Mike Kilcoyne

Your character is built through facing the chaos head on. Check out the full interview with Fred Wang. A Venture Capitalist out of Adams Street Partners. Fred Wang YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ef6BjQQg Spotify: https://lnkd.in/ekAH-V6J Apple Podcast: https://lnkd.in/exQs4yXe Subscribe on YouTube | Follow & Rate on Spotify | Follow & Review on Apple Podcast | #highvaluediscussions #podcast #entrepreneurship #business #venturecapitalist #investing #financialliteracy #mindset #innovation #tech #technology

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🎲 This graph is 🤯🤯🤯 "Coin Master's dominance in the social casino genre is over. In the first quarter of 2024, 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗚𝗼! outperformed its main competitor by a factor of 2, generating $336 million in IAP revenue" 💸💸💸 Leveraging the Monopoly IP results in a very low cost per install (CPI), allowing Scopely to spend less than a quarter of the lifetime revenue on UA and achieve extremely fast marketing recoup rates within 120 days. Many have tried to argue and deconstruct the product & it's very clear that part of the success lies in it's Live Ops strategy & implementation. Nikita Baikalov & Andrei Zubov wrote a great piece deconstructing the LiveOps strategy (🔗 in comments). Cc: SHAMSCO #games #monopolygo #useracquisition #liveops

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Here’s a super undervalued niche in podcasting: solo shows. We met with two creators this week who are crushing it with this style of podcast across two radically different verticals: - One is making over $500k annually via a subscription product serving a niche that most people in the industry would consider over saturated. - The other scaled to 500k downloads on her pod in less than a year with only solo episodes and is now mapping out a subscription offering to compliment that growth. So cool to see because I think solo shows are some of the hardest to produce. It’s also a good reminder that the monetization puzzle looks different for every creator - but it’s always possible to put the pieces together in a way that matches your style and audience!

Expected shifts in 2024's #creatoreconomy 1. Creators Will Embrace #AI Tools For Content Development as well as Process Automation. 2. Creators Will Lean Into “Episodic” Series And Long-Form Content For Improved Monetization 3. More Creators Will Establish Streams Of Passive Income And Their Own Businesses 4. With The Recent Social Commerce Boom, Affiliate Marketing With Influencers Will Reach New Heights 5. #UGC And Micro-Influencers Will Dominate #InfluencerMarketing In 2024. Any other shifts?

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Beware of what I call "Deal-Phishing" in the Creator Economy Agencies and brands often promise big deals upfront without rates. The first red flag is in the the email subject line: "OFFER: 1 Year Partnership!" You open the email and see that there isn't a real offer. Instead, they say they would love to OFFER you this partnership and ask how much you would charge per post. You’re left very confused. As if you did something wrong by not knowing how to respond. Do you ask a ton of questions or give them a discounted rate as a package? You choose to offer a discounted package. Email sent. ... Their response? "Oh, I'm so sorry. The brand went a different direction. We'll reach out in the future for opportunities." Three months later, you get another email: "We would love to offer [the discounted rate you provided earlier] for 1 post!" You lose money on the next deal because of a deal that never existed to begin with. Boom. You just got deal-phished.

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This brand gets content from high-profile NFL Athletes without even asking for it. 🤯 Content creation is KEY for brands these days. But this...this is taking the content creation game to a whole different level. 💣 In this episode of The DTC Insider podcast, Jonathan Ruley - co-founder & CEO of Huega House - breaks down their approach to turning those high-profile athletes into advocates. Tune in! 👇

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I’m seeing more partial “Venture Studios.“ Should they be considered studios or something else? What do I mean? I’m seeing groups that apply some of the core studio elements 1) a repeatable playbook, 2) playing a (late) cofounder role, 3) making a capital or sweat equity investment, and 4) have a degree of decision control over their area. A few examples: A group that builds your sales and support operations groups once you have a product and have raised a Seed round. They support through the next round and fully setup your own sales and support operations teams, playbooks, training, etc. They make a small investment for a preferred stake and earn a common stake through their sweat equity. They own the success of these areas of the company and provide guidance on broader company challenges. A group that offers product management, design, and development from as early as idea stage. They play a core role in customer discovery and own product design and software development. The team they build your product with may fully transition to the company along with a full operations playbook and they help find and train the leaders than will replace them. They make no capital investment, but do not charge for their support, rather earning sweat equity. A group that builds your marketing team, delivering, marketing, branding, PR, and social influence for the company. They own creating the full marketing strategy, devising branding, building influence to drive sales and building a team for the company to continue with post-engagement. They don’t invest money, just provide everything for zero cost. They are not agencies. They don’t follow the direction of the company blindly, having a degree of control over their area of expertise. They own success, lead their areas, and integrate with the full company. In many ways they act like the CxO and team. They could displace the need for a founder. Their equity stakes look more in line with an accelerator and are often structured as fees treated as convertible investment, often with a cap. They are not full studios. They are either designed from the ground up with this singular focus or are a transition from a traditional agency to a full studio model. So the question is: Are they studios? If so, do we call them Venture Developers? Venture Operators? Fractional Studios? Let me know in the comments. I am VERY curious to hear the community’s thoughts on this.

