Episodes

Consumable CEO Mark Levin joins Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa to share the founding story behind his audio advertising company and why he chose to bootstrap in an industry dominated by venture-backed players. They discuss what it means to make audio “addressable everywhere,” why the channel has struggled to meet its potential in the past, and how advertisers are reacting. Mark also breaks down how he built the business from the ground up, including early customer acquisition and go-to-market evolut...

Eric Franchi turns the tables and interviews co-host Joe Zappa on the founding story of Sharp Pen, how the agency evolved into a CEO evangelism machine, and what’s broken about traditional PR that they set out to fix. They dig into the company's product-market fit moment, what didn’t work early on, the biggest client wins and failures, and how Joe gets executives to say things they’d never put in a press release. They also cover where Sharp Pen goes next and what advice Joe has for adtech CEOs l...

Marketecture CEO Jeremy Bloom joins Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa to discuss why he left the operating side of adtech to build a media company and what’s driving the shift toward founder- and practitioner-led media. They break down what traditional coverage gets wrong, the opportunities and challenges of operator-driven content, and Marketecture’s strategy behind acquiring properties like AdTechGod and AdLand. Jeremy also weighs in on what makes certain creators break through and how founders shoul...

SaaS stocks are being routed in the public markets, and onlookers are wondering whether the same applies to adtech. In essence, the thinking goes, "Can't SaaS customers just vibe-code an alternative in-house and save millions on enterprise software?" Viant co-founders Chris and Tim Vanderhook explain the thinking behind the SaaSpocalypse, whether it applies to adtech, how investors should respond, and what entrepreneurs need to do to drive, not be overcome by, innovation. Plus, Eric and Joe shar...

Recast CEO Michael Kaminsky joins Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa to discuss why marketing analytics may be an even tougher business than adtech and the founding story behind Recast. They unpack the internal politics that shape how measurement tools are adopted, why upper-funnel channels are given a lack of credit, and what marketers still get wrong about attribution. Michael also explains why “interesting insights are worthless,” how CMOs and CFOs are increasingly collaborating on marketing budgets,...

Graphed CEO Cody Schneider joins Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa to explain how he unleashed a fleet of AI agents on his company’s go-to-market efforts, including the automated outreach that landed him on this very podcast. They break down what parts of marketing and sales AI can realistically automate today, how non-technical founders can start building simple agents (like for podcast outreach), and the results Cody has seen so far. They also discuss the tradeoffs — from bot detection to authenticit...

Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa break down how they actually use AI every day across creative work, CEO-level strategy and hiring, investing analysis, and business development, then react to Block laying off 4,000 employees in the name of AI and what that signals about how organizations will need to adapt. Finally, they tackle the cultural backlash to AI and discuss past cycles that mirror the present.

Last week was about how to attend events. This week is about how to throw one. Marketecture CSO Sam Khoury joins Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa to break down why media companies and adtech firms host their own events, how to develop the right concept, set attendance and programming goals, land top speakers, and think through costs, sponsorship economics, and logistics. They also cover how to market an event, balance content with biz dev, and make events the ultimate expression of the community built...

Dozens of advertising events occur every year, but not every event is for you. Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa break down the purpose of the six core advertising events, who should attend based on stage and ICP, and how to think about events strategically. They also cover common mistakes founders make and how to build an event calendar that drives outcomes, not optics.

Entrepreneurs are often wary of the adtech label for fear that it will undermine valuations, especially by generalist investors. Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa weigh in on whether that concern is legitimate, why founders and investors should be optimistic about adtech in the AI era, and how to handle messaging and positioning if you straddle adtech and other industries or if you're looking to shift your sector.

Adam Epstein, CEO of Gigi, joins Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa to discuss what it really means to build and sell a verticalized AI agent for advertising. Adam breaks down why Gigi focused on Amazon DSP, how selling agents differs from selling SaaS, why agents should be framed as jobs, how to price and pilot AI, and what it takes to prove value and onboard customers for agentic software.

Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa discuss takeaways from tvScientific-Pinterest with a focus on B2B marketing and investing: why tvScientific's narrative struck the right notes, how they implemented the CEO evangelism playbook, and what their success signals for investors.

Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa discuss four ideas for how adtech CEOs can crush it in 2026: overcommunicate direction until you’re sick of yourself; tell a story about the industry, not just your company; design the company for AI; and center outcomes in your storytelling. Plus, Joe talks about getting punched in the face, physically and metaphorically.

Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa commune 1:1 for a discussion of the role luck plays in entrepreneurship and how you can create your own luck, the unparalleled value of a charismatic, provocative chief evangelist (Alex Karp case study), and the three conditions required to create a category. Also, Eric offers a based take on us humans hurtling through space on a rock.

Transmit co-founder and CPO Scott Young joins Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa to weigh in on the current state of streaming, why live sports are the crown jewel of CTV, how the YouTube TV-Disney controversy unfolded, and the role AI will play in the future of the channel. Plus, Scott makes Eric's day by de-aging him.

OpenAds CEO and co-founder Steven Liss joins Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa to share which AI plays are likely to endure, how SMBs, brands, and agencies are reacting to the company's AI-native ad platform pitch, what brilliant questions VCs are asking adtech founders these days, and how OpenAds is using AI to run a more efficient startup. Plus, Steven tells the guys what the adtech equivalents of fracking and Tinder are.

Eric Franchi blesses Joe Zappa with his insights on the key dos and don’ts of fundraising, including how to get a warm intro, what makes a great pitch deck, which questions to ask VCs, and why manufacturing FOMO or including an exit slide can backfire. Plus, Eric says not to be mad at him if he's rejected you.

Agency exec Jay Friedman stops by the pod after extensive research on AI in advertising to update Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa on what really matters. Jay covers the different parts of the AI city, the questions CMOs should be asking agencies and adtech companies, and how overtechnical programmatic nerds tend to get about their products. Plus, Eric stunts on not one but two bald, bespectacled counterparts.

Eric walks Joe and the listeners through Customer Advisory Boards, or CABs: What they are, why you need one, and how to build them. The guys discuss common mistakes and how to maximize the value of CABs from a marketing perspective.

Bryan joins Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa to discuss the content-to-commerce phenomenon Shopsense is pioneering, the startup's partnership with The Trade Desk, and leadership lessons from Amazon. Shopsense is an Aperiam portco and Sharp Pen client.

In part 2 of "Common Marketing Misconceptions of Adtech CEOs," Joe Zappa and Eric Franchi discuss a viral post by Scope3's Brian O'Kelley and what other adtech founders and CEOs can learn from his approach to CEO evangelism. Then they bat back and forth other common mistakes, such as worrying about overexposure and over-indexing on events as a marketing tactic. Plus, Joe provides concrete tactical advice for CEOs who don't know what to post about.

Anne joins Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa to discuss why the Ad Context Protocol matters, what it will take for agentic advertising to achieve widespread adoption, how agents will drive better outcomes for open internet advertising, and the evolution of Scope3. Plus, Joe gives Anne a chance to dunk on the company's haters.

Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa discuss the acquisition of IAS and the company's potential future directions, how an open internet adtech company could crack the SMB market and which companies are most likely to do it, and the surge of optimism around AI — from GEO to OpenAI to Silicon Valley's return to adtech investing.

U of Digital CEO and co-founder Shiv Gupta joins the pod to educate Joe and Eric on AI's transformation of adtech, the three legs of the modern sales stool, and how sales and marketing are blurring. Plus, Joe finds out about "jeans parties," an ancient practice handed down to Gen Xers from the Mesopotamians.