Podcasts about whistle sports

How leaders can reach Gen Z online We speak to Jeff Nathenson, Managing Director, International at Whistle. We speak to a lot of leaders who want to reach young people online. So how do you get the attention of Gen Z, when every brand and influencer is competing for their attention? Jeff Nathenson is Managing Director, International at Whistle, the digital entertainment media company for Gen-Z. Launching the international business of Whistle in 2014, Jeff has also worked on strategy, programming, channel management, marketing, and monetisation on behalf of The Premier League, the Olympics, FIFA, World Rugby, Major League Baseball, and many others. Jeff discusses how reaching young people online requires a completely different approach to communications, focused on participation in conversations with, and putting power in the hands of, your community. He tells us what this means for your digital marketing strategy and shares his advice on how older, more established organisations can learn from relative newcomers like YouTubers turned businesspeople, KSI and Logan Paul. Zoe and Paul also discuss the latest tech news, focusing on the role of social media in policing.

This interview features Michael Cohen, CEO at Team Whistle. We discuss being denied by a Goldman Sachs recruiter, when wearing a suit can be bad for business, being on the launch team of Whistle Sports, why the movie The Martian inspires his leadership, executing an M&A roll-up strategy and going from $0-100M in revenue, exiting to ELEVEN Group, and learning how to “play it where it lies”.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. Michael Cohen:The presenter started off his presentation, and he said, "None of you in this room are going to get a job at Goldman Sachs right out of school." Sort of the most deflating thing ever. I've been preparing for this for an ungodly amount of time. And I was so angry for so long, but what I took away from that has stayed with me for my entire career, because what he then went on to say was, "I didn't start a Goldman Sachs. I started at X company. I then went to Y, then over to company A, and ultimately got to where I am today as a managing director at Goldman Sachs." And his point was that not all career paths are linear. You have to have different experiences along the way that ultimately allow you to become a better managing director at Goldman Sachs, or wherever you were going. Chris Erwin:This week's episode features Michael Cohen, CEO of Team Whistle and chief transformation officer of ELEVEN Group. Michael was born in Long Island and grew up with parents who worked in tourism and technology. He decided to migrate to Atlanta for college, kicked off his career in a financial training program at Wells Fargo, but he soon returned to his home turf in New York City to be an investment banker, where Michael learned how to tell stories with numbers. Of note, this is where we first met and actually worked together for a few years. Chris Erwin:Michael's career then progressed into private equity and strategy consulting, but he left to take an early bet in digital media and helped launch Whistle Sports in 2014. Today, Michael is the CEO and has spent the past year integrating the business into its new owner, ELEVEN Group. Some highlights of our chat include being denied by a Goldman Sachs recruiter, when wearing a suit can be bad for business, why the movie "The Martian" inspires his leadership, executing an M&A roll up strategy and going from zero to a hundred million in revenue, and learning how to play it where it lies. Now I've known Michael for over 15 years, and he's one of my favorites to share industry notes with and riff about all things creator economy. Telling his story has been a long time coming, so let's get to it. Chris Erwin:All right, Michael, thanks for being on the podcast. Michael Cohen:Chris, thanks for having me. Been a long, long time that we've known each other, so I'm excited to chat with you. Chris Erwin:Yeah. This has been a long time coming. I think I've been asking you to be on the podcast for almost over a couple years now. There was some assumed perhaps missed emails or lack of responses or who knows what, but finally able to make it happen today. Michael Cohen:I take the fifth, but I'm glad I'm glad to be here today. Chris Erwin:All right, Michael. I've known you for a long time. I think dating back to 2006. This is ... I know. It's pretty crazy to say that. It's almost over 15 years starting in Wall Street finance into the world of digital media. A lot to talk about today, but let's start where you grew up, if there's any glimpses into your early career. Let's rewind a bit and tell us about where you grew up and what your household was like. Michael Cohen:I grew up in Long Island in New York, a nice, quiet suburban town called Jericho. I have an older brother and my two parents as well. The town was a very small town. Everybody knew each other, which was great, but also a little bit of a bubble. And so I think having grown up in that environment, it was something that I liked a lot, but also knew it was something I needed to get out of and experience the world a bit different. And I think part of my childhood allowed me to do that. My mom worked in travel, which allowed us to go to all different places. Some I appreciated at the time. Some, I certainly did not as a kid. Whish I could go back and appreciate some of those more, but again, this is well before we had digital cameras, let alone Instagram. Michael Cohen:You couldn't experience a culture the way you potentially can today through Instagram or other apps. I got to have a feel for other cultures around the world through that lens. And then my dad worked in and around technology for his entire career, which was pretty awesome. He traveled to Japan a lot. And I would always ... We went to the consumer electronic show, when CES was actually consumer electronics, or at least more prominently consumer electronics. I would inevitably have some new gadget. I remember a small, little TV that had a massive antenna that I got channel two on, which was great, super exciting as a kid. And then I definitely had the first MP3 player, which I think it was called the Diamond Rio. Chris Erwin:It could hold five songs? Michael Cohen:Yeah. It literally had I think five songs. You could upgrade the memory and you might get eight songs. It was literally the coolest thing ever, but you'd use it to go for a run because you had a Walkman. That was the only other thing. And if you do more than a 20 minute run, that's kind of it. But I think being around my mom and dad who were both working, gave me a strong appreciation for hard work and work ethic. I think both of the industries that they were in gave me perspectives that I probably wouldn't necessarily have had. I'd say my older brother, in terms of work ethic, not to say he didn't have great work ethic, but he is wildly smart. And he didn't actually have to work all that hard to do really well, which, on the other hand, I believe I'm somewhat smart, but also had to do a lot of hard work to keep up. That's just something that's always driven me. Chris Erwin:Michael, I think you have many moments of great intelligence, so don't cut yourself short there. All right. With your mother in travel, your father in tech, did you have a sense of what you wanted to do as a kid? Did a lot of people in your community work in New York City? Did they work in finance? What were you thinking about your careers you were preparing for college? Michael Cohen:Yeah, we had a lot of different folks in the neighborhood. Some worked in finance, some accountants, a variety of folks that worked in different industries. I think for me, business was something that was always an area where I wanted to focus. I knew I wanted to be a business man at that time, follow predominantly in my dad's footsteps and be able to work with a great company and travel, be a part of important meetings, a big team. All that stuff was important to me. Exactly where and what that meant was certainly TBD. Again, we didn't have internet, and all that stuff wasn't as prevalent as it is today to sort of understand all the options and choices. Chris Erwin:And actually, a quick tangent to that ... As a kid, what were your hobbies? What were your passions? What did you do outside the classroom? Michael Cohen:Played a lot of sports. I grew up in a neighborhood that after school, all of us would get our bikes. We'd go to a park. We go back to the school. We'd play pick up basketball, roller hockey, baseball, you name it. We were out until dinnertime. And that was just awesome, being able to always be playing sports. And then at home, I would say because I was able to get exposure to a lot of the technology, I probably had the latest and greatest computers, these massive machines, and got to tinker around with that. So played on the computers. I probably had the first CD burner that existed, and turned that into a little entrepreneurial business in high school, selling CDs. Chris Erwin:Burned popular CDs that you would buy at the time and sell them to your friends? Michael Cohen:There was a very popular dance mix. I don't remember what it was, but it was one of those things that ... I don't know if it was Tower Records or one of those [inaudible 00:08:06] things that you get 22 songs or something on. And it's a mix. I had this CD burner. My friend and I, we started selling these CDs for a few bucks to our friends. It was a nice little side hustle back in high school. Chris Erwin:Okay, so there's a little bit of an entrepreneurial bend in you. I see that. You decide to go to college, and you go to Emory university in the south. What were you thinking when you went to Emory? What was the plan there? Michael Cohen:It was interesting. My brother had gone to Emory. I went down to visit him, Emory in Atlanta, Georgia, early 2000s. The "dirty south" was really having a moment in terms of growth, in terms of pop culture, a really awesome vibrant place. I think for me, having grown up in more of a smaller neighborhood where I knew a lot of the people, I think feeling like a bigger fish in a smaller pond was something that was more exciting. And I think looking at Emory, looking at the curriculum, the school wasn't super small, but at the same time, it would give me warmer weather and the ability to feel part of the movement in pop culture happening at the time. Chris Erwin:And so from there, you end up going into finance, right when you graduate, which I think is around 2005. And I think you end up at Wells Fargo. What was your thinking there for your first role out of school? Michael Cohen:I'll back you up a little bit. At Emory, I majored certainly in business, but with a concentration in finance and marketing. And again, I had always had the desire to be a leader, wanting to be the head of a company someday. Didn't know exactly what that meant at the time, but that was always something that was important to me. I remember going to a ... The school had put on a road show of meeting different investment banks. I got to go to Goldman Sachs, the cream of the crop. I remember this so clearly. I had my suit on, I had studied, I had the vault guides. I knew every question that could be answered. I was ready, and the presenter started off his presentation. And he said, "None of you in this room are going to get a job at Goldman Sachs right out of school." Chris Erwin:Why are you there? Michael Cohen:I'm like, "Well, this is sort of the most deflating thing ever. And I've been preparing for this for an ungodly amount of time." I was so angry for so long, but what I took away from that has stayed with me for my entire career, and it's something I pass on. Because what he then went on to say was, "I didn't start at Goldman Sachs. I started at X company. I then went to Y. I went then over to company A, and then I went to company B and ultimately got to where I am today as a managing director at Goldman Sachs." And his point was that not all career paths are linear. You have to have different experiences along the way that ultimately allow you to become a better managing director at Goldman Sachs, or wherever you were going. Michael Cohen:Fast forward, that stuck with me. I didn't get a job at Goldman Sachs and actually, for the first time in my life, I decided to take a different road. I stayed in Atlanta after I graduated when a lot of my peers were moving back to Manhattan and New York. Again, Atlanta during this time was really booming, and I was excited about the city. I worked for Wells Fargo in their corporate banking group, where we were lending money to large Fortune 500 companies. Michael Cohen:It was a really interesting experience because it was so foundational in terms of learning and the training program that Wells Fargo had. It was just an incredible training program, got exposure to a lot of different people, a lot of different industries that we were covering. And it really gave me a very solid foundation. Ultimately, it was something that I would say, started to lay a very strong finance acumen for me down in Atlanta. I stayed down in Atlanta for a year after graduation and worked at Wells Fargo. It was a two year training program and my focus was all right, it's not investment banking, but maybe I can complete this training program in one year versus two years. So I completed all the training requirements. Chris Erwin:This is actually where we have a lot of overlap. Right after undergrad, I also started my career as a corporate banker. I went to the Bank of New York. It's now known as BNY Mellon. Similar to you, we were lending to Fortune 500 companies across a variety of industries. So paper manufacturing, TMT, energy and utilities, and much more. I remember spending a lot of time pouring over financial statements and getting into all the details. I learned a ton. Follow up question for you, Michael, is what did you like most about the training program? Michael Cohen:What was great about the training program is that, and I remember this so clearly, they taught you how to hold your plate and a glass at a cocktail dinner. They taught you how to answer the phone. And you think about these soft skills that you take for granted today. Most people don't even use a phone anymore, let alone know how to actually pick up the phone. Go to a cocktail party, how you're supposed to hold the glass on the plate with one hand so you have the other hand free to shake someone's hand. Little fun things that you learned outside of just the core finance and accounting. Michael Cohen:But what was interesting, and why I ultimately decided to move back to New York, was it was a little too slow for me in Atlanta at the time. Still very much a nine to five attitude in that city in terms of where I was, and the opportunity to advance as fast as I would've wanted. This is when I got the opportunity to move to New York, and I landed a job at Waller Capital, which is where you and I had worked together. Chris Erwin:I remember that first meeting where I think you had just joined within the past handful of months. This is I think in 2006, and very similar experience to you, incredible training program at Bank of New York, learned a lot from the leadership there, but wanted something that was more faster paced. Wanted to jam in the hours while I was young in my twenties. I remember coming to an interview at night in the office, and this was a small office, at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, or one rock, and meeting at the upstairs meeting room. It was in the dark. I walk in and I think we do a 45 minute or hour interview. And I was like, "Wow, look at this guy. He's got a similar background to me, but he's super sharp. He's very confident. And you got me very, very excited about the role." The interview I had was okay. Chris Erwin:But I guess it was good enough to give me the job, because I remember getting an offer letter shortly thereafter and then joined the company a few weeks after that. I'm curious, one of the things we talked about before was building three legs of the stool. Each of those legs being finance, operations, and strategy and leadership. What do you think that you got out of your experience at Waller Capital? And then you moved to The Cypress Group thereafter, what was the financial acumen that you were really building at that point? Michael Cohen:I think it was a few different things. It was a core foundational skillset in corporate finance and accounting, which is really understanding how the numbers work, how an income statement, a balance sheet, a cash flow, not only how that works, which I think I learned in Wells Fargo, but in investment banking and at Waller capital was more of how it's applied. Because what we did was we were advising companies ... As you know, you worked there, but we were advising companies on raising capital to support their businesses and more often selling the companies. Helping them with the most important moment of their lives to sell them to somebody else. How do you write a story based on these numbers and present them to the marketplace? I think that was ...What I learned there was really the combination of how to use numbers to tell stories. And certainly learned a massive attention to detail. Michael Cohen:You talk about Jeff Brandon, who we both worked with. I remember what he said to me. He goes, "In our business, 99% right is a hundred percent wrong." And that's really stuck with me. The detail side of that, because what he was trying to say was one wrong number calls out your credibility to a client, to a potential buyer. And it's cast judgment, cast doubt on the rest of the financial model. So we really, the threshold for being correct was there was really zero tolerance. It taught you how to double check, how to triple check your work, how to work with others, like yourself, to ask questions, to make sure that you were approaching things the right way. Michael Cohen:I would say the storytelling with numbers, the attention to detail, and then again, work ethic. Because we worked long hours together to ultimately be able to deliver for our clients. And you had to find a solution. I'll give you an example of that, which was, we had a pitch, it was a very large pitch. We had done the pitch deck. We were all ready. Again, Waller Capital was media and telecom. I don't think we hit that early, but we spent a lot of time focused on cable companies. These cable companies, if you zoom out of a map of the United States, it's like a puzzle. There's pictures of this map that we would often use in our pitch decks to show how some different assets, where a strategic fit of different areas. Well, that needed to be part of a physical pitch deck. Michael Cohen:And unfortunately the files were so large that they couldn't print out. Again, this is '06, so didn't have these great printers that you can buy off the shelves today. And I had said to the managing director, "Look, sorry, there's just nothing I can do. It won't print. It keeps jamming. It won't print." And the response was like, "That's just not acceptable. I need this for a pitch tomorrow morning. It's got to be at my house in Greenwich by 4:00 AM, because I've got a 6:00 AM flight." So, okay. And I've got my new shoes on, my new suit, my investment banker gear. Meanwhile, I'm living on a couch at this point, and I go down to the financial printers on Wall Street, and begging them to take this file. The financial printers were the people that actually printed out all the 10Ks, all the SEC documents that had to be physically printed back in the day. Michael Cohen:I begged them to find a way to get this file open. Ultimately after going to three different ones, I found someone that was able to print it. They printed it. I bartered with them, so instead of charging with me, we said, "Hey, the next virtual data room that we use will go with you." And I took a black car all the way to Greenwich. I dropped it off. My feet were all blistered up. Ultimately got home, got a couple hours of sleep, and back in the office by nine o'clock. While going through that, I was obviously fairly frustrated and tired and exhausted, but it taught me that every problem has a solution. You just have to work it hard enough. I think those three plus years at Waller Capital really instilled a core foundation in how I work, and not only what I know, but how I work and what I really am able to do. Chris Erwin:Very well said. After investment banking for a few years, you then head to private equity. You head to the Cypress Group and Torque Capital. Tell us about experience and what the training was there that was setting you up for the rest of your career. Michael Cohen:Wat was really interesting coming out of Waller Capital after three years was, I don't know how many different sell side mandates we were on, but probably, 30, 40 over my time there. Sell side is when, as you know, when you're selling a company to the marketplace, so you're representing a seller and you're going out and you're positioning them to a marketplace of buyers to ultimately sell it. Now, what was really fascinating for me, and what I wanted to do, was go on the opposite side. Okay. You sell the company, now what happens? A buyer buys it, what do they do now? How do they operate it? And Cypress Group was a two and a half billion dollar private equity firm. I would say they were focused on diversified industrials and manufacturing. Michael Cohen:And for me, what I wanted to get next in my career was a broader exposure to the economy. No better way to do that than getting more involved in