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Michael Curtis is the CEO and founder of Proud Management, a boutique talent management company representing creators who are highly conscious of their social following and character. In a world where new influencers are born overnight, they believe that it's important, now more than ever, to be good role models, spread positivity, and fight for what you believe in— and they are committed to helping their talent do just that.Before launching Proud Management, Michael was the former Director of Influencer Strategy and content at Reach Agency, named Small Agency of the Year in 2016. There, he oversaw the talent team, talent relationships and services, content development, and branded activations. He executed over 150 deals there, working with premiere clients such as Amazon, Clorox, Hallmark, Marriott Hotels, Nestle, Panda Express, and more.Michael previously shaped Quest Nutrition's influencer marketing strategy to be one of the most revered in the space, helping Quest to be named the 2nd Fastest Growing Company in North America in 2014 by INC Magazine, and the #1 protein bar in the world.Michael began his career at the multi-channel network Fullscreen. He was one of the first to leverage YouTube's best practices to identify and develop new media stars. Joining Fullscreen in its infancy, Michael established the male lifestyle network, which featured over 1,000 top creators.
Nx debuts Polygraph, a "synthetic monorepo" that gives AI agents a unified view across microservice boundaries, Deno Desktop takes aim at Electron by compiling web projects into single-binary native apps, and fresh SignalFire hiring data shows engineers holding steady while designers and marketers take the cuts.Timestamps0:00 - Intro1:41 - Polygraph meta-harness from the Nx folks7:49 - Deno Desktop12:39 - An update on the tech hiring landscape24:42 - Dan Abramov joins Vercel27:01 - Claude Code supports mouse clicks now30:37 - Astro 731:08 - What's Making Us HappyNewsPaige: Polygraph meta-harness from the Nx folksJack: Deno 2.9 & Deno DesktopTJ: An update on the tech hiring landscape from SignalFireLightning NewsClaude Code supports mouse clicks now (i.e. Fullscreen rendering)Dan Abramov joins VercelAstro 7What's Making Us HappyPaige: Dungeon Crawler CarlJack: Bird nestsTJ: ShuffleboardThanks as always to our sponsor, the Blue Collar Coder channel on YouTube. Join us in our Discord, explore our website and reach us via email, or talk to us on X, Bluesky, or YouTube.Front-End Fire websiteBlue Collar Coder on YouTubeBlue Collar Coder on DiscordReach out via emailTweet at us on X @front_end_fireFollow us on Bluesky @front-end-fire.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel @Front-EndFirePodcast
Check out this amazing message by Pastor Kevin Kerr brought to you to be equipped for life with the truth of God's Word. Hit "LIKE" and subscribe to keep the Word moving forward. If you would like to support this great work in Key West and across the globe, use this link to give with the CWC secure online platform https://cwckw.churchtrack.com or use the CWC Church App.Get daily encouragement and stay up to date with CWC by downloading our Free CWC Church App in the Apple Store or Google Play - links also available on the CWC Websitewww.covenantwordchurch.orgSwitch to FULL SCREEN view by rotating your device horizontally.All Rights Reserved 2026 By Covenant Word Church https://www.covenantwordchurch.org
Check out this amazing message by Pastor Kevin Kerr brought to you to be equipped for life with the truth of God's Word. Hit "LIKE" and subscribe to keep the Word moving forward. If you would like to support this great work in Key West and across the globe, use this link to give with the CWC secure online platform https://cwckw.churchtrack.com or use the CWC Church App.Get daily encouragement and stay up to date with CWC by downloading our Free CWC Church App in the Apple Store or Google Play - links also available on the CWC Websitewww.covenantwordchurch.orgSwitch to FULL SCREEN view by rotating your device horizontally.All Rights Reserved 2026 By Covenant Word Church https://www.covenantwordchurch.org
Your iPad can do a lot more than you think. Full Screen, Windowed, or Stage Manager—which multitasking style actually fits your workflow? Mikah Sargent breaks down the pros and cons so you can finally decide which iPad experience wins. How to customize multitasking modes on your iPad Using gestures for multitasking and productivity Four/five-finger gestures: switch apps, go home, open app switcher Three-finger gestures: undo, redo, copy, paste, quick notes, screenshots Windowed apps explained: resizing, moving, multi-window setup Stage Manager basics and how it differs from other modes Host: Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Hands-On Apple at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-apple Want access to the ad-free audio and video and exclusive features? Become a member of Club TWiT today! https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Your iPad can do a lot more than you think. Full Screen, Windowed, or Stage Manager—which multitasking style actually fits your workflow? Mikah Sargent breaks down the pros and cons so you can finally decide which iPad experience wins. How to customize multitasking modes on your iPad Using gestures for multitasking and productivity Four/five-finger gestures: switch apps, go home, open app switcher Three-finger gestures: undo, redo, copy, paste, quick notes, screenshots Windowed apps explained: resizing, moving, multi-window setup Stage Manager basics and how it differs from other modes Host: Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Hands-On Apple at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-apple Want access to the ad-free audio and video and exclusive features? Become a member of Club TWiT today! https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Your iPad can do a lot more than you think. Full Screen, Windowed, or Stage Manager—which multitasking style actually fits your workflow? Mikah Sargent breaks down the pros and cons so you can finally decide which iPad experience wins. How to customize multitasking modes on your iPad Using gestures for multitasking and productivity Four/five-finger gestures: switch apps, go home, open app switcher Three-finger gestures: undo, redo, copy, paste, quick notes, screenshots Windowed apps explained: resizing, moving, multi-window setup Stage Manager basics and how it differs from other modes Host: Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Hands-On Apple at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-apple Want access to the ad-free audio and video and exclusive features? Become a member of Club TWiT today! https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Your iPad can do a lot more than you think. Full Screen, Windowed, or Stage Manager—which multitasking style actually fits your workflow? Mikah Sargent breaks down the pros and cons so you can finally decide which iPad experience wins. How to customize multitasking modes on your iPad Using gestures for multitasking and productivity Four/five-finger gestures: switch apps, go home, open app switcher Three-finger gestures: undo, redo, copy, paste, quick notes, screenshots Windowed apps explained: resizing, moving, multi-window setup Stage Manager basics and how it differs from other modes Host: Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Hands-On Apple at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-apple Want access to the ad-free audio and video and exclusive features? Become a member of Club TWiT today! https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Your iPad can do a lot more than you think. Full Screen, Windowed, or Stage Manager—which multitasking style actually fits your workflow? Mikah Sargent breaks down the pros and cons so you can finally decide which iPad experience wins. How to customize multitasking modes on your iPad Using gestures for multitasking and productivity Four/five-finger gestures: switch apps, go home, open app switcher Three-finger gestures: undo, redo, copy, paste, quick notes, screenshots Windowed apps explained: resizing, moving, multi-window setup Stage Manager basics and how it differs from other modes Host: Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Hands-On Apple at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-apple Want access to the ad-free audio and video and exclusive features? Become a member of Club TWiT today! https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Every racehorse celebrated a birthday on January 1 and racing fans celebrate that the now 4-year-old Sovereignty will race in 2026. Pychic Nikki gives us her predictions for horse racing this year and trainer Marty Drexler predicts he will be a Sovereign Award finalist. The Ontario-bred Full Screen won a Stakes race at Aqueduct recently and we kick off the year with the first Kentucky Derby preps – the Jerome Stakes from Aqueduct and the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn. The first night of harness racing in 2026 at Mohawk produced hattricks from Tyler Borth and Jody Jamieson. We tell you why Clive Cohen is a lock for what will be his 10th Joe O'Brien Award and wait until you hear Ryder Pallet call a horse race – the Australian racing fan is just 11 years old.
XBOX's Partner Showcase just dropped some huge news, everything is now an xbox.
Week of: 11-17-2025 Xbox Gaming News, Releases, and A Fun Fact
This week join Jesus, Gunny, and Mayo as we discuss the latest and greatest Video Games, Gaming News, plus regular life stuff and so much more! Does anybody read this? Join Our Discord with the link below..We appreciate you! Oh and if you don't like this podcast how about go make your own! Leave us a review and share us with your friends and family! Join us in our group on Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/HorribleGamers Like our Page -https://www.facebook.com/HorribleGamers/ Follow us on Twitter -https://twitter.com/_Horriblegamers Listen on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/@horriblegamerspodcast Discord -https://discord.gg/8bsaxmD
Suscríbete para más: https://www.youtube.com/c/pixxelersSigueme en redes: https://linktr.ee/jlrock92Discord: https://discord.gg/EFkfqhMZDUNOTAS:- NVIDIA compra Intel: https://tinyurl.com/mwsapskt- NVIDIA compra OpenAI: https://tinyurl.com/5n8azkmv- iPhone 17 Pro raspado: https://youtu.be/KrOBzFwVzwA- Nothing Ear 3: https://youtu.be/I4_6S6z2bhY- Laptop Android: https://www.youtube.com/live/Fr2-P5rgkOQ&t=2321- Comerciales en Refrigerador: https://tinyurl.com/3a6nv839- TikTok USA: https://tinyurl.com/4wk9aydu- Windows 11 Fullscreen: https://tinyurl.com/44axnsyj- Xbox Ally X preorden: https://youtu.be/-pPqcWGnVDk- Xbox sube precios: https://tinyurl.com/yc7nx677- Xbox precio conspiración: https://tinyurl.com/yc5zrzjd- Xbox fuera de tiendas: https://youtu.be/pJFMQ8KUD_M- Steam Malware: https://tinyurl.com/2xcrhbkh- PlayStation TGS: https://www.youtube.com/live/0QcEoGC51ZY- Xbox TGS: https://www.youtube.com/live/8NlWzg73kHw- Sony vs Tencent: https://tinyurl.com/5cs5bmrx- Square Key Cards: https://tinyurl.com/552t5zj7- Nintendo patentes: https://tinyurl.com/4pvvkew7- GTA vida real: https://tinyurl.com/248rtfy7- Aeropuertos hackeados: https://tinyurl.com/3kjeah2r- Papa IA: https://tinyurl.com/455f92rf- Pokémon CDMX- Rahabilitación Gamer: https://tinyurl.com/3ana5z9d- Monas Chinas
Der große Kracher der Woche: Nvidia investiert fünf Milliarden US-Dollar in Intel! Dabei wurde eine weitreichende Kooperation angekündigt, zum Einen im Bereich Server und Datacenter, zum Anderen aber auch bei Consumer-Produkten. So soll Intel in Zukunft für ihre CPUs Nvidia-Chiplets bzw. -Tiles verwenden können anstelle der eigenen auf Basis der Xe-Architektur. Was mag das für Intels GPU-Abteilung bedeuten? Da können wir nur abwarten und spekulieren, vor 2027 werden keine konkreten Produkte aus dieser Kooperation erwartet. Die langerwartete Xbox Full Screen Experience für Windows-Handhelds ist da! Also fast. Über das Windows-Insider-Programm kann man jetzt schon Zugriff auf das große Herbst-Update 25H2 von Windows 11 erhalten und so mit ausgewählten Handhelds, u.a. dem originalen Asus ROG Ally oder dem MSI Claw AI 8, sich einen Vorschau auf das verschaffen, was mit dem Xbox Ally kommen soll. Eine Preview gibt es von uns auch auf "The Lift" von Entwickler Fantastic Signals und Publisher tinyBuild. Die Kurzfassung: House Flipper trifft auf sowjetische Science Fiction mit Einflüssen von Stranger Things und SCP Foundation. "The Lift" spielt in einem Institut, das nach einem nicht näher beschriebenen Vorfall verlassen und heruntergekommen in einer Art Zwischendimension existiert. Unsere Aufgabe als "Keeper" ist es, hier wieder für Ordnung zu sorgen, aber nicht mit Arsenal verschiedener Waffen, sondern mit dem Schraubendreher. Ist Ahti unser Kollege? Hmmmm. Viel Spaß mit Folge 274! Sprecher: Michael Kister, Mohammed Ali DadAudioproduktion: Michael KisterVideoproduktion: Mohammed Ali Dad, Michael KisterTitelbild: Mohammed Ali DadBildquellen: Wikipedia/Nvidia/IntelAufnahmedatum: 19.09.2025 Besucht unsim Discord https://discord.gg/SneNarVCBMauf Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/technikquatsch.deauf TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@technikquatschauf Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@technikquatschTechnikquatsch Gaming https://www.youtube.com/@TechnikquatschGamingauf Instagram https://www.instagram.com/technikquatschauf Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/technikquatsch RSS-Feed https://technikquatsch.de/feed/podcast/Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/62ZVb7ZvmdtXqqNmnZLF5uApple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/technikquatsch/id1510030975 00:00:00 neuer Youtube Kanal Technikquatsch Gaming https://www.youtube.com/@TechnikquatschGaming 00:08:20 Nvidia steigt bei Intel mit 5 Milliarden Dollar einhttps://www.theverge.com/report/781330/nvidia-intel-explain-5-billion-deal-jensen-huang-lip-bu-tan-amdhttps://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nvidia-bets-big-intel-with-5-billion-stake-chip-partnership-2025-09-18/https://www.computerbase.de/news/wirtschaft/intel-mit-nvlink-und-rtx-gpus-nvidia-investiert-5-mrd-us-dollar-in-intel-fuer-pcs-ai-und-mehr.94379/Digital Foundry: AMD's Most Powerful APU Yet - Strix Halo/Ryzen AI Max+ 395 - GMKTec Evo-X2 Review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMGX35mzsWg 00:28:56 spannende CPUs von Intel mit Panther Lake und Nova Lake und AMD mit Zen 6 in den nächsten Jahren; Erinnerungen an Computerläden von damals 00:38:18 Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt: Warn-App Katwarn fordert zum Singen des Pfalzlieds auf.https://www.heise.de/news/Inakzeptabel-Ueber-Warn-App-Katwarn-zum-Singen-des-Pfalzlieds-aufgerufen-10662190.html 00:42:32 Steam: Unterstützung für 32-bit-Betriebssysteme zum 01. Januar 2026 eingestellt; offizieller Support für Windows 10 endet am 14. Oktober 2025https://videocardz.com/newz/steam-ends-32-bit-operating-system-support-in-2026Linux Mint 22.2 https://linuxmint.com/; Nobara Linux https://nobaraproject.org/, CachyOS https://cachyos.org/ 00:49:13 kurzer Eindruck zu iOS 26https://www.computerbase.de/news/betriebssysteme/fuer-iphone-ipad-mac-und-watch-ios-26-ipados-26-macos-26-und-watchos-26-erschienen.94322/ 00:51:37 Preview der neuen Windows Gaming Fullscreen Experience auf Handheld-PCs wie Asus ROG Ally möglich mit Windows 11 25H2The Phawx: Wish It Was Better - LE...
Today on the Invest In Her podcast, host Catherine Gray talks with Wadooah Wali, Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer, and Executive Producer at New Canvas, an award-winning XR studio focused on social impact storytelling. Wadooah is a pioneering entrepreneur, media innovator, and immersive storyteller whose career spans more than 20 years across traditional broadcast, digital platforms, and cutting-edge XR formats. At New Canvas, she drives strategic growth, industry positioning, and partnerships, leading high-profile projects like When Brooklyn Was Queer—a groundbreaking VR series produced with Elliot Page and PAGEBOY Productions that premiered at the 2024 Venice Immersive Production Bridge. Her career also includes leadership roles at Demand Media, WarnerMedia, Fullscreen, and Midroll Media/EarWolf, where she helped shape shifts in online video, podcasting, and digital publishing. In this episode, Catherine and Wadooah dive into the future of immersive media and its potential to influence culture and drive social change. Wadooah shares her vision for how XR storytelling can elevate diverse voices, break boundaries in entertainment, and create meaningful impact across industries. They also discuss her role as an advocate for inclusive innovation, her advisory work with GALECA and Revry.TV, and her mission to redefine what it means to be a modern media leader. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone interested in the evolving intersection of creativity, technology, and cultural advocacy. Connect with Wadooah: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wadooah Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dubya2 Websites Mentioned: www.newcanvas.co https://www.showherthemoneymovie.com www.sheangelinvestors.com Follow Us On Social Facebook @sheangelinvestors Twitter (X) @sheangelsinvest Instagram @sheangelinvestors & @catherinegray_investinher LinkedIn @catherinelgray & @sheangels #InvestInHer #FinancialWellness #WomenInFinance #FinancialEmpowerment #MoneyMindset #InclusiveFinance #FintechForGood #BehavioralEconomics #WealthBuilding #FinancialHealth #EmpowerWomen #MoneyMatters #SheAngelInvestors #InvestInYourself #FinancialFreedom
In the lecture, the professor was talking about a well regarded work of art. It was a kinetic sculpture piece so he showed us a video of this distinguished artist's work in motion. Because the video was on YouTube, I couldn't help but notice, when the professor exited out of Full Screen, what the first comment on it was. It said, “Get a job.”To keep reading "Get a Job" visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog.This is Episode 456Song: Get a JobImage is by Christian Lendl via UnsplashTo support this podcast:Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it wherever you listen or via: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistJoin my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/Like the blog/show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavisOr on Kofi: http://ko-fi.com/emilyrainbowdavisor PayPal me: https://www.paypal.me/strugglingartistJoin my Substack: https://emilyrainbowdavis.substack.com/Follow me on Twitter @erainbowdMe on Mastodon - @erainbowd@podvibes.coMe on Blue sky - @erainbowd.bsky.socialInstagram and PinterestTell a friend!Listen to The Dragoning here and The Defense here. You can support them via Ko-fi here: https://ko-fi.com/messengertheatrecompanyAs ever, I am yours,Emily Rainbow Davis
Brooke Berry, Head of Creator Development at Snapchat joins Sara Rosas, Director of Partnerships at Innovate Marketing Group to discuss how Snapchat is reshaping their creator culture! Tune in now!About the guest: Brooke began her career in 2012 working with writers, directors, and producers in Scripted Television at Creative Artist Agency (CAA). During her time at CAA, she worked her way up to become the assistant to a Scripted TV Literary Agent, where she learned how a show goes from conception to launch. She left CAA in 2014 to expand her experience and work at digital talent companies like Fullscreen, Big Frame, and AwesomenessTV. During her time at AwesomenessTV, Brooke worked on the Talent Partnerships team, helping bridge the gap between sales, content, distribution, and creators. She then leveraged her expertise in content strategy, marketing, and creators to become the first social media manager for VidCon, where she ran social media for the convention, shaped their editorial voice, and expanded their social reach. Now as the Head of Creator Development at Snapchat, Brooke's work with creators, celebrities, and talent has been integral in helping creators of all kinds find success in a highly competitive market, strengthening Snapchat's relationship with creators. Whether Brooke is educating creators on the platform, advising on content strategy or facilitating partnerships, she is a strategic advisor guiding creators along their journey on Snapchat.Follow Brooke on LinkedIn!EventUp is brought to you by Innovate Marketing Group. An award-winning Corporate Event and Experiential Marketing Agency based in Los Angeles, California. Creating Nationwide Immersive Event Experiences to help brands connect with people. To learn more, click here.At Innovate Marketing Group, we've curated a collection of free resources designed to help you elevate your events and marketing efforts. Whether you're planning a company retreat or navigating the latest event trends, our tools, reports, and checklists are here to support your success and keep you at the forefront of innovation. Click here to learn more!Follow us!Find us on LinkedIn, EventUp Podcast, and Instagram
Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3552: Leo Babauta explores the power of single-tasking in an era of constant digital distractions. By shifting to "full-screen mode" in life, immersing fully in one task at a time, we can enhance focus, reduce stress, and find deeper satisfaction in our work. He offers simple, actionable steps to embrace mindfulness and presence in daily activities. Read along with the original article(s) here: http://zenhabits.net/full-screen Quotes to ponder: "Imagine working on one task with your whole mind, giving it your full screen, and not letting yourself switch constantly." "We jump from unread emails to social media to news sites, always searching for something more interesting, more urgent, more stimulating." "Single-tasking is about bringing our full attention to the moment, fully immersing ourselves in what we're doing." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3552: Leo Babauta explores the power of single-tasking in an era of constant digital distractions. By shifting to "full-screen mode" in life, immersing fully in one task at a time, we can enhance focus, reduce stress, and find deeper satisfaction in our work. He offers simple, actionable steps to embrace mindfulness and presence in daily activities. Read along with the original article(s) here: http://zenhabits.net/full-screen Quotes to ponder: "Imagine working on one task with your whole mind, giving it your full screen, and not letting yourself switch constantly." "We jump from unread emails to social media to news sites, always searching for something more interesting, more urgent, more stimulating." "Single-tasking is about bringing our full attention to the moment, fully immersing ourselves in what we're doing." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3552: Leo Babauta explores the power of single-tasking in an era of constant digital distractions. By shifting to "full-screen mode" in life, immersing fully in one task at a time, we can enhance focus, reduce stress, and find deeper satisfaction in our work. He offers simple, actionable steps to embrace mindfulness and presence in daily activities. Read along with the original article(s) here: http://zenhabits.net/full-screen Quotes to ponder: "Imagine working on one task with your whole mind, giving it your full screen, and not letting yourself switch constantly." "We jump from unread emails to social media to news sites, always searching for something more interesting, more urgent, more stimulating." "Single-tasking is about bringing our full attention to the moment, fully immersing ourselves in what we're doing." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Phil Ranta, Chief Business Officer of Fixated and a LinkedIn Top Voice in Innovation & Technology, has over 18 years of experience in the creator economy. Formerly, he was the COO of the talent management and creator services company We Are Verified, managing a department focused on creator entrepreneurship, premium production, and web3 opportunities. As the former Head of Gaming Creators, North America at Facebook, Phil achieved over 5x departmental growth in his first year, signing exclusive streaming contracts with DisguisedToast, Corinna Kopf, and UFC / WWE superstar Ronda Rousey. Phil also built two of the largest creator networks in the world as COO at Studio71 and VP, Networks at Fullscreen, both successfully exited (to ProSieben and Otter Media, a joint venture between AT&T and Peter Chernin, respectively). Other roles include Head of Creators at Mobcrush, a live streaming technology with hundreds of thousands of authenticated users, Executive Producer at Viva! Vision, producing content delivered to over 250 million mobile phones worldwide, and content creator who produced videos and podcasts that have achieved hundreds of millions of views and downloads. He was formerly one of Variety's New Hollywood Leaders - Digital.
