’s worth doing if you run your own business.
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Jose Baptista shared thisBoring Beats Brilliant “The real revolution isn’t making machines think. It’s making them boring enough that nobody has to think about them.” Sometimes the boring thing erases a week of work and a few thousand in costs. I’ve missed that sometimes, too busy spotting the “tells” or glitches in AI output, instead of noticing the time, money, and mind space it just gave back. That doesn’t erase the harder questions about jobs, skills, and what’s worth keeping human. It’s not about ignoring those. It’s about being honest that both the benefits and the costs are real, and we’ll have to navigate them at the same time.
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Jose Baptista reposted thisJose Baptista reposted thisHow does AI sound in Spanish? 🇲🇽🇪🇸🇦🇷🇨🇴🇨🇱🇵🇪🇻🇪🇨🇺🇩🇴🇺🇾🇵🇷🇧🇴🇨🇷 Alena Llopis and I have been exploring how AI interprets Spanish language, across so many different accents, from so many Spanish-speaking countries. It wasn’t easy. Capturing the nuance, the tone, the emotion... Making it feel real — both in how it’s spoken and how it’s expressed on screen — was a real challenge. We wanted the delivery to feel human. The voices to carry identity. And the visuals to reflect how Spanish truly lives: not as one sound, but as many. This is a small experiment in voice, culture, and machine learning. Here’s how Spanish sounds (through AI.) #AIvideo #AICreativity #VoiceAI #multilingualAI #SpanishAI #ContentCreation #AIStorytelling #MadeWithAI
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Jose Baptista reposted thisJose Baptista reposted thisHow many small business owners have said this? "I'll get to marketing... next week. Next month. When things slow down." 84% of small business owners work over 50 hours a week, and marketing keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the pile. Here's the time trap: You're the CEO, CFO, head of sales, customer service rep, and janitor. Marketing feels like "one more thing" on an endless to-do list. So you either: • Do it yourself at 11pm (poorly) • Hire the cheapest freelancer on Fiverr (you get what you pay for) • Let your cousin's friend handle your social media (really?) The result? Fragmented, inconsistent marketing that confuses customers more than it converts them. The brutal reality: 78% of small businesses that fail cite "lack of market demand" as the reason. Translation: nobody knew they existed because marketing was always "next week's priority." Meanwhile, your competitors who treat marketing strategically are eating your lunch. The fix isn't more time—it's better systems. Instead of doing marketing piecemeal, you need frameworks that work even when you're swamped. Strategy that guides every freelancer, every post, every campaign. At Flint, we build marketing systems that run without you. Human-Powered AI creates the strategy; you (or your team) execute the plan. Great marketing doesn't require more hours. It requires better thinking. Ready to stop treating marketing like a side hustle? Take our Strategic Marketing Assessment—get the system that works while you work. #SmallBusiness #MarketingStrategy #TimeManagement #Branding #Strategy Co-founded by Jose Baptista (ex-Google & Nike) and Dustin Gladwell (Combat Veteran, Award-winning Creative Director)
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Jose Baptista reposted thisJose Baptista reposted this"So... what exactly does your business do?" If you stumble through that answer, you're not alone. 67% of small businesses struggle to explain their value in 30 seconds or less. The messaging crisis is real: • Average website bounce rate for small businesses: 58% • Only 37% of customers can recall what a brand stands for after visiting their website • Businesses with clear, consistent messaging see 23% more revenue growth Here's what broken messaging sounds like: "We're a full-service solutions provider that leverages cutting-edge technology to deliver innovative strategies and exceptional results for our diverse client base across multiple industries." Translation: "We do stuff for people and it's good." The three-part test: Can you clearly answer: 1) What do you do? (In 10 words or less) 2) For whom? (Be specific, not "everyone") 3) Why does it matter? (What changes for them?) Bad example: "We provide comprehensive digital marketing services." Good example: "We help local restaurants fill empty tables using targeted Facebook ads." See the difference? One is vague corporate speak. The other tells you exactly who benefits and how. The cost of confusion: When customers can't quickly understand your value, they bounce. When they bounce, they buy from competitors who speak clearly. At Flint, our Strategic Marketing Assessment includes a messaging clarity audit — because you can't grow what people don't understand. Ready to stop confusing customers and start converting them? #SmallBusiness #Messaging #MarketingStrategy #Clarity #Branding Co-founded by Jose Baptista (ex-Google & Nike) and Dustin Gladwell (Combat Veteran, Award-winning Creative Director)