industrials and manufacturing. The other side of it is I wanted to be involved in the actual operations of the company. Cypress was sort of nearing the end of its fun life, but really was focusing on portfolio operations. It would give me an opportunity to really roll up my sleeves, work with various executives in each of these companies that they had owned, and literally be on the front lines of operations. And I think that was an incredible experience, particularly because the fall of Lehman Brothers happened during that. When you have exposure to everything from automotive companies to kitchen cabinets during a recessionary period, how do you operate those businesses? Michael Cohen:It's one thing when you can't stop selling kitchen cabinets. It's another thing when home builds are cut in half, and you've got a massive manufacturing line needs to be retooled or relooked at. And so how do you fix that? I was able to go to many interesting places similar to our days in Waller Capital, driving around the country and various markets, and get on the manufacturing floor. What I remember very clearly are two things. One, the first company I went to that we owned, I was wearing a suit, tie, nice shoes, clearly bringing a New York aura to this company that was in Tennessee, I believe. And it was like, who is this guy? What is he doing here? How can he possibly help me? Michael Cohen:I quickly learned culturally, you can't get things done by decree. What I quickly did was, the next day I changed. I was no longer wearing a suit. I was a little bit more suitable, but I started just asking questions and listening. What I took away was, what are the biggest pain points that the CEO has, that some of the senior managers have. And ultimately I came away from that trip knowing that if I could solve some of those pain points for them ... And some of them were fairly easy. Some of them were, "Hey, I need just better communication between the board and us," or, "Hey, there's this issue that keeps popping up." These were fairly simple, but it just required connecting of dots to do. And I did that, and what was magical out of that was the respect and credibility that I was able to get. Michael Cohen:From that point on, I was able to acclimate and get involved in these companies in a way where I started to be able to understand truly what would move the needle for them as operators, versus me wearing a New York private equity hat. And that was probably the most fun I had ever had. It really reinforced my desire to really be an operator. I had now investment banking, private equity experience. After two years ... Private equity was a two year program. You signed two years, and then you're typically off to business school or you do something else. Ultimately, I had asked the head of the private equity firm for his advice on what I should do next. I said, "Hey, should I go to business school?" Michael Cohen:I had taken GMAT. I had done well. He was a big golfer. He said, "Play it where it lies." He goes, "You're sitting in the fairway. Why would you go to business school? You've already got the education. Everything you would've gotten, you've seen. You've been operating. You've been operating through these tough environments." And this was about the time where we saw an opportunity in the market to create what I would call a lower middle market distressed fund that would focus on these smaller companies that were forgotten during the post Lehman era, that were still extremely valuable, had a lot of asset value, again from manufacturing, whether that was equipment or what they were doing, but just were victims of the challenging environment. Going in, helping to restructure those, bringing those back to life, was awesome. It was the best. After two years, I joined a couple of folks there. Michael Cohen:We created this vehicle called Torque Capital Group. It still exists today. We made a couple of investments. I was really part of the very beginning of a fund, the very beginning of the investment that we made, putting together a hundred day plan, living in places like New Hampshire and outer Georgia, really working with the operators on what is this next iteration of the company. That was just such an incredible experience. What I took from that was ultimately, I was more excited about the top line growth side of things, the innovation that was happening in Silicon Alley. That then led me to the next stage of the career. Chris Erwin:Few interesting notes there. One, in terms of really listening, and being aware, and understanding the cultural nuances when you're working with different companies or leadership ... I feel you on that because I remember you and I used to do this. We used to do the cable tours when we were in banking, and I would show up to the middle of nowhere, Missouri or middle of nowhere, Wyoming to a cable head end, where we were representing the seller. The private equity company, their buyer, and their leadership and diligence team would come out. They'd all just be in general outdoor work gear. And I'm showing up in a suit, slacks, nice leather shoes. I was totally the odd man out. I thought that dressing nice like that would get me respect in the room, or respect in a situation because I was typically 20 years younger than everyone else that was there. Chris Erwin:That was not the case, and I learned pretty quickly that I got to adjust the wardrobe. And I got to listen more to the people that are around me if I'm going to have an impact in this situation. I think that's very right. And your boss, I think at the Cypress Group said, "Play it where it lies." Probably around that time, it's 2011 for you, I decided to go to business school because I think I realized I was making a change where I wanted to change geographies. I wanted to change roles. I wanted to change industries, and I felt that I didn't have the right skillset and I didn't have the right plan. I needed to reset and take two years to get the operating experience that I needed. Chris Erwin:It's funny, we took two different paths, but ended up in pretty similar industries thereafter, and pretty similar roles that have diverged over the past few years. It's just funny to kind of reflect on that. All right, so then after Torque Capital, we're going to get shortly to your rise in digital media at Team Whistle, but I think there was a quick stint of strategy work that you were doing. Tell us quickly about that, and then we'll get to your current role now. Michael Cohen:So now, I've got the finance acumen under me, I've got the operational acumen under me, and I see very clearly what I need next, which is more of the strategy work that was missing. What I was looking for at the time was, do I jump into a startup and take some sort of role that's ... I think at the time everyone coming from private equity or MBAs was looking for a business development role, or a strategy role within these companies. I got some really great advice from an angel investor who introduced me to the CEO of Fahrenheit 212, which their whole mantra, how do we take an existing asset, existing distribution channels, existing marketplace position, and how do we leverage that to create a new product, a new technology, bring that to market and ultimately build a startup within a Fortune 500 company? Michael Cohen:I was advised by this angel investor who said to me, "Go talk to Fahrenheit. I think this is a great bridge that will ultimately get you into more of that operating role, that startup role, but this is a great place to go. You'll have the ability to work with large Fortune 500 companies that you've been working with, but you'll also be able to help them work on new products, new innovation, very exciting activities." And so got the job where I was an engagement manager. My role there was to lead different engagements. I got the opportunity to work with everyone from Citigroup, to Samsung, and a number of others in between, but big companies and big challenges that we were trying to tackle for them. One of the best pieces of advice I got from the founder, a guy by the name of Jeff Valletta, stuck with me. He said, "Free yourself from the fear of failure." Michael Cohen:What he was saying was a couple things. One is, in innovation, you're going to fail sometimes, but if you play your hands scared, you're never going to innovate. The team that we built at Fahrenheit was there to support you. So it was one, the team around you is here to support you, so don't worry about you failing. And two, don't worry about the product failing because you're going to learn from it. And it was about iteration. It was a great environment to frankly, retrain my brain because in banking and private equity, when you hit a wall, you think about how do I financial engineer around this? How do I cut it? In innovation when you hit a wall, that's opportunity. Michael Cohen:It took me a number of months to sort of retrain my brain on that notion that this is opportunity, and so how do we innovate around it? How do we innovate through it? What does this mean in terms of opportunity? That to me was an incredible experience. I was at Fahrenheit for about a year, and then I left and ultimately started my own consulting company. And why did I leave? Well, something interesting happens when you work with Fortune 500 companies and you deliver them, at least in my experience there was you deliver them this great strategy. You deliver them this great idea. They sign off on it. Two things happen: one, the person who's the key stakeholder gets promoted and it's no longer their problem. Or two, they decide to take it internally. They're like, this is great. We're going to run with it from here. The idea of me getting to build a startup within a Fortune 500 company was not really a super viable path. You're able to bring the strategy to life, but often, they're going to run with it on there. Michael Cohen:So obviously lots of internal stakeholders, lots of different things you need to do. And being inside the company was how they were able to be successful with it or take it. But at that point, I was very confident in the skillset that I had built. And so I started my own consulting company called, Who Is M. Cohen Ventures. Chris Erwin:Can I just ask why, Who Is M. Cohen? Michael Cohen:A friend of mine was more advanced in the social media space at the time than I was. In terms of branding and everything, I was like, "I need a Twitter handle. What Twitter handle should I do?" I couldn't redo my AOL handle from high school. So he's like, "What about who is M. Cohen? There's so many Michael Cohens out there. What about who is M. Cohen?" And so I took that as my Twitter handle, and then I just started branding a lot of other things with it. I liked it. 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. Chris Erwin:After Fahrenheit and after Who Is M. Cohen Ventures, you joined what is now known as Team Whistle back in 2013. I'm curious to hear, from your point of view, how you ended up making this transition. Because I do remember when I was graduating from Kellogg, I was working for a company called Pritzker that actually invested in Big Frame and Awesomeness. I joined Big Frame back in, I think July 2012. I remember increasingly getting calls from you being like, "Hey Chris, I see you're working at Big Frame. You're in the YouTube MCN world, what's going on there? What are you doing? How are you building?" And I remember the frequency of those calls really ratcheting up. I think there was an eventual call I got from you, which was, "Hey, I joined Whistle." And I thought that was awesome. I loved having one of my financial brethren making the move into digital media where there's going to be some more quantitative focused minds and strategy minds entering the mix, which we needed. But how did that come to be from your side? Michael Cohen:I was doing the consulting thing as Who Is M. Cohen Ventures. One of my clients was the Whistle, and I was doing consulting for probably six months. I had a number of clients, probably had five different clients. And I wasn't sure whether I was going to just keep building a consulting company or do something else. It would actually, frankly, gave me the opportunity to date a lot of really interesting companies. I worked with small seed stage companies, some more funded companies, and some actually Fortune 500 companies as a consultant. But, I would say what got me to join Whistle was two things that happened. One, I would come home and I would talk to my wife and she said to me, "What's interesting, you talk about all your clients. When you talk about Whistle, you say, we. When you talk about your other clients, you say they." It was a really interesting, subtle observation that she had made. Michael Cohen:And then too, Chris, as you know, back in time, this was a wild west. Not many people knew what YouTubers were. It was probably the only platform that had creators. I don't think the term influencer was coined yet. And then Disney comes in and buys maker studios for a billion dollars. I sit there and say, well, one, there's a great team, a small team, but really interesting people that are here. And then two, there's just got some validation in this industry that perhaps there is some validation coming from Disney. Michael Cohen:At that point, John West, who was the founder of Whistle, said, "Hey, we got to raise some money, so I can't have my finance person as a consultant. So you going to join? You can create a consulting company anytime in your life. There's not going to be many opportunities you get to join a company at an early stage like Whistle." And he's a great salesman and a great mentor and friend, so I jumped on board. At the time it was called The Whistle and that began the nine plus year journey that I'm still on right now. Chris Erwin:Got it. When you first joined, what was the mandate? Was it, "Hey, Michael, we need to raise money. Let's get the model and the deck together"? And then the money's raised, what was your mandate immediately thereafter? Michael Cohen:They had raised some seed capital. Really I joined in 2013 and I would say our public launch was January 1st, 2014. And the premise of what we were trying to do was if you were to reimagine ESPN today, how would you do it? That was the question that we were asking ourselves at the time. It would be very different than what was happening back then. Traditional media, in our view, underserved today's generation. It was mostly a one way broadcast directly to you from the old guys with gray hair, talking about the glory days, talking about this scandal, that scandal. And, when I came on, the mandate was to help figure out what's the initial strategy that we want to take this on. Our view was, looking at how ESPN came to be and studying it, was ESPN came to be on the back of cable and satellite providers. They bought sports rights and, again, they sold them and then sold it to Telcos and had licensing fees and all that type of stuff. Michael Cohen:Our view was that the next company was going to be built on the back of social media company. Instead of cable and satellite, you're going to have the Facebooks, the YouTubes, et cetera. But our view was that instead of sports rights, it was going to be social influencer rights. And so the first step of what we did was we created a sports MCN, like a Big Frame before us, or a Maker, or Style Hall. All these others that were either generalists, or they were very vertical focused, Style Hall being more fashion and beauty. Tastemade, being more around food. Michael Cohen:There was still room for sports. The first thing that we did and that I was part of, was really trying to come up with that strategy. Once we landed on the MCN strategy, which, our view at the time we came after a number of other companies, was instead of this actually being the destination we're trying to go to, it was more of the vehicle. Michael Cohen:And what I mean by that is, we would create this MCN, we'd have a lot of creators under our belt. It would give us access to tons of data, which would then give us the ability to learn more about the audience and then figure out how best to serve that audience. So I would say the initial part of me coming on was helping with the capital raise, putting the deck together, putting together a financial model. But in order to put together a deck in a financial model, you of course need the business strategy. Looking back nine years, it's very easy to tell a linear story on what we did, but between us that's BS. We all know building a company is not a linear story. So that was the first piece of coming on. Chris Erwin:When you launch in January of 2014, did the launch go as expected? What surprised you? Michael Cohen:We were so focused at the time of being a very good for you sports media company that we launched Dude Perfect, as I'm sure many people know, one of the largest creators in the world. I think they were only 2 million subscribers on YouTube at the time. Now they're multiples of that. They were one of our launch partners and a number of others were. We had PR around it. It was great. And then we're watching YouTube videos and we see you can block certain categories that you don't want to run ads. Our whole premise was certainly no alcohol, only really positive advertisements that could go on it. We didn't want soft drinks. We didn't want certain junk food. I think we got served a Pepsi ad or something, and it caused a whole panic of are we having sugary drinks? Michael Cohen:Are we allowed to have sugary drinks? Are we not allowed to have sugary drinks? And I think that was a funny moment. But at the time the rally cry was build our subscribers, the subscriber network, on subscribers being on YouTube. We had different targets that we ran after to bring creators on, to hit a certain subscriber threshold, which, was more of a proxy for the size of our audience and how we would be able to monetize it. But I remember that early on, it was getting a little over spooked on a very non-controversial ad that ran in pre-roll on YouTube. Chris Erwin:Yeah. And I have to ask, what was it like for you to start working with creators for the first time? For me coming out of finance, so venture capital, business school, Wall Street. I was very accustomed to working with private equity leadership, sophisticated investors, C-suite executives from the companies that we were representing. Transitioning into this intersection of digital media technology and entertainment, working with creators and personalities, working with the representatives that manage them. That was an entirely new world for me, both working with those talent and the reps in house, and then also out of our building as well. Did you have a lot of creator exposure early on at Whistle? Michael Cohen:I would say I wasn't leading the creator efforts. We had an awesome person named Julie Kikla who came from YouTube that helped us launch that. Dev Sethi then came on, who I know has been on your podcast here, but definitely got exposure to the different creators. I would say that my diversified experience in the past very much helped me for how to navigate, how to partner with these creators, who very often were not sophisticated businesses. And certainly at the time they weren't. First and foremost, they're in incredibly talented, innovative creators that they're most suited to creating incredibly engaging content. The monetization side of it was where we came in to help them. Michael Cohen:And so trying to apply a commercial acumen to a creative acumen often was easy to meet with challenges. But I think my prior experiences ... Where the story in private equity where had to really acclimate to the people around me, working in the strategy roles, and having empathy for what it's like to be in a larger company, what it's like to be in a smaller company, understanding both a commercial desire, but also a creative of desire, and how that all works together. I would say it gave me the tools to have a lot more empathy for it. Certainly didn't prepare me for the world of mom-agers and dad-agers, and how intensely passionate those folks are about their sons, their daughters, but I was prepared. But I've learned a lot in terms of how to partner. Chris Erwin:So phase one, with the initial launch of Whistle, call it the MCN stage, and some learnings there. And then I think there was a decision where working with the team, you guys then enter phase two, where you're investing in intellectual property, audience growth, capabilities. This is I think where you transition from Whistle Sports to Whistle. Tell us how that came to be. Michael Cohen:We went from The Whistle to Whistle Sports. We started off as The Whistle. When we launched, we were Whistle Sports. It was important to make the point that, we were Whistle Sports. We weren't well known at the time, so making sure that the name stood for what we were was important. As we evolved, and as we studied the data, we learned that sport was being defined very differently for this generation. We were focused more on a YouTuber generation, I would say, mid to late teens, the mid to late twenties. We learned a lot from them and really no greater learning than they are really defined by the intersection of multiple passion points. Sports fans today are very much, yes, I may be a ravenous sports fan, but I also care about the pop culture aspect. I care about the music aspect. I care about the culinary aspect of it. Michael Cohen:Very often today we're taking it for granted, because on Instagram you can see an athlete out partying on yacht, and what they're doing behind the scenes. You see