This week we are joined by returning guest Ashley Casseday (Keep It Weird/The Losers Club)! For Garrett and Ashley this movie welcomed them into adulthood far too soon. Kit on the other hand was finally able to transition into adulthood after seeing this for the first time in her mid 30's! It's time to breakout those scratched up Full Screen Unrated DVD's and see how much you actually remember from this bizarre 90's classic!
S2E19 of IMpulse: The Influencer Marketing Podcast
✨ Shadowbinders Pin Set Campaign - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nydaria/shadowbinders-steampunk-fantasy-hard-enamel-pin-set-series-1 Is nature healing? Burnie Burns has reacquired Rooster Teeth, and it looks like he's going to attempt to resuscitate the brand -- minus RWBY, most likely, as Viz Media bought that a year or two ago. Most of Rooster Teeth's problems can be traced back to the founders selling out to Fullscreen and the company winding up as part of the Hollywood system.
Possibly the shortest notes we've ever had... We talked about the Oregon/Ohio St. game A LOT, plus ESPN GAMEDAY Sopranos (The show, not the range of a singer) Crow vs Days Creek Make sure to check out our socials in the credits, our website, DefinitelyNotSellingDrugs.com, and hit up the My Show archives at BADFACTS.INFO and get that digital download going wherever you find podcasts. You can also find our video through Spotify, but you're here with us now, so... --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/myshowaj/support
The boys come back for some talk on the games of October, The Plucky Squire, how to (not) sound robotic, and other whimsical topics of the moment! Show Segments: 00:00 - Intro 2:30 - Graham's Games 26:48 - Steve's Games 1:10:50 - October's Games 1:26:02 - Beginning of the End Games Mentioned: Satisfactory Sumerian Six The Plucky Squire Caravan SandWitch Anger Foot Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut Kaku: Ancient Seal Fallen Leaf Boons & Burdens The Sacred Acorn TerraScape Nobody Wants to Die Episode's YouTube Video: This episode on YouTube SIPTG YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/shouldiplaythisgamequestionmark Music by Kevin MacLeod: https://incompetech.com/music
Shield your mind from EMF's with the Ronin 10foil Baseball Hat— https://roninbasics.com/product/10foil-faraday-baseball-hat/ ----more---- In The Adams Archive, we go beyond the surface to uncover the real stories shaping our world. Each episode dissects current events, political maneuvers, and hidden agendas, forcing you to see the world from a new perspective. Here's what we dive into: Key Themes: Media Manipulation & MrBeast's Silence: What's really happening behind the scenes of YouTube's biggest star, MrBeast? We discuss his 30-day silence following the revelation that his trans co-host was allegedly involved in child grooming, and we investigate the mysterious sources of his immense wealth. Are powerful backers influencing the content and messages pushed on his platform? Political Power Plays: RFK Jr. Endorses Trump & the JFK Files: Explore the unexpected alliance between RFK Jr. and Donald Trump, including Trump's promise to release the remaining JFK assassination files. We dive into the implications of this endorsement and why RFK Jr. suspended his campaign in key states to avoid splitting the vote. Censorship & the Arrest of Telegram's Founder: Why was Telegram's founder, Pavel Durov, arrested in France, and what does it mean for freedom of speech? We break down the charges against him, including the alleged complicity in criminal activities due to Telegram's refusal to censor its platform. The Propaganda of Kamala's Amazon Hat Trick: How did Kamala Harris's campaign manage to dominate Amazon's “Top New Release” list with barely any sales or reviews? We reveal the manipulation behind these numbers and discuss what it says about the state of political marketing and propaganda in the digital age. Dystopian Realities: North Korea's Utopia Conspiracy & the Defection of a U.S. Soldier: Could North Korea be hiding a secret utopia? We examine theories suggesting that the isolated nation is sitting on untapped trillions and advanced technologies, contrasting them with the bizarre defection of a U.S. soldier who fled there claiming racial discrimination in the U.S. Army. Join the conversation that challenges everything you think you know. Subscribe to The Adams Archive on your favorite podcast platform, and follow us on YouTube, Substack, and social media for more in-depth content. Your support makes a difference—thank you for being part of our journey. All the Links: For direct access to all our content and platforms, visit linktr.ee/theaustinjadams. ----more---- Full Transcription The Adams Archive. Hello, beautiful people, and welcome to The Adams Archive. My name is Austin Adams, and thank you so much for listening today. On today's episode, we're going to be doing not one, but two deep dives, starting off the episode by looking at the most recent news about Mr. Beast. Now, it has officially been one month, and For since Mr. Beast has come out and stated publicly that he knew that the transsexual person that was working for him was allegedly grooming children. Now it's been 30 days. So we want to see what he's up to. And I will tell you what he's been up to. And that will lead us into a further discussion about where this man even gets his money from. So that's how we're going to start the show off. Once we move through that topic, we're going to discuss about how the CEO of Telegram, the founder of Pavel, has been arrested in France. And now the official charges are out. So we will take a look at that. Some of the things that people have said surrounding that situation and more. We'll also take a look at the RFK Jr. endorsement, some of the situations that have come of that, including him losing his secret service detail as a result. Then we will transition into some of the propaganda. And, uh, we've seen around the Kamala Harris, Tim walls campaign that has now found its way to Amazon hats. You might be curious and I was too. So we'll talk about that too. Then we will finalize our discussion here today with a U S soldier who fled to North Korea, defected to North Korea, who is a part of the U S army because he said, quote unquote, the way that they treated minorities. And that will lead us into a very, very untouchable topic, which is the idea of North Korea being a utopia. We've seen all this propaganda, we've seen all of the conversations that the government has told us to believe about North Korea, all of the silly videos that have come out as a result from their leader, Kim Jong Un. But I have some questions. So we will talk about the Somewhat compelling, somewhat, I don't know what to call it. I wouldn't say it's satirical, but I would say it's an interesting thought experiment. Uh, so we will talk about the possibility that North Korea is a utopia because apparently according to many resources, or according to many, uh, online resources, they are sitting on trillions of dollars, trillions of dollars of resources themselves. So all of that and more, but first, I need you to do one thing for me, which is I need you to subscribe, leave a five star review wherever you're at, you can actually watch this podcast on YouTube, if you would like, and you can subscribe there too. Once you do that, I want you to head over to Ronan basics. com. Ronan is my company. That is a Faraday goods company. And we offer things like phone sleeves that protect your digital footprint, eliminate your digital footprint hats that block EMF radiation from being able to reach your brain in more. So head over to Ronan basics. com. Go check it out. Protect yourselves from the harmful. Technology that is surrounding us all of the time that the government is trying to hide from you. And I don't say that like, I'm not trying to be a alarmist in that. It's very, very real. I've been doing a lot of research on this. I did a 5g episode. Um, I've done a lot of research on EMFs more recently since I launched the company and even before it's the reason I launched my company was because there was so many, article so many people talking about it and so many scientific studies with have proven that there are serious harmful side effects to the technology that you have that you're listening to this on that you could be even driving at this moment, your Wi Fi router, the 5g nodes that you see literally in toxifying your visual Space all the time when you're driving, I see all of these 5g towers, and it's the ugliest thing in the world. But that's not the worst of it. The worst of it is that it can cause terrible things like cancer, insomnia, heart palpitations, heart issues, so many, so many things, a literal laundry list, laundry list of health effects, and the ways that it can harm you and your loved ones. So head over to Ronan basics. com. Check it out, get yourself our 10 foil Faraday hat looks beautiful, and And you'll protect yourself from EMF radiation. It has silver lined fabric, which does that for you. Uh, so go check it out. Ronanbasics. com sign up for our newsletter there. You'll get 10 percent off. And if you leave your phone number, you'll get 15 percent off. And I promise I won't text you personally, at least late at night. And you will actually get a 15 percent off coupon just for adding your number. So all of that more stick around in without further ado, let's get started. Jump into it. It has officially been 30 days since Mr. Beast came out and said that he had become aware of serious allegations surrounding his co host, Chris, the transsexual who was grooming children. Now, if you're curious what Mr. Beast has been up to in those 30 days, Let's take a look and see what he has been doing. Now, here is the tweet from MrBeast, which says, 29 days ago, well, the 24th, so coming up on, uh, 31 days. He said, Over the last few days, I've become aware of serious allegations of Ava Tysons, not Chris Ava. That's the name. I think it was Chris before, now it's Ava. Um, Ava Tyson's behavior online, and I'm disgusted and opposed to such unacceptable acts. I would hope so. You're talking about children here. During that time, I have been focused on hiring an independent third party to conduct a thorough investigation to ensure I have all the facts. That said, I've seen enough online and taken immediate action to remove Ava from the company, my channel, and any association with Mr. Beast. I do not condone or support any of the inappropriate actions. I will allow the independent investigators the necessary time to conduct a comprehensive investigation and will take further actions based on their findings. This was seen by a hundred and six million people. Now I have one question as a result of that. Where's the thorough investigation? Where's the thorough investigation, Mr. Beast? We should be able to know that you weren't hiding this from the general public while also getting hundreds of millions of views and money. From all of these online sources, including the time that our children, the time that adults have been spending watching your videos while you have been at least passively aware. Of what this man was doing to these children. So where's the investigation, Mr. Beast? We want to know. Also, let's take a look at what you've been up to for these 30 days since this post, because you haven't posted a thing on Twitter. You haven't updated us at all in regards to the information surrounding this allegation for the person that you hired and kept around and, and brought a focus around. Right. And so when you think that there's these huge, literally the most publicly known. Transsexual, besides Caitlyn Jenner, is Mr. B's co host, Ava, or Chris, whatever his name is, right? The most well known, the most in the public eye, the most seen, was Mr. B's co host. And so when you have something that's so in the public sphere, when you have something that's being pushed by the government, and by the, the, the social, uh, Being that is the grossness of our society's, you know, who, who controls our society. We're not going to get into that today. Sorry, guys, but you might know what I'm talking about when you get into the idea of where these social constructs come from and how they're being publicly pushed with funneled with hundreds of billions of dollars to push these ideologies to crumble our society from inside. Once you realize that, and then you look at the people who. Who are engaged in this at the most visual level. This is the one. This is the one. This is the one your kids know about. This is the one who hundreds of millions of children watched Mr. Beast condone this transsexual being pushed in front of them, wearing makeup, putting on women's clothes, and then passing himself off as a woman when really all he was was a pedophile, weirdo. That's the reality, right? So when you realize that, and then you look at him, not updating us, not making a single statement, not saying a thing about this for 30 full days. Well, he had to been up to something, right? He had to have some, some serious investigations going on on his side, at least I would hope so. So let's take a look at his YouTube channel and see in the last 30 days that Mr. Beast has been silent about the transsexual that was a part of his team for years. Years, years and years and years. What has he been up to? Well, let's go ahead and take a look in the last 30 days. Here are Mr. Beast's post. Well, he had 50 YouTubers fight for 100 million. I've gathered 50 of the biggest YouTubers on the planet. And whichever one lasts the longest in this cube wins that million dollars for their subscribers. Never before seen in YouTube history. One billion subscribers worth of YouTubers are competing for one million dollars. And the rules are simple. All right, put the camera down. Close the line. Okay. So, if you step on the red line, you lose your subscribers a million dollars. So be careful. Last to leave Okay, so there's one thing he was doing, which was challenging a bunch of YouTubers for a million dollars to stay in a box. That's what was more interesting than him investigating his team. Let's see number two. I just built this bunker and these two people who have never met each other are going to attempt to live down here for the next 100 days. Take your blindfolds off. Hugo, this is Rayne. Rayne, this is Hugo. This is our first time ever meeting, and this is the nuclear bunker. They will call home. Everything you would need to live for the next 100 days is in this bunker. Dang. You can even grow your own vegetables. Oh, cool. And if you come over here, you'll find your bedroom all 40 feet underground. Wait, what? Oh my God. Above you is a bed. Nice. And here's another bed and moose. Okay. There's another thing. He's been up to blocking two people in a pseudo bunker, 40 feet under the ground for another. 500, 000. So there's 1. 5 million this man is giving away. He has to be rich from what? We'll look in a minute. And what else has he been up to? Well, during the time that he should have been investigating this pedophile on his team, he also I don't normally do intros like this, but I'm currently descending hundreds of feet into a cave that runs over five kilometers deep into the earth. And whether we like it or not, as soon as my friends and I touched the ground, we are officially stranded here for the next seven days. That might've been the scariest thing I've ever done. First things. All right. So There you have it. That's what he's been up to. Instead of truly investigating, maybe, I don't know, contemplating, soul searching as to why he held this pedophile so close to him for so long and had no idea. No idea at all. Or did he? Because many people allege that he was aware of these actions. And now, I'm not somebody who's trying to hate on Mr. Beast. I think he's trying to His videos are phenomenal. I think that the work that he's been able to do and build his, his following is amazing, but I have some questions. What else are you been up to? Well, these things don't seem to be as important as gaining back the loyalty from the parents who let their children watch you or the parents themselves who watch this guy's seen by everybody. He's not just seen by children, right? This is that, but a big, vast. large percentage of his audience happens to be children who he enabled this trans person to be around constantly gave them the platform that gave them the power over these children made this person a celebrity all while this pedophile was pretending to be a woman validated that to his audience and then acts so surprised when that person actually ends up being a pedophile Hmm. That's weird. Very weird. So where does this man get his money? He gave away 1. 5 million. 1. 5 million in just two weeks there, according to those two videos. Interesting. So let's look here. Now, somebody alleges this was one year ago. YouTuber MrBeast is funded by people with deep pockets. Who could those people be? Because he's definitely not making all of his money from YouTube. You don't spend that much money producing a video and then give away that much money and with 30 million views on YouTube, 40 million, 50 million, 90 million. Make it all back every single time. Like he's definitely losing money on a lot of this. So here we go. So did you know that Osman Gold and Mr. Beast along belong to the same talent agency and that they are both directly connected to Disney and Amazon? Today, I learned that a company named Knight Media literally manages basically every single Zoomer E celebrity, including Hasan Piker, Nikolulu, Dream, and these guys. If you ever look at the YouTube trending tab, at least one of Knight's talents will be up there. Knight Media is a subsidiary of Knight Inc. Itself is valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars from venture capitalists and angel investors. Who owns Knight? Well, the CEO of Knight Media is Reid Dusher. who formerly worked for the NFL and then went to be the Dude Perfect's manager. The president of the night is Ezra Cooperstein, who is previously the president of Fullscreen and Rooster Teeth, as well as Maker Studios, which is now part of Disney Digital Network. Ironically, neither of these guys are the real talent managers, as that position is for their 90 employees, including Andrew Pelosi, a former higher up at Influential. What is Influential? Influential is an AI, social data, and conversion technology. As well as a developer partner of IBM Watson and a Facebook marketing partner. Utilizing a network of over 1 million social media influencers as a tactic for distribution, Influential runs both native and paid campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and YouTube for Fortune 500 brands. Influential is owned by Jeremy Steinberg. Night Inc. is directly financed by the Sherman Group, aka TCG, one of its executive members being Alexandra Moore, a former executive from Amazon who focused on mergers and acquisitions. However, TCG itself is financed by Providence Equity, an ECG compliance private equity investment firm valued over 300 billion. All this information is freely available. I literally just ran names off of LinkedIn and read business articles. Hmm. So. One of them, Felipe Neto, is now the most powerful man in Brazil. He profited off of every single political trend over the bizarre last decade. He's the architect of YouTube content system. His business has gone so deep into Portugal that some kids are speaking Brazilian Portuguese. Hmm. Somebody else said, dead internet. Right? Have you ever heard of the dead internet theory? Basically, that everybody and anybody that you interact with on the internet is fake. And that the internet essentially turned into a strip mall from the world itself, where you only have several small choices as to where to go at any given time, essentially. Very interesting theory. Uh, let's see. What else we got in here. So, the people who fund this are essentially worth over 300, 000. It's not this like boots from the ground, you know, bootstrapping YouTube channel. This guy is backed by huge money. He's not just taking all of his money and funneling it back into there from ad campaigns being ran on his YouTube channel. There is very, very powerful people behind Mr. Beast. It's not this, you know, from the ground up type of thing. So all of that to say, that you should at least be considering the idea that maybe this man isn't as organic as he seems. Maybe you should be considering the idea that some of the themes that he's going to promote in his videos aren't themes that he wants to promote personally. Even some of the people that he puts on his team, a la Ava, may not be there because it's what's in the best interest for your children, for you, for society to have involved. And, at the end of the day, this man has done nothing to come out and say, here's what the investigators have found. Nothing. And that's what, I guess we'll have to wait and see. Is he hoping, is he, what it looks like to me is that he's playing the PR game where they just tell you, shut up and it'll go away. Well, shut up and it will go away may work for many things. I don't think it exactly works for you promoting a pedophile to hundreds of millions of people during a, as a Trojan horse through the trans movement. And by movement, I mean the trans mind virus. That is permeating our culture right now. And isn't it funny that almost every single time you see these people in the public eye, they eventually are on Fox news for being arrested for something. Interesting. Interesting. All right. Now that leads us to another topic, kind of in the public sphere as of late, although this one seems to be a little bit more about censorship, which is that the official charges have been released against the telegram founder, Pavel Durov. during his arrest in France. And here they, Durov is facing up to 20 years in prison. Now here are the charges. And almost every single one of these has the word complicity. What they're trying to essentially state is that by not censoring people, that he is in, that he is in violation of their country's laws. By not censoring them. Okay. Complicity Web Mastering an online platform enable to enable an illegal transaction, an organized group refusal to communicate at the request of competent authorities. Okay. Competent is an interesting word there for them. Complicity, possessing pornographic images of minors, complicity, distributing, offering, or making available pornographic images of miners. Complicity. Acquiring, transporting, or possessing, offering, or selling narcotic substances. So they're basically saying anything and everything that's been done illegal on our platform, on your platform, unless you comply with us, we're going to come after you for everything anybody's ever done on the platform because you didn't listen to us and you didn't censor these people. That's what they're saying. Complicity, organized fraud. Complicity, making selling or making available without legitimate reason, tools, programs, or data designed for or adapted to get access to or damage the operation of automated data processing systems. Wow. That's a stretch. Criminal association with a view. To committing a crime or an offense punishable by five more years of imprisonment, laundering of the proceeds derived from organized groups, offenses, or crimes, providing cryptology services amid to ensure confidentiality without certified declaration, providing a cryptology tool, not solely ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration, importing a cryptology tool, ensuring authenticity or integrating monitoring without prior declaration. Wow. So, Now somebody warned, I believe it was somebody that was, uh, had spoken out against Trump before. I don't know, that was just the headline that I read. But essentially they were warning that, oh well, Elon Musk, you might be next. And that's like, if this holds up in court, on the court of law, in this country, yeah. If they're just gonna come after you for anything and everything anybody's ever done on your platform unless you comply with their censorship, Then yes, absolutely. They're going to go after Elon. They should go after Mark Zuckerberg. They're going to go after literally everybody and anybody who hosts any large website or platform. That's the reality of this. But guess what? It's only going to be applied specifically to people who they don't like or who don't do exactly what they want. And the second that you step out of line, we're going to jail you for it. Not for something that you did, but for something that you Allowed to happen within your platform, right? Like you're supposed to be able to watch hundreds of millions of people's actions and do something about every single one of them all of the time. Crazy. Somebody said, Same can be said about any messaging platform ever, including the postal service. That's a great point, right? So if this guy has to go to jail, so does everybody involved in the USPS offices. Great point. All of it could be true. Some of it could be true. None of it could be true. None of that matters when you have the machine against you. Now this guy's going to jail before literally anybody is going to jail for Epstein's List. Isn't that interesting? Now, transitioning over to Trump and RFK Jr. Now, Trump, uh, RFK Jr. suspended his campaign in the states that he said, um, would affect the potentially affect the outcome in a negative way towards Trump. So he essentially said, I'm going to suspend my, my campaign in these states. Now, the reason that he did that was actually quite interesting because he said, there's still a chance that he could potentially, if Kamala, And Donald Trump essentially tie in electoral votes that it could come down to a potential, uh, a runoff race, right? Where he could actually, if he remains on the ballot, could still have a chance to become president. So he said, I'm going to pull out of every state that would potentially negatively affect Trump. As a result, he's hoping that he could find himself in a position in office under Trump. Now, during this time, Trump accepted RFK Jr. 