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How can podcasting grow your brand awareness? Whether you're just starting out or looking to grow your existing brand, your podcast can make a significant impact. Here’s a plan to help you…. Integrate Brand Messages into Episodes: Make sure to weave your brand's core values, mission, and unique selling points into your content. This doesn’t mean turning every episode into a sales pitch, but rather, making your brand’s voice and personality shine through naturally in your discussions. Collaborate with Other Brands and Influencers: By featuring guests who align with your brand or collaborating on special episodes, you not only provide valuable content to your listeners but also tap into new audiences. This cross-promotion can lead to growth as well as increased brand recognition. Promote Episodes Across Various Platforms: Don’t just rely on your podcast platform for listeners. Share your episodes on social media, embed them in your blog posts, and include them in your email newsletters. The more places your podcast appears, the more chances you have to reach a wider audience. Leverage SEO for Podcasts: Optimise your episode titles, descriptions, and show notes with relevant keywords. This makes it easier for potential listeners to find your podcast when searching for topics related to your niche. A well-optimised podcast can attract a steady stream of new listeners organically. Engage with Listeners Through Brand Storytelling: Share stories that reflect your brand’s journey, challenges, and successes. This not only humanises your brand but also creates an emotional connection with your audience, making them more likely to become loyal followers and advocates. If you’re looking to start your podcast and grow your brand awareness our podcast launch and production services are designed to help you achieve just that. Send me a message or comment below to find out more.

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LET'S NORMALIZE TRANSPARENCY ON CONTENT MONETIZATION I manage the Snapchat of a handful of creators - the below data reflects a SINGLE 3 minute Snapchat episode comprised of 3 shortform Tiktoks. This is a major reason why I think Snapchat still represents such a golden opportunity for agencies and creators to monetize shortform content- the fact that a single video (only 180 seconds!) can be making a client AND agency an average of $500 a month each even after 9 months is astounding to me. Over $4,000 profit to both client and agency with only 1.3M impressions. (and the creator didn't have to lift a finger- I am just repurposing content they've already made) Now imagine how big these numbers get month after month for a channel that's uploading 15-20 episodes a month. It doesn't take a genius to run a successful Snapchat channel - I knew nothing about this platform when I got involved about a year ago. What's stopping you?

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There are more m&a and fundraise deals than I have time to write about. That’s a good thing cause it signals… …increasing market activity! Below are 5️⃣ recent capital markets highlights that stand out to me across media, agency, and creator economy… 💸 Alignment Growth invested in Wheelhouse — expect more Wheelhouse-led M&A with this new capital, likely in unscripted content and prod businesses 💸 Milk & Honey Music + Sports + Ventures acquired VMG Sports Representation — another datapoint in consolidation of talent rep co’s 💸 Electrify Video Partners invested in Simple History — bolstering it YouTube-native media brand investment portfolio, and putting its $85M fundraiser from 2023 to work 💸 VidCon is up for sale — I think buyerverse is limited, and the new vidcon is going to (ahem, must) look VERY different 💸 Range Media Partners raised funding from Liberty Global, Wildcat Capital Management — see my LinkedIn post on Monday to learn more — I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do m&a and strategy advisory for media, agencies, creator economy. My dm’s are open. …and that’s me below! #media #agency #creatoreconomy

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This is why LOOR is so important. Currently it provides a place for artists to get funding for a pilot or even short film but we also then have the audience data for how the audience responded to it. Invaluable data for film investors. Plus there's not really a place that exists on the internet where you have a dedicated audience (they are paying per month for membership to vote), and you can test pilots and short films in a streaming environment. If you regularly invest in film, you should think about LOOR as a hedge for all your other film investments.

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Brands are still struggling to wrap their heads around the power of podcasting In this clips Adel Saadi explains how influencer & marketing trends are changing Many brands are still failing to realize that podcast audiences are extremely premium and can have a big impact on your revenue Podcast audiences are niche dedicated followers who week in and week out spend hours with you They know you, they like you, they trust you So you as a brand by associating yourself with that host / show Puts you in a much stronger position because you are leveraging that existing credibility And at the end of the day people buy from people they like and trust Still not convinced? Then check out the full episode today! - I bet you will be 😉 Hope It Helps ✌️ #podcast #podcasting #hopeithelps #brands #marketing #audience #engagement #trust #revenue

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Are you undervaluing what you are selling? Pricing isn't just about numbers—it's psychological. Dan Sullivan, the Founder of Strategic Coach, reveals a game-changing insight for entrepreneurs: The Double Sale Concept Before you price your product or service, ask yourself: "Am I fully sold on the value I'm placing on it? This simple yet powerful self-test could revolutionize your pricing strategy and skyrocket your business growth. What's your take on this? Have you ever struggled with pricing your offerings? Share your experiences below and let's learn from each other! #creativecareers #EntrepreneurMindset #PricingStrategy #BusinessGrowth #StrategicCoach Strategic Coach Dan Sullivan Joe Polish Genius Network®

