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Make Better Things

Where smart experts become trusted thought leaders

The Creator Kitchen is a membership program offering education and coaching to help you turn your expertise into IP and your IP into a passionate audience and thriving business. We focus on concepts like premise development, storytelling, differentiation, and influence. Our members are consultants, freelancers, B2B communicators, and entrepreneurs who love to teach.

  • Learn from and access other top voices

  • Actively wrestle with your ideas 1:1 and 1:few

  • Compete on the power of your ideas (not the volume of your marketing)

Mastering this craft is a journey.

Don’t go it alone.

Stop competing on volume and learn to compete on impact

Expertise is foundational—but found everywhere.

turn your perspective into I.P.

1.

We help you identify, develop, and unleash your perspective, so you can craft differentiated messaging, the big ideas driving your projects, and all the little details needed to create consistently original and effective content to grow.

2.

To help you master your craft and sustain momentum, we offer world-class education (masterclasses, templates, and prompts) from top experts and creators who both study this work and do it themselves, plus always-available support from our founders and fellow members (office hours, roundtables, and a member chat forum).

Learn about the I.P. Pyramid

This is what gives your work greater power and influence (and helps get you off the hamster wheel):


What Members Experience:

We offer a blend of on-demand education, live community support and connection, and practical resources that help push you creatively, so you can evolve from smart expert or capable entertainer into a trusted voice and creative leader.

✅ Classes, guest sessions, and related prompts and templates help you acquire and apply skills.

✅ Optional weekly calls help you connect with peers and our founders, ask questions, and feel the joy.

✅ And our community forum + private podcast help you keep all this goodness in your back pocket.

 


In a survey, 100% of our Members told us:

”I’m a stronger creator as a result of this membership.”



Susan turns to the Kitchen to move from theory (which she believes in) to action (which grows her business).

 
 




After a year of learning and piloting with our initial members, we’re excited to welcome more chefs to the Kitchen!

 
 



 

sharpen your thinking 🧠

 

create more bravely 🧭

wrestle with ideas 📝

 

connect with peers 🤝

 

We teach the transferable skills required to become a trusted storyteller and thought leader

Get masterclasses, guest lectures, tutorial videos, and templates & prompts grouped by creative skill.

When you’re ready to execute, you’ll benefit from the feedback and support of our community and our founders.

 

Get Insights from + access to Jay, Mel, and leading voices who routinely visit the Kitchen

They can charge $20-50k just for a single speech to other groups, but In the Kitchen, you can access their genius on-demand.

We teach skills which are transferable and personal. They go with you everywhere you show up, and you will execute them in your own way to create better things.

New masterclasses and guest lectures added each month! Attend live or access the backlog.

 
 

our shared enemy: Commodity Work

Where are you on the Idea Impact Matrix?

The impact of your work is directly proportional to its value and its originality.

Our members learn to craft work that is more insightful and more personal.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Founded by Jay Acunzo and Melanie Deziel

 
 
 

Two of the world’s most creative and accomplished business storytellers & content creators, with 40+ years combined experience as authors, keynote speakers, podcasters, and facilitators, including in-house creative and marketing roles at brands like these.

 
 

Fun fact about Jay and Mel

In 2016, Jay received the highest audience rating out of the 150 speakers at Content Marketing World, which earned him the coveted opening keynote to the entire audience of 4,000 marketers the next year. In 2019, Melanie did the exact same thing, earning the opening keynote by receiving the highest audience rating. They were the two youngest speakers in the 14-year history of the event to achieve this.

 
 
 
 

Join Us in the Kitchen

“The Most Valuable Resource I’ve Ever Had”

“I'm not exaggerating when I say this is the most valuable personal development resource I've ever had. For the first time in my career, people are reaching out to me because of my ideas, not work I've done on someone else's ideas.

—Meg Johnson, freelance creative director and producer

 
 

“One of the best investments I’ve Ever Made”

“Subscribing to the Kitchen is one of the best investments I’ve ever made both in improving my own creative thinking and also surrounding myself with peers elevating their own.”

—Brendan Hufford, marketing consultant and membership founder

 

Choose Your Plan

Standard Membership

$999 per year

Our core offering for creative “chefs”

🎓 Monthly masterclasses (plus backlog)

🎤 Monthly guest interviews and Q&As (plus backlog)

🎧 Access to our members-only podcast

⚙️ Library of recordings and templates

💙 Twice-monthly themed roundtables

🚪 Twice-monthly office hours

💬 Access to community chat forum

💌 Weekly roundup email to never miss a thing!

VIP Mastermind

Application Only

Highly vetted mastermind for those with traction

For established entrepreneurs and experts who turn their thinking into their IP and their IP into their business.

Meet regularly with your core group and our founders to work through meaningful challenges, plus enjoy VIP-only benefits, a VIP-only chat forum, and 100% of our Standard tier.

Your small group remains consistent for sustained context and personalized feedback. This is for emerging and established creators and experts who are well beyond the basics.

 

Alli was worried her ideas wouldn’t stand out. Then she joined the Kitchen.

 
 

 

Frequently asked questions

  • Nope! We designed this with one mantra: "On-demand, not demanding."

    Each week, we send a roundup email to ensure you don't miss a thing, and we offer things like a calendar of events, a back catalog (called the Pantry, obviously), and a private podcast so you can pick and choose the right live sessions or on-demand learning for you.

