36 | Jamie Kritharas: From Hardwell & Diplo to Building a Multi-Million Dollar Marketing Agency

Welcome to Point Zero One – Hosted by Allen Fu. This podcast is about real stories, real strategies, and real results. No fluff—just insights from the best in the game.   What does it take to walk away from a successful music career and build one of Australia's leading performance marketing agencies? In Episode 36 of the Point Zero One Podcast, Allen Fu sits down with Jamie Kritharas, founder of Defiant Digital, to unpack his journey from performing around the world as EDM producer J Trick, with support from Hardwell, Calvin Harris, Skrillex and Diplo, to helping direct-to-consumer brands scale through data-driven marketing. Jamie shares why he left the music industry, the biggest mistakes e-commerce brands make when hiring agencies, and why creative has become the most powerful form of targeting. He also breaks down how Defiant Digital approaches paid ads, landing pages, email and SMS marketing, subscription growth, offer testing, Black Friday campaigns, and performance optimisation using real customer data. Whether you're an entrepreneur, marketer, founder or creator, this episode is packed with practical lessons on scaling brands, making bold career pivots, and building a business that prioritises accountability over excuses.   💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ Jamie's journey from property valuer to internationally recognised EDM artist ✅ Getting signed by Hardwell, Calvin Harris, Skrillex and Diplo ✅ Why he left music to build Defiant Digital ✅ The biggest mistakes agencies make with D2C brands ✅ Why creative is the new targeting ✅ Building high-converting landing pages and retention systems ✅ Subscription strategies and offer testing ✅ Black Friday campaign planning and creative volume ✅ The tools Jamie uses, including Microsoft Clarity and VWO ✅ Why backing yourself early can change everything   If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to like, subscribe, and leave a comment with your biggest takeaway. #PointZeroOnePodcast #JamieKritharas #DefiantDigital #Ecommerce #PerformanceMarketing #DigitalMarketing #Entrepreneurship #D2CBrands #BusinessPodcast #MarketingStrategy   Follow Point Zero One Podcast on socials for more shorts: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pointzeroonepodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pointzeroonepodcast Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pointzeroonepodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/point-zero-one-podcast/   Listen To Point Zero One Podcast on: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6HoWv69lt1E2DmT1Z1evkM?si=5ef647df42404c41 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/point-zero-one-podcast-w-allen-fu/id1814030515 Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/es-cl/podcasts/83ad3f1a-f7a2-4c6c-9bff-462a6d7f32e1/point-zero-one-podcast-w-allen-fu   Make sure to subscribe and keep up to date! We drop new episodes every Wednesday 6pm.   Want to be a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/rGKdmMfaVSZhwgBA8