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Content is how you build trust at scale. Three B2B companies doing this best right now: 1. AudiencePlus Plus  Todd Clouser has been making MOVES with Audience+. They're documenting the journey of their first conference -- Goldenhour, breaking down their EXACT frameworks, and recording Beastie Boy music videos. 2. Ahrefs With 500K+ YT subscribers, they're schooling everyone on SEO and winning at YouTube. How? By becoming the go-to solution for their customer's problems. That comes from deeply understanding their audience's problems. 3. Haris Spahić 🧈  This guy's calling out boring B2B content and showing us how to fix it. His contrarian takes and behind-the-scenes breakdowns are 🔥. Excited to see how he elevates Butter Docs' content game. 📌 Remember Content is NOT just about selling your product. Content is how you build an engaged audience. An engaged audience who trusts your brand. So when they're ready to buy? They come to you first.

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Traditional media orgs must evolve to empower creators/talent and share in the upside they help generate.  The draw of working with a major publication isn’t what it used to be when you can build and monetize your own audience.  The media companies that win will play into this shift.

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Here is what I've learned about video marketing so far this year... (in terms of organic content) 1. You lose when you use video to directly sell Educate, entertain, and build a community with video instead. 2. Inject storytelling into every piece of video content you create 3. Hooks are so important in grabbing viewer attention Not just verbal and text hooks, but also visual hooks. 4. If you have a weak hook, quality will not save you. Keeping these 4 tips in mind = Higher converting videos and higher sales! Have fun creating. #videomarketing #videoproduction #marketing #storytelling

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Remember the creator economy craze? Get ready for the producer economy – A single "rockstar" or "unicorn" (as we like to call them) driving projecs forward, powered by AI and the independent network. Leveraging platforms like Jauntboards. Article predictions: 1. Producers will eliminate the need for project management tools like Asana and Monday.com. 2. Producers will drive project scoping, planning, and execution. At any given point, they'll decide: am I going to do this myself, collaborate with AI, or tap a resource? 3. Producers will come from all kinds of backgrounds, not just the ones you think. Read the article to learn more 👇 And if you feel like this describes you, I want to hear about it ✨

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Multiplayer DAWs are a hot, emerging niche in the music software market. Here's why they're so important.👇 A handful of companies are already using the "multiplayer" label to promote their products. The best examples I've seen are Endlesss, Soundation, and BeatConnect. (I've shared reviews and video demos of them in the attached article) Multiplayer DAWs are positioned within a broader umbrella of "remote music collaboration apps", including major players like BandLab Technologies and smaller emerging tech companies like Arne Wilhelmsen's SyncDNA. So what makes an audio workstation "multiplayer"? The bar is set pretty low. At a minimum it needs to have: 1️⃣ Multitrack recording 2️⃣ Realtime multi-user access to the same session But to really qualify as "multiplayer" I think it needs to also have a gaming component. Endlesss and BeatConnect have both pulled this off successfully: 🥊 Beat battles & song competitions happen via the app ✍ Hosts define the rules for judging the competition But wait.. Not all games are competitive. Some are collaborative. In the attached article, I show an example where YouTuber Ed Talenti uses Soundation to host a collaborative DAW game: 📹 The game was live streamed on YouTube (ala Twitch games) 🤝 The moderator selected users to enter the session and collab ⏳ Each guests had a limited amount of time to contribute Everyone contributed to a single piece, with time limits. Fun! I predict multiplayer music making will grow in popularity over the next few years because... ⏲ Suno can create songs in any subgenre, almost instantly. 💡 AI music gen won't be legislated away overnight. 🎸 Collaboration and play is at the heart of most great music. 🤷‍♂️ Sharing on socials =/= collaboration The create > share pipeline will get boring when the novelty wears off and effort has been taken out of the equation. As that happens, the creative gaming element of music will be essential for user retention. People didn't stop playing chess in 1997 when Deep Blue beat Kasparov. I'm confident that people will keep enjoying the game of music collaboration in the era of genAI. The industry may have to adapt but we'll survive. 🕹 I want to also point out that companies like Infinite Album and Reactional Music are making big strides in adaptive video game music, powered by AI. And there's close to a dozen music making apps in VR, including virtual DAWs. All this tech is approaching a creative singularity centered around gaming. I think we'll arrive sooner than most of us realize. DAWs may be eclipsed by simpler, more intuitive multiplayer experiences. This field is ripe for innovation and imagination. Let's dream up the next generation of fun music experiences, shall we? 🎮 #ai #aimusic #musicproduction #musictech #DAW #gaming https://lnkd.in/gnKZtJB2

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