Torrey Tayenaka

Just watched the Operators Podcast x AppLovin Masterclass. Here were a few ⚾World Series-worthy insights: Taylor Holiday (CTC) - Creative production pipeline with positive EV is everything. Miranda Pettinger (Akins) - Your customers may not be on Meta. Jerel Blades (Tushy) - Leverage your creative assets on different channels. Emma Nelson (MUD\WTR) - In store, think about the brands placed around your product. Bryan Cano (True Classic) - Break out your Post-Purchase-Survey Roas (PPSROAS, naturally) Chloe Strang (Musely) - Start to treat brand like performance spend. Jason Panzer (Hexclad) - Look at every brand and ask "why is what THEY do WRONG for me?" Connor Rolain (Hexclad) - CTV has more Halo than any other channel.

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Let’s normalize an upcharge on NET Terms. COD= $X | NET14= $X+ 2.5% | NET30= $X+ 5% +2.5% PER MONTH LATE I hear operators complaining about AR all the time, but they aren’t doing anything to change behavior. I’m updating all of our menus starting Monday. While we rarely offer terms to any client without an exception payment history, we still deal with the question over and over: “Do you offer NET Terms?” Well, the answer needs to change: “Certainly! The details for NET Terms can be found on our menu. Like any institution that offers financing, we expect a return on our capital.” Stop giving up terms for nothing. If an operator needs financing to buy your goods or services, they should find an institution that will lend to them at a rate that makes sense. We are happy to be that institution, but we are going to get paid for that risk.

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Substack cracked the code most platforms won't touch. Give creators the network value. Not the shareholders. Every other platform built the same broken deal: you bring the audience, we keep the money, you rent the attention. Substack flipped it. Notes timeline. Built-in podcasting. Subscription infrastructure. The creator owns the relationship. Smart money sees it. Creators are flooding in. Because when you go deep in someone's head weekly, they'll pay for access. Didn't make sense until I saw creators actually doing it.

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It seems like California and LA might be getting their acts together to finally make homegrown production a more appealing prospect for Hollywood producers and filmmakers. LA Mayor Karen Bass announced an “executive order” (wonder where she got that idea) to cut through red tape and make filming permit in LA faster and smoother. This addresses a long-standing complaint by producers. https://lnkd.in/gb2cdFuh At the same time, our reporter Jeremy Fuster takes a deep look at the crisis of production flight in animation, a huge sector of the global box office, and another piece of business that has fled Burbank and northern California for cheaper climes. Now, he explains, the new tax incentive is going to try and bring that piece of the industry back as well. Jeremy writes: The state’s animation industry, one founded in Burbank by legends like Walt Disney and Bob Clampett and which continued through the 20th century with the rise of Pixar and DreamWorks, has ceded its cultural dominance to a global landscape. For members of The Animation Guild, IATSE’s union for animators, that has led to an increasingly untenable position stuck between the high cost of living in Los Angeles and a jobs market that has declined despite being part of a worldwide industry valued at $413 billion and estimated to more than double over the next decade, according to the guild. Lawmakers behind the proposed expansion of the California Film & TV Tax Credit program want to expand the types of films and TV shows that can qualify. That includes a section of entertainment that to this point has been closed off entirely from such tax breaks: animation. https://lnkd.in/gfMddNz4

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Music publishing is a ~$10B business built on trust. Licensors trust royalties will be collected and paid; licensees trust they can use music without disruption. Sitting between them are the PROs (BMI, ASCAP, etc.). A recently filed lawsuit is challenging whether that trust still holds—specifically, whether PROs can reliably guarantee what both sides think they’re getting. On a recent road trip, I broke down what’s at stake and what it could mean for the publishing ecosystem: • Do venues keep relying on blanket licenses from PROs? • Or do they start licensing directly from rights holders? • How might greater transparency and tech reshape the model? Curious to hear from venue owners, publishers, attorneys, and artists: where do you think this goes? #MusicPublishing #MusicBusiness #MusicLicensing #Royalties #BMI #ASCAP #PROs #MusicLaw #EntertainmentLaw #CreatorEconomy #Transparency #MusicTech

