Let’s Build Something!

Freelance & Startups

Marketing, Insights & Strategy

Creative Fit, a Las Vegas-based architecture firm, recognized in the area as a leader in designing modern, efficient commercial, industrial, and residential buildings was ready for growth and Brain Flower Services was there for them – and continues to be a key strategic, branding, and financial operations partner.

Startup foris.io, now defunct, was building an interface for farmers and ranchers to track and measure soil moisture and temperature, weather conditions, and then use those inputs, and others, to forecast output and the optimal use of resources. We didn’t quite get there, but Brian was engaged from early on with the founder defining the interface, specing the product, and recruiting tech help to build our first prototype.

Startup Buffalo Market began as a direct-to-consumer / prosumer marketplace for fresh & organic Central Valley, California produce and now is a direct store delivery (DSD) company for leading organic CPG brands on the West Coast.  

Brian was instrumental in growing BM’s initial customer following, understanding their prospective partners and customers, developing the startup’s CRM and digital marketing programs, and helping them develop new CPG contacts through direct outreach and email marketing.

Brian marketed exclusive high quality printed replications of licensed original art, called “giclee”, each signed and numbered by the artist through web and catalogs for NextMonet, an evolving company which was eventually acquired. Brian started with the company reporting on list and SKU performance to managing the brokering of lists, market research, and even shipping.

Corporate
Experience

Creating Offerings, Demand, and Teams

As Chief Operating Officer, Brian led CFMC/Survox (now known as Enghouse Insights), one of the original survey tech companies through a decade of evolution. Together, they brought to life new user-first interfaces, leveraged partners and open-source tech to grow creatively, and introduced the first cloud-based services for call centers.

Brian served as the voice of the company to the customer and user base and delivered the voice of the customer and user to the technologists and specialists internally. Behind the curtain, he modernized almost every function in the company with help from within as the organization adapted to five CEO changes and continuous improvement.

Enghouse Insights (CFMC/Survox) website  |  LinkedIn Company

National Federation of Independent Business Brian Fowler was the senior insights market research manager and independent business owner subject matter expert for five years for the largest small and independent business membership organization in the United States. Through dozens of studies with entrepreneurs and their teams he worked strategic wonders for the marketing, human resources, IT, and sales teams.

Brian Fowler has worked with non-profit organizations for 10+ hours each week for more than 25 years.

Early mentors and the four years with the National Federation of Independent Business, a membership-based nonprofit serving small businesses conviced him of the value in community service and he continues to “pay it forward”.

In January 2022, Brian launched the Insights Career Network (ICN), the job search and career community for insights professionals, with five like-minded colleagues. The ICN helps people working in UX, CX, Market/Marketing Research, and the Behavioral Sciences find their voice and their way. The 2,400+ member ICN is 100% volunteer-run and completely free.

Brian has been particularly instrumental in establishing the ICN’s LinkedIn Company channel which has more than 21,000 followers as of Feb 2025, InsightsCareerNetwork.org and co-hosting most of the 60+ Job Seekers & Allies meetups available for free on the website. He currently leads a volunteer of 15 dedicated professionals, many coducting important profession-focused research studies.

Insights Career Network website  |  LinkedIn Company

Over a period of 25 years, served as an elected official in several business community organisations. Marketing, Research and Insights professionals may know his work as a long-time elected board member with the chapters of the American Marketing Association and the Marketing Research Association/Insights Association, where he served multiple terms as President and earned awards including “Volunteer of the Decade”. Or it might be his four years with PAPOR, the West Coast chapter of the American Association for Public Opinion Researchers.

His hands-on development and team leadership with these groups developed and marketed new programs continuously that informed and connected professionals. As President, Brian led each of the organization’s finances, business operations, events, and marketing, rebranding each most of their websites at some point.

In his Alameda, California community, he has also been an active, transformational volunteer leader and Treasurer with two Alameda, California 501c(3) organizations, including the Edison Elementary PTA who benefited from his energy and experience when the pandemic changed everything.

He also modernized and revitalized Bike Walk Alameda‘s web presence and Finance operations, re-launching the organization’s website and introducing new ways to leverage existing content, while updating the organization’s financial systems and reporting processes.