#139 Brands Without Creator Partnerships Are Invisible to AI | Tye DeGrange & Dave Yovanno

In this episode of Always the Testing Podcast , host Tye DeGrange talks shop with Dave Yovanno, CEO of impact.com, a partner marketing platform serving about 6,000 brands, including Walmart, Target and 60 banks. The platform has visibility into about $1T in GMV, roughly $200B of it partner-referred. Dave grew up in a blue-collar family in Cleveland and joined the Navy to pay for college. He later helped ValueClick acquire early affiliate networks BeFree and Commission Junction, then became impact.com’s CEO in 2017, when it had about 200 employees. Together, Tye and Dave discuss why Dave advises choosing your next opportunity by who you’ll work with first and what second, and how partnerships have moved from the “sand between the rocks” to a main course. They explore why buyers now trust creators and reviewers over brand messaging, and why brands must let trusted partners carry their story. Dave also explains why he sees AI as a tailwind: as search shifts to an “answer era,” LLMs cite creators and publishers rather than brand copy, and brands can use GEO tools like Evertune to find and activate the partners AI already cites. He previews the product roadmap, including creator storefronts, Meta amplification, measurement beyond last click, and a seller program opening Walmart’s 100,000+ seller brands to partnerships. The conversation closes with how the Navy shaped his leadership, from attention to detail to respect for structure and the ability to relate to all types of people.