them walking their dogs. You have such a more intimate exposure. I think at the time, again, it was really only YouTube was the platform that had the most data that you could get followed by. Facebook's started to get in it. But we learned from the data that there was a white space that we could create content in that was more what I would call sport attainment. As we were talking to a number of our advertising partners, they said, "Look, your name's Whistle Sports, but you're not sports. Sports is, what I would say, classically defined as what an ESPN is doing, what a Bleacher was doing, a Turner was doing at the time, you guys are more entertainment. The content you're creating is more entertainment. And if you focus on sports and entertainment, that's a much bigger pot that you can focus on. So have you thought about dropping the name sports when you're going from your go to market standpoint?" Michael Cohen:We started to test it, and all of a sudden we are getting lots more RFPs, lots more inbound interests, lots more PR opportunities, because we were really defining a new category. And early on, I would say in that category definition, people that would say to us, "You're trying to be everything to everyone. You're really sitting in this middle bucket." What we try to convey and what is true today is that no, no, no, that's a category of our own. So trying to define us in yesterday's boxes is not the right way to approach it because we're creating a new box for ourselves. And so that began really where we were consciously investing in our own content, building a diversified network of platforms. We wanted to be diversified across not just YouTube, not just Facebook, as many platforms as possible, not wanting to have the risk of being tied to any one platform in particular. Chris Erwin:How was your role changing at the company as you were rising up and as your business was evolving? Michael Cohen:As we start to invest in our own product, I got the opportunity to expand my role and oversee that. Now, I wasn't running production, but I was overseeing the production side of things. My role was really focused on, at this point, not only how we operate internally, but the product that we're creating. I think one of the approaches that I took to it was, very often in media companies, there's a separation again of this creative and commercial, and there's a tension, there's a massive tension. And there's often like a wall in true editorials, environments or newsrooms, there is a wall. In our world, my focus really was about trying to align commercial and creative again. And that was something that has really been important throughout my career is trying to get people to see and understand certain things from different perspectives. Michael Cohen:I would say one of my strong abilities is to help connect dots that people aren't readily seeing. And so why commercializing a piece of content is important to our ability to do new and interesting creative endeavors. It was really about trying to align the product and revenue needs together so that we're able to create really cool, compelling content, but we're not creating content for content's sake on a gut or a hunch. We're doing it because it is somewhat grounded in, "Hey, this is a commercially viable type of thing that we can be taking to market." I spent a lot of time on the product side, and our product being content for the most part. Chris Erwin:After this point, I think you enter what you describe as phase three, which I think began in 2018. This is a bit of the inorganic plan, or this is where you're starting to exercise some of the skills and abilities that you learn from finance, banking, private equity, and you conduct an M&A roll up strategy, enhancing your capabilities by buying other companies. I think there's three specific acquisitions that you led. And I think as you described, you're starting to marry live sports and entertainment in a more meaningful way. Tell us about that point of the company. Michael Cohen:This is really, again, focused on IP, audience, and capabilities. I think at this point, as we're building the company, our focus is okay, we have a creator network, which is awesome, and we can help those creators continue to be successful, both in terms of helping to monetize, but also in terms of bringing them into the IP that we're creating. So that creator network, the creators that are a part of our company still to this day are still core to everything that we do. Now we're creating our own IP and we're monetizing it mostly via both indirect programmatic revenue and then direct sales. As we keep expanding into IP and keep expanding into this entertainment area, we saw that there were opportunities in 2018. Really, if you remember, I think this was sort of the nuclear winter of digital media. Michael Cohen:We had little things, which they were on top of the world and then a Facebook algorithm shifted. And they went out almost overnight. We had Mashable, which was as a darling at the time, which was frankly fire sold. And this then began I think Cambridge Analytica around the time, lots of scandals around social media, video, compression in CPMs. And so we saw an opportunity that there were a lot of companies that had raised a lot of capital. They had a choice to make. They didn't necessarily get to the scale that they wanted to be. And so the choices were, we shut down the company, we raise more capital from other investors, or we partner with someone else that can potentially get us to the promise land. And so we saw that opportunity that most people would probably want to choose the last piece. Michael Cohen:Many investors were tired by 2018. The tolerance to put more capital into these companies was few and far between. The desire, and frankly, the PR nightmare of shutting down was not something that people wanted to do. And so we started to be very smart in terms of, okay, if we were going to build this vertical, or build this capability ourselves, what would it take us to do? How much capital would it take? Or, who's out there that we can go and take a look at? The first company that we had gotten introduced to was a company called New Form. New Form was based in the LA ecosystem. Whistle was still primarily focused in New York and we knew if we were going to be taken seriously in the Hollywood ecosystem, we really needed to have a studio. Michael Cohen:And so this is again, the time where lots of streaming platforms are coming out, new types of mediums are being created. And so we bought New Form. They brought in a strong slate of IP that they had already created. They already had a number of distribution partners. Some that we had, some that they had. They had scripted, we had unscripted. It really made us a very strong studio. The who's who around the table gave us a pretty strong signal to the market in a market that frankly was very challenged. We brought in the skillset to integrate these companies, and then be able to do more of them. We then got an opportunity to look at a company called Vertical Networks. Vertical Networks Brother, which was the largest Snap discover channel at the time, but the problem was they couldn't get off of Snap. Michael Cohen:They didn't have ... Both from a capital standpoint, and just from a capability standpoint, they just weren't able to scale off platform to other platforms as fast. Well, we already had the other platforms within our distribution, but we also didn't have as much on Snap. So was a nice little partnership where we were able to come in and take a look at Brother, work with a lot of the existing people on that team, rethink what Brother was, reformat some of the shows. That really gave us more of the IP and audience. So now we've got both. We've got IP from both New Form, we've got IP from Vertical Networks. We've got a much bigger audience coming from Vertical Networks and the Brother. And then, what we realized was, okay, now we've got more IP, more audience. We need more capabilities to take this out into the marketplace. Michael Cohen:So we acquired an agency called Tiny Horse that was based in Charlotte. The premise of that was really adding more capabilities that we could bring out to our brand partners, that we could help different distributors and other partners with subscriber acquisition, because so many different streaming platforms coming out. How can Whistle not only use their audience, whether those are paid marketing, or inventory buying, other types of strategy work, and identity work that we could do to help these different companies navigate what I would call the digital transformation. We brought that skillset in. We built a very strong company that had this nice puzzle coming together of IP audience and capabilities, serving a younger demographic with a great suite of partners. Chris Erwin:A couple quick beats before we get into the rapid fire to close this out. So now you have this incredible platform. You started to put the puzzle pieces together for a really exciting new build, a new growth strategy for the company. And then at this point, I think you guys sold to ELEVEN Sports in 2021. What's the quick story there for how that came to be? Was the M&A all with the intention of, "Let's put the pieces together because we're going to run a sales process for the company," or was the acquisition unplanned? Michael Cohen:John West, our CEO has a great saying. He said, "Companies are never sold or bought." So we never thought about putting ourselves up for sale. We had raised a lot of money over the years, and really we had now, to your point, put together a lot of these puzzle pieces and it was really about fueling growth. We went out into the market in 2020 to raise some additional capital to, I would say one, continue to weather the COVID storm that had impacted a lot of media companies. But two, be ready with a war chest to capitalize on opportunities, capitalize on what we already were building. And then other opportunities coming out of that. Ultimately got a number of different term sheets from mostly debt providers because we did not want to focus on diluting the company, and then ELEVEN Sports had put in an offer to buy the company. Michael Cohen:ELEVEN was someone that we had known well. Their main investor was Acer Media backed by a guy named Andrea Radrizzani. He sees the world in a different way than most, and frankly, very aligned to the way we see the world. ELEVEN was focused more outside of the United States. They're more of a sports, live rights, more of their focus and they operate in a number of markets outside in Europe and Asia. They saw what we had already been seeing. Sports was being defined very differently. And so what we saw was together, we could unlock the power of live sport and on demand entertainment, and win a lot more hours of the consumer. Michael Cohen:If we could better serve the consumer, ultimately we would be able to monetize in more ways. When you start to put these pieces together, you really are creating a global sports media and entertainment company that plays across live and non-live, and both with an entrepreneurial spirit that can continue to be more scrappy than others out there. Our board, John, myself, we all recommended that this was the right opportunity that together we could get to a much more meaningful outcome for all stakeholders. We could better serve our partners, better serve our audience. And ultimately of course our shareholders. Chris Erwin:It's an incredible story, Michael. I have to ask, looking back on all this, you've helped the company raise over a hundred million dollars in capital. You've helped take the company from zero to a hundred million dollars in revenue. Going back to the beginning of this interview, the through line of building the three-legged stool. I need finance, I need op, strategy and leadership. Do you think that this is the ultimate culmination of all of your hard work? Do you look back at this and be like, "I did it. I'm content"? And then second, I want to hear about what are the two or three key learnings about how you are now a better executive from this experience and what you will take with you going forward? But let's start with the first one. Michael Cohen:First of all, it's definitely not I. The most important thing that I learned is it's always we, never I. I tried to take blame for the failures and would want the team to take, and have asked the team to always take credit for the wins. I don't think you can be a leader in today's environment by being an I person. In terms of looking back at the last nine years, the thing that stands out for me is adaptability is the reason that we are still alive and kicking today. John, our founder, he has a saying, and I think it's been attributed to Darwin, but we'll do that. "It's not the strongest or the biggest of species that survive. It's the ones that are most adaptable to change that survive." That's really been our operating mantra. Between that and a nice quote that I love from the Martian, the movie and the book, it says, at some point everything's going to go south on you and you're going to say, this is it. Michael Cohen:This is how I end. You can either accept that or you can get to work and that's it. You just begin. You start to solve problems. You solve one problem after the next. And then if you solve enough problems, ultimately you get to come home. He was on Mars. And that's just been a mantra of ours. Again, goes back to that very first experience in investment banking, was solve the problem. There's nothing that can't be solved by an incredibly talented team that we've built at team Whistle. I'm lucky to have the privilege to work with all these great folks. And it's been fairly humbling experience. Chris Erwin:Do you feel on this almost 20 year journey, partially satiated? This is what I set out to do? Of course, with a whole team around you to make it happen. Because this kind of impacts how you're thinking about what's next. Michael Cohen:Yeah. I do feel somewhat satiated. I think I felt it probably for a little bit after the acquisition. For me throughout the journey, I started as EVP of finance and operations, I then took on the COO title. I then took on the president title, and then ultimately took on the CEO role. I think each one of those was a milestone that I had. Okay. Have I arrived? Okay, have I? And that's ... Being able to appreciate that in the moment is something that I probably wish I spent more time appreciating in the moment of having arrived at that and celebrating that. Michael Cohen:I just thrive on searching for things that haven't been done, doing them, working with a great team, getting to be challenged every day, and working again in a media and telecom space. This intersection of media tech and commerce, it's so dynamic. And so there's always a challenge every day. For me, the satiation come from the challenge, the constant challenge. Maybe that's right, maybe that's wrong, but I'm enjoying what I'm doing now, and continuing to build. And that's what's fun for me, is the opportunity to continue to be challenged and built Chris Erwin:Final question before rapid fire. In terms of what's next, with the acquisition, you have been leading the integration and transformation of the company. Your chief transformation officer of ELEVEN Sports. Are you coming to the end of that process? Is there a lot more work to do there? And what are you thinking next for you? Michael Cohen:It's been an incredible opportunity. Mark Watson, the CEO of the ELEVEN group, and Andrea's also involved. The whole team have been great. Getting the opportunity after selling your company to help lead an overall transformation effort, not only integrating your company, but working with their company as well has been a really incredible experience. Getting to reimagine, rethink the strategy and how we evolve it. I think we're only getting started. I don't think transformation necessarily starts and stops. There's certainly some infrastructure building, some tactical things that we had to get done. Now we're able to actually just keep executing on that plan of winning more hours of the consumer, whether that's through different types of content, different types of products we're putting out, different types of distribution. That's the fun of it. I would say the journey continues, and as long as I'm being challenged and having fun, and get the opportunity to work with great people, that's something that keeps me going. Chris Erwin:Well said. In closing, I just want to give you some kudos. I've known you longer than most people in my professional career over 15 years. And I think you are a big part of what sold me, "I'm coming into investment banking," and also getting my foot in the door. Just like you, all the skills that you learned there was what I learned. And that is what allowed me to get into business school, and then to join the whole digital media revolution and Big Frame and Awesomeness, and actually hire our old bank to represent Big Frame in the sale. Chris Erwin:You are a big part of that, Michael. I give you a ton of kudos for that. I think our relationship's been a fun give and take where you got inspired by some of the things that I did, and that was a catalyst to your entry into Whistle, but then you just took it to a whole other level and it's been really awesome to see. I've learned a lot from your rise up. I think you even brought in our advisory firm to help you when you were looking through some different VOD strategies a few years back. So very thankful for that. And it's just been a delight to know you professionally and personally. I think there's much more fun to come for both of us going forward. Like we said in the beginning, we're going to have to do some outdoor activities or some sports or something like that next time we hang out. Michael Cohen:I'm all ready for it. And I appreciate the kind words, Chris. All I would say is right back at you. It's been a great friendship, a great partnership, and we're still in the early innings, to use the sports analogy. Chris Erwin:Let's get into the closing rapid fire questions. Six questions, the rules are as follows. You can answer in one sentence or in just a handful of words, keep it short and sweet. Michael, do you understand the rules? Michael Cohen:I believe. Chris Erwin:All right, let's kick it off. Proudest life moment? Michael Cohen:Becoming a father. Chris Erwin:What do you want to do less of in 2022? Michael Cohen:Zoom. Chris Erwin:What do you want to do more of? Michael Cohen:In person discussions. That fuels my energy. Chris Erwin:What one to two things drive your success? Short answer. Michael Cohen:I would say just a relentless desire to learn and to be challenged, and to work with great people. Chris Erwin:Advice for media execs going into 2022? Michael Cohen:Know your audience, know your partners, serve them well. Don't future chase. Chris Erwin:Any future startup ambitions? Might we see Who Is M. Cohen Ventures coming back into the mix? Michael Cohen:I would say I've always had the entrepreneurial itch, and there's a lot of good ideas out there and great people to partner with. For right now, I'm focused on leading team Whistle, continuing to lead the transformation office at ELEVEN, bringing a great outcome to all stakeholders. But let's revisit this in a couple years, because I think there's something there. Chris Erwin:Maybe you can come lead the sports media division at Rockwater. It's an opportunity. Michael Cohen:Maybe. Chris Erwin:All right, Michael, this is the last one. Pretty easy. How can people get in contact with you? Michael Cohen:Always up to chat. You can email me. You can hit me on Twitter. Text message me. LinkedIn as well. I'm always up to collaborate, meet smart, great people, help make introductions, connect people. Chris Erwin:All right. Awesome. Michael, this was a ton of fun. Thanks for being on the show. Michael Cohen:Thank you, Chris. Appreciate you having me. Chris Erwin:All right. That was a really fun interview. As I said at the beginning, I think I've been trying to interview Michael for the past couple years, so thrilled that we could finally make it happen. All right, but a few quick points before we wrap up. We just had an awesome executive event at Gjelina in LA a few weeks ago. We brought together various livestream commerce executives for a panel. Included Popshop Live, Stage TEN, and MARKET. That was a lot of fun and the Gjelina rooftop never disappoints. It was great to see a lot of you there. We do have another executive event coming up in New York in early November. More on that to come, but there'll probably be an event in advance of that as well, maybe around VidCon, so stay tuned. As always, if you want to attend our events or learn more or interested in being a sponsor, ping us at hello@wearerockwater.com. And then we always love to hear from our listeners. If you have any feedback or any ideas for guests, shoot us a note at tcupod@wearerockwater.com. All right, that's it, everybody. Thanks for listening. Chris Erwin:The Come Up is written and hosted by me, Chris Erwin, and is a production of RockWater Industries. Please rate and review this show on Apple podcast and remember to subscribe wherever you listen to our show. And if you really dig us, feel free to forward The Come Up to a friend. You can sign up for our company newsletter at wearerockwater.com/newsletter, and you could follow us on Twitter @TCUpod. The Come Up is engineered by Daniel Tureck. Music is by Devon Bryant. Logo and branding is by Kevin Zazzali, and special thanks to Alex Zirin and Eric Kenigsberg from the Rockwater team. 

