On the latest episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, host Dan Kahn takes a different approach with a solo episode reflecting on the experiences that shaped his career and the major changes happening in the automotive and marketing industries.
Dan begins with a tribute to his father, David Kahn, a lifelong entrepreneur and car enthusiast who recently passed away after a battle with cancer. Growing up around his father’s air conditioning business gave Dan an early look at the realities of entrepreneurship, including the difficult decisions business owners sometimes have to make. It also sparked his passion for cars and taught him valuable lessons about hard work, leadership and the importance of taking care of your people.
Later in the episode, Dan shifts gears to discuss the rapid changes in consumer purchasing behavior. With artificial intelligence and social media algorithms increasingly influencing how people find products, businesses are facing new challenges in reaching potential customers. Dan shares some of his observations and explains how Kahn Media is researching these changes to help brands better understand the modern buyer.
Listen to the full episode as Dan shares some personal stories, lessons learned throughout his career and his perspective on where the marketing industry is headed.
Here are our top five takeaways:
Make time for the people who matter.
Take care of the people who take care of your business.
Some of the best lessons come from doing the hard work.
AI is changing how consumers make purchasing decisions.
Reaching new customers requires new strategies.
Make Time for the People Who Matter
Having interviewed more than 80 entrepreneurs, business leaders and other accomplished individuals on OTSS, Dan has had the opportunity to learn from some incredible people. However, one person he always intended to interview was his own father, David Kahn.
An entrepreneur and lifelong automotive enthusiast, David had no shortage of interesting stories. He built his own airplane, competed in boat racing and owned hundreds of cars throughout his lifetime. Dan had discussed recording an episode with his father, but despite several opportunities, they never got around to it. Following his father’s passing, it is a decision Dan admits he regrets.
“I’ve spent over eighty episodes now, so hundreds of hours interviewing people that I respect and people who I would like to learn from,” said Dan. “But I never interviewed my own dad.”
For Dan, the experience serves as an important reminder that some opportunities don’t last forever. Making time for the people who matter is something that shouldn’t always be pushed to another day.
Take Care of Your People
Dan grew up watching his father operate Kahn Air Conditioning, a business started by his grandfather in Southern California. Like many entrepreneurs, David experienced his fair share of financial ups and downs. When business was good, he enjoyed spending his hard-earned money on cars, boats and airplanes. However, when a recession hit in the late 1980s, he was forced to sell nearly everything.
Dan remembers seeing his father sitting at the kitchen table, visibly worried about how he would pay the bills. At the time, the experience convinced him that he never wanted to become an entrepreneur himself. It wasn’t until years later that he learned why his father had made those financial sacrifices.
Rather than laying off employees or selling company equipment, David chose to sell his personal possessions to keep the business running and protect the people who worked for him.
“He protected his people because he knew his people would take care of his customers,” said Dan. “And to me, there’s a lot of honor and integrity in that.”
While Dan admits that he operates his own businesses more conservatively than his father did, the experience taught him a valuable lesson about leadership and the responsibility business owners have to their employees.
Learn by Doing
One of the most important lessons Dan learned growing up came after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which forced his high school to close for several months. With no classes to attend, his father decided it was a good opportunity to put him to work.
At the time, Kahn Air Conditioning had been struggling to sell earthquake-activated gas shutoff valves. Following the earthquake, demand for the product increased significantly, but the company’s employees were busy repairing damaged homes. David handed his teenage son a customer list and a telephone and offered him a commission for every valve he sold.
For a 14-year-old with no sales experience, cold-calling homeowners was an intimidating assignment. However, Dan had his eye on an old Mustang and was determined to earn enough money to buy it. By the time school reopened, he had earned the $3,500 he needed and gained skills that would prove invaluable throughout his career.
“I’d also learned how to sell and I had learned how to be fearless,” said Dan. “Then for the next 30 years, that’s kind of what I do for a living is I get on the phone, I talk to people, I build relationships, I’m selling services, I’m selling ideas.”
Dan and his father eventually rebuilt the Mustang together, and Dan managed to get the finished car featured in several automotive magazines. Those early experiences helped introduce him to automotive journalism and ultimately set him on the path to building Kahn Media.
The Way Consumers Buy Is Changing
Artificial intelligence is having a major impact on how consumers research products and make purchasing decisions. While buyers previously relied on magazine reviews, salespeople and traditional online searches for information, many are now turning to AI platforms for recommendations and answers to specific questions.
Dan shares a recent experience involving a tonneau cover he purchased for his truck. After dealing with mounting clamps that repeatedly came loose, he turned to Google Gemini for help. By uploading photos and explaining the issue, he was able to identify a known problem with the product and locate updated replacement parts that solved it.
“That is, I think, a game changer. And that is how I think a lot of people are now starting to plan their builds,” said Dan.
For marketers, this shift presents both opportunities and challenges. Rather than visiting multiple websites and comparing information themselves, consumers are increasingly relying on AI to do much of that research for them. That changes how brands need to think about getting their products in front of potential customers.
To better understand these changing behaviors, Kahn Media has been conducting a major research project involving thousands of automotive consumers and interviews with industry professionals. The goal is to understand how customers discover products, what influences their decisions and how businesses can adapt their marketing strategies accordingly.
Reach Beyond Your Existing Audience
Social media algorithms have made it easier than ever for brands to reach people who are already interested in their products. However, Dan points out that these same algorithms can make it increasingly difficult to introduce new products to consumers who aren’t already searching for them.
Social platforms prioritize content based on what users watch, like and engage with. While that can be valuable for targeting an established audience, it also creates a cycle where people are repeatedly exposed to similar content rather than discovering something new.
“That’s where the discovery layer comes in. And how do we get that discovery layer in front of somebody to open their eyes and get them to say, that’s actually something I might be interested in? Show me more of that,” said Dan.
Dan highlights Scout Motors as an example of a brand approaching this challenge in an interesting way. Rather than relying entirely on traditional automotive media, Scout has partnered with content creators who appeal to different audiences, including automotive reviewers, artists and lifestyle influencers. By combining these collaborations with paid promotion, the company can introduce its upcoming vehicles to consumers who might not otherwise encounter them.
For Dan, this is an example of how the traditional boundaries between earned, owned and paid media are changing. Brands need to understand how these channels work together and develop strategies that reach existing customers while also introducing their products to new audiences.
Dan believes the companies willing to adapt will have a significant advantage as consumer habits continue to evolve. He plans to explore these changes further during his upcoming presentation at the 2026 SEMA Show and Kahn Media’s next Growth Garage webinar, where the agency will share findings from its automotive consumer research.