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Jose Baptista reposted thisJose Baptista reposted thisDoes this marketing strategy sound familiar? "We're on TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, and just launched our podcast. Nothing's working." Welcome to Shiny Object Syndrome — the growth killer disguised as hustle. The data is maybe a little bit surprising: • 68% of small businesses use 5+ marketing channels simultaneously • 45% of small businesses have no documented marketing strategy at all • Most can't clearly articulate their marketing strategy beyond "we post on social media" • Businesses focusing on 1-2 channels see 70% better ROI than those spreading across many Here's what's really happening: Without clear strategy, every new trend feels like the missing piece. AI tools? Must have. New social platform? Jump on it. Latest marketing hack? Try it immediately. You're throwing spaghetti at the wall, hoping something sticks. But spaghetti marketing doesn't work — it just makes a mess. The real problem: You're treating symptoms, not the disease. The disease is lack of strategic foundation. No clear positioning. No defined target audience. No understanding of where your customers actually spend time. So you chase every shiny object, dilute your message across platforms, confuse your market, and wonder why nothing gains traction. The cure: Strategy before tactics. At Flint, we help you answer the fundamental questions first: Who are you serving? Where do they hang out? What message will make them stop scrolling? Then — and only then — do you choose the right tools and channels. Focus beats frequency. Every time. Ready to stop chasing trends and start building strategy? #SmallBusiness #MarketingStrategy #SocialMedia #Branding Co-founded by Jose Baptista (ex-Google & Nike) and Dustin Gladwell (Combat Veteran, Award-winning Creative Director)
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Jose Baptista reposted thisJose Baptista reposted this"We help businesses succeed through innovative solutions and exceptional service." If that sounds like your value proposition, you have no value proposition. It's also... the same weak sauce value prop from thousands of other companies, too. The brutal data: • 64% of consumers can't differentiate between competing brands in most categories • Companies with clear positioning see 23% faster revenue growth than those without • 73% of small businesses say "standing out from competitors" is their biggest challenge Yet most businesses describe themselves in the same generic terms as everyone else. They lack differentiation, and something ownable or unique. Here's what happens when positioning is unclear: Your sales conversations become price battles (which is usually a race to the bottom). Your marketing gets ignored. Customers choose competitors for reasons you don't understand. Growth stagnates because you're just another option in an endless scroll. The scaling trap: Even successful businesses outgrow their original positioning. What worked at $100K revenue doesn't work at $1M. But most never realign—they just keep pushing the same tired message to bigger markets. Or in some cases, it gets even more generic because scaling often means more work, with less people, and it becomes a function of time and bandwidth. Strong positioning changes everything: Instead of "we're a consulting firm," try "we're the only consultants who guarantee 20% cost reduction in 90 days or we work for free." One is forgettable. The other is impossible to ignore. Clear positioning isn't just marketing. It's competitive AND comparative advantage. And as we love to say... "if you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck." Ready to stop blending in? Try our Strategic Marketing Assessment; it reveals exactly where your positioning breaks down—and how to fix it with frameworks that scale. #SmallBusiness #Positioning #ValueProposition #MarketingStrategy #Branding Co-founded by Jose Baptista (ex-Google & Nike) and Dustin Gladwell (Combat Veteran, Award-winning Creative Director)
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Jose Baptista shared thisWhat happens when you help others? Sometimes they help back. In 1976, Phillip Kunz sent holiday cards to 600 strangers. Handwritten. Personal. He got nearly 200 replies. Letters came back from people he’d never met. Some included family updates. Some had photos. One apologized for taking so long to respond. No CTA optimization. No ask. No offer. Just the act of giving something warm, without expectation. That was enough. Not a coincidence — it’s how we’re wired. Social psychology calls it reciprocity. Biology calls it survival. We build trust by helping. But here's the twist: People feel closer to you after they do you a favor. Not the other way around. It’s called the Ben Franklin effect. And it shows up everywhere — We’ve seen it ourselves these last two weeks. We launched Flint quietly. No ads. No press. Just reaching out to people we respect. Offering help. Asking for some, too. Out of that came momentum we didn’t predict — not just in the U.S., but in the EU, Argentina, and even South East Asia. And I'm biased when I say this, of course, but we're working with some pretty amazing (and fun!) businesses that I can't wait to get permission to share more about. Not because we pushed. Because we gave. And because a few people gave back. So this isn’t a promo. It’s a reminder. If you're stuck, if you're trying to build something — start with one honest favor. Give one. Ask one. Doesn’t matter. And if I can help with something — a warm intro, a gut check, a quick look — send it my way. No pitch. Just help. That’s at the center of "Why" we exist. Flint Strategy Co.