This interview features Dev Sethi, Head of Sports at Instagram. We discuss being separated from his twin in highschool, his side door into sports at YouTube, launching the first sports MCN at Whistle, why NIL is this century's most important breakthrough for athletes, why he left the incredible team at Complex for Instagram, and the metaverse's impact on the personalization of sports.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. Dev Sethi:One of the things that I love sharing with the teams that I've managed, and the individuals I've managed and that's important to me is how do you empower those team members' voices, whether you're to 23 and out of college with no work experience, or 35 and have been in social, and digital, or in sports for decades plus, we all see what we do, our industry, what's happening differently than anybody else, and almost by sheer virtue of who you are and the life experiences that we all bring to these jobs. So if I'm, as a manager, as a team leader, able to create an environment or a safe space for people to share, that's how we're going to get better. Chris Erwin:This week's episode features Dev Sethi, Head of Sports at Instagram. So Dev was born in the DC metro area, the first generation immigrants from India. Then in high school, Dev's life journey took a big turn after a traumatic family event and some wise words from a teacher which inspired him to become school president and captain of both the baseball and basketball teams. Dev then went on to Notre Dame, and soon after found a side door into sports media at YouTube's new partnership. He then left to help build digital communities at publishers like Whistle and Complex. But after a heart-to-heart with his mom, Dev reverted course, and returned to big tech as Head of Sports at Instagram. Chris Erwin:Today, Dev is shaping the future of sports fandom. Some highlights of our chat include being separated from his twin in high school, launching the first sports MCN, why NIL is this century's most important breakthrough for athletes, and the metaverse's impact on the personalization of sports. I've known Dev for over five years. He's one of the sharpest and kindest minds in the digital verse, I'm grateful to help share his story. All right, let's get to it. Dev, thanks for being on the podcast. Dev Sethi:Thank you for having me, nice way to spend my Wednesday afternoon. Chris Erwin:Yes. And appreciate it because I think you had some last minute dental work that was just done this morning, is that right? Can you still talk? Dev Sethi:Yeah. I don't know if folks are going to consume this entirely audio or even visual, but got last minute dental work done this morning so part of my mouth is still numb, Chris might see me drool out one of the sides of my mouth. But hopefully, I'm not slurring my speech too badly, and I promise you, if I am, it's because it's because of the Novocaine, it's not because of any other reasons. Oh, here we go. Chris Erwin:Well, Dev, what I can say is I think you sound great, and I don't think many of our listeners will be able to see the video, but you look great as well, as always. So you're good to go for my book. Dev Sethi:Making me blush already. Okay, let's do this thing. Chris Erwin:All right. So with that, Dev, let's rewind a bit and let's talk about where you grew up, your childhood interests and if there may any glimpses into what you were going to do in your sports media career from an early age, in some of our prep chats, you're telling me about growing up in the DC metro area, is that right? Dev Sethi:That is correct. And it's actually where I'm currently based as well, but grew up in Nolan, Virginia, literally adjacent to Washington DC. My parents are immigrants from India and that's where they ultimately ended up settling. So I'm certain that folks that are listening to your podcast can sympathize with me being a long suffering Washington area sports fan, that's basically epitomized my experience being a sports fan in this area, but grew up here and had a great time. It's actually quite a diverse area, and for those who have been to Nolan, Virginia and the DMV overall, it's changed quite a bit since I was a kid, it's virtually night and day how much this area has evolved over time. Chris Erwin:Your early household, growing up, were your parents into sports, immigrating from India? Did they have ties to the US leagues, and sports programs, or international? What was that like? Dev Sethi:Yeah, nothing prior to them arriving on these shores. My father was a sports fan and played sports growing up, but very different sports obviously in his own country than the US. But for certain listeners who I'm certain have had the same experience as I've had, but sports was and is an incredibly powerful way to assimilate into a new place, whether it's a new community, a new state, or let alone a new country. And so my father quickly adopted American sports as an interest, a hobby, an enthusiasm. And again, for those who are familiar with this area as much, there is a thriving Indian community or South Asian community in the DMV. And one of sort of its rallying cries was and is sports. Dev Sethi:And so, I have a lot of great fond childhood memories of going to Washington watch parties, and when you're showing up for Thanksgiving, the guys show up early, because they want to watch all three games on Thanksgiving before anyone starts feasting. And it just really was a big part of my growing up. And I think a great way for my parents to get comfortable in what was then an unknown environment for them, So it's a really big part of, I think, my personal history as well as my parents history. Chris Erwin:And did you have siblings that were also consumers of sports as well? Dev Sethi:I have an older brother who is four years older. He's not in this industry, so he will likely never listen to it so I can trash his athletic gifts. I think he played soccer and basketball but sort of gave it up early-ish in his life to focus on being more of an academic, which is why he's a lot smarter than I am. But I also have a twin brother who is equally a sports junkie, a passionate fan of pretty much all things sports. And he and I played basketball and baseball growing up together, and we were watching sports ourselves. So a very big sports house so I like to joke that I missed out on all the Disney movies like Cinderella and all those kinds of movies Beauty and the Beast, I have watched virtually none of them because on Friday, Saturday and Sundays, we normally have a sporting game on TV. Chris Erwin:I've known you for a few years now. And I don't think I knew that you were a twin. I'm also a twin as well. Did you know that about me? Dev Sethi:I did not know that about you, wow. Identical over fraternal? Chris Erwin:We are fraternal, but we look a lot alike. He took a very different career path than me, he's in the military, 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, ranger qualified, so he's just at a physical level that is well beyond where I'm at. But it's funny, thinking of growing up with him, I grew up in my family, we didn't watch a lot of sports, but we played a lot of sports. My brother and I were very athletic and active growing up. So when you said on Friday, Saturdays and Sundays, you weren't watching Disney movies because you are consuming, my brother and I, we would get up at 6:00 AM and go hit the basketball courts at like 6:30 or 7:00 on a Saturday. As soon as it was like my parents were up and we were allowed to get out of the house. That was what was fun, was having a twin, you always had someone to play with. Dev Sethi:Yeah. I don't know if I saw those early hours on the weekends very often as a kid, but to your point, having a partner in crime in more ways than one, and someone who literally is an activity partner. It's actually interesting for he and I, and he would attest to this, so growing up, I hated basketball and I loved baseball and he hated baseball and loved basketball. And you'll appreciate this as a twin and with your parents, my dad said, "Well, tough shit. I'm not driving you all to a million different activities, you're going to do these things together." Dev Sethi:And so, we ended up participating in these sports together. And again, the irony of it all is that I love basketball now and played it through high school and then intramurals in college, and he played baseball through high school as well. And so just one of these deals where sort of the forcing function of, "Hey, this is sort of you're a package deal." And parents aren't only chauffeurs, let alone when they've got two the same age that have various interests. But no, we played a ton of sports growing up, and to your point, hit the park and go play pickup together because you already got two out of the five people you need for a team, right? Chris Erwin:It's funny you say that, Dev, because I still give my parents, to this day, flack for not letting me do travel soccer. I was really good. And they were like, "No, Sundays are for going to church and other family activities." And I was like, "I don't need you guys to drive me. I have other other friends' parents that'll drive me." And I could have been this great star, but that's a... I'll leave the rest of that story for my therapist. A question that I have for you is you go to Notre Dame, and did you have an intent of getting into sports media when you were going to school and thinking about when you wanted to graduate or were you thinking about something else? Dev Sethi:I had, and I'm assuming I am like many former and current college students, where I really had no idea what I wanted to do for a living. And sports as a profession, as it were, was nowhere near my radar. The internships that I had in college, I think the closest experience I had to working in sports during college was an internship in SAP's marketing department. And SAP was a sponsor of Ernie Els and Chad Campbell, who were two then prominent golfers me. Ernie Els' just awesome and probably a hall of fame golfer, and that was the closest I got to sort of a sports experience in an internship in college. Dev Sethi:So yeah, to answer your question, I had no aspirations, I had no foresight or vision into how to even break into that. I knew I necessarily wasn't going to go the path of wanting to be an agent or something like that, which would've sort of required a much different kind of education. I really just had the fandom of sports in college and really didn't know what I wanted to do when I graduated. No better illustration than the fact that I was a marketing major but I was also an education minor, because I have a sort of a side, if not hobby, passion around the profession of education and the industry behind education, and it sort of uses a different part of your brain than taking business classes. So I had a number of interests, but really, no direction, I guess, when it came to career stuff at that age. Chris Erwin:So what you just said about your interest in the educational field and that you also, I think, did a minor there at while at Notre Dame, where do you think that stems from? Dev Sethi:I had some very influential grade school teachers growing up who I thought really shaped who I am today, and also, where I am today in terms of just how I've been able to sort of to grow and have somewhat of a tenure in this industry now. But I do think having had such a positive impact from those educators at the high school level. Dev Sethi:It's funny, but the education minor, I needed to take some electives. And I took a course from a relatively new professor at Notre Dame and the course was actually called creativity in the classroom. Whereas you're at business classes that have 50, 60, 150 people in them, and you're using again, on one side of your brain, this class experience was incredibly intimate, it was maybe 12 people, it was focusing on a sort of a unique aspect of education in the classroom. I loved every second of it. And the professor, I thought, crafted the course in a way that wasn't rigid, it actually had a lot of flexibility to who was taking the class. And she was a great listener herself, which I think is, I don't want to say a rare trait for a professor, but I haven't experienced many professors who are nimble in that regard in terms of how they shape their coursework in a semester. Dev Sethi:And so anyways, I fell in love with the experience of taking a class that was so different than what I was normally used to taking. And that basically became, "Hey, well, I took that in the fall. Let me take another education-related course in the spring." And before I knew it, I was getting eligible for a minor, so. Chris Erwin:It's amazing how intersecting with great people in your life, it could be a professor within the educational department that makes you then want to specialize, it could be someone, a founder, CEO at a company that then recruits you to their vision, or someone in the industry that gets you excited about transforming your career. I hear that, that's an important to note is that these little human touches can be so transformational. Are you still in touch with this professor? Dev Sethi:I am. She's actually, really, the only college professor that I remain in touch with, and she still lives around Notre Dame. And so, when I have the occasion to come back and visit, we'll always grab dinner, or drinks, or lunch, or something like that. And I'm very quick to reiterate to her how important and influential she was to my experience, say in the same way an English teacher, who had never actually taught me, was instrumental in how I grew as a person and as a student in high school. And she's actually, now that I'm back in the DC area after a long time away, her and I are actually grabbing lunch next Friday. Chris Erwin:Dev, speaking of this high school teacher which had a big impact on you, there's a bigger story behind this that relates to the expulsion of your twin brother. Why don't you tell us about that? Dev Sethi:Yeah. I think I'm more comfortable telling this story because fortunately, my twin brother's life wasn't totally derailed by this expulsion and he actually works at meta now, which is kind of funny, so we're technically colleagues even though I've no idea what he does for a living. But no, we were juniors in high school and he got kicked out of our high school 10 days into our junior year. And it was under somewhat controversial circumstances. My mother was pretty furious about the circumstances and she wanted me to leave that high school too. Dev Sethi:And it was this teacher, who actually had never taught me before, I had not taken one of her classes. She pulled me aside one day while all this was going down, she said, "Hey, can you come by my class after school for 10 minutes?" I was like, "Sure, why not?" I barely knew her. And she sat me down and she said, "I know this is a tough time for you and your family," yada, yada, yada, "you don't realize this yet, but this could actually end up being one of your biggest blessings in disguise." and what she meant by that. Dev Sethi:And what I discovered and learned after I ended up deciding to stay at that school was, my experience in high school, my personality, just my being at that high school had always been inextricably linked to me and my twin brother. It was always Dev and Raj, it wasn't just Dev or Raj. And she sort of was reiterating, you have a chance to essentially be your own person, and to carve your own path and pursue the things that you may want to do, and not necessarily always have that association. Dev Sethi:And she was dead on. I ended up doing things my junior and senior year that I never would've thought I would've done. I ended up running for and winning high school president, which, if you know my personality at all, that's definitely not me. But sort of threw my hat in the ring, was captain of our baseball and basketball teams, did a number of extracurriculars. And it's funny because by the time I graduated, there were hundreds of students who had no idea I even had a twin brother, which I think, again, reiterates my then teacher's point. Dev Sethi:And so, just one of these sort of inflection points in my life where I don't know if I would've made that decision had it not been for her, and someone who had literally no relationship with me but at least thought enough about my wellbeing and my circumstance to share with me her perspective, and it ended up changing my... I mean, I cannot overstate that, it literally changed my life. So I don't think I would've gotten into Notre Dame had it not been because of that conversation, and all that stuff, and the things that happened, I don't think I would've been on that same path at all. And I would argue my twin brother would acknowledge that too. Chris Erwin:Wow. That is an incredible story. We spend so much money on our college and graduate school educations, access to all these world class professors and teachers yet some of my most prominent memories in the classroom, date back to when I was in middle school. And I really remember very prominently, a US history teacher that we had, Mr. Galante, everyone who has gone through his classroom has stories about him. There was no one that was as passionate and cared so much about his students learning. The way he would describe the American Revolution or the civil war, it made every learning experience incredible and fun. In contrast to you, I'm really not in touch with many of my professors, maybe just one or two from business school that I kind of see on LinkedIn every now and then, but it's pretty awesome that you're able to maintain that. Dev Sethi:Yeah. To your point, the fact that we're talking about these educators, we're dating ourselves, as I'm dating myself decades after they spoke, they last connected with us in the classroom, I think says everything and also I think it almost reiterates that education is a bit of a lifelong process. And I know that I'll actually never stop learning from both of those people in any of the interactions that I have, but obviously, a bit of a different relationship now that I'm a full-fledged adult at least in some parts of my life, and you have different types of conversations. But I'm very lucky to have had those people in my life. Chris Erwin:Yeah. Look, and I think what you just touched on is a broader theme of this particular podcast, Dev. You had mentioned the intersection of social and sport and just how fast this world changes on a weekly and monthly basis. So in talking about learning, it's you have to keep your learning curve steep. You've been in this industry for many years now, Dev, and you're in a senior role. And I think that people can say, "Oh, well, Dev knows everything that there is to know." And it's like, that's not true. Things are literally changing on a daily basis. So I like that when we were prepping for this conversation, you're like, "I acknowledge this, I'm the aware of what's happening, and for me to be effective, and to guide a team, and serve as my talent and business partners best it's like, I got to be learning every day and come in with a beginner's mind, so we'll talk more about that. I am curious, so what was your first role right after undergrad? Dev Sethi:Yeah, it was this interesting experience where... and I actually already had a job offer fortunately lined up, going to my last semester of college at a very different company, doing a very different job. It was at the Aon corporation and it was actually doing human resources and communications. And so, that's where I was ultimately going to spend my first years out of college, and this little company called Google decided they were going to show up on Notre Dame campus to meet with prospective candidates for an array of jobs they were hiring for, and this was back in 2006. And they came on campus, I was lucky enough to get an interview with them and it actually ended up being the worst interview I've ever given and I- Chris Erwin:Okay. We got to pause there. Wait, why was it the worst interview you've ever given? Dev Sethi:I'm not gaslighting anybody or anything, this is objectively the worst interview I've ever given my life. So they came on campus and I thought I was really smart having taken all of one psychology class during my college career. And I was like, "Oh, I'll pick the last session of the day on their interview schedule because a recency effect, I'll be the most memorable candidate," yada, yada, yada. And I got a call maybe three hours before the interview from the interviewer saying, "Hey, we actually mistakenly booked our flights to leave out of Chicago, not South Bend. And for those who don't know South Bend's about, I think, 90 miles or 90 minutes from Chicago, TODR, we have to leave early to catch our flight so we have to miss your interview slot, how can we make it up to you? Dev Sethi:And I said, I actually wasn't even feeling well that day. And I said, "Hey, no worries happens. Why don't we just do a phone interview whenever you get back to Mountain View." And we set up a phone interview, I had my twin brother and one of my best friends in high school visiting me in town that following weekend for a football game. And so, on a Friday, I get my car and I drive to some abandoned parking lot so I can take this hour long, two phone interviews, 30 minutes of piece. Well, Chris, I imagine you know this feeling because of what you do, who you are, and how expert you are, but the feeling that I had that maybe some people can relate to is when you're talking for that long and you're basically bullshitting on the questions they give you, but you know that they know that you're bullshitting, that's what the entire hour of this interview felt like. Dev Sethi:And I remember, and I kid you not, I hung up the phone. I drove back to my apartment with my brother and my friend were waiting. And I legitimately said that was the worst interview of my entire life, good thing I've got another job lined up. Let's party and have a great time this weekend going to the football game. And I got a call back a week later from Google saying, "Hey, we've enjoyed our time together. We'd love to fly out to Mountain View for in person interviews." And those, fortunately, went a little bit better and I got offered a job, but I still maintained to this day, to anybody who asks, that the only reason they gave me the opportunity to interview in person was because they felt so bad about canceling my first interview and so they gave me a second shot at it that went much better. But it was brutal. I mean, and that is exactly how it went down. And sorry, this is a very long-winded answer. Chris Erwin:No, it's interesting. Dev Sethi:But yeah, no, so true story. And even to answer your original question, we essentially were interviewing for general roles within two parts of the org. One was AdWords, which is essentially Google suite of sales products and ad products, and one was AdSense, which was Google's sort of publishing network and publishing tools. And so, I didn't know until, I want to say, maybe a couple months or weeks before I started, what role I was even going to fulfill and hearing my mom's voice in here saying," Hey, it's Google. You should probably try." Okay. I'll fly in a little bit blind and sort of see what these roles are about, see what that industry's about because this is 2007 when, again, our world, an industry looked a lot different. Chris Erwin:Something I deal with daily and something that just talking to different founders and executives, they also deal with all the time is imposter syndrome. So when you say like, "Oh, Chris, because of your role, RockWater, you're supposed to be an expert advisory firm. We're talking like we advise a lot of the smartest clients in this space. And so then we're supposed to show up and be smarter than them, that can put a lot of pressure on you. Chris Erwin:And so I actually flip that around in saying we're smart, we're thoughtful, but we believe there's so much to learn from everyone that we do business with. And I think if everyone goes through life and goes through business with that mindset, that's going to force you to be honest, and self aware, and give the best advice, and also learn the most to really understand where your clients and your business partners are at. And I think that's what sets us apart. But Dev, I'm bad at interviews. I mean, I remember really, various bad had interviews from college, but in contrast to you, I actually didn't get the job offer. There was no flying me out, so you clearly did something [crosstalk 00:22:56]- Dev Sethi:I still don't know how off the skin in my teeth, I got offered a position at that company. But I hear you on imposter syndrome too, and to your point, there's too much of where, I'm guessing is the case for you as would be the case for me, you could spend eight hours of your day just on Twitter reading about the industry, let alone participating in the industry. And so, you almost got to trust that information's going to come to you and that hopefully, you've surrounded yourself with a network of colleagues, friends, individuals who can help share their perspective and thus cultivate your own perspective to a degree, because yeah, it's too hard to keep up with it all. I mean, there's so many things happening on a literally hourly basis, let alone a daily basis. Chris Erwin:So Dev, you are a strategist at Google for around four years, but then you made a transition to be a senior strategist and overseeing new partnerships and development at YouTube between 2011, 2013. So I think this is where you first began to focus in sports, entertainment, and lifestyle verticals, targeting new creators, and doing a few other things there. Was that kind of like, as you would call it, your side entrance or backdoor into sports media? Dev Sethi:Absolutely was. And now, as I've described it previously, a side door into the industry of sports so to speak, because I was at Google, I'd spent a number of years in their sales and consulting arm, which, unbeknownst to me at the time, actually has provided me a lot of great perspective about the industry I'm in just through a very, again, different aspect of the ecosystem and literally, the advertisers who were helping money into our ecosystem. Dev Sethi:But it's about a little over half, I think, my tenure at Google there, one of my dearest friends who I've had the great fortune of working with a couple of times now, she mentioned that she had gone over to YouTube to focus on a different role actually within sports, and she said that the vibe just felt different, it felt a little more start-upy, interest points, verticals that I was sort of more keenly attuned to, whether it was sports specifically, or to your point, lifestyle relative to some of the clients I was working with on the sales side that, my last experience was in the finance vertical, prior to that, it was on an agency for portfolio business. Dev Sethi:So represented this opportunity, something different, and maybe even align a little bit with some of my passions. And that's where I was introduced, again, to at the time and continues to be one of the leading social media/video platforms in the world, and starting to learn more about that part of the industry. And also, again, focusing on sports and working with individuals, organizations who were producing content that was applicable, if not a good fit, for our platform. Dev Sethi:But as you shared dates earlier, that was 2011 were our industry was in its infancy, I guess you could call it, even though it was only a decade ago. I joke that YouTube hadn't even introduced monetization program when I first got there, a fully fledged one, Instagram was photo only, Snapchat didn't exist, Verizon hadn't spent a billion dollars on their own platform and their own content. All this stuff has come and gone in a relatively short period of time, and YouTube was in a much different place back then too, as was the industry, and thus, the conversations that I was having about that platform. Chris Erwin:I do remember because in 2012 is when I joined Big Frame. And that was, I think, recently, after Google and YouTube, I launched their Original Channel program, a 200 million dedicated fund to help fund better quality content on the platform to attract more advertisers. You were there during that period, so that must have been exciting. And I think that you were to see the different digital media brands and publishers that were being built from this funding and the complimentary seed capital that was being raised. And so I think, after Google, you decided, you're like, okay, I've been at one of the largest video platforms, but now I'm going to transition over to work for these publisher brands. And so you left, I believe to go to Whistle Sports in 2013, what was the impetus for that? Dev Sethi:Yeah, the impetus for me leaving the cozy confines, as I'll put it, at Google and YouTube because there's one thing that a company like that does, it really puts you in a comfort zone and really makes you feel like you're enjoying the employee experience to a large degree. So the same colleague who shared the opportunity around YouTube because her and I actually started together at Google together. She had made the move to YouTube. She said, "Hey, you should check things out on the side of the aisle. I did, took a job there. She actually left to join this then small sports media startup called Whistle Sports. And she basically asked me if I wanted to come over and be her partner in crime and build this thing together. And at the time, what we were focusing on was being the world's first sports-focused collective and multiplatform network, that was one part of the business. Dev Sethi:Another part of the business was sort of an analytics consultancy given you could gain a lot of meaningful data and insights about sports on digital and social through working with a collective and all the data they have on their audiences through social media, and then one part content brand, which I'm quick to say I had very little to do with, given the remit was really around partnerships and operations. Dev Sethi:But it was this interesting moment in time. And again, I know you'll attest from your time at Big Frame where you have a ton of creators and organizations who are still trying to understand the value they can gain and extract from being on social and digital, what their content strategy should be, what their audience engagement strategy should be, how does that marry with other parts of their business, what are those best practices, what are the things that an individual content creator doesn't have a muscle memory for, whether it's sales, production, et cetera, how do you create value? And that's what we focused on when I was at Whistle and doing partnerships and operations is big a real partner in their businesses. And hopefully, with a little bit of expertise having come from the walls of YouTube, but knowing that the industry was growing quite rapidly, YouTube was quickly becoming one of a number of platforms where people could build and monetize an audience. Chris Erwin:When you went there, was Michael Cohen working there, when you first started. Dev Sethi:Michael Cohen was a consultant at the time. And he and I got closely acquainted in the work that we were doing together. Chris Erwin:Yeah. Speaking of shared history. So Michael Cohen and I, I met him, I think in 2007, when I was interviewing at a boutique investment bank in New York City, and he was one of the guys that interviewed me. We got to know one another. Yeah, this is well before the MCN days. He left the firm, I left the firm, I went to business school. When I graduated, I ended up going to Big Frame. And I remember Michael reached out and was asking me like, "What's this whole like YouTube, MCN, digital video thing that you've got into." And he was picking my brain for a couple years. And then I remember when he made the move to Whistle and I was really pumped for him. Early on in his tenure there, as you guys were thinking about some different VOD strategies, he engaged our firm. I think that's how I first met you, if I remember correctly, Dev Sethi:I think it was, we now have so many shared threads together, but I think that was the first introduction, was when either you had informally known him or even, he had formally brought you on to help consult for the business. But it's wild how the scene's coming full circle and now I'm on your podcast. Chris Erwin:To think back, all the shared history, how we've worked together and now you're on the show. But I think that's one of the beautiful things, if you were an early mover in digital video, just camaraderie of the people in this space and the shared war stories, it's really fun. And it's incredible how much history people have in such a very short amount of time because the space moves so quickly, but it's also like it's action packed and very intense, so the days, and the relationships just really fill up. Dev Sethi:I think you and I both get reminded probably on a daily, if not nearly daily basis, just how intimate the industry can feel. And because of these shared connections, these shared histories, I mean, folks who are member of VidCon when it wasn't at the Anaheim Convention Center and it was the basement of a hotel, that, again, wasn't very long ago, and just, again, a lot of that shared past. Dev Sethi:And actually, it makes me think ways in which I can pay some of that forward to some of my team members and other other colleagues, because for lack of a better term, you and I have been working with creators probably exponentially longer than most people today who are trying to tap into or engage the creator economy as it were. And you and I were working with these folks early days when that term barely even existed, and if not, was specific to a platform like a YouTuber as an example. And so, I think it just goes to show how far things have come, but also again, how shared that history can be and again, how intimate the industry can be. I don't want to say we're OGs because I don't feel that way, but- Chris Erwin:I think it's okay to say we're OGs and I think this is not like patting ourselves on the back, but if you got into space in like the early 2010s, right around the Google Original Channels program, that's pretty early on. Dev Sethi:Definitely. And like I said, when I was there, they hadn't even created the full underpinnings of a monetization program, which the irony being fast forward to 2021, and they're a leader in terms of social video and monetization. So to me, 10 years, it's a long time, maybe the gray in my beard would indicate otherwise. One of the reasons I left those cozy confines was actually to force myself to experience this industry through a different perspective. And I don't want to say you get a narrow lens working at a platform, but it's very easy to view the world in one very specific way. Dev Sethi:And I remember talking to my boss at the time, great guy who I still have a close relationship with, and I was letting him know that I was going to make this jump to go from behemoth to small startup across the country because I also entailed to move from SF in New York, and one of the reasons I cited was I want to gain enough experience, ideally expertise, but enough perspective so that if I ever decide to come back, I'll be able to deliver even more value to a YouTube having had the empathy of sitting across the aisle, across the counter, so to speak, and having really had my hands on this industry in a much different way than just the platform. I'm the provider, so to speak. Everyone's coming to work for me or coming to work with me, they wanted to gain that kind of perspective. Chris Erwin:I think that experience at Whistle and then at Complex, which we'll talk about in a moment, has really made you much better equipped for the job that you now have at Instagram. I think that's very well said. 