's endorsement and he vowed, Trump vowed to release the JFK assassination files. Now, it says, Hours after being endorsed by third party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump said he would release all of the remaining documents pertaining to the assassination of John F. Kennedy if he were elected president in November, as part of a proposed new commission on presidential assassination attempts, including The one that targeted him. Now, if you recall, it may have been my last podcast or potentially the one before it, but I said this, he would be crazy not to release these documents. They literally, the same people that killed Bobby Kennedy, that killed John F. Kennedy, all of them are likely involved. At least the agencies, because some of those people are going to be dead at this point, are very likely involved in Donald Trump's assassination. It says, speaking at a rally in Glendale. Arizona, Trump also pledged that if elected, he would establish a panel of top experts that would work with Kennedy, a prominent anti vaccine advocate, this says, to investigate childhood health problems, as they should. Now, when you go back and you listen to RFK's speech that he did, pulling out of it, I think Robert F. Kennedy's speech was one of the greatest speeches in history. Ever in politics by any politician ever. And honestly, if you've been listening to me for quite some time, you know, that I have considered for a very long time voting for Robert F. Kennedy jr. And this speech solidified why I felt that way. Everything that is wrong with politics is embodied in one way or another in each of the candidates that are left. And one being completely corrupt, terribly unequipped to take office, absolutely a puppet for the establishment, and the other being pretty divisive. Now again, I voted for Donald Trump. I'll vote for Donald Trump again. I voted for him the last two elections. Now that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is out of the way. But I just want you to go listen to To RFK jr speech and not understand like there's no way you don't understand why he's a compelling candidate that man is the only man not wearing a mask in some way shape or form and maybe trump isn't wearing a mask maybe it's just has a mask on all the time and that's what he was just he's born a character and i think that's probably more the case than anything but i do think that rfk jr has the perfect the only person that had the ability to potentially unite our nation. He had a ton of popularity among Republicans. He had a ton of popularity among Democrats, like true Democrats, not the far left that we see in today's politics. His speech was amazing. It was unbelievable. 80 percent of it was about corruption in the health, that we need to the health issues we need to address in our country today. And he had tears running from his eyes by the end of it, because he's truly a good person. And he truly understands the weight of what this election will bring. And it would be terribly sad to see another eight years go by without RFK. holding some very, very prominent position in office because he is one of the only real politicians that we've come across in the last 30 years. So this goes on to say that Kennedy, the scion of one of the most country's famous democratic political dynasties, got a roar of approval from Republicans when he joined Trump on stage at the Republican campaign rally in Glendale. Bobby, Bobby, the crowd chanted. Kennedy had announced earlier that he's suspending his campaign. Da, la, la, la, la. Now, the hope would be that Kennedy would be put in charge of, here's my hope, I hope Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gets put in charge of the CIA, because that would be the ultimate hope. Fuck you, from his family, back to the people that planned his assassination. That would be absolute justice, and I hope he would clean it up, or obliterate it, shatter it into the wind into a thousand pieces, like his uncle said that they should. Now, more realistically, he could find himself a part of the, um, the health administrations, including the, overseeing the WHO, the NIH, well not the WHO, but the NIH, um, and all of the, uh, Uh, the FCC, uh, overseeing children's food in school systems, uh, being able to ban the dyes that are permeating all of our food, see the oils that he talks about constantly, like this man is the epitome, he's 70 years old, and he's jacked, super healthy guy, is outside all the time, he would be amazing in that position, and he truly, truly cares. Which is all you can ask for in today's modern political environment. Just don't be fake. Don't be fake. Don't be corrupt. Don't be evil. Like I think these are pretty basic things, but it's very, very hard to come by in today's modern political environment. Name three people that you can think of that are like true. Now, one of those other people that come to mind would be Tulsi Gabbard. Another Democrat that I would have considered a great pick for VP. Um, I think a lot of Republicans tend to agree with that statement. But Tulsi Gabbard would be a phenomenal pick for VP. I really wish he would have picked her over Vance. I don't have any affinity for Vance, I don't have any malice either, but I just, I don't see him as a very excitable character to the general public. I think Tulsi would have been a huge, huge win for Trump's campaign. Uh, but anyways, Tulsi Gabbard has now come out and endorsed Donald Trump. So the two most likeable, most Politicians in the Democratic Party are now backing Donald Trump. And I think those are the two biggest people that he could have got to back him. Like what's next, Bernie Sanders? Like that's about all that's left to endorse Trump for him to completely, uh, obliterate the Democratic Party. Now, one thing that came out of this is that the Biden Harris administration had revoked the secret service protection of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. So immediately following RFK endorsing Trump, Biden and Harris pulled RFK's Secret Service. Detail that was protecting him from the multiple assassination attempts that have happened on his life over the last few months, you know, like weeks after actually giving it to him. Um, now to be fair, even though Biden pulled his security detail, I think at this point, if I had the money, I would probably buy my own security detail. If I was Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Because after the horrible comedy that was watching Donald Trump almost get assassinated under the protection of the secret service. Maybe that's not the bodyguard that you truly want if people are actually trying to kill you. So there's that. Now here's Tulsi Gabbard endorsing Donald Trump. Go ahead and pull that up for you. Uh, this comes from the post millennial. Uh, it says on Monday, speaking at the National Guard Association alongside 2024 GOP presidential candidate, Donald Trump, former democratic house Republican or house representative Tulsi Gabbard announced her endorsement of Trump. Now this makes it even better. The fact that Tulsi Gabbard. Endorsed. Donald Trump is so much sweeter when you understand that she was the one who completely obliterated, just destroyed Kamala Harris on stage to where you never saw her again after Tulsi Gabbard went after her in the debates, and here it is. Let's watch it. So, I mean, what I say when I share with you that I know that President Trump understands the grave responsibility that a president and commander in Chief Bears for every single one of our lives. Whether you're a soldier, you're an airman, a marine, sailor, or a coastie, he keeps us in his heart in the decisions that he makes. We saw this through his first term in the presidency, when he not only didn't start any new wars, he took action to de escalate and prevent wars. He exercised the courage that we expect from our Commander in Chief. In exhausting all measures of diplomacy, having the courage to meet with adversaries, dictators, allies, and partners alike in the pursuit of peace, seeing war as a last resort. The truth is, as we head towards our decision as a country in November, the same cannot be said about Kamala Harris. In fact, the opposite is true. And we're living through this reality today as. This administration has us facing multiple wars on multiple fronts and regions around the world, and closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before. This is one of the main reasons why I'm committed to doing all that I can to send President Trump back to the White House where he can once again serve us as our commander in chief. And there you go. Tulsi Gabbard has endorsed Donald, uh, said, uh, go ahead and just read a purse short part of this here. Um, this is personal for me. She said recounting her experiences in Iraq in 2005 with the Hawaii army national guard and how there was a sadness as we boarded the plane when we left. That we were leaving some of our brothers and sisters behind only to lose others. When we got home to suicide, uh, she said, I am proud to stand here before you today, whether you're a Democrat, Republican, or an independent, if you love your country, as I do, if you cherish peace and freedom as we do, I invite you to join me in doing all that we can to save our country and elect. Donald Trump. There you go. So two people that I actually think hold weight with their audience. Tulsi Gabbard. Uh, And I think to me, she's probably one of the only, like, it's funny that the two Democrats that I would actually consider voting for that I actually think has any real personality to them that is actually speaking from their heart and is actually being a, a real true American just so happen to be the people that endorse Trump. Now, I don't think that's any coincidence because everybody else is just paid off or disingenuous or there for a power grab or whatever it is. So let's move on. Now, you, I don't even know how to start this because it's so ridiculous to me. Do you know what's listed as the number like 43 top sold hat on Amazon? You want to talk about propaganda when it comes to Kamala Harris, like they've made her this absolute star. Now this just shows exactly how ridiculous the propaganda is and how fake. This shows exactly how fake Kamala Harris's entire popularity is. Go to Amazon right now. Look at the top 100 hats that have been sold in the last month. And it doesn't have to be what's been sold, obviously, as you'll see here in just a second. But when you look at the top 100 hats sold on Amazon right now, one of them that comes up is this hat right here. Here you go. Now, if you can't see my screen right now, it's a Harris Walls 2024 hat. Now this is listed as the number one new release hat on Amazon, which is funny because there's only one rating on this hat, one five star review on this hat, and it's the number one new released men's baseball hat. One star, huh? That's weird. Almost as fake as the people that were on the tarmac when Kamala Harris got out of her airplane. Now you want to know why this is interesting is because somebody else I know so happens to have a newly released hat on Amazon. If you go to number one released on men's baseball hats, you will see. That the number one hat is Harris. Well, this is the entire number one released. Amazon hot new releases of baseball hats. Number one, Kamala Harris walls. Number two, Kamala. Number four, Kamala. Number five, Kamala. Number six, Kamala. Number seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty one, twenty two, twenty three, twenty four. You're telling me, on Amazon, out of the top 22 hats released in the last month, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 18 of the top 22 hats on Amazon in the new releases are all about Kamala Harris? Especially when you see that of those 18 hats that are in the top releases of hats, there's a total combined eight stars that have been, that have been given to these hats. Eight total purchases verified on Amazon for the top 18 of 22 hats on Amazon. 18 out of the top 22 hats on Amazon right now of the new releases are Kamala Harris, and they have a total combined purchased of. Eight total purchases. Now you want to know why I know that's bullshit? Because guess what? I own a hat company called Ronin that just released on the same timeframe as these and my hats have more reviews and more purchases than every single one of these hats. Every single one of them. My hats aren't listed on this top 100 list, but guess what? 35 different variations of Kamala Harris on the hat. Are the top new releases for men's baseball hats. That's interesting to me. Hilarious actually. And what's even funnier is that the number three, you know, of the top 10 on here, nine of them are for Kamala Harris, but the one that's make America great again for Donald Trump has 28 reviews while the Kamala Harris ones have a combined. Like 11, 10 reviews. So the number three has 28 times more reviews than any of the other ones. But it's number three compared to number one is Harris Walls. Especially when you see that the Harris Walls hats are like camouflage. Like, I'm sorry, nobody's buying a camo Harris Walls hat. Nobody. Hilarious. So. If you want to buy a real hat and support a real company with real values, you can actually go to Amazon right now and you can look at it on your screen. If you're here on, uh, on YouTube with us, and here is my hat. You can look up Ronan Faraday hat. It will be the number one thing that comes up. It's a black hat that is a silver lined fabric, EMF blocking Now it's also just so happens to be the best looking hat on Amazon right now as well. But my hat has more stars than the number 1, number 2, number 4, number 5, number 6, number 7, number 8. More purchases, guaranteed, than all of those Harris Kamala hats. Uh, Kamala Harris hats that are on Amazon right now. But for some reason, we don't show up on that list. Now that's interesting, very interesting. So if you want to protect yourself from EMFs, you want to give the middle finger to Kamala Harris and the propaganda arm that is Amazon trying to push this type of merchandise onto the general public. Like they're not only doing it with Amazon. AI generated photos. They're not only propping up Kamala Harris by putting Beyonce songs and Taylor Swift behind her and all of these fake propaganda videos where you see her in in what looks like packed arenas that are there for her with all these signs. No, they're there for the entertainment that they paid tens. millions of dollars to even show up there because they know that's the only way anybody's going to show up to their campaign. So if you're sick of the tomfoolery and you want to support a real brand go to amazon right now and buy one of my hats. Ronin, Faraday hats on amazon. And while you're there leave a review so you can let them know too That we have way more people buying our stuff than Kamala Harris does. Alright, anyways, let's move on. But, let me tell you how infuriating that is. It is infuriating if you know how much time, how much energy, how much effort has gone into me launching my hat company and then realizing all I needed to do was make a Kamala hat. And everybody would flock to buy it, but nobody would review it. And it would also be in the number one new released hats. All I had to do is put, maybe I should, should I put Kamala's name on my Ronin hats, just so that Amazon would put it to the top of the new releases. Do you think it would work? Maybe, maybe I will just kidding. I would definitely not do that. I promise. I would never do that. All right. Last topic of the day, uh, is the fact that there was a U S soldier, uh, Here it is. U. S. soldier, a United States soldier fled to North Korea, fled to North Korea, and will plead guilty to desertion and other criminal charges. Now, the reason that he fled to North Korea will shock you. If you know anything about North Korea, it will rattle you. Now, here we go. Here's the first article. I believe this one came out. Well, let's, let's, let's start from the beginning. Let's start from the beginning, August 17th, uh, August 15th, sorry, Pentagon disputes Pyongyang's acclaim. So, so North Korea claims that this U. S. soldier fled to them because he sought refuge in North Korea from the United States. Now, that's really interesting when you understand that all the people, all of the people, Who are defectors of North Korea, say that it's the worst place possible. Now, number one, how did this guy get into North Korea? Because the border is supposed to be like, shoot on sight, essentially. Number two, why would he think that that's a safer place than, I don't know, the United States of America? Interesting. Let's go ahead and read this article. Says the Pentagon cannot verify claims by North Korea that U. S. soldier Travis T. King willingly sought refuge in the North to escape racial discrimination in the U. S. Army. So this kid fled the army, this soldier fled the army to North Korea because of discrimination. That's how soft our military members are today. That's how soft they are. They think that they're being discriminated against in the military, which, by the way, really doesn't happen. When you're in the military, I'm a veteran, when you're in the military, literally nobody acknowledges color. Like, nobody. That you're all in it together when you're in boot camp, when you're in tech school, when you're deployed, when you're on base together, when you're all hanging out, it is a big, huge, like melting pot of people is the least discriminatory culture that you'll ever find in your entire life. Like everybody's just. It's a brotherhood. Nobody cares what color you are. Nobody cares where you came from, what ethnicity you are, what your, your history is, is, growing up, where, like, nobody cares about any of that stuff. You're there for a mission, and you do that mission. That's all you care about. So, the Pentagon says it cannot verify claims by North Korea that the U. S. soldier Travis T. King willingly sought refuge in North Korea to escape North Korea. Racial discrimination in the U. S. Army, a senior defensive, by the way, there's probably a big list of places that if you were actually trying to flee the U. S. Army from discrimination, Yeah, probably not going to North Korea. Like, there's a lot of places that I would go first before I fled to North Korea. Unless, this man knows something that we don't know, which brings us to our next topic of North Korea as a utopia. Which we will get to in a minute. Um, King dashed into the North while on a civilian tour of the Joint Security Area on the heavily fortified border between North Koreas. Or to the Koreas, US officials have said they believe King crossed the border intentionally in the first public acknowledgement of the incident. North Korea State media reported Wednesday that Kings confessed to crossing in the North Korea because of inhumane maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US Army. Now there's a lot of dumb guys in the army. . I was in the Air Force, so I can say that there's a lot of dumb guys in the army. That's the running joke, at least. But you have to be the dumbest guy in the army if you flee to North Korea because of racial discrimination. Like, I'm sorry, you're literally the only black person in this entire country. You're probably going to get way more discriminated against than the military, which is like 40%, 30 percent black. It says, North Korea investigators have also now concluded that King crossed deliberately and illegally with the intent to stay in North Korea or in a third country state news agency. K C N A set. During the investigation, Travis King confessed that he had decided to come over as he harbored ill feelings against his inhumane maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U. S. Army. And by the way, if you feel that way in the Army, like, you're going to the legal council. Like, there's so many ways that you can bring that to your, you can go talk to your first shirt. You can, there's, there's so many channels for you to, like, I understand if you're at a, uh, you Small company and you don't like the HR isn't existent and it's a mom and pop shop and you're like, fuck you guys I'm leaving and you run across the street to a you know, a different company to file an application But like you're in the military that the the HR in the military is like the worst to deal with ever like you're gonna You're gonna get fired Get places every single person will get written up so quick, especially in today's modern social media. Uh, he also expressed his willingness to seek refuge in DPRK or a third country saying that he was disillusioned as at the unequal American society. The senior defense official who spoke with Fox News said North Korea has not communicated anything about Private King to U. N. command and anyone in the U. S. military. The official said there is no reason to trust what North Korea's state media is reporting. The reclusive communist regime, which frequently issues, uh, bellicose threats against the United States, South Korea, and Japan exerts total control over its media. Okay. So there's the first article. The second article. This one came, uh, Just two days ago says that the mother of Travis King says he has so many reasons to come home from North Korea The mother of the American soldier Travis King who spent more than a month inside North Korea says he has so many reasons to come home Claudine Gates made the comments to the Associated Press, uh, that they're continuing to work to bring the 23 year old son back to American soil after he ran into North Korea on Julythis is the craziest story ever that he ran into North Korea, uh, and stayed there for a month. Because of racial discrimination in the military. I just can't see him ever wanting to stay in Korea when he has family in America. He has so many reasons to come home. I'm not mad at you, Travis. I just want you to come home, she added. He has a whole life ahead of him. He's still a young man. I just want my baby home. Come back from North Korea, King. The Pentagon said last week that it could not verify claims by North Korea that King, a U. S. Army private, willingly sought refuge in the North to escape racial discrimination within the service branch's rank. A senior defense official told Fox News on August 15th that the Pentagon had no contact with King and does not know his current condition. In the first public acknowledgment of the incident, North Korea's state media reported that King confessed to crossing in the North because of inhumane maltreatment and racial discrimination in the U. S. Army. Wow. That. Is. Huh. Larious. He just bolted. He just ran. He's like, fuck you guys. I'm out. Uh, all right. That's gotta be one of the funniest stories in American military history. During the investigation, King confessed that he had decided to come over to the DPRK as he harbored ill feeling. Okay. We walked through all this kind of similar as the last one. Um, Gates in an interview with the AP said he, she has never heard her son express the sentiments attributed to him. Uh, that's why my son was proud to be an American. He's not even a racist type of. person. That's why I can't see him saying that, she said. But she added, I was kind of told that he said a little something like that to his uncles and that their approach with him was a little different than me. I'm mom. Wow. Uh, that's hilarious. Uh, yeah, that's hilarious. Um, all right. And the last article here, This one coming from just today says that the US soldier who fled to North Korea will plead guilty to desertion. Other criminal charges, lawyers saying, uh, Travis King, the U S army private who last year, last year, how has he been detained this whole time? But those articles were from like, was that 2023? This guy has been gone for a year. No way. Yeah, those articles were August 24. I thought this was like three days ago, seven days ago, a week and a half ago. Why has nobody talked about this army soldier fleeing to North Korea because of racial discrimination, North Korea for a whole year. Nobody's talked about this. This is I've never heard of this. And I was running my podcast. Then for the past three, four years, nobody's talked about this at all. That's hilarious. A whole year. How long was he in Korea for? Let's read this article and find out. I'm so sorry for this. I should have read further. I so sorry. I should have looked at that. I just said August 15th, August 24th, August 26th. I just thought this was this like breaking story that nobody was talking about. This has been happening for a year. Oh my gosh. All right. August 26th, this is, this is the actual new breaking update for you guys. So Travis King, the U S army private who last year ran into North Korea from South Korea is expected to plead guilty to multiple criminal charges, including desertion. The U S army has charged him with 14 offenses under the uniform code of military justice. King will plead guilty to five of those charges and not guilty to the remaining offenses. which the army intends to dismiss. King's guilty plea will be entered at a general court