10 questions with... Dom Joseph, chief executive officer & co-founder at Captify

I started my career as a professional drummer and had a record deal with Polydor Universal. I recorded and toured for four years, supporting many top artists including The Bravery, The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim.

Why did you get into marketing?

Let’s just say my drumming career didn’t quite work out as planned, despite dedicating years to it. I was determined to enter an industry where I could have better control of my own success and failures, not relying on the singer’s voice, the song choice or the look of the band. Media and marketing came naturally to me. The truth is my new boss thought I would have some good band stories to tell clients, so he took a chance on me back then.

Who's your favourite person to work with and why?

We’ve got hundreds of amazing people at Captify. I love working with them all, but in particular our originals who have been with us from day one. I also love working with our product and marketing teams, both areas of the business are very dear to me. They’re defining what we build and how it’s communicated to the outside world. I also have a fantastic business partner in Adam Ludwin who I have built the business with from concept. Externally to Captify I’m lucky to have worked closely with many of our clients and still do. As a chief executive officer their continual feedback is crucial.

What is your ideal work night out?

There’s nothing better as a founder than seeing your teams have fun on a roaring night out. A Captify night out is electric. Just last week I watched our London team put on a huge Media Rocks event for charity. To have that much fun with our teams and clients and then to raise thousands for charity is truly exceptional.

If you could go to one marketing event this year, which would you choose?

Hands down, Cannes Lions. Every year there is an increasingly growing ad tech presence at what was historically a celebration of pure creativity. It shows how data is a valuable currency for creativity. Cannes connects all corners of the industry together to network and do business. Anyone that says the Croisette backdrop doesn't help is lying!

If you could ban one buzzword or piece of jargon what would it be?

AI. It’s being used left, right and centre. It has a broad meaning but many haven't fully grasped the exact use case. AI shouldn't symbolise ‘black box technology’ or be used as a license to mask detail.

What is the most exciting thing about your job?

Client success. To win a top global client and then to hear their take on how our product and people are tackling their problems makes it all worthwhile.

What's the best book you have ever read?

The Godfather

Is programmatic automation?

No, not quite. It’s partly automation, but mainly centralisation of buying and selling platforms. This helps with transparency, reporting, control and centralised management. However, to make it function requires many service layers from DSPs to SSPs and from account management to technical operations.

What's the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

The cavalary ‘aint coming...