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Jose Baptista shared thisAI needs training data. You need lived experience. That matters — because only one of them has skin in the game. AI can predict the next word based on what it’s seen (and it sees a lot)... But it’s never made a hard choice. Never risked anything. AI can generate options. But it’s never had to live inside the consequences. It doesn’t know the stakes. It’s polished — but never felt regret. It’s fast — but not responsible. It uses the right grammar. But I learned how to use EM lines first. That’s where the human lives. Not in what looks good. In what holds up. Not in the deck. In reality. Not in prompts. In action. You decide. You act. You take the hit if it’s wrong. Flint is human-powered AI that shows you what’s actually holding you back. Gives you clarity grounded in lived consequences — not polished guesses. Helps you diagnose, understand, decide, act, adjust. Talk to a human when it matters. It doesn’t hand you a blueprint. It builds one with you. The intelligence is human. With just enough AI to accelerate the parts that don’t need soul. We help startups get started. We help SMBs unlock growth. Stop spinning. Start choosing. https://lnkd.in/ec_Xt_5n #unlockgrowth #getstarted #startups #SMBs #AI #humansfirst
Jose Baptista commented on a post
3mo
Congratulations! 🎉
Jose Baptista commented on a post
8mo
Congratulations, Andy O'Neill !!! Fantastic news and well deserved
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Jose Baptista reacted on thisJose Baptista reacted on thisOn Sunday I’ll be running the London Marathon for parkrun. I’m very proud to sit on the Board of this brilliant charity. parkrun is free, community-led, and now active in 23 countries with over 11 million participants, adults and children, runners and walkers. Over 80% report improved physical health, and it’s estimated to save the NHS around £600 million a year. Very few public health interventions deliver that kind of reach, that kind of equity, and that kind of cost benefit. As for me, 6 months ago the most I’d ever run was half of Sunday’s distance. Preparing for this has been a break from hibernating whilst on gardening leave, getting the miles in through all kinds of weather. Training is now just about done, and I’m left feeling a big mix of excitement and nerves! I’m fundraising to help ensure parkrun stays free, weekly, and welcoming for everyone. If you’re in a position to support, I’d be hugely grateful for any contribution: https://lnkd.in/exzbvf2b Your donations won’t just be much-needed added motivation for me, they’ll help parkrun continue to drive these extraordinary health outcomes at scale. And thank you to everyone who’s already donated. It means a great deal and will absolutely help carry me through on Sunday, hopefully all the way to the finish line! Wish me luck! 🧡💚💜Tamara's running the London Marathon 2026 for parkrun Global!Tamara's running the London Marathon 2026 for parkrun Global!