martial where he will explain his actions to military judge. Uh, the guilty plea and sentencing will be held on September 20th. Mark your calendar. Travis is grateful to his friends and family who have supported him and to all who outside the circle who did not prejudge his case based on the initial allegations. North Korean government released King last September 18th. So he served like two months. When he reportedly sprinted away from a tour group in a demilitarized zone, there was no contact with King during his capture and North Korean officials were initially obtuse in responding to U. S. inquiries. The incident happened after King finished two months in a South Korean detention facility following a physical altercation with locals. A senior defense official previously told Fox News. Wow. So he got like a fist fight with some South Korean dudes and then ran to North Korea because they were being unfair to him. Cause he's black. Allegedly throughout the time he was in the facility, he made comments that he did not want to come back to America. King was eventually released on July 10th and sent home Monday to Fort Bliss. Um, so let's read that again. Uh, he finished two months in a South Korean detention facility for getting in a fight with a local. Uh, throughout the time he was at the facility, he made comments that he did not want to come back to America. King was eventually released on July 10th and sent home Monday to Fort Bliss. So, he was in that detention facility. That timeline doesn't match up. But anyways, uh, North Korea state media reported that King confessed to crossing into the country because of inhumane. Okay, we talked about that. King's mother disputed the claims. And there we are. September 20th, people. That's what we're going to find out. Uh, Somebody says, I wonder if this entire problem can be attributed to the lower standards for enlistment that all military branches but the Marines have resorted to in order to reach their recruiting goals. It just seems unlikely that this is the first time this individual has been involved in trouble. Yeah, possibly. Uh, somebody said, I would have no problem if he's sent back to North Korea. This is where he wanted to go. Yeah, have fun, bud. Uh, it says in 1983, Private First Class White defects guard duty to the demilitarized zone in North Korea. And North Korea used him to As propaganda. Three months later, his body was found floating in a river south of North Korea. King IL Sung said he was overwhelmed, uh, and loved the support to the North Korean people couldn't meet standards. Wow, you misunderstand. Even North Korea didn't want him. They gave him back freely. Uh, yeah. Shouldn't he be invited to the White House and given a beer with Harris ? Uh. Yeah, very interesting. That's crazy. So here's a fun thought experiment. What if he's right? What if North Korea is not this like, desolate, dystopian place where everybody's being like, totalitarianism to the core? What if North Korea is hiding a secret utopia? Where the elite live in luxury, fueled by trillions in untapped resources. What And that's what some people tend to believe. I don't know if I agree with them. But that is what some people believe is that what if North Korea was really this huge propaganda campaign by the West. And what if really what's happening there is actually utopia, where Kim Jong Un actually doesn't defecate, where they have far advanced technology than us. Where they have unlimited resources, none of them really have to work in this communist, socialist, totalitarian regime, and everybody's happy about it. What if all the defectors there It's hard to say this seriously, but like, think about it. Let's, like, let's, okay, let me, let me put on my serious hat here. Here, here's the argument that can be made around this, alright? There's actually a legitimate argument to be made that North Korea has an unbelievable amount of resources. North Korea is believed to be sitting on untapped natural resources potentially worth trillions of dollars, including vast resources of rare earth materials, including coal, gold, and many other minerals. These resources, resources could theoretically provide the economic foundation for a prosperous society, particularly if the government has been discreet, discreetly. Uh, exploiting these assets. Now, there's supporting evidence surrounding this, which is the fact that North Korea is estimated to be one of the largest reserves of rare earth elements in the world, which are critical for modern technology, from smartphones to military equipment. Uh, reports suggest that these resources could be worth six to ten trillion dollars. Given North Korea's isolation and the secrecy surrounding its economic activities, it's plausible that the regime has been strategically using these resources to maintain a hidden wealth based economy. fueling a more prosperous society than outsiders are aware of, right? Like what if North Korea is just like the real life Wakanda, where everybody thinks it's like this third world country. And it's actually this utopia with flying cars, and unlimited resources, and people are all super happy. And they have, you know, all of these things that we don't know about all this technology, all of these minerals, all these resources, all of this advanced modern societies, like, What if Wakanda is real? And it's actually North Korea. That's the question I'm posing to you. Uh, now another side of this is that there's actually legitimate, uh, legitimate evidence that shows that North Korea is known for its extensive network of underground facilities. Like huge, massive, underground military cities. Not just military bunkers, but cities. Designed to protect and sustain its elite. The underground cities might be equipped with advanced technology Luxurious living conditions, but like nobody knows this right you go into North Korea Like you're getting a tour guide who's gonna walk you through these like fake cities. Have you ever seen those videos? Like nobody knows what's going on there legitimately The only thing that we know is the propaganda that's being propagated by Kim Jong un which looks more satirical than anything at all That you've ever seen like any video that is of Kim Jong un. It looks like a comedy like a legitimate comedy Um, so like what's actually going on there? Is it really just this like comical? satirical country where this totalitarian brutal regime of or is it like Or are they hiding something? Like, I think both of those are just as plausible as each other. Uh, it says there's multiple reports and defector testimonies that describe vast underground networks in North Korea, initially built for military purposes. Satellite imagery has also revealed suspicious land formations and construction activities that hint at larger underground facilities. Now, if you recall, I've done a deep dive into the DUMS. The deep underground military bases that are under, uh, the United States of America, like huge, unbelievably huge, vast, like cities, infrastructures, military bases underground that nobody, unless you're in there and have the secret security clearances know about. And we found out about them because there was, uh, Strava data. Strava is like the, the, or was it like my fitness, um, like the whoop app, whatever that is, the my fitness pal type of a thing that you put on your, your, I think of Strava, Strava data got leaked and it's this running technology where runners put this like on their shoes or it's on your phone app and it tracks where you run and people, the data got leaked from Strava. And when it got leaked, they saw these. Uh, there was like hundreds of people running this track in the middle of nowhere, and I think it was like Antarctica or something. And what they found was a deep underground military base where these military members were tracking their runs in the deep underground military base. So these things exist. The data's been leaked. The US has these. They're huge, like massive cities under the ground. So who's to say that North Korea doesn't have that too? I mean, there's a lot of evidence that suggests the same. Um, right, designed, and so it talks about the land formations and construction activities that hint at large underground military bases. Uh, secrecy and controlled information. The secret, the extreme secrecy and control over information in North Korea allow the regime to maintain a dual reality. While the global community sees a nation plagued by poverty and repression, There could be a totally different reality that's going on there. Um, North Korea's tight control over media and information, both domestically and internationally, is well documented. The regime's ability to obscure much of its military and economic activities from even the most advanced civilization, or intelligence services, suggests that it could be just concealing the truth. Aspects of its social infrastructure This is supported by the fact that there is very little known about the true extent of north korea's internal developments And the country's isolation means that much of what is known comes from the controlled sources either being the news The defectors right which could very easily be Uh, people who are paid actors, just like we've had, you know, crisis actors here in the U. S. Um, and then it goes on to talk about how there's plenty of suggestselective Western propaganda. So proponents argue that Western mediaand this is all like a pro article designed to at least give some evidence of this, so it's like, just Being transparent with you. This is not like some legitimate government resource or some scientific article, but it is giving legitimate points about this. So, but it is in support of this idea of the North Korea utopia. Um, but it says by depicting the country as a failed state, Western powers can justify sanctions, military posturing, and political pressure. This narrative could be deliberately exaggerated or even fabricated, masking the true nature of North Korean society. And then it also talks about how there is inconsistent defector testimony. So while many defectors report dire conditions in North Korea, there have been cases where their testimonies have been questioned or even debunked. Some defectors have returned to North Korea, which, which proponents argue wouldn't happen if the country was in terrible as terrible as depicted, right? Why would you go back there if like, and there's some horrible videos like, and I'm not meaning like to having this conversation to like downplay those defectors testimonies? Because, um, who is the, there was the woman that was on. She goes on and talks about some like horrific, horrific things that are going on there and like all these terrible, the terrible famines that are happening. Like I'm not trying to delegitimize that and like, but it's an interesting concept, right? When, when everything has been shown to be false and propaganda, like you start to question some weird stuff, guys. This may be one of those cases. Um, but I'm sure that my, my bullshit radar is like pretty well up here. I, I'm not totally buying this theory, but it's a fun thought experiment that North Korea's Wakanda. That's all I'm saying. And that is a good fair point that like, why would a defector go back there? Right. Unless their family's being threatened. Maybe like that. That'd be a good reason. Um, this suggests that life in North Korea might be in more nuanced with certain segments of the population living in better conditions than the Western media portrays. Yeah. Interesting. Not sure what I make of that, guys, but that's at least, that's at least the theory for you. Now you know. The theory surrounding North Korea being an actual utopia, Wakanda, and us just being propagandized by the Western culture to think that maybe you don't want to be like those guys. Like, you want to, you want to stay with your democracy and your freedom of speech. Don't come over here to the dark side where, where, you know, we have the worst haircuts ever and satirical movies that we push out as propaganda to outside countries so they don't know that we have access to trillions of dollars of resources and advanced technology. I don't know. I mean, I kind of know, but I don't know. And with that. I'll leave you guys. So I hope you have a wonderful day. Head over to Ronan basics. com. Um, head over to Amazon. You can buy our hats there as well. I have the Ronan basics RFID blocking wallets. Um, have the Ronan basics, uh, 10 foil hat, protecting yourself from EMFs. And the beanies coming very, very soon is our Faraday bags. So the phone, phone bags that you'll actually be able to put your phone into. I have many, many samples. I have, they're in production right now. We've gone back and forth and back and forth to improve them. Very, very excited. I should have those in stock over the next coming weeks. So look out for that Ronan basics. com subscribe, leave a five star review here. Uh, and. I love you. I appreciate you. I hope you're having a good day and I'll see you next time. The Adams archive. Adams archive.
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After navigating numerous controversies and setbacks, Rooster Teeth attempted to return to a more stable existence. But it was not to be. The corporate overlords at Warner Bros Discovery have decided to shut down the company after it reportedly spent a decade being unprofitable.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Fullscreen's acquisition of Rooster Teeth would bring with it new challenges, including corporate bureaucracy, a push for new kinds of monetization, and changes in company culture. Meanwhile, the folks at Rooster Teeth kept making content. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nick Dazé joins the podcast this week to discuss the trailblazing work happening at Heirloom around identity management. He shares the impact their innovative technology has had on academic credentials, which empower both students and institutions to experience far more fluidity, effectiveness, and efficiency.Guest Name: Nick Dazé, CEO of HeirloomGuest Social Handles: LinkedInGuest Bio: Nick Dazé is the co-founder and CEO of Heirloom, which builds no-code tools allowing schools and employers to tokenize credentials on the blockchain. Before co-founding Heirloom, he co-founded PocketList and was an early team member at tech companies such as Faraday Future ($FFIE), Fullscreen (acquired by AT&T), and Bit Kitchen (acquired by Medium as Knowable). - - - -Connect With Our Host:Dustin Ramsdellhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dustinramsdell/https://twitter.com/HigherEd_GeekAbout The Enrollify Podcast Network:The Higher Ed Geek is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you'll like other Enrollify shows too! Some of our favorites include Generation AI and I Wanna Work There. Enrollify is made possible by Element451 — the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com. Connect with Us at the Engage Summit:Exciting news — Dustin will be at the 2024 Engage Summit in Raleigh, NC, on June 25 and 26, and we'd love to meet you there! Sessions will focus on cutting-edge AI applications that are reshaping student outreach, enhancing staff productivity, and offering deep insights into ROI. Use the discount code Enrollify50 at checkout, and you can register for just $99! This early bird pricing lasts until March 31. Learn more and register at engage.element451.com — we can't wait to see you there!
Join me and one of Forbes' Top 50 Entrepreneurial CMOs, Business Insider's CMO to Watch, and Brand Innovators' Industry Innovator, Krystal Hauserman, who creates iconic brands by rooting them in pop culture, purpose and cutting-edge innovation. Krystal has held senior executive roles at WarnerMedia, Paris Hilton's 11:11 Media, creator startup Fullscreen and more, having created breakthrough campaigns for global consumer brands such as HBO, Hilton Hotels, Taco Bell, Klarna, NBCU, the NBA, and L'Oreal's Urban Decay. Her work has been featured in Vogue, Vanity Fair, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Forbes, Ad Age and Adweek. Her deepest appreciation for creativity, storytelling, beauty and design was the reason she switched from her successful law career to the entertainment business, crafting a path that better resonated with her character and values. Being a mentor to so many people, Krystal always emphasizes the importance of curiosity and flexibility and in trusting opportunities that come their way. She serves on the Advisory Board of POSSIBLE and is an executive mentor to early-career marketers across multiple organizations, including Adweek, Monday Night Mentorship, and The Marketing Academy. Some great takeaways from today's episode: Ones' potential and character is more important than the credentials they possess You can teach people how to do something, but you can't teach them to care Marketers solve the world's problems, they don't do it for themselves Take your time and experiment - be open to possibilities Links: Krystal Hauserman's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystalhauserman/ Krystal Hauserman's website: https://www.krystalhauserman.com THE RE:INVENTION EXCHANGE - for more Inspired Content, Blogs, Podcasts, RE:INVENTION Virtual Chats, or to buy a copy of my book RE:INVENT YOUR LIFE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? by Kathi Sharpe-Ross, visit https://www.thereinventionexchange.com IG: KathiSR_Chief_Reinventor FB: Kathi Sharpe-Ross or The Reinvention Exchange LinkedIn: Kathi Sharpe-Ross Twitter: KathiSR or The Reinvention Exchange
Watch The Episode On YouTube: https://youtu.be/HkMcph1d1vU Are you looking for a powerful project management tool that can save you time and boost your productivity? Then you should check out ClickUp 3.0! In this video, we dive into the latest version of ClickUp and explore its potential to save you one day a week. ClickUp offers tons of features, views, and options to handle pretty much all your project management needs (besides actually doing the work). Whether you're working alone or with a team, ClickUp has you covered. Don't miss this episode of the TBM Show as we take you on a journey through ClickUp 3.0's features, advantages, and potential time savings. It's time to take your project management to the next level and see if ClickUp is the right fit for you! Try ClickUp For Free (affiliate link): https://clickup.pxf.io/paul Subscribe to the TBM Show for more insightful discussions on productivity, tools, and tactics that can improve your life.
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It's College Football Season! Lee Hacksaw Hamilton discusses the changing dynamics in college sports. We talk about Top 20 teams, hot teams to follow, and a deeper look at the PAC-12 and Mountain West Conferences. Here's what Lee Hamilton thinks on Thursday, August 31, 2023. These are Hacksaw's Headlines: 1...COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW...A VERY DIFFERENT SEASON "END OF AN ERA" ------- 2...PAC 12 CONFERENCE...WIDE OPEN YEAR? "YEAR OF THE QUARTERBACK" ----------- 3...MOUNTAIN WEST...A VERY DIFFERENT YEAR "BOUNCEBACK SEASONS" ======================== (HALFTIME) ======================== 4.. TOP TEAMS IN THE NATION....ARE THE POLLS CORRECT? "QUESTION MARKS" GEORGIA ALABAMA OHIO STATE MICHIGAN TEXAS CLEMSON ----------------------- 5.. NAMES IN THE NEWS-WHO YOU FOLLOWING? “Full Screen" "BREAK THRU-BREAKDOWNS" LSU NOTRE DAME NORTH CAROLINA PENN STATE TCU COLORADO ------------------------- #ncaa #bcs #nil #transferportal #PAC12 #USC #OREGON #Washington #OregonState #washingtonstate #cal #stanford #arizona #arizonastate #utah #colorado #lincolnriley #calebwilliams #chipkelly #sandiegostate #bradyhoke #boisestate #fresnostate #sanjosestate #utahstate #wyoming #airforce #coloradostate #newmexico #nevadareno #unr #unlv #georgia #alabama #ohiostate #michigan #clemson #texas #lsu #notredame #northcarolina #pennstate #tcu #coachprime #bonix #michaelpenix Be sure to share this episode with a friend! ☆☆ STAY CONNECTED ☆☆ For more of Hacksaw's Headlines, The Best 15 Minutes, One Man's Opinion, and Hacksaw's Pro Football Notebook: http://www.leehacksawhamilton.com/ SUBSCRIBE on YouTube for more reactions, upcoming shows and more! ► https://www.youtube.com/c/leehacksawhamiltonsports FACEBOOK ➡ https://www.facebook.com/leehacksaw.hamilton.9 TWITTER ➡ https://twitter.com/hacksaw1090 TIKTOK ➡ https://www.tiktok.com/@leehacksawhamilton INSTAGRAM ➡ https://www.instagram.com/leehacksawhamiltonsports/
This podcast interview focuses on product innovation that has the power to give self-care businesses give their clients more of the magical moments that matter. My guest is Matt Danna, CEO of Boulevard. Matt is a tech entrepreneur on a mission. He's addicted to building technology for the creative class and passionate about the intersection between design and technology. Matt has spent his entire career building technologies to empower creative professionals., Matt was head of product for the LA-based talent agency Wasserman. His career also includes product leadership positions with Awesomeness, a multi-media platform company, and the global media company Fullscreen. He co-founding Boulevard in 2016 as he and his co-founder realized this industry - the professionals who help us look and feel our best - has traditionally been underserved when it comes to tech and support. So their mission is to change that by enabling their customers to give their clients more of the magical moments that matter. And this inspired me, and hence I invited Matt to my podcast. We explore how the company evolved from a scheduling solution into a complete experience platform, positioning for the salon and spa industry. Matt explains how they carved out their niche and how early architectural design now provides them with a multi-year competitive advantage. helping them stand out from competitors who added these features later. He elaborates on how they accelerated growth and reduced CAC by leveraging the power of network effects and customer referrals. He shares his story of how brand trust, design, and community have become core differentiators for the company, thereby creating a magnetic effect. Last but not least, he explains how the company achieved minimal customer churn during covid, and was able to add well over 600 customers in a market that was effectively closed. Here's one of his quotes The hardest nut to crack over time has been our go-to market motion. My co-founder and I were both engineers. And so, learning how to sell a product was entirely new territory for us. And there's this perception out there from some founders if you build it, they'll come. That never happens. And so you have to be so intentional about your go-to market. You have to be very, very focused on what's your ideal customer profile. That is something that we continue to refine on a quarterly basis, Who are we best set up to support? Who do we have pricing power over? During this interview, you will learn four things: What it really means to understand a problem in its full depth - and why that makes all the difference for your success What it takes to find the sweetspot where you have pricing power What they did differently that gave them defensible differentiation from day one Why we should think differently about product market fit For more information about the guest from this week: Matt Danna Website: Boulevard Subscribe to the Daily SaaS Reflection Get my free, 1 min daily reflection on shaping a B2B SaaS business no one can ignore. Subscribe here Yes, it's actually daily. And yes, people actually stay subscribed (Just see what peer B2B SaaS CEOs say) My promise: It's short. To the point. Inspiring. And valuable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
About Phil Ranta from his bio:Phil is a pioneer of the digital media revolution, working as a pre-YouTube professional web video producer in 2005, video content app creator before the smartphone revolution in 2007, an early exec in the MCN boom with two successful exits, and as the Head Gaming Creators at Facebook and Mobcrush, driving the live streaming and the creator-driven media paradigm shift. Currently, as COO of We Are Verified, Phil is helping to build scalable businesses around top content creators.Previously, Phil was the Head of Gaming Creators, North America at Facebook and the Head of Creators at Mobcrush. In both roles, the departments saw significant growth working with top game streaming talent including Ronda Rousey, Disguised Toast, Corinna Kopf, Shroud, and Nate Hill, to name a few.Phil was the COO of Studio71, one of the world's largest MCNs, growing the network from 1 billion to over 8 billion monthly views in 3 years with over 1,000 creators.Before S71, Phil joined Fullscreen as the Head of Channel Partnerships as the 9th employee, completing his tenure as the VP of Networks. He grew the network to the largest MCN in the world (on comScore) in less than 1 year. He was the recipient of Fullscreen's first "Founders Award" for his role in building the industry-leading company.Phil was also a popular comedian, performing at such prestigious LA venues as the Second City Los Angeles (and acting in their touring company aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines), the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater (improv program graduate), and comedy festivals across America. As a content creator, his videos have received over 100 million views on digital platforms bolstered by his work as a talent/producer on the YouTube channel "PronunciationManual" and co-hosts the "Two and a Half Sportsmen" podcast.