    This is meant to be the fuel to your existing existing fire. You're already stoking the flames of your creativity (this metaphor is really going places, huh?). You're already creating things for your business and platform. You can turn to the Kitchen when you want to improve those things -- or successfully launch something new.

  • Our members are content creators or aspire to be.

    They're all working professionals looking to continue their education and develop new projects or enhance existing work.

    Most of our members would identify as experts, thought leaders, and service providers of some kind. Teaching and inspiring is at the core of what we do for our audiences.

    Some of our members are in-house marketers and leaders, though they join the Kitchen for their personal brand or projects.

    100% of our members believe in creativity and wish to craft at least the majority of their content personally.

  • The short answer: YES.

    The medium answer: Y E S.

    The long answer. Please use our Contact page to ask about current group rates. Please include the number of memberships you need. Thanks!

  • They are both actively involved each week. The Kitchen is the heartbeat of their businesses and their schedules, and while 1:1 support is reserved for our VIP members, 1:few happens every week.

    Jay hosts biweekly roundtables and Mel hosts biweekly office hours.

    In addition, they're both in our community forum regularly, but you should not expect personal consulting or coaching from them within that forum. They offer that type of support separately. Contact them about 1:1 advisory work outside your Kitchen membership, please and thanks.

    Lastly, both Jay and Mel regularly lead both guest sessions and their own masterclasses and workshops

  • Members can cancel at any time. Here is our refund policy:

    • If you cancel an annual subscription within the first 3 months of your membership, you'll be refunded 50% of your membership fee. (Note: this has happened exactly 1 time, ever.)

    • If you cancel an annual subscription in month 4 or later, you'll be refunded the prorated amount remaining in your plan.

    To explain the first rule: Although we believe YOU wouldn't do this, this policy is in place to avoid bad actors who might join, scrape our site, and then leave quickly. That's why we only refund half of the annual membership for folks who cancel within the first 3 months. We also believe the full extent of any membership, ours or otherwise, is hard to experience in a short time frame. But mostly, this is about penalizing potential site-scraping fools. Thanks for understanding.

  • First, we want you to pause and make sure that you’re not just saying that as an excuse.

    It’s not personal. We don’t know you… YET!

    But we do know that many creators use “someday” as a way to avoid doing things they know they should do, or to avoid doing things things they’re afraid to fail at.


    But if that’s not you, then you’re welcome to join our email list, so you can be informed about upcoming masterclasses, guest speakers, new features, special offers, and the occasional free/public event, too.

    Join the email list to stay updated.

  • Infinity puns. You should expect infinity puns. Then prepare for more.

 
 

Hi, I’m Jay Acunzo.

My mission Is to help others make what matters

That’s why I founded the Creator Kitchen: to help others create more meaningful things. To resonate more deeply and, in doing so, better serve your career, company, and community.

The shape of my work

After starting in sports journalism and shifting quickly to marketing, I worked in roles at ESPN, Google, two startups (including HubSpot, where I was head of content), and the VC firm NextView.

Since becoming an independent creator in 2016, I’m grateful to have worked on projects like these:

  • My podcast How Stories Happens is like Song Exploder for storytellers — a dissection of craft. Each episode, guests share one signature story, which we then analyze together.

  • My books, Break the Wheel and The Creator’s Compass — fun, funny, but challenging journeys to understand ourselves and our roles in shaping more powerful creative work.

  • The docuseries Against the Grain — a travel-based docuseries about values-based businesses, which I wrote, co-directed, and hosted.

  • Consulting and/or developing shows for brands like Salesforce, Drift, GoDaddy, Wistia, Help Scout, Podia, and more.

  • Years on the road as a professional keynote speaker, delivering talks to everyone from 4,000 marketers to 400 people ops professionals to 40 small business owners.

But few things have been as rewarding and as transformative to me than my writing practice, established in 2005, which I do on the side of everything else.

It’s there that I found myself and learned to trust myself — and to imbue the work with the kind of personality, personal stories, and problem-solving vision that makes me and my work identifiable and unique.

I want this same outcome for every member of the Kitchen: more personal, more powerful work, executed more consistently. This is what makes you irreplaceable in the face of endless competition and increasing pressures from algorithms and AI.

Hey there, I’m Melanie Deziel.

MY MISSION IS TO HELP OTHERS UNLOCK THEIR CREATIVITY

That’s why I’m so excited about launching the Creator Kitchen: to help all of you access your most creative selves, organize your creative processes, and produce the kind of work you’ve always dreamed about creating.

WHAT MY WORK LOOKS LIKE

After studying investigative journalism and arts journalism, I worked on the branded content team at Huffington Post, was the first-ever editor of branded content at the New York Times, and served as Director of Creative Strategy of Time Inc’s 35 US media properties.

Since setting out on my own in 2016, here’s what I’ve been up to:

  • As a professional speaker, I’ve spoken on stages around the world, giving keynote speeches and breakout workshops to audiences ranging from 10 engineers to 2000+ real estate advisors.

  • As an author, I’ve written two books for creators and marketers: The Content Fuel Framework and Prove It

  • As a consultant and corporate trainer, I’ve been honored to with 30+ Fortune 100 companies, advising on content strategies, content creation, and content operations.

  • I’ve worked with several universities to develop Master’s-level courses for degrees in communications, advertising, and journalism, and taught several of them myself.

Regardless of the form it takes, all my work is focused on educating and empowering creators to feel more creative and produce better work.

 
 

Keep Making What Matters