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The best operators don’t start by expanding footprint. They start by fully monetizing what they already own. One of the most overlooked growth levers in location-based businesses is experience density—how effectively you use space, attention, and dwell time. The best operators don’t start by expanding footprint. They start by fully monetizing what they already own. One of the most overlooked growth levers in location-based businesses is experience density — how effectively space, attention, and dwell time are converted into value. In practice, the highest-return opportunities often come from a simple audit: converting dead zones into rentable lounges, transforming patios into shaded group seating with food and beverage service, and activating underutilized areas with programming or live entertainment. Every square foot needs a job. Every guest needs a reason to stay longer — and spend more. When growth is driven by yield per square foot rather than added space, revenue can increase without headcount spikes, extended hours, or unnecessary capex. That discipline is what drives margin expansion and scalable profitability. #OperatingExcellence #CapitalDiscipline #UnitEconomics

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In 1984, three ambitious BYU friends—Blake Roney, Sandie Tillotson, and Steven Lund—founded Nu Skin with a modest $5,000 investment (Blake’s entire life savings) and a bold vision to revolutionize skincare. In a makeshift laboratory in Blake’s sister Nedra’s apartment, they crafted their initial line of 13 skin and hair products, guided by a core principle: “all the good, none of the bad.” The early days were gritty and resourceful—inventory arrived in 10-gallon drums, with distributors manually filling jars and bottles by hand. Lacking proper office space, the founders commandeered BYU classrooms for distributor meetings, another sign of their scrappy spirit. Opting for a direct-selling MLM model, they empowered distributors to pitch products at home parties, transforming personal connections into revenue. The opportunity to start and build independent businesses resonated deeply in Utah, aligning with its entrepreneurial culture. While MLMs like Amway and Nutrilite had thrived in the state, Nu Skin became the first Utah-born MLM to achieve global scale. The 1990s brought intense challenges as several states pursued legal action, labeling Nu Skin’s MLM structure an illegal pyramid scheme. Yet, the founders’ navigated these battles and emerged victorious, culminating in a triumphant IPO on the NYSE in October 1996. From those chaotic beginnings, Nu Skin soared, now employing over 11,300 people, supporting a network of 1.2 million independent distributors, and generating nearly $2 billion in annual revenue. Beyond its success, Nu Skin has inspired countless MLM ventures, cementing Utah as the global hub of direct selling. #UtahBusinessHistory #Entrepreneurship101 #ThisIsThePlace #NuSkin

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Live sports coverage is one of the clearest examples of how challenging content discovery has become. As an avid sports fan, I’ve felt this firsthand. You set aside time to watch a game, only to realize it’s hidden behind a subscription you don’t have, or scattered across multiple platforms. According to TiVo’s latest Video Trends Report, this frustration is widespread. Some findings: - Sports remain a top draw: 78% say they watch sports regularly. - Pay TV is still the favorite: 40% rely on pay TV service as their primary way to watch sports. - Platform fatigue is real: 49% are frustrated that games are scattered across services they don’t subscribe to. - Finding the game is a hassle: 44% say it’s difficult to figure out where to watch their favorite sport or team. - Fans are willing to pay more: 38% would pay extra for easier access to their favorite sport. - But many give up altogether: 38% would skip the event if it’s not available through their existing service. The real-time nature and sheer volume of sports content make discovery especially challenging — but it’s a key problem the industry will need to solve if it wants to retain frustrated fans and the ad revenue they bring.