Jason Berger is a Director, a Producer, and the CEO & Founder of "KIDS AT PLAY". "KIDS AT PLAY has been on the forefront of storytelling in the digital age. Our office (known as “THE PLAYGROUND”) is an inspired place where we utilizetraditional narrative and comedy foundations to push mediums, connect with audiences, and define new creative spaces. KAP has a strong footprint in thekids and comedy space and an overarching sense of “youthfulness” in the projects they do.With writers, directors, producers, editors and graphic teams working under one roof, KAP has the ability to move projects from script to screen quickly, onbudget, and at the highest of quality standards.KAP collaborates with TV networks, writers, directors, producers, agencies, brands, and entertainment companies to produce world-class programming. Thisincludes partnerships with Facebook, YouTube, Disney, FX, Paramount Network, Comedy Central, The CW, TVLand, CMT, Warner Bros, Legendary, Viacom,Pepsi, Xbox, LG, Old Spice, Dunkin' Donuts, eHarmony, Ogilvy, Bud Light, VEVO, Purina, Intel, Smirnoff, IGN, Play Station, Listerine, StubHub, Freeform,Universal, Scripps Networks, Raycom, Yahoo!, AOL, Travel Channel, Food Network, and Cooking Channel, among others. We have unannounced projectswith Spyglass, Village Roadshow, Fox Studios, OWN, Comedy Central, YouTube Originals, Food Network, Twitch.Recently KIDS AT PLAY produced the Emmy Nominated & 2 Time NAACP winning series Tab Time with Tabitha Brown for Youtube Kids, Keke Palmer's latestcomedy series “Turnt Up With The Taylors” for Facebook (Keke won an Emmy for the series), Lightning Wolves for Comedy Central (Bobby Moynihan, TaranKillam, Cobie Smulders), The Me & You Show for Snap (over 50M views) , Daring Simone Biles for Snap, the hybrid scripted/docu pilot “Millennials Save TheWorld” for FX featuring Moses Storm and Chris Redd, “The Quinn Marcus Show” for PopTV, “Junketeers” for Comedy Central featuring Josh Duhamel, MarkWahlberg, Kristen Bell & Matt Bomer with an overall reach of 24.3 million, and the recent second seasons of comedies “Rhett & Link's Buddy System” forYouTube Originals and “Now We're Talking” for Warner Bros.In unscripted, talk and non-fiction, KAP produced 150 half-hour episodes of the hilarious daily syndicated talk show “Me Time with Frangela” for the Gray/Raycom station group, Eat Their Words for Food Network, “Oh My Josh!” For Freeform/Hulu, “Adult Ed with Jake & Amir” for Complex Networks, “Wild Food”for the Travel Channel, “Burrito Brothers” and “Snob vs. Slob” for Food Network/Cooking Channel, and “Shay Mitchell: Chapters” for Fullscreen.In the theatrical film space, we produced the thriller “The Thinning” for Legendary, which generated over 300 million social impressions reaching a totalof 135M+ fans, and the rowdy comedy feature “Beerfest: Thirst for Victory” for Warner Bros., and “The Toll Road” short film starring Lizzy Caplan andMartin Starr.KAP's ship is steered by award-winning director and producer Jason Berger and Forbes “30 Under 30” alumAmy Laslett. They are represented by UTA and Artists First."- Bio provided by "KIDS AT PLAY" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Bringing offline businesses online, known as digital transformation, is a huge opportunity. There are entire industries where the efficiencies of digital tools and workflows haven't penetrated. That's changing with the market today valued at $535B and anticipated to grow to $3.3T in the next decade.Out guest today is helping lead that transition in the health and wellness services space. Matt Danna is the Co-Founder and CEO of Boulevard, a vertical SaaS that describes itself as “the first and only client experience platform for appointment-based, self-care businesses.”About Matt Danna:Matt Danna is the co-founder and CEO of Boulevard, a provider of the client experience platform used by more than 25,000 professionals to power more than 2,000 salons, medspas, and other self-care businesses across the US.Prior to co-founding Boulevard in 2016, Matt was head of product for the LA-based talent agency Wasserman. His career also includes product leadership positions with Awesomeness, a multi-media platform company, and the global media company Fullscreen. Matt holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and Human-Computer Interaction from the Rochester Institute of Technology.In this episode we discuss:(01:23) How Matt got into tech and startups(04:10) The opportunity they saw with Boulevard(09:52) What market validation Boulevard did(11:00) Why the founders worked for free at salons(14:37) Biggest takeaways from the pre-launch market research(16:35) How they knew their MVP was ready to launch(18:26) The early bootstrapped days of Boulevard(19:51) Early employees and financing(21:38) Leaving stealth and launching publicly(23:45) Early successes and challenges(25:51) Why they spun up their own FinTech solution(27:21) How they reacted to COVID(29:32) Scaling rapidly while sticking to their vision(30:39) Boulevard's long-term visionFast Favorites*
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One of the questions job seekers often ask is how to navigate a career change. Career transitions can be tricky without clarity and guidance from others who have done them. In this episode, I talk to Producer turned Enterprise Sales Lead Margee Hocking, who mastered her career transition. I also had an opportunity to ask her how she: Built connected relationships as a remote workerTransferred her skills from production to enterprise salesFound a role model-- and the attributes she admired Managed different projects and personalities with grace and easeShow Guest:Margee Hocking is a proven sales and marketing executive. She brings over 25 years of experience working in media and technology with many Fortune 100 companies, such as Microsoft, Walmart, Honda, AT&T, GM, P&G, and T-Mobile. She works with clients to provide comprehensive solutions that create significant business impact. As the Head of Enterprise Accounts at CataBoom, a SaaS-based platform for engagement and gamification, Margee has driven significant new revenue. Before CataBoom, Margee led the business development in Texas for Fullscreen, an AT&T influencer marketing company. Margee's career began as a Production Assistant on the film, Sleepless in Seattle. She then took her talents to Saturday Night Live, HBO, MTV, NBCU, and other media and production companies. She holds a B.A. from Tulane University. Show Notes: Follow Margee Hocking on LinkedInLearn more about CataBoom and play a game hereFollow Lauren Zalaznick, Founder & Chief Curator Jill Griffin is on a mission to improve life in the workplace. Her executive coaching, strategy, and innovation have generated multi-millions in revenue for the world's largest agencies, start-ups, and well-known brands. She works with individuals, teams, and organizations to create cultures that allow leaders to increase performance while maintaining their well-being. Visit JillGriffinCoaching.com for more details on: 1:1 Career Strategy and Executive Coaching CEO Advising and Consulting Gallup CliftonStrengths Corporate Workshops to build a strengths-based culture Team Dynamics training to increase retention, communication, goal setting, and effective decision-making Current Offerings: Women's Leadership Experience starts soon. Get on the List HERE Grab an individual Strengths & Strategy Session with Jill Griffin HERE Follow @jillGriffinOffical on Instagram for daily inspiration.
Ezra Cooperstein is the President of Night, a management company for the world best digital creators, including MrBeast, Moriah Elizabeth, Safiya Nygaard, Codie Sanchez, Graham Stephan, and more. He was previously CEO of Maker Studios and President of Fullscreen and Rooster Teeth and has over two decades of experience in digital content, media & the creator economy.
“It's consumption media, not social media. A lot of people are struggling with this, and a lot more are going to. And I would like to be part of the solution.” James Veraldi is the CEO & Co-founder of Loop.co — a company focused on Improving the world's social and mental health. So many of us - including the people we love and work with - have had experience with mental health - and solving these challenges aligns with "touching lives, improving life." As an accomplished entrepreneur, James' work embodies the very purpose, values, and principle driven approach to work so many of us P&G'ers hold true. Mental and social health is especially a challenge for the younger millennial and Gen Z workforce today - which has a potentially massive impact on performance, productivity, and overall engagement and retention. If you're a manager of people - an exec or HR stakeholder - you can learn more and sign up for a free 30-day trial for you and some of your colleagues — just visit Loop.co/work. James began this recent chapter while serving as an Entrepreneur-In-Residence at GGV Capital. Prior to that he led product strategy at TikTok, which he joined in early 2017 — prior to its 2018 acquisition and rebranding from ByteDance. Prior to TikTok, James led content strategy at Snapchat, which followed his work as a founding team member at one of Youtube's earliest partners Fullscreen, which was acquired by Otter Media in 2014. James worked extensively with P&G, Danone and many other top brands when he co-led a small digital content agency called The ZiZo Group — here his team was on the earliest forefront of branded content marketing. James also had early career experiences at Target, Viacom, and Accenture. He spends a lot of his time in the climate & conservation spaces, where he has done a number of angel investments in climate tech — and founded a popular platform and podcast called Animalia where he leads discussions on a number of climate and conservation solutions. James is a dog lover, beekeeper, and even rehabilitates the occasional squirrel or crow. You'll enjoy this candid conversation about a career journey that led to a greater good - building meaningful solutions for the world of social and mental health - and hopefully be inspired on how you can make a difference.
Phil Ranta is a digital media veteran who has held leadership roles at companies such as Super Deluxe, Fullscreen, Studio 71, Facebook and now We Are Verified where he's the COO focused on all things web3 and creator economy. But most importantly, he's a father of two, who believes that time spent with your kids makes you a better leader and that every parent could benefit from improv or comedy training.Episode Breakdown:3:05 - Navigating Young Kids with Young Startups 5:00 - How His Kids Were Impacted By The Pandemic 9:52 - Where He Was In His Career When He First Became a Dad 11:41 - How Becoming A Dad Impacts Your Approach To Content15:15 - How Disney Movies Can Be Difficult To Watch With Your Kids 18:08 - How Spending More time With Your Kids Makes you A Better Leader 21:20 - How Having a Background in Comedy is Beneficial As a Parent 26:06 - How Fathers Are More Present In Their Kids Lives Today 27:40 - How Dad-Content Has Become Cool29:05 - Rapid Father Questions 31:45 - Is Bluey the Best Show for Dads? 37:25 - Defining Dad Energy and Dad Funny Follow Phil on twitter @PhilRanta for more insight on media and fatherhood:https://twitter.com/PhilRantaOfficial Website: Fathermaterial.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/father_material/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Father_Material
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This interview features James Creech, SVP Influencer Strategy at Brandwatch and founder of Paladin. We discuss how former GE CEO Jack Welch inspired James to be a number one category leader, using his down payment on a house to start Paladin, his make or break pivot when the creator economy evolved in 2018, working till 3AM over Christmas to sell his company, why James and I are kindred spirits, and the power of recasting your success.Subscribe to our newsletter. We explore the intersection of media, technology, and commerce: sign-up linkLearn more about our market research and executive advisory: RockWater websiteFollow The Come Up on Twitter: @TCUpodEmail us: tcupod@wearerockwater.com---EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:Chris Erwin:Hi, I'm Chris Erwin. Welcome to The Come Up, a podcast that interviews entrepreneurs and leaders.James Creech:Thomas and Ole and I all put considerable capital into the project. To put that in perspective, at the time, Thomas was getting married. His fiancé, she was amazing to say, "We believe in this dream, and we want to put that money that we would have saved for a big, nice wedding with our family and friends towards investing in this startup." I had been saving to buy a house, so I took essentially a down payment on what I would do to buy a house and said, "I'm all in on the business." Every penny to my name and probably even some I didn't have like went into Paladin. Then, Ole had recently gone out and bought a Tesla. He ended up driving back to the dealership and returning the Tesla, so he could take all of that money and put it into Paladin. So, every single one of us was all in from day one.Chris Erwin:This week's episode features James Creech, SVP influencer strategy at Brandwatch and founder of Paladin. So, James was born in Houston, Texas and grew up in Bakersfield, California with parents who worked in oil and gas. Early on, James was a creative. In high school, he made sketch comedy videos with his friends and thought film and TV was his future. So, he went to USC Film School and ended up running the college TV station, but soon realized that he really enjoyed and was good at the business side of entertainment. His career started at a video advertising startup, where he helped scale the team to over 40 employees, but then moved on to Bent Pixels, which started as an early YouTube MCN.Chris Erwin:While there, James took a big bet on launching a technology SaaS product for the early creator economy, which he ended up spinning out and leading as CEO, until its recent sale to Brandwatch just a few months ago. Today, James leads influencer strategy at Brandwatch and stays busy on the side, advising over 10 different companies and publishing content on his podcast and blog. Some highlights of our chat include how former GE CEO Jack Welch inspired James to be a number one category leader, when he used his down payment on a house to start Paladin, his make or break pivot when the creator economy evolved in 2018, working till 3:00 AM over Christmas to sell his company, why James and I are kindred spirits, and the power of recasting your success. All right, let's get to it. James, thanks for being on The Come Up podcast.James Creech:Hey, Chris. Thank you, excited to be here.Chris Erwin:This has been a bit of a long time coming. I think I was on your podcast a year or two ago, and I said, "James, I'm going to have to get you on mine someday." And, we're finally making it happen. When we were doing the prep, I just got even more excited, because I realized just how cool and exciting your story is. So, excited to share that with the listeners, and as always, let's rewind a bit. So, we're going to go back. Tell us about where you grew up, what your household and what your parents were like.James Creech:So, I was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up mostly in Bakersfield, California. So, I always tell people, "You could probably guess what my parents did for a living, right?" We worked in oil and gas. So, I spent most of my life, yeah, in Bakersfield, from ages four to 18, essentially. My childhood was great. I have a younger brother and sister. We're a close family. We had the chance to do a lot of traveling when we were younger, which was fun. I remember soccer practice and tennis and Cub Scouts, mock trial. We were involved in a lot of activities, and our parents were very much a part of those activities and the stuff that we enjoyed as kids.Chris Erwin:Quick interjection, how far did you get in Cub Scouts?James Creech:To the end of Cub Scouts. Never made it to boy Scouts.Chris Erwin:Did you achieve the Webelos badge?James Creech:Yeah, I was a Webelos. I think that's about as far as I made it.Chris Erwin:Nice. I did one up you a bit. I got to Eagle Scout with my twin brother.James Creech:Congrats. Wow, that's a huge achievement.Chris Erwin:It's a lot of work. Back to you, so grew up in Bakersfield, had some younger siblings. Early on, what were your passions? What were you into? Was there any glimpse into the career that you have today?James Creech:I think when I was a kid, I used to tell people what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said I wanted to be the governor of California. I don't know where that came from. I don't know that I have any sort of interest or passion in politics. I think as I got older, I would say I lacked the moral flexibility to pursue a career in that field, but was interested in politics and government early on. Somehow, that morphed into maybe being interested in law and going to law school at a certain point. I was pre-law at USC, so that was certainly a passion. I ended up doing the mock trial, as I mentioned, and then interned at a law firm and realized, hey, a lot of love for the legal profession, a lot of great friends who are lawyers, et cetera, but that probably wasn't the path for me.James Creech:In high school, the thing that really captured my intention was making videos with my friends, essentially comedy shorts. It's interesting, the timing, right? I was inspired by SNL and all these other amazing sketch comedy programs. Had I been a generation later, let alone maybe even five years later, the videos I made probably would've ended up on YouTube and now TikTok. But, because of the timing, I just made videos with my friends, and we made DVDs and shared them with our friends and family. But, it wasn't any sort of big distribution.Chris Erwin:It's never too late, James. It's never too late.James Creech:Yeah. There's an archive of a lot of old, embarrassing footage somewhere.Chris Erwin:Yeah, IP libraries are in high demand, high valuation. So, there could be something there.James Creech:So, that's what I was doing and figured, okay, well, I'm interested in media and entertainment. I applied and was accepted into the USC Film School and thought, okay, I'm going to go into film production, right? Fast forward a little bit, and I realized in college, well, I'm way more interested in the business side than I am in say the creative or the technical side. The stuff I liked doing in high school with my friends was making videos, which was really more about the experience of being together, less about the filmmaking process. But, yeah, that was kind of the early days.Chris Erwin:Yeah. So, I have to ask, what was your role in doing these sketch comedy or sketch segments? Were you a director? Were you a writer? Were you an actor? Was it all the above? And, I also want to hear, if you just have an example of one of the things that you guys did, I'd love to hear about it.James Creech:Oh, boy. So, I was an instigator. A ringleader is maybe the right word. We did all sorts of stuff. We were filming on these really small handheld cameras. I would certainly come up with sketch ideas and get my friends involved. We would shoot them. I would edit them. We would share them. There's plenty of stories that I can tell you, many of which are maybe too embarrassing for the podcast. So, we'll save that for a beer sometime, but one that definitely stands out is we kind of faked this kidnapping of our friend. He had a new girlfriend. He was really invested in that relationship, not spending as much time with our buddies. So, I said, "Okay, let's go to his house one afternoon, dressed all in black like ninjas," and his parents knew. We gave everyone a heads up, but we went in and kidnapped him for the day, which was a lot of fun. So, that's probably one that stands out.Chris Erwin:It's funny, hearing you tell these stories. So, I just started listening to This Is Important Podcast from the crew of Workaholics. They started just by making different sketch videos. They were filming wrestling matches in their backyard. Just hearing about some of their stories and how they started, and then they talk about, yeah, and then we sold the show to Viacom. How did this happen in Comedy Central?James Creech:Yeah, I wish that was the journey, was certainly inspired by Derrick Comedy and some of the other early, early YouTube sketch groups. We didn't get that far, right? It was fun to run around in our backyard and make videos, and that's where it ended for us.Chris Erwin:Yeah, cool. All right, so you get into USC Film School in 2012. I believe that you end up with a marketing and poli sci focus. But, tell us about you showed up at school. What was your initial focus? And, then it seems like it pivoted as you started to understand that you realized the appeal of the business side of entertainment, versus the creative side.James Creech:Yeah, so I went to USC, 2008. So, it was right around the housing crisis, financial crisis, which I don't know, as an 18 year old, you're fairly oblivious to. But, I was passionate about filmmaking. I was excited to be in the film program, also in the poli sci school. So, I was kind of running this dual track of, okay, well, I'm earning my political science degree, but I'm also taking these film courses and think that's what I want to do after I graduate. I got involved at the college TV station, called Trojan Vision, which is the largest TV station in the country. We broadcast to over a million homes, and I just kind of fell into it and fell in love with it. So, I was a producer on a show my freshman year, worked hard, got promoted to senior producer, second semester.James Creech:I was like, "Hey, I really like this TV thing. I like being involved at the station, meeting other students," applied for a staff position the next year and became an executive producer of a show. Okay, my first experience running a show, working in live television, it's exciting. It's the adrenaline rush of making something go on the air Monday through Friday. Through that experience, said, "Okay, I like the organization of the show, coming up with new ideas." We were experimenting with new technologies like HD broadcasts and live remotes and stuff at the time. So, I was like, "Okay, I'm excited about this," and people kept saying, "Maybe you should take some business classes." And, I thought to myself as a sophomore, well, hey, no. I'm doing the film path. I've got political science. I don't know what the business thing's about.James Creech:But, luckily USC has a very flexible structure and approach to curriculum. So, you could kind of dabble and take a couple classes. So, I said, "What's the worst that could happen? I'll take a business class or two," found out right away, hey, this is where I should be, and ended up transferring into the business school as a junior. So, I'm taking these intro 101 classes surrounded by freshmen. So, I had a very different mindset, let's say, going to the business school. I'm really excited to be here. There are certain things I want to learn. I'm finding ways to apply this over at the television station. I had been promoted to the general manager, so I was running the whole station at this point, which is a real budget.Chris Erwin:That's a lot of responsibility at a young age. What you said, it's one of the largest college broadcast stations in the US, and you're going ... Is there live programming Monday to Friday? That's a big deal.James Creech:Money through Friday, yeah, hours and hours of content. I was working essentially a full time load, basically 40 hours a week while going to school. But, I loved it. I loved every minute of it, creating television, working with students, and making something out of nothing, and putting it on the air every night, sometimes better, sometimes worse. But, I loved it.Chris Erwin:Okay, so you start taking these business classes, and right away, you're like, "This is a good fit." Then, what are you starting to think about what you want to do when you graduate?James Creech:Between my junior and senior year of college, I got an internship at Blizzard Entertainment. I grew up as a gamer. I wasn't necessarily a desktop gamer. I was more of a console gamer, but loved the opportunity to get exposure to another form of entertainment and work in a bigger company and try to decide what was right for me. So, as I was going through that process, had a great summer internship experience, came back, and had the opportunity to say, "Do I continue as the general manager of the TV station one more year as a senior?" But, kind of realized, maybe it was time to pass on the baton. So, it was hard to say goodbye, but I ended up getting another internship opportunity at this ad tech startup, this company in LA that was helping brands and media agencies promote video content on YouTube.James Creech:This was pre TruView, very early days, helping to make videos go viral. I was just, I guess, really interested in social media, but also, a USC alum was the COO. She was hiring. It was close to campus. It paid. I'm interested in this career path, but also it checks a lot of the boxes as a student that I want to make sure it's a good fit. So, I fell into that internship opportunity and just got hooked right away on the adrenaline rush of working in early stage companies. So, meanwhile, I had been recruiting, trying to figure out what do I want to do after I graduate. I had out law school or becoming a lawyer from my internship opportunity. I realized, okay, I'm more interested in the business side, so I'm gravitating towards that.James Creech:I like this startup company I'm working at, but I had always thought of myself as going into corporate America. So, I did recruitment on campus. I was offered a job to do business consulting and move