Navigating AI Adoption for Business Success | Nick Oliveri from Cornerstone Technologies

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Rick: Hey everyone, welcome to today’s episode of Pathmonk Presents. Today we are joined by Nick Oliveri, the Director of Marketing at Cornerstone Technologies. He is also a Ukrainian-born bestselling novelist. Nick, welcome to the show.

Nick Oliveri: Hey, thank you very much for having me, Rick. This is awesome.

Rick: Of course. Happy to have you. So Nick, I just want to jump right in if you don’t mind. I want to talk about your company, Cornerstone Technologies, and the work you guys are doing. How would you describe it to someone you just met on the street, so our audience can also understand?

Nick Oliveri: I would say, very simply, we have a bevy and a deep dearth of options in professional services and managed services for companies and organizations of all sorts—from smaller firms such as law offices and municipalities all the way up to middle-market and even some very large enterprises.

We have fantastic vendors and some of the best engineers and brightest minds. On the flip side, we’re working on some very advanced emerging technologies with some of today’s leading data scientists. Cornerstone is putting an emphasis on becoming the entry point for companies—large and small, including government, municipalities, and federal entities—transitioning into emerging tech and AI.

We want to be seen, and frankly are seen more and more, as that bridge into emerging technology. It’s not always easy to adopt AI or RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) or enterprise search or any advanced automation used for internal processes or external communications. What we’re able to do, in the other half of our capabilities, is provide that entry point—whether it’s for seasoned professionals who are wary of AI and LLMs or IT directors and CIOs who need a broader view of what’s possible.

At Cornerstone Technologies, we believe you should be able to use your data. That’s a big thing we’re working on, and it’s going really well. We’re developing a lot and we’re very excited about the prospects of the future.

Rick: Alright, I’m glad. I’m curious—say I work at a law firm, and we’ve been having discussions about implementing AI to optimize internal processes. I’ve been tasked with finding companies that can help. Who am I in your world? What’s my title? I guess I’m trying to understand a little more about your ICP. You mentioned law firms earlier, but feel free to expand.

Nick Oliveri: Yeah, absolutely. What’s really interesting is that depending on the offering, it varies. We love speaking with folks who are very technical—cybersecurity specialists, for instance. But in other offerings, like where we’re developing advanced model risk management tools for highly regulated industries, we actually prefer to speak with people who are less technical.

Not because we want to bypass technical people, but because it’s often more effective to go straight to those who are concerned with risk. It’s easier to demonstrate the benefits when talking to people focused on outcomes, compliance, or the bottom line, rather than the nuts and bolts. The technical details are important, but they can sometimes bog things down.

So, in some offerings we don’t target IT directors directly—we might aim for people concerned with legal, risk, or compliance. Our ICP depends on what we’re offering. We’re so fortified in so many areas that our ideal customer profile shifts depending on where we can help most.

Rick: That makes sense. It’s good to have that kind of flexibility. So how does that translate to your website? What role does it play? Do you think it helps you attract more clients? Is there anything you think it needs to do better?

Nick Oliveri: Great question. Our site, just in the last few weeks, has generated some very warm leads—without us doing much more than just existing on the web. We’ve got the right keywords and offerings in place, and we’re attractive enough for people to come to us, which is really my ultimate goal.

Of course, outbound and direct demand gen, enterprise sales, all that is still very important. But the website is a legitimate lead source. No one is going to arrive at our site and fill out a contact form unless they are either a bot or a prospect who really wants to explore a buying opportunity.

Right now, the site is being overhauled again. And yes, I’m leading that effort. The site needs to reflect everything that’s evolving—whether that’s our engineering stack or our data science capabilities. It has to evolve with us.

Rick: Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Since you’re leading that effort, let’s talk about you as a leader. You’ve been with Cornerstone Technologies for over a year now. What are you doing on a daily basis to make an impact and support the marketing effort?

Nick Oliveri: Just yesterday, I did about eight different things to push things forward—advancing initiatives, expanding our reach, refining how we’re seen. I had internal discussions, talked to vendors for testimonials, worked on trademarks and new entities… I won’t go into detail on that for legal reasons, but I push a lot forward all the time.

Here’s the thing, and I’ll be very frank: I believe 96–97% of marketers—whether they’re social media marketers, data-driven marketers, VPs, whatever—give marketing a bad name. I get why management sees marketing as a sunk cost. They don’t always see the direct line to sales.

What I’ve proven at Cornerstone is that there is a direct line. But also, there are indirect forms of value—brand visibility, mass intimation, perception. The more your brand is seen, the more credibility it carries. You’ve got the HubSpot logo in the background, Rick—immediately, my brain gives you more credibility. That’s the exposure effect in action.

That’s one of my goals for Cornerstone—to become a staple. A mainstay. And yeah, I wear a lot of hats. One department might not even know what I’m doing. But I’m a conduit, a connector, an ambassador, and an external communicator. I lead a lot of those efforts.

Rick: You know what? That really makes sense. I say this a lot—marketing leaders wake up every day and wonder, “Which hat am I wearing today?” And often, the answer is all of them.

Nick Oliveri: Exactly. In big companies—Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce—you’ve got deep marketing departments with highly defined roles. At Cornerstone, which is growing quickly, ambiguity is the norm. And I’m good with that.

Just like salespeople—some are slick, some are great listeners, some technical, some not. Same thing applies to marketers. Not everyone can do everything perfectly, but you lean into your strengths. That’s how I operate.

Rick: Totally relatable. We’re a startup too—everyone wears multiple hats. So, Nick, I want to thank you for being on the show. As we wrap things up, I’ll give you the last word. If someone forgets everything from this interview, what’s the one thing they should remember about your work at Cornerstone Technologies?

Nick Oliveri: I highly doubt anyone will forget what I’ve said—or my face or speech patterns—but if they do, I’d say this:

Go act on something.

Mess up if you have to, but just do something. Take action. You’ll either get admonished and learn, fail and learn, or succeed and iterate. I tend to overthink sometimes—it’s a gift and a curse. But no matter what, act. Figure it out by doing.

Rick: That’s a great message. I wish we had an editing team that could drop in a Shia LaBeouf “Just do it!” GIF right now. Seriously though—that’s gold. Nick, thanks again. Hopefully we’ll have you back before the end of the year. If someone wants to check out Cornerstone Technologies, where should they go?

Nick Oliveri: CornerstoneTechnologies.com. We’re also on LinkedIn—just search “Cornerstone Technologies.” We’re based in San Jose. Whether you’re looking for professional services, managed services, high-level cybersecurity, or emerging tech, we aim to be your entry point.

Rick: Awesome. Too easy. Go check them out. Thanks again, Nick—have a great day.

Nick Oliveri: Thank you so much.