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 guest, 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. Chris Erwin:You're at Whistle for, call it, nearly three years and then you make the jump to become chief of staff at Complex working under Rich Antoniello, who is incredible, and then also with the rest of their leadership team, including Christian Basler, who was also interviewed on this podcast. Again, what was the impetus for going over to Complex, and what was some of the work that you were doing there? Dev Sethi:Yeah, and Rich and Christian are two of my favorite people. I'm very lucky to have crossed paths with them and had a chance to work with them. For I'm certain many of your listeners I've met them before, but if they haven't, it's worth trying to get some time with them because they're just amazing people and brilliant minds in our space. The impetus wasn't as straightforward as it might appear on my LinkedIn profile, but I actually left Whistle in the late fall of 201, and a big reason why I left was because I actually felt like I had given everything I had physically, mentally, emotionally to the job and to the team. And it was my mother who actually sort of called it out on a phone call. And she was like, "You seem like you're always tired, you seem like you don't have much energy for anything else and maybe you don't seem as happy as you normally." Dev Sethi:And I don't think the happiness comment was a direct correlate to the work I was doing but first time in New York City, first time in a startup, I describe them both the same way. They are fun, they are exciting, they are intense, and they are exhausting all at the same time. And so, it was probably burning of the candle on both ends for a couple of years. And towards the end of '15, I remember having a conversation with Michael and basically coming to the conclusion that if I didn't want to be the guy who led my part of the company into 2016, then I need to do the right thing and hand this off and transition it and take care of the business and take care of myself. And so, I gave them, I think, three months' notice. I transitioned my role, leading that part of the team to one of my very dear friends, close friends in my first hire at Whistle, his name's Josh Grunberg. Chris Erwin:Oh, Josh is great. Dev Sethi:Yeah, and I know you got the chance to meet him. Anyways, transitioned the role and then left New York and headed back down to the DC where I'm originally from and just really enjoyed my life for a year. My mother had been sick at the time, she's fortunately much better now, but it sort of put things in perspective. And I wasn't saddled with adult responsibilities like a mortgage or kids at the time, so felt like as good a time as I need to take a break, which had you asked me prior to that, would I ever leave something for nothing? I would've said, "No effing way." But it felt like the right decision. I took that year off, did that for, it was almost a year and I was thinking towards just the fall of 2016, that I was ready to jump headfirst into work again. Dev Sethi:And it was actually a buddy of mine who shared that Complex was hiring, its chief of staff role. And I wasn't married too whether I wanted to run a team or be an IC, and I didn't really care about if I came back to New York or not, to be honest. But what I stated that were really important to me were one, working for somebody who could teach me something and who I could partner with and learn from, and the other sort of must-have was whether it was on a leadership team or in the front office, whatever the case would be, working with people with whom I could collaborate strongly, be influential, but also learn something from. Dev Sethi:And the reason I even used the word learning a couple of times is because, at times at Whistle, especially towards the end there, you really had to seek out learning opportunities because you could spend your entire day focused on your part of the business and there were some amazing, amazingly intelligent and talented people there who I was fortunately and sort of like through osmosis, able to learn from, but I knew in a new role, I wanted those things. And so, this guy said, "Hey, Complex is hiring their first chief of staff, you should put your hat in the ring." I did, got a chance to meet Rich, we had two conversations and he offered me the job. Before I knew it, I was packing up my things heading back to New York City, so it all happened pretty quickly, to be honest. Chris Erwin:That really strongly parallels what Christian told me, which I think... He's like a young media savant and I think he had been working at a European-based media company for like eight to 10 years. And then he was like, "I need to take at least a year off, I'm tired, I'm burned out." Similar to kind of what you were feeling after Whistle where it's like, "Hey, you're going to take a year off." But Rich reached out to him, I think called him, set up a coffee meeting and because Rich is so magnetic, he essentially, very quickly convinced Christian, like, "You're going to come over to Complex and we're going to build something awesome together." And he didn't end up really taking any time off, I don't even think he took two or three months off. Chris Erwin:But I thought it was really thoughtful of you and I think this is a theme that keeps coming up more and more is maintaining your mental health and sanity, not only in your overall career but particularly in the industry which we operate in, which is digital media and entertainment, where it moves so quickly and things are changing so fast that, there's concern that if you take time off, you're going to miss the boat, you're not going to learn, you're not going to have an opportunity to step back into the ring. I don't think that's the case. I think that you actually need to refresh and energize because of how demanding it is, what we do, and I think it makes you better, better for it. Dev Sethi:Christian and Rich, again, they're such good people, but Chris, this better than anybody, they are completely different. They could not be any different in terms of personality, which I think was amazing to actually see them for just partnership, where they recognized the strength in differing perspectives, different personalities, and how to operate the business. And I just thought it's really cool, it takes kind of its own sort of self-awareness. Chris Erwin:No, I like what you've said. I think great leaders have to find where do they fill the gaps in their team and where do they find complementary skills and energies and personalities. Because if you're just trying to replicate yourself, that's not how you build towards a bigger vision and a bigger opportunity. Clearly, Rich has done that with Christian in building out the rest of the team. And I think about that often, we always tell our clients and my own team at RockWater, we're not necessarily looking for well-rounded people, we're looking for a well-rounded team. Now, in the beginning, you kind of have to have some basic functions that are covered by everybody when you're lean and we definitely are, but as you grow, it's a very different mantra. And I heard that when I was... I think literally my first day of business school and they described the types of candidates that they were looking for and why everyone in that room, sitting in this large hundreds of person assembly, they're like, "You are a very well-rounded class because individually, all of you guys are incredible." And that has always stuck with me. Dev Sethi:You're reminding me of one of the things that I love sharing with the teams that I've managed, and the individuals I've managed, and that's important to me, is how do you empower those team members' voices? I've said whether you're 23 and out of college with no work experience or 35 and have been in social and digital sports for decades plus, we all see what we do, our industry, what's happening differently than anybody else and almost by sheer virtue of who you are and the life experiences that we all bring to these jobs. So if I'm as a manager, as a team leader, able to create an environment or a safe space for people to share, that's how we're going to get better, to your point. Well, maybe not well-rounded people, but well-rounded teams because you have diverse perspectives. And so, whether you're that 23-year-old or you're that 50-year-old, your participation, isn't just appreciated, it's really required in order for us to get better as teams, as organizations, et cetera. Chris Erwin:Very well said. All right, so Dev, so after Complex, I think you leave in around 2018 and you head over to Instagram, where you go over to become the Head of Sports. So tell us about, again, what caused that transition? What was your initial mandate when you went over there? Dev Sethi:There's a theme about if you want to call this a career, so to speak, I don't know if I call it that, but if there is a theme or a through-line, it's one I've been the recipient of a lot of great sort of fortune and also the recipient of just great relationships that I've had because that job, as I told you with my colleague and friend who sort of helped recognize and identify opportunities for me, that happened twice, I was actually reached out to, by a friend of mine in the industry who had worked at an agency, Octagon, who I had kept in touch with over the years. He had been in Instagram and my predecessor, the former Head of Sports was departing for a different role at the company and this role was going to be vacant. And for whatever reason, weren't going to consider my friend, so he basically said, "Hey, we've talked about working in the industry together, we like and respect each other, we could probably work well together, do you want to throw your hat in the ring?" Dev Sethi:And I did, and months later got a job offer to take on this role with very ambiguous title and perhaps even a more ambiguous remit, but one that was sort of mine to carve out to a degree. But even taking it back to my decision to leave YouTube, it's funny because everything I told my then boss about the reasons I was leaving, came true in the sense that, I gained this, I would call somewhat unique perspective. Having worked at Whistle, having worked at Complex while having the tech background and then having it come full circle and join Instagram and perform this role. Those things did come true, just the only thing I changed was the employer. I didn't go back to Google and YouTube, I went to Facebook and Instagram. And so, just kind of funny how that works out as far as the remit, the objectives of things I work on, I sort of like to describe it as really acting as a connective tissue between my company, its objectives, and priorities, and then the sports industry and its priorities and objectives. And how am I that connective tissue? How might that bridge be able to make those things work cohesively? Dev Sethi:And so, for Instagram as all well know, they're focused on things like just being relevant to young people, to having people use their service, both as consumers, but also as creators, they care about products like reels and more broadly speaking commerce, even AR, VR to a degree, and they care about being meaningful to that creator economy, which I know we touched on earlier as well. Dev Sethi:And so, understanding those priorities and also understanding the unique priorities that live within the sports vertical, how am I able to marry those. And for sports, as you well know, the needs, the opportunities, et cetera, they're different depending on who you are in that industry. What the NBA needs out of social media or is looking to do on social media is very different than what LeBron James wants to do or is very different than what Bryce Young at Alabama wants to leverage these platforms for. And so, how do I represent and advocate for those needs and interests, while also driving the objectives of my company? I view that as broadly speaking my remit. And on a day-to-day basis, it presents very, very differently on any given day. Dev Sethi:Talking yesterday with colleagues about how can we... for folks who don't know there is another Olympics coming up in a few short months here, how do we work to empower athletes participating at the Winter Olympics, to be able to express themselves and engage their fans on social, in a very unique circumstance where the games are in China. So focusing on that to today, obviously, doing this podcast, but also working on an incubator to work with the next generation of athletes and creators at HBCUs, a very storied and proud and critically important part of our ecosystem within sports and college athletics. How do we work with those athletes at those universities, who, again, a community that's largely been underrepresented, how do we work to equip, and empower, and educate them on the value our platforms can bring those athletes, especially in the era of NIL name image likeness, which happened on July 1st. So again, I guess my point is a gamut, focused on, it's very broad at times, but largely speaking it's, again, that sort of bridge between priorities and how can I be an advocate for what sports needs in order to thrive and flourish on social. Chris Erwin:It sounds like a very exciting, and as you described, a very broad mandate. There's much more than you could do in a simple day's time, so I think a question that would be helpful is, looking at the modern creator economy and thinking about the different partners that are out there. As you described, the NBA has a different need than say, LeBron James or different talent personalities, and then with also different events around the corner, like the Olympics being hosted in China and what does that mean for the Instagram experience here, for US-based creators and US-based sports fans? What are some of the things that you're seeing that Instagram is actually building for, where like, "Hey, this is what creators want, or this is what consumers are demanding and we need to better support this need." Can you give a few highlights of some examples of that work? Dev Sethi:I was just having a conversation with some folks at Endeavor, not even an hour and a half ago, and this term of creator economy, which I'm guessing, Chris, you'll agree is sort of the buzziest term in our industry of 2021, in terms of how we're thinking about it from an Instagram perspective... I'll give you the sports example and then I'll give you sort of the product example. The sports example is, the investments that my team has made in trying to empower the ecosystem around college athletes in the era of NIL. And for those who probably don't know, NIL as an acronym stands for name image and likeness, as sort of a moment in time, as a value. It basically means that college athletes, as of July 1st, for the first time, by and large, could monetize their name, image, and likeness, which also extended to social media and the ability for you to monetize your audience, be able to work with brands, et cetera. Dev Sethi:And the true first in the history of college athletics, July 1st will go down as one of the most important days in the history of college athletics in my opinion. So from a sports perspective, how do we empower the ecosystem around college athletes, to ready themselves for this moment, by providing education, by providing resources, by providing incubators like the one I referenced earlier, to support this ecosystem in a world where athletes, especially youth athletes, can really be full-on content creators and embrace the totality of our platforms for the first time. And so, again, that didn't exist seven months ago, and now, you've got to bite at the apple to illustrate the value an Instagram, or Facebook, or YouTube can provide to these athletes in an environment where they're actually probably more interested and inclined to listen and learn than may ever have been before, because there's a real economic opportunity available to them that wasn't there before. Dev Sethi:So that's sort of the sports perspective, and how I'm thinking about some of my objectives and things that are happening around us that we want to have some vision and strategy against. The other side of it, at least in terms of what Instagram's focused on in the creator economy, a primary focus on safety and wellbeing, making sure that you as a creator, a user have a positive and safe experience on our platforms. And this year, Instagram has released a number of safety tools to help preserve that safe experience on our platform. Going towards new product development like the ability for audiences to tip their favorite creators during a livestream, which I know is probably more catching up the parody on some other platforms, but we know is an important part of a creator-user experience, in ways in which creators can monetize. Dev Sethi:We recently announced last month that we're building essentially a branded content marketplace, where brands have the opportunity to discover creators on our platform and potentially do business with them right then and there. To have that occur on a platform, we know brands are spending their time looking for individuals to partner with, and creators are constantly looking for ways to gain opportunity and to stand out, us building a marketplace to do just that, something we've invested in recently. Chris Erwin:No, I really like that and thinking about, yes, Meta definitely has relationships with probably all of the largest brands, marketers on the planet, but something that Facebook has done really well is, enable really targeted marketing for these small and mid-size businesses that can't necessarily afford the 32nd TV spot. So it's like, "All right, you don't have $500,000 to spend, but you got $10,000 to spend, you can run a campaign on Facebook, targeting the clients that make the most sense and are most relevant for your business." And I like the idea that this marketplace would also enable the same, not just for running these paid media spots, but also for influencer marketing campaigns, but also something that you guys are really leaning into a lot, which is social commerce. Really enabling creators to sell product directly through the Facebook and Instagram shop product flows. Chris Erwin:And I think to do that, I think the brands and the creators need to come together and need a bit more support there. That's something that we've written extensively about at RockWater is like, "What is this product gap?" It's something that's really holding back the launch of the livestream commerce market in the US relative to that of China. So I think that this marketplace idea that you guys have is a step definitely in the right direction. And particularly as Instagram has so many different social commerce and also these programming products, it needs to be fueled by more collaborations. A couple of quick questions before we get to the rapid-fire and close this out, Dev, so one, some big announcements around Meta recently. Massive reorganization, $10 billion commitment to building out the Facebook Metaverse or this new virtual experience for the Facebook users and community, what does that mean for sports media? What does that mean for the partners that you work with? Is that something that you guys have an idea on? Are you helping to formulate the vision? Tell us about that. Dev Sethi:To me, it's exciting because, well, one, so much of this hasn't been written yet, but the potential for what the sports experience could look like at Meta, on our own platforms in the ways that I just described, but also in the Metaverse, the world is everyone's proverbial oyster in that regard, whether it's evolving the co-watching experience from how we experience it on social media today, to a more virtual environment, where we're able to co-watch a football game together, or we're rather able to play a game together, or if we just want to express ourselves in a unique way, let alone the monetization possibilities. And again, I don't want to speculate, but you can imagine the variety of ways in which monetization can come to bear in this new environment and participating in a Metaverse. Dev Sethi:I mean, again, I defer to the experts like yourself, who literally write newsletters on these sorts of things, but to me, it all means we can get really creative, our company, but the industry is going to get incredibly creative on that as it all comes to bear and who's going to be positively impacted. And in terms of my job, I guess specifically, I get to ideally represent them more opportunities for how organizations and individuals can work with our company, because you have the inherent value of it, you work with Instagram, then you work with Facebook, and maybe there's an interesting WhatsApp partnership, but it's this tremendous again, sort of holistic opportunity for individuals and orgs to partner with sports partnerships or other verticals and other teams in ways that may have felt fragmented in the past but I think just generally speaking allows us to delve into different areas, and hopefully do some really cool things together. Dev Sethi:Yeah, I've given you an example, the conversations even before I got here, with the NBC and the Olympics on Facebook and Instagram were very different in 2016 than they were in 2020. And now, imagine what those conversations look like in 2022 or 2024, and it's because of the evolution of the technology, the evolution of the platforms themselves, and the ways in which the brands and individuals want to engage their fans, which is probably the most important through-line of the entire thing. Chris Erwin:It's really interesting, I mean, that can be a whole separate show of just brainstorming, what does the virtual experience mean for sports fandoms of tomorrow? What younger generations want is the personalization of everything, personalization of watching sports, when, and how they want to consume it with the personalities that they care about. So you think about the in-person experience of being in the arena, being at game day, but how do you get that same excitement and energy level, but then also add to the experience of why people also like to watch sports from home, where they have their personalized social feed, and newsfeed, and maybe they have different camera angles that they're watching from their TV and from their phone. How can you put all those exciting dynamics together in this virtual environment and then, in addition, give the fans tools to express their fandom in new and exciting ways? Chris Erwin:So the same way of like, you're wearing the Jersey of your favorite sports team. What are some of the digital goods and digital fashion that you can express on game day and then maybe your outfit's rotating between every play or every quarter? The ideas are just really endless and really exciting. Dev Sethi:Absolutely, I feel like we're limited, I'm personally not being a very creative person, only limited by my creativity in the sense of everyone wants to point to a reference point, "Oh, this feels like it's the sims or this feels like something that I've seen before." Well, most of what's going to get created, no one's going to have necessarily seen before, the opportunities are essentially endless. And at the core of the metaverse and whoever participates in it, it's still fundamental that it's about communities that can connect with each other in virtual environments when they cannot be with each other in person. And that represents boundless opportunity, whether you're the NFL, whether you're trying to connect with your brothers in Savannah, whether I'm trying to connect with my twin brother who's down the road, that's still at the heart of it. And I think we're just going to see that be expressed and developed again, in a number of ways, hopefully much sooner than later. Chris Erwin:Well said. All right, so before we move on to the rapid-fire, I just want to give a closing notice, some kudos to you, Dev. As the listeners have heard, I have known you dating back, I think at least four or five years now. We've stayed in touch. And something that I just really appreciate is how gracious you are with your time and how gracious you are with helping people understand and get excited about all of the work in sports media and digital. And I think I follow some of the feedback that you've given us on our newsletters, the feedback that whenever we have a chance to talk on the phone or on a Zoom chat and just tracking your LinkedIn feed, you really evangelize your work and the spirit of digital media in a very positive some way and it's really appreciated. We've definitely noticed it, you have a demeanor that really points this whole industry towards a really great place and I'm really thankful for that, and I wanted to acknowledge that. Dev Sethi:No, thank you, I'd say you're being way too kind and I'm certain that you deliver a lot more value to this industry than I do in the seat that you sit in and then what you've put together and run but I appreciate it. I think there's many of us who have to rely on each other to continue to grow, educate ourselves, and collaborate because that's just sort of how big and gnarly this industry is. And so, you're obviously the center of the value that we all derive. And once you put together this podcast, and newsletter, the consultancy that you've built up, yeah, I just have a lot of gratitude for things that, frankly have broken my way, the core of it's just been, hopefully trying to be a decent person, but also maintain great relationships like you and I, I think we've probably spent at least 75% of that first lunch, just shooting the shit on getting to know each other, 25% on the business stuff. I'd rather take that proportion, frankly. We get to things like today because we have, I think, a great base to build off of, so I'm deeply appreciative of getting to befriend you over all these years too. Chris Erwin:Very welcome, such from a guy who has such a powerful position in sports media. So, all right, with that, moving on to rapid-fire, here are the rules. Six questions, answers are to be short and to the point, so it could be just a single sentence or just a single word. Do you understand the rules, Dev? Dev Sethi:I understand them, I don't know if I'll adhere to them, but yeah, I understand them. Chris Erwin:Everyone says the same thing, but I'm going to hold you to it. All right, first one, proudest life moment. Dev Sethi:I've been offered the opportunity to speak a couple of times in front of students at my alma mater, Notre Dame and I never thought in a million years, I would ever do anything in my life or deliver that kind of value that my alma mater would ask me to support them and be of service to them. So that was a crowning achievement in my mind at least. Chris Erwin:Okay, cool, what do you want to do less of in 2022? Dev Sethi:More sporting events, with hopefully a lot less disruptions and just more grace for, I think our fellow citizens who are all going through tough time but who all have such diverse perspectives. So hopefully more of that too. I'd say hopefully a lot less bad weather, but I don't know if the weather's even been that bad. So I don't have a great answer for that. Chris Erwin:Okay. Less bad weather and disruptions in 2022? Dev Sethi:There you go. Chris Erwin:But I like what you said about more sporting events and the things that matter. What are one or two things that drive your success? Dev Sethi:I think having a great, talented bought-in team or teams that I've managed that make me look good. And also just having a personal passion in investing in my team, their career, their goals, and the enablement of them doing great work, that's what gives me joint energy about this role and any other role and I think that's equated to personal success as well. Chris Erwin:Advice for media execs going into 2022. Dev Sethi:Just continue to embrace innovation, whether it's on platform innovation, some of the things I referenced earlier, but also the innovation in the sports industry. I mentioned NIL a number of times, but try to skate to where the puck is going. And also do it authentically, don't sort of follow the leader all the time in this industry, make that set align with how you want to serve your audience