to New York, which was kind of my dream. I was very excited as an almost 22 year old getting ready to graduate, moved to the Big Apple, and have this, what seemed like a really exciting, glamorous job at the time with travel and everything else. But, long story short, fell into working at Channel Factory, this ad tech startup, loved the team and the mission and the opportunity. They convinced me to stick around, so ended up declining the offer to do consulting and stay on the startup trajectory.Chris Erwin:I think what I'm starting to see here is you're on a unique path where you have both the creative know how and understanding, as well as the business savvy. That's very rare in Hollywood, right? I think of people like Bob Iger at Disney that has both of those sides of the brains, but it's a pretty rare profile, which probably explains a lot of the success that you've had in a very young career to date. Okay, so you go to Channel Factory, and what do you focus on there? Because, it seems like you start at the company when it's pretty early on, and they're on a really high growth trajectory. And, you facilitated some incredible wins there. Tell us about that.James Creech:Yeah, it was ground floor, right? It was in the founder's living room, essentially. We were building a business out of thin air, which was enticing to me and kind of felt similar to live TV production. Okay, there's this excitement. There's this adrenaline rush. You can have a big impact. So, I was basically the fifth employee, came in as an operator, doing a little bit of everything, strategic projects, built out ad operations group, hiring, training, commercial ops. I ended up working quite a bit coaching and supporting and at some points managing some of the sales team.Chris Erwin:This is all in like your young mid-20s, right? Because, you just listed off a lot of different things.James Creech:Yeah. We were all young, for the most part at that time. We were early 20s. It was a young company. It was an exciting opportunity in an early stage of the business. We ended up, of course, bringing in some more senior experienced folks, but there was this meritocracy to an extent, this excitement for youth and passion. So, we were all kind of figuring it out as we went along, and I was this person who didn't know anything going into it, but was just excited about where the company was going and the type of impact that I could have. So, we grew that business to whatever, 40 plus people, and close to or exceeding eight figure revenues. We opened offices in New York and Chicago. It was this wild ride for two and a half years, so learned a lot of lessons, both good and bad.Chris Erwin:Can you elaborate on some of those lessons?James Creech:I learned a lot about how to treat people, right? I didn't always agree with the founder and the leadership at Channel Factory. I had some great people that I learned from and supported me. Then, there were certainly some differences of opinion at times. I would say the other thing is it taught me a lot about the type of leader that I wanted to be and the type of business that I wanted to build one day. It's instructive to learn what not to do sometimes, as it is to learn what to do. But, I got great contacts and relationships. A lot of the people at Channel Factory have also gone on to do some amazing things, many of whom have become very talented entrepreneurs. So, it was this kind of amazing talent pool and this breeding ground for incredible individuals who were passionate about digital video and making an impact on the space, and that's been exciting to be a part of. There were certainly some things that we did really well, and being a young company, made a lot of mistakes, myself included. And, you learn from that and keep going.Chris Erwin:I love what you said. I always repeat this in interviews. It's very important to learn what not to do or what you don't like. In the beginning of my career where I was an investment banker, I worked with some incredible people and developed some incredible skills. But, there was also a lot of experiences and things that I was exposed to that I really did not enjoy, I thought were not good influences to the rest of my career. I consider that very valuable. When I talk to young people that are emerging from the undergrad and entering the workforce, it's this thought of, I have to nail my first few jobs, and that sets up everything for me. The answer, no, I don't recommend that.Chris Erwin:Try new things and experiment, and if it doesn't go well, that's totally okay. And, you're going to learn from that. That was some of the most valuable experiences for me. So, I like what you just said there, James. I think that's spot on. So, after a few years there, you then end up at Bent Pixels, where you also realized some great wins for the company. So, tell us about some of the work that you were doing there and how this set you up for your first big entrepreneurial venture, which is Paladin.James Creech:So, I entered Bent Pixels as an operator. That's what I had done at Channel Factory. The company at the time was a multichannel network in the heyday of MCNs, right? So, there was this time of excitement around Maker Studios and Fullscreen and Awesomeness TV, and Machinima, this early wave of digital disruptors helping YouTube talent grow their audience, monetize their content, figure out the early stages of influencer marketing, and what now we've grown to know as the creator economy. But, this was ground zero, right? You remember. You were there, too. So, this was the very, very early stages of what these future digital businesses were going to look like.Chris Erwin:And, tell us exactly, what did Bent Pixels do specifically? Were they a software platform for the early creator economy?James Creech:They did three things, right? They were a traditional YouTube multichannel network, so they provided services to YouTube channel owners and creators to help them monetize their content. They offered digital rights management services, so they would help IP rights holders monetize and enforce anti-piracy against their content on YouTube. So, they were using the content ID tools and additional manual services to help manage those content libraries. Then, they did audience development, so they were doing channel management and audience growth for brands that wanted help with their YouTube presence, so not unlike Fullscreen, Maker, many others at the time, right? So, when we came in, Bent Pixels was probably a top 30 global MCN. It was probably in the top five for rights management. I don't know, hard to say where it fell in the audience development or channel management services business, just because so many people were trying to get into that space.James Creech:We were doing all of this and facilitating it through technology, right? So, when I came into the business, I mentioned I started as an operator. And, I looked around, and I said, "This business doesn't need operators, right? We have a very capable COO, a general manager." I was looking for ways to do process improvement, cut costs, or optimize systems. There just wasn't much of that to do. The company was profitable and growing, and it had been fairly well managed, right? Well, what the business needs is growth. That's completely new to me.James Creech:I don't really know the space I was coming from, I say is the demand side. I was working with brands and media agencies, and all of a sudden, I kind of end up on the supply side, right? Now, I'm working with talent and content creators. This business doesn't really need all of the skills that I necessarily have historically had. So, we've got to figure this out, right? So, I just reached out to as many people as I could in my network and then through LinkedIn and said, "Hey, I'm curious to learn more about this space. Are you up for getting together for coffee or having a conversation?"Chris Erwin:This is very interesting. What was your primary networking tool? Were you using LinkedIn back in the day for this?James Creech:I was super early to LinkedIn, and I would just reach out to people. I would say, "Hey, I think what you're doing is really interesting. I think this space is early on. There's probably a lot we could learn from each other. Are you open to meeting for coffee or jumping on a call?" And, you'd be surprised, so many people said yes, especially all over the world, right? I was meeting people in Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific. It was this amazing opportunity to meet these other entrepreneurs who were like, "Yeah, everyone's early. We're all trying to figure this out. What are the things that are working for you? What are the challenges?" So, it was a lot of just connecting and sharing and learning from one another. But, obviously LinkedIn has changed a lot, A, over the years, B, post-Microsoft acquisition. But, in those early days, I was a young, snotty nosed kid, very earnestly trying to meet people and be helpful to the extent that I could. And, people were very kind to share their time and experience with me.Chris Erwin:I love that. You and I were actually just talking about this, I think, on LinkedIn. I just started a 30 day LinkedIn challenge. I think LinkedIn is one of the most powerful social networking platforms for professionals, hands down. I've been pretty active on it for the past few years, but our team is definitely ramping up our investment in it in terms of the type of content that we're creating. We've been doing a lot of experimenting, as well as the cadence of content as well.James Creech:Which is amazing. I can't wait to follow your content journey. I did something very similar in 2021, where I wrote every weekday, and it was such a stretch goal. I learned a ton from it, which we can talk about at some point, but I love LinkedIn, very supportive of the platform's evolution into becoming more of a content destination, and like you said, showcasing professional stories and helping people connect. It's getting back to some of those early roots of what it helped me pursue in my career.Chris Erwin:I love that. Well, maybe we'll have to do a mini series of a podcast about LinkedIn best practices. So, you start reaching out to all these different contacts across the world, focused on how do we share mutual learnings, and how do we grow? So, what did you learn? Then, what did you take from your learnings and apply to Bent Pixels?James Creech:So, what I kept hearing was everyone was facing similar challenges, especially as we tried to figure out how to scale. You have to remember at the time, people were focused on initially hundreds of creators. Then, it became thousands of creators. At the highest levels of Maker, Awesomeness, we were managing tens of thousands of creators. Bent Pixels had tens of thousands of YouTube channel partners that they were supporting. This was before YouTube had the infrastructure tools, resources, support to help those creators themselves. So, MCNs were the first line of defense. The demand, the excitement for the space was so dynamic that it was this gold rush mentality, this exciting time of help and enable as many channel creators as possible.James Creech:So, we had been building some software internally at Bent Pixels at the time out of necessity to figure out, okay, how do we find the right creators? How do we manage those relationships, pay them accurately and on time? Eventually, that would become, how do we manage branded content projects with them? Everyone else was doing the same thing. They were trying to build tools in house. They were trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. How do we take Salesforce and DocuSign and all these other tools off the shelf, stitch them together into this Franken-suite, and hope for the best? And, it was expensive, and it wasn't working. So, I kept hearing this, and I thought to myself, well, hey, if everyone's facing the same problems, and we're building what to me feels like a pretty good software solution for this, that should be the business, right? I was a big acolyte of Jack Welch back in the days. I would read a lot of his books, this legendary CEO and leader of GE.James Creech:One of the things that stuck out to me is, if you're not one or two in a category, you should cut it, right? So, it just occurred to me at every leadership meeting, I was like, "We have an opportunity. There's this untapped market potential to build software for this new breed of creative companies, and no one's doing it right. So, we should be first to market. We could be a leader there. It's great that we have this profitable growing business, but we're never going to win, right? We're not going to be one or two in the category. We're going to be ... Maybe we move from 30 to 20 or five to three, right?" So, I was advocating for that. Now, the way it was perceived on the other side is, well, wait a minute. We've built this business, at that point I think over five or six years. It is growing. It is profitable.James Creech:All these other companies have raised massive VC investment. They have a lot more resources. We're happy with our business, and we want to keep developing it, but we're not going to bet the house on James's crazy idea, right? They were advocating, hey, let's get into paid media. It's what a lot of other people are doing at the time. There's a big opportunity. I had that background from Channel Factory. So, they kept saying, "No, forget about that. Focus on paid media." I don't know. I was persistent, probably very annoying, young naivete, saying, "I really believe in this idea. Just give me a shot." They shut me down a few times and just said, "No, let's focus on the paid media thing."James Creech:Until, finally one day in some leadership meeting, with the support of our CTO Ole at the time, they said, "You know what?" I think maybe just to shut me up, "Okay, fine, right? You can have two months, 60 days. Give it a shot. Let's see what happens, right? And, if it doesn't work," which they fully expected it wouldn't, "After the field experiment, we'll go back to focusing on paid media." And, I said, "Sounds like a fair deal to me, right? I'll take that bet." So, in those next two months, I signed Maker Studios, Defy Media, Me Too, Networks, and 2btube, which would later go on to become the largest Spanish language creator community in the world. So, all of a sudden, they said, "Wait a minute. This is really interesting. We didn't think you would sign a customer, let alone four of the top players in the space. This is absolutely what we're focusing on, and you should do this full time."Chris Erwin:Did you have to evolve the technology product to service these clients as well as reposition your services to actually close these prospects? So, you had to do both, because you didn't have a technology background before this. You hadn't built tech products. You weren't a project manager, but you had to become this for this new role, correct?James Creech:Yeah. I am passionate about technology, had never been in product, had been adjacent to it, but said, "Yeah, we've got to figure this out." We built a software application that's meant for internal use. We have to figure out access rights, provisioning, white labeling, to make this an externally consumable tool. We need to figure out how to price it. We have to figure out how to sell this to our essentially competitors, right? We were working with these companies that were also in many respects offering the same services or going after the same talent. So, in some conversations, that was a bit awkward, right?James Creech:It said, "Well, how do we know that you're not going to take this data or use this technology to better your business and not ours, right?" So, that was a tricky thing to dance around and navigate. Huge props due to our technical team, Ole our CTO, [inaudible 00:25:56], a lot of our early engineering design product resources who were making this thing happen behind the scenes. I was out there kind of selling the dream, but they were the ones executing on this. A lot of it was just need finding, listening to the market. What do you need? Does the current tool in some form serve that? How do we adapt it to fit what you need? And, what else should we be building in the future so that we can help you get there?Chris Erwin:Hey, listeners, this is Chris Erwin, your host of The Come Up. I have a quick ask for you. If you dig what we're putting down, if you like the show, if you like our guests, it would really mean a lot if you can give us a rating wherever you listen to our show. It helps other people discover our work, and it also really supports what we do here. All right, that's it, everybody. Let's get back to the interview. It's interesting, because just listening to this story, one version would be ... And, James builds this incredible business at Bent Pixels, and he does that for the next 10 years of his career. But, the reality is that actually, you're there for a couple years, and then you found Paladin. So, after this initial two months of success, what actually caused you to say, "Hey, I want to break out and create a different suite of technology tools for the creator economy?"James Creech:So, I think in success, we got even more excited and probably a bit persistent on my idea that, okay, this is really working. We're now signing more and more customers. We're going to put more resources into this. Now, we are the market leader. We're first to market. We're building a name for ourselves in this category. People are rethinking the perception of Bent Pixels as a software company, as a technology vendor, whereas to creators, there's still this brand identity around being an MCN, being a services business, being a media company. But, I'm kind of casting Bent Pixels in this new light and trying to position or change the branding to be this enterprise software tool. Meanwhile, that business segment is growing. Engineers are expensive, so we're adding a lot of headcount to service the need and the customers.James Creech:It got to a certain point where I'm still advocating, hey, let's sell off or shut down the other business units, because look around. A number of other acquisitions had happened. Awesomeness was acquired by Dreamworks. Maker Studios sold to Disney. There was all this M&A activity happening. So, I'm like, "Okay, it's probably a good time to think about what does an exit look like for the media business?" Then, we can focus. We can really double down on this technology play. So, I was advocating for that. The rest of the leadership team said, "It's very clear that you're passionate about this. We don't necessarily all share the same vision or belief in that strategy, but obviously, the way you run a media company and a tech startup, a high growth tech company, require different fundamentals, principles, capital. So, maybe these businesses should live on their own, right?"James Creech:So, that's when the idea was floated that we should spin it out, right? So, it was at the time myself, Ole, our CTO, and I had convinced my good friend and partner in crime, Thomas Kramer, who worked with me back in the Channel Factory days. So, he and I kept in touch. We would catch up and talk about a lot of these challenges. I said, "Would you come over here and lead product for us?" He got excited about that vision and that opportunity, so it was really the three of us advocating for this opportunity. Initially, I was kind of resistant, to be honest. I said, "No, like, I think this is where the business is going. We should focus on this." Ultimately, saw the light that, yes, okay, we should separate these companies.James Creech:For a long time, I wanted the software business to continue to be called Bent Pixels, and that maybe the media company should rebrand as something, Millennial Studios. There were some other ideas that were floated, but after whatever, six months of back and forth and working it out cooperatively as a team, we decided, okay, Thomas and Ole and James will basically buy the software IP and spin out and form a new company, and then will rebrand it, come up with a new name. Bent Pixels will continue as a customer of Paladin, but there will not be any formal relationship between the two businesses. I wanted to be very clear that Paladin is its own company and eliminate that conflict of interest idea. I think Bent Pixels was very happy to say, "Okay, we can offload these expenses from developers and sales people and everything else off our books, focus on our knitting, and get back to the growth of the media business." We worked that all out to happen April of 2016. So, that was when we took the leap and said, "Okay, we're going to set out on our own."Chris Erwin:Did you raise outside capital to give you and your two other founders the ability to purchase the software, purchase the IP, and kickstart what you called Paladin in April, 2016?James Creech:We didn't. We thought about it, but the way we originally structured the deal was Thomas and Ole and I all put considerable capital into the project. Then, some of our partners from Bent Pixels also came in as angel investors. They said, "We like you guys. We believe in what you are doing. We want to support you." So, they were kind enough to give us a little bit of seed capital to help us get through the early days of burn and very kindly help us figure out how to set up our books and transfer the employee leases and all these things that as first time entrepreneurs, you have to figure out. So, they were very helpful and kind and patient with us. But, Thomas and Ole and I were pretty much all in.James Creech:So, to put that in perspective, at the time Thomas was getting married, and he had promised his fiance this amazing wedding. She was amazing to say, "We believe in this dream, and as part of starting our life together, we want to put that money that we would have saved for a big nice wedding with our family and friends towards investing in this startup, right?" So, that was Thomas's contribution. I had been saving to buy a house, so I took essentially a down payment on what I would do to buy a house and said, "I'm all in on the business."James Creech:Every penny to my name and probably even some I didn't have like went into Paladin. Then, Ole has the best story of all, was living in Norway. He's Norwegian and had recently gone out and bought a Tesla, right? Because, he loved the sustainability mission. He loved electric cars, this beautiful new vehicle, right when they had first come out, 2016. He ended up driving back to the dealership and returning the Tesla, so he could take all of that money and put it into Paladin. So, every single one of us was all in from day one.Chris Erwin:Dude, this is wild, because typically, VC backed founders, if the founders have a new business idea, they will mitigate the risk by saying, "Okay, I'm going to contribute a significant amount of my time, right?" It could be a few years in building out this venture, but they're not putting in their own capital. They're going to get capital from third parties, venture funds. Then, that capital is going to be at risk. You are essentially doubly invested with your time and your own savings. But, I think what that means is that you probably had so much belief in what you are building that you wouldn't have done it otherwise.Chris Erwin:I think that belief is clearly very powerful, and for all of you guys to have had that, where you have Thomas contributing his wedding funds, and you have Ole contributing his Tesla funds, and you're even getting from former Bent Pixel employees, angel investment. I think that shows there's really something there. It's almost like with those dynamics, it would've been easy to raise venture capital, because they would've looked at the founders and said, "Oh, my God, their gumption that this is going to happen is so powerful, we want to be in." But, probably better for you guys, because I know you will tell the story of how you sold the company. You guys owned the majority of the equity. I had never knew that story, James. I never knew those dynamics around your business. That's incredible.James Creech:Thinking back to the time, imagining how I felt, I remember being 25. Your goals and your priorities at 25 and whatever, early 30s, are very different. But, something inside me just said, "We have to do this, right? We have the right team. It's the right time. It's the right opportunity." You look at the data. Most successful entrepreneurs are in their 30s, 40s, 50s, right? They've had-Chris Erwin:The average entrepreneur is older than 40.James Creech:Right, and they've had time to build a network. They've had experiences, failures along the way. I had not thought of myself as an entrepreneur up until this point, but something just tugged at me where I was like, "I can't imagine doing anything else." Although I had historically been very risk averse, I was just like, "We can't miss this, right? We have to do it, and we have to do it now. And, if it means going all in, if that's what it takes, then yeah, let's do it. There's no better time to do it than when we're young." So, having that conviction, which I think again is a lot of ... We didn't know any better, right? We were just hoping for the best.Chris Erwin:Which, actually I think is a good thing, to be delusional. You have to be delusional as an entrepreneur. The odds are stacked against you.James Creech:Big time.Chris Erwin:And, you are delusional, but it worked in your favor.James Creech:Yeah, exactly.Chris Erwin:So, you start the company. All right, you all contribute your capital. Paladin is now a thing. So, what are the first steps? Do you rent an office together? Is it, okay, we've got five new hires that we've got to make? What did that first year look like for you?James Creech:Yeah, terrifying, right? You've just jumped off the cliff, and you have to figure out how to build the airplane. Everyone was excited. I don't