About
I’m Evan Addison Payne, Director of Brand & Growth Strategy at The Starr Conspiracy, an AI-native B2B agency. I’m based in Chicago. Most of my work is with Work Tech, HR tech, and SaaS companies that have a real product and a market that can’t tell them apart from the next vendor. I help them figure out why, then fix it.
The long way here
I went from the University of Arkansas straight into a production company, then into civic and nonprofit marketing, then B2B tech. Every one of those jobs answered to a number, and every one taught me something I still use.
(I)
Three years as Chief of Staff at Intercut Productions, running accounts and turning Fortune 500 initiatives into stories people would actually sit through. Most of what I know about getting and keeping a room’s attention, I learned there.
Fortune 500 clientsEmmy-nominated show
(II)
A chamber of commerce competing nationally for talent, then a $10M nonprofit program where every dollar had to show up for the mission. The work had to make sense to the people it was for, not just the people approving it.
+78% impressions$10M budget
(III)
Marketing strategy at The Starr Conspiracy, a $2.2M monthly number at hireEZ, then back to TSC to lead brand and growth. Everything I touch now gets measured against pipeline and revenue.
$1.72M ARR+15–20% over target
University of Arkansas, B.S. in Business Administration, marketing and economics.
See the full resumeHow I work
(I)
I’ll put a clear point of view on the table early, even if it turns out to be wrong. A team can react to something specific. It can’t do much with a deck that’s careful enough to agree with everyone.
(II)
Before we add budget, I want to know what’s actually broken. Soft pipeline is often a positioning problem, and spending more on a message nobody remembers just makes it more expensive.
(III)
I can open Figma and build it myself, so the idea you approve is the one that ships. Nothing gets lost between the strategy deck and the designer.
Outside of work
Most of my time off goes to getting somewhere new. Twelve countries so far, and I’m nowhere near done. Every new city starts the same way. I find the good bar, then I walk until I’m lost. If you ask me where to go next, I’ll say Prague.
Back in Chicago, my favorite nights are the ones I host. A long table, a big dinner, and friends who stay a lot later than they planned. Lollapalooza is my festival. Industry is my show right now. And late at night it’s Charli XCX, John Summit or Slayyyter, usually while I’m working on something I couldn’t crack during the day.