Jeff Urban is a leading Sports Marketing executive. He is CEO of Sports Field Partners, a new entry in the synthetic turf space which focuses on eco-friendly, performance based turf fields for all sports properties. Recently serving across multiple consulting engagements, Urban was President and Co-Founder at Whistle Sports, a company that creates, curates and distributes breakthrough entertainment content for young, active males. Urban also served as Senior Vice President, Sports & Event Marketing at Gatorade and held that position for two years. Website: https://www.sportsfieldpartners.com/  

EP45: Kyle Maggio stopped by the Wingspan Podcast to talk about his journey to where he is today, his favorite memories growing up as a New York Knicks fan, the James Dolan era, and more! Maggio, who runs social media for Whistle Sports and is the Brand Manager of The Knicks Wall, spoke about the Knicks surging season, what he wants to see from New York moving forward and whether he believes the Knicks will be an aggressive buyer in the upcoming NBA trade deadline. You can find Maggio on Twitter (@kylemaggio) and on Instagram (@maggio). You can also find his work on The Knicks Wall and Whistle Sports! -------- Submit your questions and comments to WingspanPodcast@gmail.com. Please remember to subscribe and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. --------- Message from our Partner: SportsHosts is building the world's first platform just for sports fans with the belief that bringing people together from around the world through shared passions can amplify what unites us. Before Covid-19, that meant connecting people to see games together, but right now, all their energy is focused on bringing people together digitally on the SportsHosts app to share stories, talk sport and build connections around the world so that when sports returns, we can have mind-blowing experiences at home or away. SportsHosts YouTube Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3demW-6syhA --------- Join us on the app today: https://sportshosts.mn.co/groups/2336774?autojoin=1 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wingspan/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wingspan/support