know if other people were nervous, but we had engineers. We had sales people. We had product folks who were working with us.Chris Erwin:What was the total team size from the beginning?James Creech:It was small. I want to say it was eight to 10, right? We had three founders and then the engineering team and then some of the business folks in LA. We had an office. So, we continued to rent the office. Basically, everything that was in Los Angeles became Paladin, and Bent Pixels had historically been based out of Las Vegas, so they just kept their operations. But, yeah, we had the office lease. We had all these salaries and payroll we had to be responsible for. So, all of a sudden, it's a lot of responsibility overnight to take eight plus people's livelihoods into account. We were losing money every month, right? We're looking at the burn. We knew we had to sell like crazy to just get out of the hole. Our reserves were not very high. We're talking about, we started this business with a few hundred thousand dollars, not any sort of big investment and no VC capital. So, it was all our money and very quickly needed to figure out, okay, how do we make this thing work?Chris Erwin:What were some of the early proof points where it was, okay, this thing is going to exist for more than just six months? What were some of those early wins? And, did you ever think about raising venture capital?James Creech:So, we sold like crazy in order to get to the break even point, and that was 100% of my time and energy in those early days. I think one of the biggest turning points was closing Awesomeness TV. So, I was working with a lot of your former friends and colleagues, Matt Levin, Parker Jones, Kelly Day, also worked a lot with Jen Robinson, the CTO. This was the first six figure deal that we closed as Paladin. I'm trying to remember if that's true. Maker Studios, I think also ended up being a six figure deal, but I think the original commitment was smaller. So, when I closed the Awesomeness deal, it was the biggest customer we'd ever signed. It was like, wow, we're a real business all of a sudden, that this huge venture backed company is going to make a bet on this small startup and offload a lot of its cost. Awesomeness was spending significant sums of money and engineering headcount on these processes at the time.Chris Erwin:Awesomeness spent a lot of money back in the day.James Creech:And, look, they were managing probably the largest network in the world at a certain point, 90,000 creators. We said, "We want to come in and make that easier for you." I think in many respects, we could. Jen Robinson and others saw the opportunity and believed in us and worked really closely with us to make that happen. But, that was absolutely a turning point of, okay, we're signing, as customers, some of the biggest players in the world. They're making this bet on us, and these are real contracts with real budget behind them. That was certainly a turning point.Chris Erwin:This is great to hear, considering the current macro-economy that we're going into, right? So, we are recording this podcast in the middle of May. We have faced, over the last quarter, the 1.4% decline in GDP in the US. I think there's a lot of signals of the global macro-economy slowing. Out of China, there's supply chain issues, rising interest rates, inflation. You name it. I say all of this, because companies are going to need to start thinking about ... I think access to venture capital is going to become a lot more challenging.Chris Erwin:So, what's the best form of capital? It's revenue, and it's having a business that works. So, you guys, that was your approach in 2016, which is, if we're going to finance this business, we're going to create a product that meets the market need, and we're going to sell it successfully. Then, so you closed some big deals like Awesomeness. So, that early validation must have been very rallying the team, and we got something here, right? So, it seems like that success continues for a bit. But, then there's a point in your business where you were telling me a pivot had to happen, right? So, kind of tell that journey from that founding. You have some initial success like the deal you just mentioned, and then what is happening until you realize something's got to change here?James Creech:So, first of all, I love putting it in context, because at the time, people would ask us, "Oh, are you venture backed, right?" As if that were a sign of stability, right? We would do info-sec evaluations through Disney, through Viacom for Awesomeness. People wanted to make sure we weren't going to go out of business tomorrow. I remember thinking to myself, yeah, I would tell people kind of jokingly, "Yeah, we raise money from our customers, and we call it revenue. We have this different model. We're bootstrapped. It's very unusual," and people got a kick out of that. But, to me, it was, okay, we got over the hump. Now, we're break even, profitable. We're reinvesting everything back into the business. So, we closed the deal. We hire another engineer. We hire a new salesperson. But, you had asked, did you ever entertain the idea of raising capital?James Creech:We did. Probably the most serious thought we had around it was we looked at potentially acquiring Epoxy. I don't know if you remember those guys back in the day. They had raised a significant sum. They were great entrepreneurs with a good idea that was probably just a few years ahead of their time, backed by some of the biggest VCs here in LA. I think they raised something like $8 million and just were having a tough time figuring out the business model. This was before people thought, well, can we get creators to pay for anything? And, I really liked Juan and Jason, and they introduced us to Mark Suster at Upfront. We spent a lot of time together, saying, "Does it make sense for Paladin to get an additional capital infusion and then acquire the Epoxy asset and turn it into an enterprise product?"James Creech:We figured we have relationships. We know how to sell this. For a variety of reasons, we decided not to proceed, and it's a shame. They ended up selling the business to someone else, but that was the most serious discussion we had around it. The business certainly changed significantly over the years, right? So, in those early days, we were primarily focused on helping multichannel networks and other digital businesses, so talent management companies and agencies, figure out how to manage digital talent. First, it was YouTube. Very quickly, it became a multi-platform world. So, it was Vine for a little bit, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, et cetera. Then, you have things like Twitch come on the scene, and obviously later in our history, TikTok. So, the business was becoming much more multi-platform. The YouTube MCN business evolved significantly, right?James Creech:There were phases or stages to that business, but it became very clear that the 1.0 model of mass aggregation and monetizing off of the passive AdSense revenue was a bit of a dinosaur, and the new business model was focused on branded content and paid media and other incremental ways to build a business around the creative portfolios that these talent were were producing. So, we knew our business needed to change to keep up. The biggest signal was influencer marketing, right? If you looked at, well, how are creators making money, sure, they make millions of dollars a year in YouTube AdSense revenue, but there's this enormous opportunity from brands in branded content.James Creech:Then, of course later on, we'd see e-commerce, but at the time, we said, "Okay, we need to build tools to help our customers and ideal future customers support this activity. So, let's build better influencer identification and discovery tools. Let's build a much more robust CRM for not just agencies, but for brands. Let's think about creating sales materials, because people are spending so much time generating pitch decks, right?" I remember running influencer campaigns, and it was, okay, go ask the influencer for screenshots and put that into a PowerPoint presentation. Email it over to the client, and then they're going to ask for revisions.James Creech:You go back and forth, right? Why don't we just tap into the social APIs, pull all that data on demand, and create this robust real time reporting around the campaign, so that, A, you deliver better results, and B, you can actually monitor and optimize campaign performance in real time. So, that was really the direction that we started to go, was saying, "Okay, as much as we still want to support these customers and this opportunity, we're slightly modifying our strategy, and we're adjusting course to go pursue this influencer marketing opportunity, because it's brands and agencies figuring out how to work with creative talent in the digital economy."Chris Erwin:Got it. That was a big pivot that happened around what time, James?James Creech:Around 2018, 2019.Chris Erwin:And, so did that cause some real friction at your company? Did you have to rethink, hey, do we have the right team? Do we have the right sales strategy? Do we have the right relationships? Do we have to rethink how we're doing coverage? Do we need to build new products and services? And, do we have the right director of engineering to do that? So, what were some of those big key decisions that you had to work through as you pivoted the business?James Creech:Well, certainly, changing the identity and the branding of the business a bit, also the product offering, right? So, again, going back to need finding, what do the customers want? How do we build that out? It's easy to build something for one customer, but how do we build something for hundreds or thousands of customers? And, what is the right team composition that will help us to get there, right? It's classic innovator's dilemma of, well, we're still very dependent on these existing customers and their business needs. And, we want to continue to support that. But, at the same time, we need to be investing in this new direction. And, there were some hard conversations and hard decisions that came about from that, right? Some people on the team were very excited, made the transition easily. Other people said, "Maybe this is my stop on the train, and I'm going to get off and pursue other opportunities."James Creech:Other people were excited about the direction and couldn't make it work, or performance started to slip as we shifted strategy. So, you have to make some tough calls, but the team worked really hard through that time period to help us change course. It's not the most dramatic pivot in the world, but it certainly felt like a big shift at the time. It didn't happen overnight. We've got this North Star. We're going to move towards it over the course of 12, 24 months. And, I remember we got our entire team together in Poland. We've historically had a big operations center for engineering in Kraków. We brought the whole team in to Poland and said, "This is our vision. This is what we're going to build together." I think that was really energizing, to harness the energy of everyone and say, "We have this shared mission and objective. Here's why we believe it's going to drive business value, better opportunity." And, it wasn't easy, but certainly was the right choice to start to move in that direction.Chris Erwin:I like that a lot. We had a team reflection last week, and we're realizing that just having run an advisory business for five years that has gone through a rebranding and a transformation in the last couple years, as we're entering this new macro-economy and just also thinking about who are the clients we work with when we provide certain services? What feels great and is right in our wheelhouse, versus what feels like we're stretched or doing something different? And, there was a big kumbaya moment where we came together. To better service our clients in the industry, we need to really rethink things. It was some tough conversations, but when you just face it head on, and then you empower your team and be like, "You guys are all here for a reason. What are your ideas for how to fix this? And, how do we all rally behind that?"Chris Erwin:And, it was a very powerful moment. I'm saying that, because it feels like when you had this conversation with your engineering team in Poland, you have to face this stuff head on. There's certain people, like you said, this is their stop on the train, and they're going to get off. But, for those that it's the right fit, keep going forward. That's best for everybody. I particularly feel very reinvigorated after this conversation, and I see this incredible potential for success going forward. I have a much smaller business than what you have. Did you feel coming out of that, you're invigorated, you're excited? And, did you have that same feeling when you first founded Paladin of, we got this, we're going to crush this? There's no doubt in the world. Were you feeling that?James Creech:I wish I could say yes, but I don't think so. Founding a business and running a business is an emotional journey. I'm so privileged to have two amazing co-founders, because sometimes you have a bad day, or you lose sight of what you're building towards. They can help lift you up, and vice versa. But, there were some tough times around 2018, 2019, where we were making this change, because the environment, the business conditions around us had changed. We realized we needed to do something to continue to grow and to survive. Again, I started the business with youthful idealism and ambition. Sometimes, we set really high goals for ourselves, and we don't always live up to them. I'm still very proud of what we built and how we had done it, but it's easy to move the goal post on yourself.James Creech:So, looking at that time in our journey, I remember we were committed to figuring it out and moving forward. But, I have to tell you honestly, there were some very tough times in those years of ... Are we doing the right thing? Are we making the right choice? And, are we going to get through it? Because, it was really challenging. Once it started to work, absolutely, it felt amazing, right? Things really started to click in 2020, and I had more passion and enthusiasm for the business than I had back in 2016. It re-lit this fire in us of, okay, we got through the hard work, the two years of making this change. We see where it's going. We're rebuilding in this new direction, and it's fun. We're hitting our stride. Everything's growing really quickly. We're bringing on new customers, new team members. We're winning, and that's the exciting part. But, in the slog of making that transition, it wasn't always fun. That's for sure.Chris Erwin:I hear that, but I think you're right. There's just something as an entrepreneur and a founder and a CEO. You have to trust your gut. Are we having fun? Does this feel right? You can have all the KPI dashboards in the world and follow all the numbers, but there's just some intuition that's really important. As I reflect in my career, there's moments where I can specifically say I felt differently about a business decision, and I didn't listen to my gut, and it was a major miss. So, as a business owner, now I'm listening to my gut more. I want to be a database decision maker, but I think instincts are very, very valuable when you have to pivot and move quickly and also really energize your team. I hear that.James Creech:You need both.Chris Erwin:You end up selling the company to Brandwatch, which I think was just announced over the past month. So, I'm curious to hear the story to exit right after this success, the 2019 pivot to now. How did you end up selling to Brandwatch?James Creech:We were evaluating, what is the next step for us in 2021? As I mentioned, the business started to really hit its stride in 2020. We were looking around at the overall market landscape, and look, influencer marketing is a crowded, competitive space. It's great. It keeps us sharp, but we realized if we want to continue to grow and compete in this space, then we need to either raise money and start to double down on sales and marketing or execute on a broader roll up strategy. Or, we can find someone who shares our vision and our passion for this category, but has more resources and can help accelerate our growth, right? So, the calculus for us at the time was ... You look at our well known, well funded competitors. Do we go out and raise money? It's certainly a path. That's an option.James Creech:Paladin had customers in over 35 countries, across five or six continents. So, we were competing against different people in Germany, than we were in Singapore, than we were in Dubai. So, it was different by market, but we recognized that, okay, we need to raise capital to help accelerate, or we need to find an exit. So, thinking about the fundraising process, as I mentioned, we're bootstrapped. A lot of us had good, favorable positions on the cap table. If we raise money, you dilute the ownership, and you kick out the goal post, I don't know, two plus years, let's say. And, the other thing I was cognizant of is, well, it seems to be this interesting moment in time where things are happening at such a rate, people want to get into this space. It's probably the right time for us to find a partner. We had had a lot of inbound interest, so we said, "Let's test the waters and see what the reception is. If we don't find anyone we like, we can always fall back on our current plan of just keep growing, or we can look at the fundraising alternative."Chris Erwin:So, you were getting inbounds from companies that were interested in kicking the tires around you potentially in an acquisition?James Creech:Yeah. We have throughout the history of the business, but it became especially acute interest in, let's say Q1, Q2 of 2021. So, I reached out to my banker friend, Jason Rapp at Whisper and said, "It seems like there's some interest here. We should probably run a process. How should we handle these conversations?" So, he came on to help us with that, very quickly had some phenomenal conversations with great people that I think saw what we were building and wanted to help add fuel to the fire. But, I was fortunate to meet Giles Palmer, the original founder of Brandwatch, who now works at Cision, the parent company. We just hit it off. He said, "Can you spend some time with our product team?" We met the product and engineering team. It was like magic from the first call.James Creech:They loved the product. They saw what we were doing. It fit very neatly into their thesis and what Brandwatch has been building in and around consumer intelligence and being a leader in social listening. They have been merging with Falcon.io, which is an amazing social media management tool. Influencer marketing was very clearly just the third leg of the stool. So, we got excited about that. They said, "Hey, can we talk tomorrow? Can we talk Monday after that?" And, very quickly, it escalated where they made an offer, and it was the right offer and the right time. We said, "Yeah, let's go into diligence." So, we ran diligence over the holidays. So, I was at Christmas with my family, Christmas 2021, hanging out with family during the day, and then working until about 3:00 AM every night, because A, I had a lot of work to do.James Creech:And, B, I had these colleagues in Europe who were also burning the midnight oil on their holidays. So, going through all of DD, and then we kind of finished that in early to mid-February. At the same time, we were running a parallel path on the purchase agreement documents with legal, reached an agreement on that in end of February. Then, we had to do a 30 day hold for DOJ approvals, announced in March, and then finally closed the acquisition at end of March. So, long process, but a lot of learnings and an exhilarating outcome. So, it's been amazing to see it all the way through.Chris Erwin:Wow.James Creech:It is such a process, right? It's probably the hardest thing I've ever done. People tell at the end, "Oh, congratulations. We're so excited for you." And, that's amazing, right? You experience all the emotions of joy, excitement, elation, but at the same time, strangely, at least I also experienced this feeling of loss, which I think is natural. It's kind of closing of one chapter and beginning of another, where you're saying goodbye to this thing that you've built and you've poured so much of your energy and time and money and everything else into. It's like a kid maybe growing up and going to college.James Creech:It's exciting. It's the next evolution, but it's also saying goodbye to the thing that I knew in its past form. Then, honestly, there's this just overwhelming sense of relief, because a lot of it feels like deliverables and juggling so many plates and keeping everyone happy. Every different constituency has something else they want from this outcome. So, if you're able to get to a point where everyone's satisfied, or as much as you can, you just get it done. It's this amazing feeling of, whew, right? We did it, and that relief is also very comforting and satisfying, I suppose.Chris Erwin:One last quick question before we get into rapid fire is, what's next for James? You're going to stay on at Brandwatch for a while. Are you going to go start your next company? What are you thinking?James Creech:So, I have come on to Brandwatch as the SVP of influencer strategy. So, I get to work with the global leadership team to help think through how do we inject influencer and creator economy strategy into the entire business, which is so exciting, right? I've spent too much time and energy on this to walk away for now, so I'm very excited to be in this new phase of the business, doubling down on what we've built, adding more resources, combining that with the amazing product suite that Brandwatch has. So, I'm still all in, excited about what we're doing. As you mentioned earlier, I'm still involved in a lot of advisory engagements, and it's fun for me to get to give back and support other early stage entrepreneurs. So, still a big passion for me and something I make time for, but in terms of my day to day focus, yeah, it's 100% all in on Brandwatch.Chris Erwin:Before rapid fire, James, I just want to give you some kudos. I have known you for a while in the industry. I think our LinkedIn posts have crossed paths for at least over five to seven years. I think our relationship, we've gotten to know one another better, I think over the past couple. I was on your podcast. Now, you're on mine. I think there could be a fun future ahead where we collaborate on different things. That's a separate convo, but I just want to say, as I've gotten to know you, learning about just how thoughtful that you've been in building your business, how thoughtful, how you are in building for the creator economy, I think one of the things that got me excited when I entered the whole YouTube MCN space back in 2012 was this positive sum mindset.Chris Erwin:We can all grow together. There's incredible opportunity. I think that you embody that feeling incredibly well. You just put out a lot of positive, good juju into the world. You're very supportive of so many people. I think it has a really big impact, and I think it's a great inspiration for so many others. So, massive kudos, and I hear you on this notion of loss, loss and relief. You had this baby. You took a huge bet on it. It's worked out incredibly well for you and your team and your co-founders, but James, you're a young guy with a very bright future ahead. You have many, many more exciting wins that lie ahead in your future. Just have faith and the trust that we are lucky that you have the time to go and do that work.James Creech:Well, thank you. Thank you for all of that. It's very kind. I'm flattered, and I've felt for a long time that you and I are maybe kindred spirits in a sense, right? Oh, I've got to spend more time with this Chris guy, because you're very obviously very intelligent, well connected, thoughtful in the content that you share, the communities that you curate through your events and dinner series, and things like that. Also, I just think we have a lot of personal interests, like your real estate investing and everything else. So, any chance, any excuse I have to get more Chris Erwin in my life, I will take it. So, just putting that out there, because very much excited about that. And, one other note, maybe just to kind of close things out is, as I mentioned, started the business in my mid-20s. I'm now in my early 30s.James Creech:As you go through this process, I think the most impactful thing that I've learned is recasting what defines success. For a lot of peop
Eric Galen joins us in the Gamechangers studio at FlU's College of Communications, Architecture + Arts in Miami, FL! Eric Galen has been representing top founders, brands, startups, and creators for more than 20 years. Mr. Galen leads Greenspoon Marder's Innovation & Technology Group, where he leverages his unique background of corporate, Web3, media, and entertainment law to help clients succeed. Eric also serves as a member of the firm's Entertainment & Sports and Corporate & Business practice groups. Mr. Galen's diverse clients and collaborators have included: - Companies such as Intel, Microsoft, Doodles, E11even Crypto, Fullscreen, Route, Calm, GameSquare Esports, OPI, Jaunt VR, Baccarat, Blo Dry Bar, Awesomeness TV, Tik Tok, Imagine Entertainment, Milk & Honey, Audiomack, and Haute Living; - Investors like Fuel Venture Capital, Raised in Space, and Muse Capital; Talent such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Johnny Depp, Will.i.am, Perry Farrell, Gina Carano, Dennis Rodman, Mayor Francis Suarez, The Picasso Estate, Mike Dean, David Copperfield, and Norman Seeff; and - Executives at companies like Conde Nast, WME, Faze Clan, BeautyCon, Techstars, Raised in Space, and more.
