This article was originally published in Valiant CEO.
Nina Knauf is the founder of Knauf Media Group (KMG) and its product, Amplify, a marketing technology platform built to empower small business owners with AI-powered tools that make professional content creation simple and accessible.
Her background is in public relations, communications, and digital marketing, with a strong focus on helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses without the overwhelm. Based in Metro Detroit, Nina brings a community-centered perspective to innovation, blending technology with the real-world needs of business owners who are often doing it all on their own.
Company: Knauf Media Group
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Nina Knauf: My name is Nina Knauf, and I’m the founder of Knauf Media Group (KMG) and the creator of our flagship product, Amplify. I’m a public relations and digital marketing strategist based in Metro Detroit. After years of working in both corporate and agency settings, I saw a gap that too many small business owners and lean teams fall into. They understand the importance of marketing, but they often don’t have the time, budget, or support to execute it consistently or professionally.
That’s where Amplify comes in. It’s a marketing technology platform built specifically for non-marketers. Using AI, Amplify helps small business owners and lean teams generate high-quality content for social media and email. It’s quick, intuitive, and affordable, giving business owners the tools they need to compete and grow.
Success should be accessible. Amplify is more than a content tool, it’s a way to give entrepreneurs more control, more visibility, and more freedom to grow on their own terms.
What emerging technology trends do you believe will have the most profound impact in the next 5-10 years?
Nina Knauf: AI will absolutely continue to lead the way, but the most profound impact won’t come from the flashiest tools. It will come from platforms that make powerful technology truly accessible. I believe we’re entering an era where personalization, automation, and predictive insights will become standard for businesses of all sizes, not just enterprises.
We’ll also see continued growth in no-code and low-code platforms. These allow small teams to move faster without heavy technical overhead. The real transformation happens when emerging technologies are designed with real people in mind. Business owners who are wearing every hat need tools that make their lives easier, not more complicated. That is the future I’m building toward with Amplify.
Can you share a specific technological breakthrough from your company that has the potential to reshape your industry?
Nina Knauf: Our breakthrough is Amplify, a self-serve marketing tool designed for small business owners and lean teams. It includes three core features: a Content Generator for creating professional copy, an Archive to save and repurpose content, and Ask an Expert for on-demand guidance.
Amplify makes it easy to stay consistent and on-brand without needing a full team or agency. For those who need deeper strategy, we offer full-service support through Knauf Media Group. This hybrid model gives entrepreneurs the flexibility to start small and scale up, making professional marketing more accessible than ever.
By lowering the barrier to high-quality marketing and pairing it with optional strategic support, we are reshaping how small businesses approach marketing. It is no longer a luxury. It is a tool they can use, afford, and grow with.
How do you approach innovation while balancing the need for practicality and market readiness?
Nina Knauf: For me, innovation always starts with listening. During the TechTown customer discovery program, we interviewed nearly 150 people in just 10 weeks. These were small business owners and professionals within our ideal customer profile. We asked what was working, what wasn’t, and what they truly needed from a marketing solution. That experience validated our direction and gave us the confidence to build something practical, not just aspirational.
We didn’t create Amplify based on assumptions. We built it using the data we heard from real users and the trends we saw in the broader marketing and communications space. There was a clear need for something lightweight, effective, and accessible, especially for people running lean operations.
Balancing innovation with practicality means staying grounded in the everyday challenges of the people we serve. We are always thinking ahead, but we build for where our users are now, not just where we hope they will be.
What challenges do you face in integrating cutting-edge technology into existing business models?
Nina Knauf: One of the biggest challenges is making sure the technology actually fits into how small business owners work day to day. Cutting-edge tools are exciting, but if they feel overwhelming or disconnected from the way people already operate, they won’t get used. With Amplify, our goal has always been to simplify, not complicate.
Another challenge is education. Many of our users aren’t marketers or tech experts. We have to bridge that gap by making the platform intuitive and by offering support that builds confidence. That’s also why we built Amplify under Knauf Media Group. We wanted to give users the option to start with self-serve tools, then tap into a deeper strategic partnership if and when they’re ready.
The last challenge is mindset. A lot of small businesses assume high-quality marketing is out of reach. Changing that belief takes time, trust, and consistency; but it’s worth it. Our job is to meet them where they are and show them what’s possible when the right technology is actually built with them in mind.
How do you foster a culture of innovation within your organization to stay ahead in the tech race?
Nina Knauf: Fostering a culture of innovation has been one of the most rewarding aspects of building this business. I’ve always been an innovator on the teams I’ve been part of, identifying inefficiencies, connecting ideas, and pushing for better ways of doing things. I firmly believe that improvement doesn’t require permission, as long as it’s approached thoughtfully and intentionally.
Bringing that mindset into my own company has been incredibly fulfilling. As a creative, and with Josef, my husband and co-founder, being more operations-focused, we’ve blended our strengths to turn ideas into practical, effective solutions. Together, we’ve built something that is both strategic and imaginative.
We also collaborate with a broader network of developers, designers, writers, and photographers who contribute their expertise. This collaborative approach allows us to integrate the latest advancements in marketing technology and AI into our offerings, ensuring we remain at the forefront of industry developments. Innovation, for me, is a collective effort that thrives on diverse perspectives and continuous learning.
Knauf Media Group 