One of the youngest Professional Gamers at 16 years old. Professional Fortnite competitive player for Misfits Gaming, YouTube content creator, Twitch streamer and a Brand Ambassador for Whistle Sports jumps inside Ahman Green's Gamers Lounge. Sceptic shares how he has risen to fame in the gaming world so quickly, how he convinced his parents to let him take on this gaming career, and a great story about how he got his name! He discusses what got him into gaming and when he knew Fortnite was his game! It's also interesting to hear how he has gotten so good at the game in such a fast amount of time. Also how did he get hooked up with music producer Marshmellow? It's a great story!! We've also got This or That, What's on Stream, and Game Releases. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Dev Sethi has always been on the cutting edge of sports and media. With experience at companies such as Whistle Sports, Complex, and now Instagram, Dev is an expert at finding unique ways to bring sports to new audiences through engaging content. Hear Dev's story on the SeventySix Capital Leadership Series with Wayne Kimmel! This episode is also available via YouTube. Presented by RushOrderTees.com

On today's episode we are joined by Jacolby (known on Twitter as @__Colb__). We discuss the development and creation of relationships through social media. Colb is a member of Elite Media, a growing sports network created by black sports fans for black consumers. Colb has relationships across the Twitter platform and discusses ending up in group chats with Twitter commentators we all known and love like Big Business, Banksy, and Josiah Johnson (the son of former NBA All star Marques Johnson, who is best known for his viral tweets, weekly Yahoo Sports segments with LaJethro Jenkins and co. and viral sketch shows). Colb talks about podcasting while working a 9-5 and helping build Elite media. One of Elite Media's first big affiliates, the Play for Keeps podcast, made a big splash a few months ago by getting a huge interview with Kevin Durant and quickly garnering attention from Kendrick Perkins while live on ESPN for their growing appreciation for high school basketball sensation, Emoni Bates. Tune in to hear our thoughts about the remaining topics below: - Thoughts on the ESPN top 100 rankings. - Would you rather build around Jokic or Murray? - The inability to build rosters around point guards (Luka is the exception). - The Celtics and their inability to build with free agents. - Why Colb believes Giannis is in his 2011 Lebron moment. - Browns to the playoffs? - Colb is from and lives in Cleveland while working remotely for Whistle Sports in LA. so naturally we discuss last weeks drop of Kid Cudi's newest studio album. Remember to stay authentic this week.

Meet Jordan Fox. Jordan is a lifelong learner and a future-minded thinker. Visit Jordan on the Web https://mmpdig.com Want to live stream your content? Visit Restream on the Web https://restream.io/join/thisweekwithsabir Chapters 00:00 Sabir Welcomes Jordan Fox 04:08 Make me Proud 14:32 Artists vs Brands 17:00 The Challenges of Managing Talent 19:12 Your Social Media Resume 20:34 How Will Smith Changed the Game 30:58 The Power of TikTok 32:32 Rise Above the Noise 33:32 Keep Pushing; Keep Creating 43:10 Stick With What You Know 44:20 Hiring the Right People 44:54 Drawing a Line in the Sand 49:47 The Changing Face of Fame 54:23 Go Deep Not Wide 56:17 Patience is a Virtue He received a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from Syracuse University, and a Masters Degree in Accounting from Yeshiva University. Jordan quickly realized that accounting wasn't for him, and even with a job lined up at Ernst & Young, he decided to terminate his contract and pivot to the new world of social media. Jordan began his career at SocialCode, then the largest social media buying agency in the world, before joining VaynerMedia, the vaunted brand-building agency. During this time, he worked with clients like Chase, Verizon, Reckitt Benckiser, and more. At age 26, Jordan left the agency world to launch his own business, MMP Digital. In naming MMP, Jordan was inspired by his grandfather, Arthur Dock, who would always say to Jordan, “Make Me Proud.” Jordan's first client at MMP Digital was Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, Alicia Keys, where he led global digital strategy and branding across her 80-million-person audience. Jordan built smarter work streams while managing Alicia's in-house production team, digital agency, and record label. While working alongside Alicia, her president, music manager, publicist, and philanthropy advisor, Jordan created key moments for Alicia helping her grow her brand and digital footprint. Since officially launching MMP Digital in June 2019, MMP has signed over 20 clients. In 2020, MMP, which was self-funded, is projected to manage over $2.5 million in paid media and set to beat their projected revenue for 2020 by 2x. Some clients are Smithfield Foods, Nathan's, Eckrich, Kretschmar, Badger & Winters (winner of Ad Age A-List Agencies to Watch), VaynerSports, Whistle Sports, Aria Development Group, Bohana, (as seen on Shark Tank) and more! Jordan is not only recognized for his expertise in brand building, social media, and e-commerce but also for his ability to navigate partnerships in the labyrinthine media, celebrity, and influencer world. When not working on MMP, Jordan stays involved with multiple non-profit organizations. Jordan was selected to the ADL Glass Leadership Committee of 2020-2021; he is on the Board of Directors for the Brooklyn Youth Sports Club; he is the Communications & Social Media Chair for Syracuse's NYC Alumni Club; he was selected by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to help create their new Social Media certification course; and he was selected to be a judge of the 2020 Reggie Awards, presented by Association of National Advertisers (ANA). Watch/Listen to all episodes of #ThisWeekWithSabir https://growthbysabir.com/liveshow Visit Sabir on the Web https://growthbysabir.com --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sabir-semerkant/support

Lazarus Jackson (@lazchance) talked to Kyle Maggio (@KyleMaggio) about the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks fighting at the bottom of the NBA's Eastern Conference.That, in turn, became a discussion about power forwards, destiny written in the stars, The Knicks' Kentucky Connection, trade value charts, Troy Weaver's sense of humor, power forwards, R.J. Barrett needing space, the opportunity cost of cap space, that time Dennis Smith Jr. dropped 31 points on the Pistons, Killian Hayes preferring Detroit over New York, and much, much more. Follow Kyle on Twitter, listen to The Knicks Wall on the Blue Wire Podcast Network, and check out Whistle Sports. Pistons Vs. Everybody is brought to you by BetOnline.AG and Indeed. Enter promo code BLUEWIRE to join BetOnline and receive your welcome bonus, and receive your $75 credit at Indeed.com/BlueWire.

"After the Whistle Sports Podcast" is your location for the best takes and opinions on everything happening in sports! Today we talk about NCAA Basketball and NCAA Football

Los & Max are joined by 3-time NBA champion & Los Angeles Laker Danny Green for their debut episode! The trio covers the Lakers title run, how they can repeat & the biggest threats to LA out west, how hard it is to ball against real NBA players, Danny tuning out the haters during the playoffs and MUCH more! Subscribe/rate/review, and make sure you're following Whistle Sports, Brother, Los, Max, and Danny on all social media platforms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"After the Whistle Sports Podcast" is your location for the best takes and opinions on everything happening in sports! Today we talk about the NFL and NCAA Football

"After the Whistle Sports Podcast" is your location for the best takes and opinions on everything happening in sports! Today we talk about NCAA Football

"After the Whistle Sports Podcast" is your location for the best takes and opinions on everything happening in sports! Today we talk about the NFL and NCAA Football

Many good farewells have something in common: it places responsibility in your hands. In other words, a farewell that doesn't leave people changed (for the better) is a sign that their time together lacked depth. Today we bid farewell to our "Words to Live By" series, and our hope and prayer is that you've found each message useful, applicable, and inspirational for change in your life. We wrap up with an encouragement: you've been given this knowledge and wisdom, so now you have the responsibility of handling it well and doing something with it. You just have to have the self-discipline to move forward, and that's exactly what we're talking about in this powerful message from Pastor Greg. Special thanks to USAA and Whistle Sports for the footage (audio) used in today's message. Thank you for joining us today! Video clip audio belongs to USAA/Whistle Sports, all rights reserved. No other rights reserved; share this message of hope and growth with anyone and everyone. Point people to the way of Jesus. Scriptures Today: Proverbs 21:17 // Proverbs 25:28 // Galatians 5:22-23 // 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 // 2 Timothy 1:7 // Matthew 16:21-23 // Galatians 5:16-25

"After the Whistle Sports Podcast" is your location for the best takes and opinions on everything happening in sports! Today we talk about the NFL and NCAA Football  

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly and deputy editor Sam Carp are joined by Jeff Nathenson, managing director, international at Whistle Sports, to review the first day of the first fully virtual SportsPro Live.  They discuss Jeff’s chat with the CMOs of the Carolina Panthers and LA Chargers, Sam’s panel on the international strategies for the NFL, NHL and MLB, some more of their day one highlights and their picks for day two.   Then there’s time to make a run through some brief cuts from a few sessions, with Wimbledon CEO Sally Bolton (26.47), the Paris 2024 tech philosophy (30.19), how AWS is helping the Bundesliga tell stories (34.50), and the social media formats (40.31) to look out for during the ‘new normal’.  

Episode 47 is a big one! We welcome back previous guests, Chelsea fan Ardian and Liverpool fan Elijah of Bells and Whistle Sports. Abdi and Junior are in great spirits after Arsenal's FA Cup win against Chelsea at the weekend with high praise for Mikel Arteta and Aubameyang whilst Ardian discusses where it went wrong for Chelsea. Then it's on to the big end of season quiz of 19/20 and the focus is stats! Who made the most crosses and who played every minute are just some of the questions we have in this heated competition. Who came out as king/queen of the stats? Tune in to find out and make sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter and like share and subscribe!! #WTATL

"After the Whistle Sports Podcast" is your location for the best takes and opinions on everything happening in sports! Today we talk the NBA Return, NFL, NCAA Football

Scott Mason talks with Whistle Sports' VP of Social Media and Owner of TurnontheJets.com Joe Caporoso about the breaking news that Jamal Adams has officially been traded to the Seattle Seahawks! The drama is finally over: Jamal Adams has been traded (along with a 2022 4th round pick) to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2021 1st rounder, a 2021 3rd rounder, a 2022 1st rounder, and Safety Bradley McDougald! Joe joins the show to share his thoughts on the deal, plus how the trade compensation stacks up with other superstars who have been traded, how Jets GM Joe Douglas handled the whole Adams situation, what this means for the Jets going forward, and much more! Play Like A Jet is a part of the Turn on The Jets Digital podcast network......…. ****Sports are back and about to explode like never before! RAZER has the sharpest professional sports betting tips and info you will find anywhere...….don't just play like the pros, WIN like the pros with RAZER! Sign up for your free trial with RAZER today at RAZERsport.com**** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How the f**k did Dev Sethi go from Notre Dame sports fan to holding the prestigious title of Head of Sports at Instagram? Today we are chatting with Dev about his career journey that eventually landed him a job at Instagram. Dev graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2006 and shortly after, he accepted a job as a strategist at a little company called Google. He then transitioned to a Senior Strategist role in New Partnerships at YouTube in 2011. He moved on from the Alphabet group to work as Head of Partnerships at Whistle Sports. After two years there, Dev spent almost two years as Chief of Staff for the legendary Complex Network. Today, he has the unreal title of Head of Sports at Instagram. So how did Dev work his way through these well-known companies? And is it ever okay to sleep with socks on? Sorry Jaffin, it just isn’t.

On the latest episode Kyle Maggio joins the podcast! We dive into our New York Knicks and how the last few years have gone for the organization. We also talk about the moves we like to see the Knicks make for this off-season like Fred VanVleet and other free agents. I also ask Kyle who he thinks should be the next head coach of the Knicks and how he feels about the NBA restart! We get into much more so make sure to listen to the podcast and subscribe!!Available on all podcast platforms. Link Below Follow Kyle: https://twitter.com/kylemaggio  https://twitter.com/WhistleSports https://twitter.com/TheKnicksWallFollow Off The Ball Podcast:https://twitter.com/OffTheBallPodhttps://www.instagram.com/offtheballpod/https://www.facebook.com/OffTheBallPodhttp://theofftheballpodcast.com/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8DoRVCr5helNrUdFrhFbKAPodcast Links  https://allmylinks.com/poppalebron25

Cory Bildstein is the Director of Marketing for Whistle, formerly Whistle Sports.a leading content publisher and over-the-top streaming network with a focus on sports and entertainment. A former D-1 soccer player at UCONN, Cory discusses the future of video content and Whistle's focus on engaging Gen Z.

A lot has changed since the last episode of "Say Less." In the first episode of the podcast under the Whistle Sports and BrotherHQ umbrella and the Season 2 premiere, Kaz speaks with the UFC's undisputed middleweight champion of the world Israel "Stylebender" Adesanya. But more importantly, Kaz speaks about the current racial climate in the world and what you can do to bring passion to action and ways you can effect change today. The murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery have served as a tipping point in this country's history and the fight to end systemic racism and the past ten days have served as a great start, but we are all in it for the long haul.  Watch "Say Less with Kaz" on the Whistle Sports and Brother HQ YouTube channels, as well as their social channels every Friday.     Follow Say Less: @SayLessWithKaz, @WhistleSports, @BrotherHQ - Instagram @SayLessWithKaz, @WhistleSports, @BrotherHQ - Twitter Theme Song Produced by BlaaqGold Outro Produced by Krish Records Produced and Edited by Emilio Sparks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ITVT is pleased to present another episode of “Televisionation,” our new video/audio podcast exploring how the advanced/interactive-TV industry is responding to the Covid-19/Coronavirus crisis. This episode features Joe Caporoso, SVP of Content and Brand Platforms at Whistle (formerly Whistle Sports), the digital content company that last year acquired Vertical Networks and New Form Digital. Among other things, Caporoso discusses those acquisitions and the strategy behind them; explains why the kind of content that Whistle produces is particularly appropriate for the current times; outlines the company’s content-acquisition, talent and distribution strategies; and describes how Whistle has made the shift to producing programming remotely, as its production staff and talent shelter-in-place. (Note: If you would like to share your thoughts on how the Covid-19 crisis will change the TV and advertising industries, and tell us what your company—or you yourself—are doing to prepare for this new reality, please contact us at tracyswedlow@gmail.com(link sends e-mail).)We welcome everyone in the TV Industry to reach out to us for participation in TVOT, Televisionation or for an invite to join our new interactive discussion network to launch soon.--Subscribe for free: Televisionation, ITVT and TVOT http://itvt.com/subscribeFind more about The TV of Tomorrow Show Conference on http://tvotshow.com

MonkeySport’s Jason Felts and BaseballMonkey’s Will Shumate sit down with social media baseball influencer, Tanner Carson (Raised_In_Baseball) to discuss baseball, social media and more! Prior to the interview with Tanner, Jason and Will discuss how MLB constricts the use of their content by users on certain social media platforms, and how they think this affects the fanbase of baseball (1:15). Tanner then introduces himself and gives a little background on when he started playing baseball and some of his favorite aspects of the game (6:30). They then discuss how Tanner believes social media has helped him grow as a baseball player, and what he thinks having a presence on social media can do for all baseball players when trying to get scouted and progress within the game (18:25). This episode concludes with Tanner discussing his short term and long term baseball goals, and gives a little insight on how he hopes to achieve those goals (24:10).