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Jose Baptista liked thisJose Baptista liked thisHonoured to be featured in La Repubblica, this time about how I continue to grow as an artist when the AI tools change so quickly. As AI becomes more embedded in our industry, I'm increasingly interested in one question: How do you build a point of view that outlasts the tool you made it with? so thankful to Gloria and the incredible team at D La Repubblica for this feature. Article below 👇 https://lnkd.in/e2G-cSr6Scorpion Sorbet: come si evolve un’artista quando la tecnologia correScorpion Sorbet: come si evolve un’artista quando la tecnologia corre
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Jose Baptista reacted on thisJose Baptista reacted on thisGrateful to be ranked among the top 50 real estate teams in NYC by The Real Deal — #43 out of every agent across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. When I started my team at SERHANT., the goal was simple: help people make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives with clarity. We wanted to apply the same strategies and marketing solutions for our Sellers that I learned working on the biggest luxury new developments in the city. These The Real Deal rankings only count sell-side listings that actually closed. Many will list. Not all will trade. This win belongs to every client who trusted us and every deal we fought hard to close. Cheers to an even bigger 2026 🥂 #NYCRealEstate #RealEstateInvesting #WomeninBusiness
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Jose Baptista liked thisA powerful reflection from Scott Galloway stopped me in my tracks. One comment on his post captured something profound: Success is often 10% talent and 90% being in the right room at the right time. Giving back? That’s just paying the “room rent” for the next generation. That idea resonates deeply with me. Because when we look honestly at our journeys, most of us realize something: We didn’t build the mountain alone. Someone opened a door. Someone shared knowledge. Someone invested in a future they might never see. For me, one of those rooms was New York University. 💜 When I began my graduate studies there in 1993, I stepped into a powerful ecosystem of thinkers, creators, researchers, and innovators! Looking back now, I see something clearly: That environment didn’t happen by accident. It exists because generations before us believed in investing in students. In many ways, giving is a form of quantum reciprocity. Energy received. Energy returned. Opportunity expanded forward through time. 🌌 That’s why NYU One Day on March 11 matters. For 24 hours, alumni around the world come together to support scholarships, research, programs, and the opportunities that shape future leaders. Every gift becomes part of something bigger: ✨ Collective impact ✨ Accelerated potential ✨ Dreams made possible Or simply put: Paying the room rent forward. If NYU ever opened a door for you — or if you believe in the power of education to transform lives — I invite you to join me. 💜 Give here early: https://lnkd.in/eTnmZaWw Because somewhere out there is a student about to walk into the room that will change their life. And together, we can help make sure that door is open. 💜 #NYUOneDay #NYU #NYUAlumni #VioletPride #GiveNYU #Leadership #Mentorship #Education #CollectiveImpact #FutureLeaders 💜🎓✨
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Jose Baptista reacted on thisJose Baptista reacted on thisFor most of my career, execution was the moat. If you could design with greater precision, think more structurally or ship with more care than the room, you had leverage. Mastery of the tool created separation. Craft created hierarchy. That hierarchy is eroding. AI has made baseline competence widely available. Interfaces that once required years of refinement can now be assembled in minutes. Campaigns draft before a meeting ends. Code scaffolds itself. Production is no longer the constraint it once was and that changes where advantage lives. As making becomes easy, the differentiator shifts from output to standards. The question is no longer whether something can be produced. It is whether it deserves to exist. When almost anyone can generate something that looks polished, the edge moves upstream toward judgment, restraint and the discipline to choose deliberately. We are about to see an enormous volume of competent work. It will function. It will look refined. Very little of it will endure. The separation will be taste, the discipline to choose, to refuse and to hold a standard over time. I wrote about this shift in a new essay, The Taste Gap. Execution is becoming common. Standards are not.