Matt Danna is the Co-Founder and CEO of Boulevard, which powers next-gen salons and spas. Its mission is to modernize the technology while improving the daily lives of professionals and the clients they serve. Chad talks with Matt about discovering a problem and then making the jump to working on it, overcoming hurdles in terms of continued growth, and deciding to invest in building their own hardware by creating Boulevard Duo: a point of sale credit card reader. Boulevard (https://www.joinblvd.com/) Boulevard Duo (https://shop.joinblvd.com/products/duo) Follow Boulevard on Twitter (https://twitter.com/joinblvd), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/joinblvd/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/joinblvd/), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/boulevard/), or YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo9FyMtvqrDGHFl797iOhww). Follow Matt on Twitter (https://twitter.com/mattdanna) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattdanna/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: CHAD: This is the Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast, where we explore the design, development, and business of great products. I'm your host, Chad Pytel. And with me today is Matt Danna, the Co-Founder and CEO of Boulevard, which powers next-gen salons and spas. Matt, thank you so much for joining me. MATT: Thanks so much for having me, Chad. Great to be here. CHAD: One of the things that I was interested in learning about Boulevard is it's a large product that does a lot for salons and spas. And so, I'm interested in talking with you about the process of getting to where you are today. But why don't we get started by giving folks an overview of everything that Boulevard does for salons and spas? MATT: Yeah, absolutely. So Boulevard offers what we think is the first and really only business management platform that's really focused around the client experience. We work with businesses that help all of us look and feel our best. And it's a really special industry to be powering where there's a really close sense of that human touch and that human element. We try to use technology to help automate and relieve the day-to-day operations as much as we can for these businesses so that they can focus on providing that world-class client experience and deepening relationships with their clients. CHAD: And tactically, that's online booking, scheduling, payments, schedule management, all that kind of stuff that goes into running. MATT: Yeah, absolutely. So it goes all the way from, like you said, scheduling to we are a fully integrated payments solution to even have time clock kind of commission reporting. And so it really goes from managing everything front of house all the way through back of house. And happy to share more about how we ended up building such a wide and deep product because it's definitely an interesting story. CHAD: So you were not in the salon industry prior to Boulevard, is that right? MATT: That's correct. CHAD: So, how did you end up getting brought into this industry? MATT: So the founding story...so my background is in software engineering, but I ended up turning much more into a designer over time. So I've been naturally drawn to building technology for creative individuals. And so, at my last startup, which was called Fullscreen, it was a startup here in LA. We were helping YouTube creators make better content online, helping them monetize on YouTube, understand their audience. And this was in the days where YouTubers couldn't monetize directly. They needed to go through a network. And so, we created this proprietary technology offering that really helped them understand how to build their audience and further monetize. So the original founding story was that I met my co-founder of Boulevard at Fullscreen. His name is Sean Stavropoulos. And I was the VP of Product. He was the VP of Engineering. And the kind of inception moment was that there was this week where Sean's hair was a complete disaster. CHAD: [chuckles] MATT: And as a great colleague, I was making fun of him [laughs] and telling him like, "Dude, you need to go get a haircut." And he said to me that he kept forgetting to call his salon during the day to make an appointment, and at night when he remembered to do those types of things, the salon is obviously closed. And we were just thinking how much friction there was as a client of these businesses in the booking process and that we didn't understand why you had to do basically so much work in order to be a client. It just was incongruent with what was going on in other industries and kind of restaurants and everything going through this digital transformation. Our hypothesis was that they must still be on pen and paper; they haven't adopted technology yet, and that's why you need to call to make an appointment. And we started thinking a lot about this problem and started obsessing over it. [laughs] And there was a weekend that we were hanging out, and we ended up walking into a few different salons and spas in a neighborhood that we were hanging out. And we did a bunch of research and asked them a lot of questions. We said we were UCLA students working on a research project. CHAD: [laughs] MATT: Which was a pretty smart move because everyone loves talking to students, and we weren't trying to sell them anything. We were trying to learn more. And so, a good research tip is just to state you're always a student. And we ended up learning. And we were super surprised that they were all using technology. All the technology that these businesses were using were also capable of online booking. And so we were like, "Okay, none of this makes sense. Like, you're making your customers call you, but you have these capabilities." We were like, "Do you need help embedding it into your website? Like, why don't you use online booking" And their answer would be, "We absolutely cannot use online booking, no way," which made us even more curious. And so what we ended up learning was that self-care businesses, you know, salons, spas, nail salons, you name it, they're generally running on pretty thin profit margins like in the 5% to 10% neighborhood because their labor costs are so high relative to their sales. And the other important piece that we learned was that the front desk has outsized control over the revenue that the business makes simply by how they place appointments on the calendar. And so when you call to make an appointment, they're looking up to see if you have a client file, to see if you've been there before, what services did you get? Who were they with? How long exactly did they take? They're also looking to see when they could fit you in. And they're doing double booking, triple booking whenever possible so that staff can be with multiple clients at once and double up. And then they're also making sure there are no gaps between appointments. And so they're doing basically this yield optimization, schedule optimization on the fly. And none of that was taken into account if customers self-booked using any of the solutions available on the market. And so we thought that seems like a straight-up technology problem to solve that these businesses needed an online booking solution so customers can have that convenience and self-booking whenever they want. But it also needs to take into account some of that business logic that the front desk follows so that they don't get gaps in the day and have a really sub-optimal and inefficient calendar. And so that's where we thought we could provide some particular value that would be unique in the industry. And that was what we focused our MVP on, was that very thing, having an intelligent scheduling solution. CHAD: It seems like it's a pretty big leap for the director of product and director of engineering at a startup to discover a problem like this and then actually make the jump to working on it [laughs] and making it real. Was there something in particular that happened? Why did you do that? [laughs] MATT: Yeah, I mean, we had a, you know, being executives at the startup and really loving the team, loving what we were doing, our mission. But I think one of the motivators and catalysts was when we were doing this field research. And we ended up going out to a couple of hundred businesses over the course of several weekends to learn even more about this problem area. But one of the things that was so evident and clear was that all of the technology in the market that these customers, these businesses were using, they were negative NPS scores. They were like, "Oh, we use, you know, X, Y, or Z solution, and we really don't like it. It's so hard to use." You would see the red in their eyes when they would talk about this technology." And we're like, "There's something very powerful here." And we weren't exactly sure at the time was it legacy technology not keeping up with modern needs of these businesses and the growing expectations from end consumers, or was it user error problems? And we had come to the conclusion that it was really a lack of innovation in the market from existing vendors. And that got us particularly excited, and we formed a lot of conviction, so much conviction that we made the leap to start working on this. So we transitioned out of our full-time executive day jobs, and we ended up doing a little bit of consulting work while we were doing a lot of product discovery. So for about six months, we were doing three days a week on Boulevard and a couple of days a week on consulting. So it was a nice little part-time way to keep paying the bills but also then be able to spend a significant amount of our brain space thinking about this opportunity and what problems we wanted to solve. CHAD: So maybe I'm just off base here. And I'm not trying to get you to say that something was wrong at Fullscreen. But it strikes me there needed to be something going on, in my mind, maybe I'm off base, for you to even before deciding to make that leap, though, to spend your weekends going to salons and doing interviews. MATT: Yeah, I think this is how most companies are started is by founders who are trying to solve a problem that they're exposed to. So everyone is always trying to build companies that are solutions for problems that they have. And we just, I think, got excited by this problem. And my background being in building technology for the creative individuals, like, I got really, really excited. And Sean took some convincing that this was worth it and that this could be a thing. CHAD: Was it an aspiration for you to find something that you could use to found your own company? MATT: No, no. CHAD: And then why were you doing it? [laughs] MATT: I think it felt like the right thing to do. I never considered myself an entrepreneur, and I really still don't. I think of myself as a builder, and I love building things. And this was in a way for us to think about, like, oh, let's build a company and turn this into a massive business. We saw that there was a particular pain point that was experienced from both consumers and businesses and that we could provide something special. It felt like it was something that only we saw, which I think made it feel even more compelling to work on. And so we didn't know if we were crazy at first. We always had this question of like, why hasn't anyone figured this out? This seems so obvious. I still don't know why we're the only ones that have any type of kind of logic on top of the schedule in that sense. But we saw it as a unique opportunity to build something really special and provide a lot of value to consumers and businesses. CHAD: Well, that's super interesting. So once you decided and you started working on Boulevard, how did you decide what to focus on first? And how did you set your market for what the first version was going to be or a target for what the first version was going to be? MATT: So, we focused on the businesses that had a front desk. So those are generally the ones that really struggled with getting the most out of every minute possible in the day. And so we focused on what were typically mid to upper market single locations to start, and we got introduced to a salon owner through a mutual friend. They were based in New York, and it was just a two-person salon. And so, we built our MVP to be able to support their day-to-day functions. And they were using some other system, so we kind of had to get to a place where there was general feature parity to support them. So we built up the features that we needed, and then we launched them, transitioned them off their previous solution. And then we did all this in person and then hung out with them for about a week or two after to babysit the system, make sure there weren't problems. We were iterating in real-time. Sean and I were releasing code. And from there, we got an intro to our second customer through another mutual friend. CHAD: How long did it take you from when you started to when it was live in that first salon? MATT: It took about nine months. CHAD: And were you self-funding that based on the consulting that you mentioned? MATT: Yeah, self-funding. And then, after we launched with the first business, Sean and I actually both liquidated our 401Ks. And we didn't have the time to continue to consult. So we bootstrapped the company and put our life savings into it once we had traction from our first couple of customers. And that's when we started to hire our first employees to help us continue to accelerate development and that kind of thing. CHAD: So again, liquidating your 401k is a pretty big step. MATT: Yep. CHAD: Did you try to do external fundraising before doing that? MATT: No. At that point, not yet. We wanted to really validate the concept on our own dime. And then, when we had paying customers and a decent customer base, we did a friends and family round. And then, once we achieved a certain milestone, we joined an accelerator, which is based in Los Angeles called Luma Launch. And we were part of that accelerator for about six months. And then we raised our series seed following that. We went from liquidating our savings, living like college students, ramen noodle budget-type to once we felt good about the value we were providing, had the case studies and the customer feedback, and had a pretty awesome MVP to show to investors; that's when we decided to fundraise. CHAD: How nervous were the two of you? MATT: Very nervous. [laughter] I mean, it's one of those both of us come from really, really humble families, and there was no safety net. And so we were all in. And I think often from when there's a lot of constraints; you have to find creativity. We were all in. We were working all the time on this, really gave it everything we had. And in hindsight, it was a good decision. But it could have easily been a terrible decision. [laughs] CHAD: I mean, this is one of the things with founding stories is we talk to the people who are successful. [laughs] So, would you recommend this path to other people? MATT: I think if it's something where you could see providing unique value to the world and that you have lots of validation from real people, not just your friends but from prospective customers...it was when we were talking to real businesses where they would say, "This is something we would use and pay for." And so, after hearing that dozens and dozens of times, that matched with the negative NPS scores with their current solutions. That's where we were like, "This can be something pretty special." So I wouldn't recommend building in isolation and making that leap of faith without really doing your diligence on the opportunity. But yeah, I think everyone, at some point, if they have an idea or a problem they want to solve, should give it a go. Mid-Roll Ad: I wanted to tell you all about something I've been working on quietly for the past year or so, and that's AgencyU. AgencyU is a membership-based program where I work one-on-one with a small group of agency founders and leaders toward their business goals. We do one-on-one coaching sessions and also monthly group meetings. We start with goal setting, advice, and problem-solving based on my experiences over the last 18 years of running thoughtbot. As we progress as a group, we all get to know each other more. And many of the AgencyU members are now working on client projects together and even referring work to each other. Whether you're struggling to grow an agency, taking it to the next level and having growing pains, or a solo founder who just needs someone to talk to, in my 18 years of leading and growing thoughtbot, I've seen and learned from a lot of different situations, and I'd be happy to work with you. Learn more and sign up today at thoughtbot/agencyu. That's A-G-E-N-C-Y, the letter U. CHAD: That first customer that you were building the replacement for, were you charging them? MATT: No, we were not. CHAD: Are they paying now? MATT: They are, they are, very little. CHAD: Okay. [chuckles] MATT: They're a small business and have been staying super successful. And so, in the earliest days, the learnings and feedback matter a lot more than revenue, and so you optimize for that as opposed to the economics. And so for us going and working on location at these businesses and they're paying us essentially in the learnings and teachings of helping us understand and absorb ourselves in this industry, and working as front desk and doing the jobs that all these professionals have to do. And so that's where we were able to build and get to a place where our product is really, really authentic. And it was from that first direct observation. CHAD: I've worked on products before where they're currently being done by people. They might have technology solutions in place, and they feel like there's no technology that will do this; we need to have a person being the one to do it. Because like you said, there's something special about a person doing it. And so sometimes those businesses, when they have a solution, even if they've properly solved it, there's a lot of resistance from customers who are very skeptical that the technology is going to be able to do it the right way. Have you encountered that? MATT: Absolutely. CHAD: How do you combat that? MATT: We iterated on, essentially, the objections. So the first objection was that "People can't book online because it's going to mess up my day." And so we created this what we call precision scheduling, where it does the optimization on the calendar. And then the next issue was that we started seeing some no-shows coming because I think there's this mental analog of if you miss an OpenTable reservation not as big of a deal. But in our industry that we're serving, if you miss a two-hour appointment, that professional is out a significant amount of their income for the week. And so that's where we actually started dipping our toes in payments, and we started requiring a credit card at the time of booking just to authorize the card and to hold the appointment. And so that objection of no shows we solved there. There was a lot of concern of like, "Hey, our customers are not going to know the right thing to book." And we have learned that customers actually are very savvy and that the clients deserve more credit than the professionals are giving them that if a woman gets a balayage, she knows it's a balayage. And so, usually, the way that we overcame that objection was we'd work with them and have best practices on menu design. But that they also then, when they're giving a service that they discuss what they actually did in that service so that the customer knows what to book next time if they want the same thing. And so that was kind of the pattern is like, build something, learn, iterate, and do it on location with these businesses so that we could see it firsthand in an unbiased way. And so that's really how we were able to build such a product with this amount of scale and overcome some of those initial objections. CHAD: Is it easier now that you have 2000-plus customers, some social capital out there? They can ask other people, "Is this working for you?" Is that easier now? MATT: Absolutely. Absolutely. One of the ways...we didn't have a sales team for a long time in our company, and we were actually under the radar. We were stealth, didn't announce anything about ourselves for the first three or four years. And so we were just very much focused on product development and building something that was incredible. And then we were really fed off of referrals and that word of mouth. So it's I think when you get a product that people love, they're going to tell their friends about it. And for us, that really helped accelerate our growth. CHAD: So yeah, so this was all taking place in what year? MATT: So we transitioned out of our last company and started doing part-time work in summer of 2015. And then, we officially launched our first customer in spring of 2016. CHAD: Cool. And I think that that is, you know, you didn't get to 2,000 customers overnight, right? You've been at this for a while. MATT: Yeah, the barrier to entry is very high in the market, and VCs called our type of opportunity a brownfield opportunity where there are a lot of legacy solutions in the market. And we compete with some companies that were actually started before I was born. CHAD: [chuckles] MATT: And so they've had many decades to build functionality into their platform that we need to get to some level of feature parity with in order to seamlessly transition them off of their previous solution to our platform. And it did take a significant upfront investment with product in order to get to be able to pay the price of admission and to be able to actually compete in the market. CHAD: So one of the things I'm curious about is, do you have a sense of what does the overall market looks like? I feel like there are probably lots of salons, spas, haircutting places. There are a lot of them all over the world. MATT: There are, yeah. So we believe that there are about 500,000 self-care businesses in the United States. CHAD: Just in the United States. MATT: Yeah, just in the United States. And the employee base in the labor market is about two to two and a half million professionals across all those businesses. CHAD: So, where do you think the hurdles in terms of continued growth are for you? MATT: So one of the areas that we focus on is...so all of these self-care businesses are about 90% similar in how they operate. And so we started in the hair salon vertical and then have expanded into many adjacent verticals over the course of the past few years. We really tried to make sure that we had really, really strong product-market fit in the hair salons, which is the biggest self-care market, and before we expanded into, say, nail salons. When expanding into adjacent verticals, there's some functionality that is unique to those verticals. And so, for example, one of our recent verticals that we expanded into is med spas. And the way that med spas charge for their services is generally based on the products that are used, and so if you buy 100 units of Botox, they charge a per-unit fee. And so that was something that was pretty unique to the medspa market that doesn't exist in other self-care markets. And so vertical expansion is a vector of growth for us and then segment expansion. So we started with the single location, very small businesses. And then we have worked our way up to enterprise where we're powering chains and franchises of hundreds of locations. And then the other aspects kind of the third vector of growth is the different product sets and functionality that we are releasing to our customers. So continuing to develop the platform but also look at different opportunities where we can provide outsized value by developing it ourselves. CHAD: So we could literally talk all day, and I could talk to you about scaling and product and everything. But one thing I'm interested in before we wrap up is I think it's really special to found a company with a designer, a product person, and an engineer. And I can tell even just by looking at the site and the product that you very highly value design and creating a product that people love to use. MATT: Absolutely. CHAD: How does that lead you to creating Duo, which is a point of sale card reader? MATT: One of the things that we saw in the market was this real importance in service design so what information is showing when to the users of our technology. So there's that aspect of what's the overall experience? Then there's the product design; how easy is it to use? And how quickly can new employees, new front desk staff, how quickly can they get ramped up and start using the system? Do they need two weeks of training? And for us, we try to make it as intuitive and as familiar as possible. And then we look to see how else can we extend design? And one of the complaints that we always received from customers was that hardware options were always pretty ugly, that all of them look dated like the kind of hardware that you use at a supermarket. And they wanted something that was more sleek and that they weren't ashamed to have on their countertop for checkout. And so that's where we decided to invest in building our own hardware. And that was particularly exciting for us. So it's been really, really well-received from our customers. And it was a really fun project to work on. Getting into the hardware space is always challenging. But as a designer, it was super cool to build something that became physical for the first time in my life. CHAD: Does the logic that led to you creating Duo eventually lead you to creating an entire hardware point of sale system? MATT: We're assessing all opportunities. There's this interesting moment happening in the payments space where like Apple, you know, announced that I think they're piloting now that you won't need hardware in order to accept credit card payments on the iPhone. CHAD: You'll just be able to do it right against an iPad. MATT: Exactly. So I think there's a real question as to what is the...and I'm sure this is something that folks like Square are thinking about, that have really best in class hardware is like what does the future of hardware look for fintech companies? And is it just going to fold into the actual devices, or will you continue to need standalone readers? That's something that we're constantly thinking about and keeping smart on the latest developments in that. But our expertise and what we love is building incredible software. Hardware was that area that we saw that we could provide unique value, but our goal is to always be a software company. You generally don't make much money off of the hardware piece in this business. CHAD: Now, how personally involved were you in the hardware project? MATT: I was very involved, potentially too involved. [laughs] CHAD: As a founder, when new projects come up like this that maybe you're interested in, how do you either hold yourself back or not hold yourself back from being involved in them? MATT: I think when the company is venturing into new territory, entirely new like uncharted waters, that's when it's valuable for me or any founder to get really, really smart on what's the opportunity, what's the risks, all that kind of stuff. In this case, my experience working at our initial customers for the first couple of years of our business was really, really impactful. And so our Duo captures...and the reason why it's called Duo is because it's a countertop, but also you can take the top off, and you can do an in chair checkout. So you could bring it over to the customer, and they can check out right while they're in the chair as an express checkout. And so those types of things I learned while being on location working at these businesses. And so I was providing a lot of the guidance and conceptualizing how we could think about what the hardware offering would be that would be unique to us, and collaborated with our head of design and then an industrial designer to get the proof of concept there. CHAD: And you said, "Potentially too involved," so why did you say that? [laughs] MATT: I think as a founder, you are always trying to figure out what altitude are you flying at. And there are some things that you will need to dive in and be very hands-on. And then there are other times just to guide and support and coach. And I think for this because it was a new project, I was particularly excited to be able to get into hardware because that was a first for me that I was involved in all aspects of it. But it was a lot of fun. CHAD: Awesome. Well, Matt, thank you so much for stopping by and sharing with us. I really appreciate it. I'm sure the listeners do too. If folks want to find out more about Boulevard, about joining the team, about becoming a customer, or just to get in touch with you, where are all the different places that they can do that? MATT: Yeah, absolutely. I think the best place is just on our website. We are hiring across all levels and all functions, especially on the product design and engineering side. And so our website is joinblvd.com, J-O-I-N-B-L-V-D.com. There's the about page, and it links out to my LinkedIn. So if anyone wants to connect and get acquainted, that's probably the easiest way to do it. CHAD: Awesome. Well, thanks again for joining me. I really appreciate it. MATT: Yeah, thanks so much. This was a pleasure. CHAD: You can subscribe to the show and find notes along with links for everything that Matt just mentioned and including a complete transcript of the episode at giantrobots.fm. If you have questions or comments, email us at hosts@giantrobots.fm. And you can find me on Twitter at @cpytel. This podcast is brought to you by thoughtbot and produced and edited by Mandy Moore. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time. ANNOUNCER: This podcast was brought to you by thoughtbot. thoughtbot is your expert design and development partner. Let's make your product and team a success. Special Guest: Matt Danna.
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