On this episode, Lamb is joined Kyle Maggio, Social Media @WhistleSports , Brand manager @TheKnicksWall and the Host of the ‘3 To The Dome Podcast’ to chat about betting on the NBA, why there’s a playoff trend that’s a cash cow, biggest keys to the 2nd half of the year and DUH we’re talking about the Knicks! Then, a reunion of the most dynamic backcourt in podcasting when Lamb’s main man Impy joins us to talks about the NBA Season through the All Star Break! (27:00)Are the Rockets lame to watch?What's good with the Knicks, Again.Which team would we want to buy if we had the chanceMost surprising teamMost disappointing team.Are we being rude to our neighbors up north?Betonline.AG's $100 Prop gameSupport the show at Patreon.com/VeteransMinimumFollow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/VeteransMinimumFollow us on Twitter @VeteransMinimumFollow us on Instagram @VeteransMinimumHost: @TheLambShowGuest: @impy718 @KyleMaggio @whistlesports @theknickswall Checkout Kyle's Podcast: "‘3 To The Dome"Support the sponsor BetOnline.AG and use the promo code "BLUEWIRE" for a 50% welcome bonus!

Joe Buono (IslesBlog) reacts to the Isles disappointing 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay, ending the team's five game point streak. But it's not all bleak - Joe looks back at a successful week in Brooklyn where the Islanders picked up 5 of a possible 6 points and discusses Kieffer Bellows' call up which has paid immediate dividends for the team and his line-mates on the 3rd line. Later, Joe is joined by Tyler Gilden (@TylerGilden), host of the 'No Days Off' podcast from Whistle Sports which focuses on parents of sports prodigies to see hear what it's like balancing parenting with their kids' sports career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kyle Maggio introduces his new podcast for Whistle Sports, featuring the one, the only, Famous Los for a mailbag EVERY Monday! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jack Settleman is a content creator with multiple podcasts, a Snapchat account that has received 500,000,000 views in the last 365 days, and is a social media content strategist at Whistle Sports. https://www.instagram.com/snapbackpod/ http://wavve.link/snapbackpod https://twitter.com/jacksettleman Snapchat: @real_sports

"After the Whistle Sports Podcast" is your location for the best takes and opinions on everything happening in sports! Today we talk Antonio Brown, NFL Week 1 Recap, we take a look at NFL Week 2, and Sit em or Start em Fantasy Football.    

On this episode, Lamb addresses the V.M fanbase concerning the future of Veteran’s Minimum & what everyone can expect going forward! Tells a little behind the scene tidbits about himself before the show gets started. Thanks to all the positive feedback, it’s been greatly appreciate folks! Show kicks off with Fan Questions (11:30) Week 1 Overreactions & A Rant about us in 2019 as Sports fans (25:00) Lamb calls his good buddy Hunter who is a Season Ticket Holder for the Cleveland Browns to discuss yesterday’s Disaster at the Dog Pound (34:45) Lastly, Joining VM is Joe Caporoso from Whistle Sports & Turn On The Jets to discuss the 2019 & Beyond Outlook for the New York Jets from their offseason additions, Sam Darnold, Man Crush on Jamal Adams & his start in this industry from a Poly Science major to now covering his beloved J.E.T.S (43:46) Checkout the new sponsor for the show Tavour.com, use the promo code “VETERAN” when you sign up to receive $10 in cold hard beer cash to use on the app after you spend $25 Promo Code: “VETERAN” Guest: @ClevelandGod On Twitter @JCaporoso On Twitter, Owner of TurnOnTheJets.com & SVP of Content & Brand Platforms at @WhistleSports Support the show at Patreon.com/VeteransMinimum Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/VeteransMinimumShow Follow us on Twitter @VeteransMinimum Follow us on Instagram @VeteransMinimum Follow @TheLambShow on Social Media Outlets

"After the Whistle Sports Podcast" is your location for the best takes and opinions on everything happening in sports! Today we talk College Football Week 1 and we look forward to week 2

"After the Whistle Sports Podcast" is your location for the best takes and opinions on everything happening in sports! Today we talk about Andrew Lucks Retirement, Fantasy Football, College Football, and the Upcoming NFL Season  

Today on After the Whistle Sports Podcast the boys talk about Fantasy Football, The Upcoming NFL Season, and Week 0 College Football! We hope you enjoy the episode! 

Eliot Robinson is the founder of Dunk Media (@dunk) and has rocked social media accounts for Gary Vaynerchuk, Dennis Rodman and a ton of awesome brands such as, Nike Basketball, EA Sports, Gatorade, Warner Music, Dunkin Donuts, Way Of Wade, Q4 Sports, Whistle Sports, Ikonick, theScore, Slam Magazine, SeatGeek, and more. But behind all the social media, the DM's, and the content, there is an incredibly dialed in human prioritizing his mental fitness on daily basis. Follow Eliot's journey on Instagram & LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Minimalism Life - A simple life is one with less stress, less stuff, and more purpose. We love these guys because they publish awesome content on a weekly basis about minimalism as a tool to help you be more focused and feel more fulfilled. Check them out minimalism.life Don't forget all of these awesome guests end up in our journaling app and mental fitness tool KYŌ to help guide you through your daily reflection. Take it for a spin in the Apple App store and let us know what you think. Visit journal.kyoapp.com for full show notes Music: Clouds - Joakim Karud https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O13PpAoVdI

Wayne Kimmel is a sports tech venture capitalist, entrepreneur and the author of Six Degrees of Wayne Kimmel. Wayne has been named a Top Innovator by Philadelphia Magazine and is on the Philadelphia Business Journal's Power 100 list. He is the Managing Partner of SeventySix Capital, the venture capital company he founded in 1999, and invests in startup consumer facing tech companies in the sports, health and retail industries. Wayne has invested in over 50 startup technology and healthcare companies, including SeamlessWeb (now public as GrubHub, Take Care Health Systems and Nutrisystem. Among the Fortune 500 companies that have acquired his portfolio companies are Aramark, Intel, IBM, Walgreens and Yahoo! His partners at SeventySix Capital are Jon Powell, CEO of Kravco Company LLC, a leading real estate company that developed the King of Prussia Mall, and Ryan Howard, Major League Baseball National League MVP and 2008 World Series Champion with the Philadelphia Phillies. With a rise in global entrepreneurship and the inclusion of technology in sports, Wayne focuses part of his investment strategy on sports, sports betting and esports. At SeventySix Capital, Wayne was an early investor in Whistle Sports, a global sports media company, Philadelphia-based N3rd Street Gamers, a community of competitive and recreational video gamers that produces a series of esports tournaments, leagues, and casual gaming events, and Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN), the first media network dedicated to delivering the news, data and expert analysis of the rapidly growing sports betting industry, co-founded by acclaimed sportscaster Brent Musburger. SeventySix Capital’s Athlete Venture Group allows players to invest, learn, and work directly with top sports tech startups and entrepreneurs. The firm aims to bridge the gap between athletes, entrepreneurs, and investors by creating opportunities for athletes to become tech investors and for entrepreneurs to access the financial and social capital that professional athletes have to offer. Athlete Venture Group members, including Ryan Howard, DeMarco Murray, Ralph Sampson and Brian Westbrook, work hands-on with SeventySix Capital's portfolio companies in esports, sports betting, data collection, data analytics, media and more. Wayne, Jon and Ryan are also a partners in Rubicon Talent, a sports marketing and talent agency with a wide range of clients including NFL and NBA stars, Hall of Famers, MVPs, Heisman Trophy winners, Olympic icons, media personalities, and celebrity chefs. Wayne is on the Board of Einstein Healthcare Network and was on the Board of Jewish Federations of North America, Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park and the Delaware Law School. He is passionate about Philly’s pro sports teams and about working to make the world a better place.

"After the Whistle Sports Podcast" is your location for the best takes and opinions on everything happening in sports! Today we talk about the March Madness and we share our picks!

Jeff discusses his career journey with USA Today Sports, Gatorade and creating Whistle Sports. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sportsbizradio/support

Tom and Joe join Bob Ciosek in the new studio inside Columbia University's Teachers College. The driving force behind “World's Greatest' is Bob Ciosek. Bob began as a copywriter and creative director at agencies BBDO, Saatchi & Saatchi and DMB&B, and launched Bold Studios in 1995 with ESPN as its centerpiece client (producing over 1,000 TV commercials). Other clients included Capital One, Subway, Kellogg's, WWE and more. In 2003, Bob invented an online consumer research process leveraging a patented tool. He shaped TV programming, acquisitions, marketing as well as digital and social content development and marketing. Clients included ABC, American Express, CNBC, ESPN, Food Network, Fox Sports, Golf Channel, Initiative Media, MSN, New York Magazine, New York Post, People Magazine, Refinery 29, Tribeca Film Festival, Turner Entertainment (TNT, TBS, Turner Digital), Yahoo Sports and more. Bob also founded a short-form, social video app called BlipHit (2012-2014). For the last two and a half years, he was Chief Creative Officer at Whistle Sports where he built them into the #1 social engagement platform in sports garnering over 1 billion views monthly with global social reach of 375 million. Bob helped drive quarter-over-quarter revenue growth exponentially and was a key player in securing $78 million in investor funding. Now he is on to his next project, which has taken off and continues to grow more support every day. The CUSP Show is a production by the faculty of Sports Management at Columbia University. You can get in touch with the program on Twitter @CU_SPS_Sports. Our presenters are Joe Favorito (@Joefav), Tom Richardson (@ConvergenceTR), and produced by Tom Cerny (@Tom_Cerny19).

"After the Whistle Sports Podcast" is your location for the best takes and opinions on everything happening in sports! Today we talk about the NBA Trade Deadline, NBA All-Star Game, Kyler Murray, and More.

On today's edition of the Lucky Letcord Podcast we dial up 14-year-old Coco Gauff, who is currently off training at the Patrick Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, to discuss her new feature on Whistle Sports, called "No Days Off." Gauff is the reigning Roland Garros Girls' Singles champion, and she's the youngest to win that title in 25 years. She's also the youngest U.S. Open Girls' Singles finalist in history. We caught up with the Florida-born world traveler to discuss her blossoming career, what it's been like to compete at the pro level and how Patrick Mouratoglou and his academy have impacted her career. We also discuss her family and how they are helping her achieve her dreams, what she plans to for the rest of the year and how she feels about being labeled as the next Serena Williams so young. The interview begins at the 2:00 mark of the podcast. Before you listen, jump over to Whistle Sports and watch the seven-minute video for the series "No Days Off." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEhvQJ_OlDI Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rusia 2018 encontrará a nuevos fanáticos que consumen el deporte con otro estilo. Una generación de atención dispersa, que se interesa solo por los momentos memorables de los partidos y que celebra más la cultura del fútbol que el juego propiamente dicho. En este episodio de Big Data Sports hablamos de medios disruptivos digitales que satisfacen esa demanda como Copa90, Bitbol y Whistle Sports. Plataformas de videos cortos, con creadores y curadores, que abordan el fútbol para un fanático global, que oscila entre los 18 y los 30 años y que rompe con las formas habituales de seguir el juego. Datazo: La formación del seleccionado argentino según las menciones en redes sociales #Rusia2018 #podcast #sports #futbol #soccer #marketing #socialmedia #

On this week's episode, Sean chats to Josh Grunberg, Head of Community Development and Growth from Whistle Sports. Sean and Josh chat about how the world's best sports videos are ending up in your feed. Full show notes

Painless Podcast episode 28: Jeff Urban (Co-founder & President, Whistle Sports) Hear from the co-founder of Whistle Sports, a global community with 400 of the world’s most engaging sports content creators that encompasses nearly 400 million aggregate subscribers, fans and followers with a growth rate of over 2 million a week. Check out www.WhistleSports.com/careers for opportunities to join their team. This week’s sponsor: +Spikeball Nationals are October 14 at Chicago’s Cricket Hill in Montrose Harbor. Want to get in? Sign up a team TODAY at https://usaspikeball.com/e/2017-usa-spikeball-roundnet-national-championship. Use code “PAINLESS” and get 50% off your entry fee. About the Painless Podcast: Get to know interesting people, jobs and places to work in and around sports, events, start-ups and cause marketing world. Hosted by Chris Hartweg. Focusing on how and why they landed where they are and the role of mentoring and networking to get there. Sign up for Painless emails that include job and event postings at: http://eepurl.com/sOJcf MORE: Key Painless links... URL: www.Painless.Network Linked in: www.linkedin.com/groups/73710 Facebook: www.facebook.com/PainlessNetworking Twitter: www.twitter.com/PainlessNetwork Instagram: www.instagram.com/PainlessNetwork

Josh Grunberg is the Head of Community Development and Growth at Whistle Sports. Prior to joining Whistle, Josh worked in TV production for TSN, ESPN, and the Vancouver Canucks, where he first began experimenting with online video by posting hockey highlights to YouTube and promoting them via Twitter. In this episode, we discuss programming and audience development strategies for sports content and what’s coming next for Whistle after closing their Series C funding. Josh also conveys his excitement for YouTube Red, Facebook, Amazon, and Spotify, which he believes will be the most successful digital players given their large existing audiences and billing relationships. And finally, we debate the power of the bundle as these media conglomerates and telecoms go head to head for advertiser dollars and audience attention. Host: James Creech ABOUT THE SHOW All Things Video is a podcast dedicated to uncovering the past and charting the future of the online video ecosystem. Listen to interviews with founders... --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Episode 1 of Slight Work, a new podcast on sports media and working in the industry, featuring an interview with James Corbett, Senior Creative Producer at Whistle Sports

This month, we'll be uploading a new episode every day! We want to hear from you, so please send your questions and feedback to allthingsvideopodcast@gmail.com. You can also like and comment on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/allthingsvideo Follow All Things Video on LinkedIn for the latest episodes and updates! http://bit.ly/allthingsvideolinkedin This is the third episode in a four-part history of MCNs. After an initial land grab, MCNs began to expand internationally and focus on specific audience niches and content verticals. The major MCNs to emerge during this second period include DanceOn, Kin Community, Tastemade, Mitú, and Whistle Sports, all of which placed significantly less importance on YouTube ad revenues and a greater emphasis on brand dollars and other revenue streams. Host: James Creech ABOUT THE SHOW All Things Video is a podcast dedicated to uncovering the past and charting the future of the online video ecosystem. Listen to interviews with founders, executives, and... --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Brand Boost Podcast presents "She’s On First”, hot takes on sports culture, sports tech, sports fan culture, sports marketing and more!   Co-hosts Vincenzo Landino and Lauren Creedon provide an in-depth look at topics often bypassed for the more glorious Sportscenter highlights and attention grabbing headlines.   This episode of the Brand Boost Podcast is recorded LIVE on blab.im, Friday’s at 10am and includes audience interaction after the recording.   In this episode, we talk:   Hot Takes Lauren asserts that in the next two years everyone will have an allegiance to an international soccer team, if you don't already, citing recent Premier League brand shift. Vincenzo guarantees that everyone will jump on Snapchat as the mainstream social sharing app, after brands like Marriott, Budweiser, Pepsi and Amazon all spent marketing dollars with the little ghost during the Super Bowl.   Main Event  NFL lifts live streaming ban: Cable rights deals as major source of revenue Sports brands shifting from regional to global Digital is bringing the fan closer and closer to the game The rise of eSports: The numbers: i.e., "Revenues in pro eSports proj: $463 million in 2016, and surpass $1 billion by 2019" How eSports relates to the rise of extreme sports, fringe sports, & individual player sports How companies like Whistle Sports are building global fan bases for individual "talent" on digital channels   Shoutouts Diana Murphy Shanda Maloney SAP Most technically advanced Super Bowl. Carolina Panthers social media team   Other Mentions: Ryan Bell’s “The Rise of the Periscope Micro Sponsor" Brian Fanzo Jason Yarborough Premier League Manchester United Boston Fancred MLB Advanced Media UFC Brodie Smith USGA

Ready to Unload: With Cal & Sanpete Subscribe to the RTU: Podcast in iTunes HERE Also available on STITCHER HERE RTU: #196 Episode Partner is: DUMMY - A new web series written, directed and starring Joe Dalo and Izzy Diaz. Subscribe to the DUMMY channel in YouTube for all new episodes, and coming soon: EPISODE 3! RTU: #196 - Recorded on 10/9/14 Main Course:  Joe Caporoso, Editor-In-Chief of Turn On The Jets.com and Director of Social Media at Whistle Sports was again our guest, and we went all in on the Jets. An hour 15 of great Jets talk without all the crap. Really.