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Jose Baptista reacted on thisJose Baptista reacted on thisFive months ago, we officially launched our brand in Honduras together with our first service: International Remittances. From day one, our purpose was clear: to simplify financial services and build a solution grounded in trust, accessibility, and simplicity for Hondurans. Since then, we have been relentlessly focused on improving every aspect of our service: expanding our payout network, strengthening partnerships, enhancing customer experience, and optimizing our processes. Today, I’m proud to announce we are expanding our portfolio of products with the launch of 'Envío y Retiro de Dinero', a nationwide solution for sending and withdrawing money. The service is now available at Loto's 2,000+ points of sale across the country. This service was designed by listening closely to families, entrepreneurs, and businesses across Honduras. Moving money locally is part of everyday life and it should be simple, fast, and reliable. With this launch, we are taking another meaningful step in building a more inclusive financial ecosystem. I am incredibly proud of how far we have come in such a short time. What we have achieved in five months reflects the dedication of our team, the strength of our partners, and the trust of our customers. And we are just getting started. We have additional product releases planned for the upcoming year; some improvements to traditional services and others designed to address needs that are not yet fully served in the market. We will continue creating new solutions, new experiences, and new ways to bring greater simplicity and value to the financial lives of Hondurans. Today we celebrate a new service, but most importantly, we celebrate a project that continues to grow to better serve Honduras.
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Jose Baptista liked thisJose Baptista liked thisWe’re thrilled to announce the expansion of the Enfuze platform into the Tampa Bay market! Enfuze Tampa brings our technology-forward outdoor living solutions to Florida homeowners, including: • Uniquely immersive outdoor audio solutions • Backyard & pool-area Wi-Fi • Smart, on-demand, and pesticide-free mosquito control This launch is another step in building Enfuze as a scalable, multi-market platform, pairing strong local operators with Enfuze's product development, manufacturing, distribution, and brand standards. If you’re in the Greater Tampa Bay area, follow along: Web: https://enfuzetampa.com Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gu3kGwdX Facebook: https://lnkd.in/g7navPGJ
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Jose Baptista reacted on thisJose Baptista reacted on thisWe are proud to announce the election of five new members to CHC's National Board of Directors. These distinguished leaders bring a wealth of expertise across healthcare, philanthropy, media, and business to help us further our mission of breaking down barriers to health at the community level. Please join us in welcoming John Burns, Deborah Garcia,Richard Lui, Valerie Simon, Walter D. Woods, MBA Together, we are ensuring that every person in every community has the opportunity to live their healthiest life. Read the full announcement here: http://bit.ly/4aaVvgx
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Jose Baptista reacted on thisJose Baptista reacted on thisTen things my 5-week-old son has taught me about strategy... Just kidding. He’s too busy eating and pooping to be strategic. And hey, maybe strategy is something you’re also having a hard time focusing on right now. When things are moving quickly, it can be tough to take a step back and look at the big picture. But the longer you go without updating your strategic thinking, the less impactful it will be. If your brand is at an inflection point and needs some accelerated thinking, Quick Study is the strategic catalyst you’re looking for. Our collaborative process has worked for adidas, Tito’s, Sonos, Jdate, GoDaddy, and more because it helps leaders make smarter decisions faster. My 5-week-old son might not be very strategic right now, but he’s got an excuse. What’s yours? https://quick.study/
Experience & Education
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Flint Strategy Co.
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Licenses & Certifications
Publications
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Exploring Strategic Choices For Streaming Services
Havas
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Boosting returns on experience with leadership, customer, and employee experience
PwC Strategy+Business
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Digital Capabilities Profiler
PwC
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Realizing a Value Proposition Through Technology and Innovation
PwC
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Return on Experience (ROX) leaders outperform on both growth and profitability
PwC Strategy+Business
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Strategic Innovation in the Digital Age
PwC Strategy+Business
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The Future of Value Creation: IP vs. Open Source Innovation
PwC Strategy+Business
Honors & Awards
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Featured by TechCrunch editors on the Showcase Stage at Disrupt SF 2017 as one of the most promising e-commerce early stage startups.
TechCrunch
Featured by TechCrunch editors on the Showcase Stage at Disrupt SF 2017 as one of the most promising e-commerce early stage startups.
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Recognized by the United Nations as a disruptive partner to reduce food waste
United Nations
Languages
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English
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Spanish
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Portuguese
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Portuguese
Native or bilingual proficiency
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Spanish
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English
Native or bilingual proficiency
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