In this second episode, we continue our series on how buying decisions get made. John Wilkes sits down with our guest, Felipe Stark, a CTO who has been involved in many software and tech negotiations. He shares insights on the CTO's role, including what people typically assume about the job that is untrue in practice, and how he makes "build or buy" decisions.

B2B buying decisions rarely follow a neat or linear path. They’re shaped by internal alignment, risk, and long-term trade-offs long before vendors ever enter the picture.

In this first episode of B2B in Flux, John Wilkes speaks with Neil Bhay, a CTO with over 25 years of experience across enterprise, mid-market, and startup environments, about how buying decisions actually get made inside executive teams.

They discuss where buying really begins, how CTOs evaluate risk beyond features and demos, the role peer networks play in building confidence, and why exit paths, vendor lock-in, and long-term consequences matter more than most marketing acknowledges.

The conversation also explores how AI is changing research in practice, and where AI-led messaging tends to fall apart inside real organisations.

B2B in Flux is a podcast for senior B2B marketers who want to move beyond personas and linear journeys, and better understand how executives really think, decide, and evaluate vendors in complex, high-stakes environments.

Host: John Wilkes, Somebody Digital
https://www.somebodydigital.com

Guest: Neil Bhay
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilbhay/
Website: https://www.neilbhay.com