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At PacRim Labs LLC — Today Film financing landscape is undergoing a transformation. Mainstream capital is only now catching up with what independent producers and global storytellers have known: the opportunity in media is real and under-invested. Investors such as my friends at Upstart Co-Lab are calling this out, events like the International Film Finance Forum are validating new models of cross-border structure, tax incentives, and risk-aware production finance. At PacRim Labs LLC, we are positioning the company at the intersection of production, finance, technology and global sourcing— deploying capital into quality pre-sold theatrical and streaming content offering package investors access via well-structured proceeds, security and upside. I believe this is how the next generation of film-fund managers and producers will operate — rigorous finance meets creative vision. A few key differentiators: -Financial discipline and investment structuring -Global production sourcing and incentive optimization -Distribution & sales funnel aligned from day one -Investor-oriented mindset with transparency, oversight and control

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WBD is about to sell for over 4x what Paramount was valued at in last year's Skydance acquisition. WBD is larger, but not by that much, and more profitable, though more exposed to cable. And Paramount's total time spent on US TVs is actually bigger than WBD's, both overall and the share coming from streaming. So what happened? In short: competitive dynamics. A successful exit requires one really willing and able buyer plus at least the perception of another one. Paramount negotiated against almost no viable alternatives. WBD ran a compressed auction and got three, two of which were unwilling or unable to show up last year. This is a lesson to be studied not only in the context of $100B deals (there aren't that many of those) but for any entrepreneur or CEO thinking about an exit years down the line. My last Streamonomics® of 2025 goes into how WBD got to this result, building on themes I've been covering all year: → Not all time spent is monetized equally, nor turned into enterprise value → Not all subs are created equal (with new data from Antenna helping us track lifetime revenue across different combinations of streamers + plans + tiers) → As competition from free options increases, free funnels will soon be a must → Advertising is inevitable. → If you want to compete for time spent, mobile is no longer just an option. If you want to compete on mobile, you need to understand vertical. The 2027 streaming landscape will look quite different: one fewer major player, more free options, more licensing and windowing deals, less exclusivity, greater format convergence. If you're thinking about how to position yourself in that landscape, the time to do it is before it happens. Subscribe to Streamonomics® (link in comments). And happy 2026!

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Viewture recently closed a Series A funding round led by David Blitzer’s BOLT Ventures. The U.K.-based business offers creators looking to grow their YouTube reach, engagement, and revenues advances against future earnings derived from their content. The capital enables these IP owners to fund creative projects and grow their channels without giving up any equity or taking on debt. “It’s a self-financed strategy,” David Page (founder and CEO, Viewture) said. “We provide production financing and revenue optimization strategy upfront and take a share of the revenue earned by their ambitious plans.” But Viewture’s business –and the upside it’s pursuing– isn’t limited to the Mr. Beast’s and IShowSpeed’s of the world. Teams, leagues, and sports rights holders create plenty of their own non-live video content, and the savviest ones are coming to realize there is an opportunity for them to optimize distribution of it. A manageable lift in YouTube revenues, powered by an enhanced data and analytical approach, some basic IP protection, and improved media sales (think: direct into content campaigns), can be material. “It can be a $5mm increase in terms of additional income annually,” Page said. 👇 cc: JohnWallStreet Randall Friedman Jacie Brandes Tory Palmer #Sports #Media #YouTube #Stragegy #Investment #Creators #Financing

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🎤 New Sound Investments pod. Founders lose investors in the first few mins of a pitch. Not because the tech isn't good. Often because they start with features, instead of the problem they're solving. That's the topic on this week's Sound Investments podcast. Dana Sather Robinson has watched this happen for a decade. As founder of Pitch4Impact, she's coached hundreds of tech founders who had transformative technology but couldn't get investors to understand why it mattered. The mistake? Diving into what you're building before establishing: → Why it matters → Who will buy it → How big the opportunity is Here's what we discuss: The pitch isn't just about fundraising. It's a signal of leadership ability. Can the founder recruit talent? Close customers? Inspire belief? VCs screen for this. Weak communication = red flag. But communication is learnable. This week on Sound Investments, Dana breaks down: - Why "PowerPoint poisoning" kills your pitch - How Q&A reveals whether you understand your business - Why eighth-grade language works for even sophisticated investors 🎧 Episode: https://pod.fo/e/37821f 📻 Sub: https://lnkd.in/g6k-nfaA 📝 Deep dive: https://lnkd.in/ggNNi3dA

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