Nanea Reeves

So digital can have real world outcomes. Behaviour change can stretch across commercial and social needs.

6

Dude Perfect raised $100M for global biz expansion. The deal is getting lots of buzz, but our team’s math signals challenges ahead. Let’s break it down… DEAL DETAILS • $100 - 300M growth capital investment • Led by Highmount Capital • Unclear if 100% invested upfront OR draw down of commitment over time • No previous capital raised USE OF FUNDS • Hire mgmt team to expand biz • More live experiences incl int’l tour, consumer products • Grow content formats, frequency, channels, global localization e.g. animation, TV, movies, streaming • Extend brand beyond 5 founders by building talent network • New HQ in Frisco, TX as prod facility and “family-friendly entertainment destination”: – Retail store, podcasts / gaming / fan UGC spaces, trick shot tower, DP museum, mini golf, restaurants – Original plans for 3-story, 30 acre facility est to cost $100M+, 2 yrs to build COMPANY OVERVIEW: Dude Perfect • Digital-native comedy and sports media brand • Faith-based mission: “We’re about giving back, spreading joy and glorifying Jesus Christ”  • Other YouTube franchises: “Stereotypes,” “Overtime”, “Bucket List”  • Media brand also incl books, mobile games, board games and toys, and merch / retail / food and beverage partnerships • 25 current team members PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS • 60M YouTube Followers, 17B views • Est 2024 revenue: $50M per DP • Est 2023 and 2022 revenue: $25M and $20M per WSJ  • Consumer product partnerships incl Nerf toy line, Columbia Sportswear • Partnered with A Parent Media co to launch a streaming service • ESPN “30 for 30” doc premiering at Dallas Int’l film festival • TV series on CMT in 2016, later aired on Nickelodeon • Alternate broadcasts for Amazon’s Thursday Night Football • 4 live nationwide tours as of 2023 ORIGIN STORY • Founded 2009 by 5 friends at Texas A&M • Cofounders = twins Coby Cotton and Cory Cotton, Tyler Toney, Cody Jones, Garrett Hilbert • Started as YT channel featuring trick shot videos INVESTOR OVERVIEW: Highmount Capital • Growth stage and middle mkt PE fund for tech, media, healthcare • Founded in 2023 by jason illian and David Hawkins • 4 team members on website + advisor • 3 team members have faith-based ties per bios • No other investments listed on website other than DP My takeaway... I really like and support the trend of increased investment into YouTubers and digital-native media brands. But as I wrote about in my 2024 State of Creator x Media capital markets reports (will link them below), investment must match market and opportunity size. To ensure good ROI, and to set good precedent for future investment into our space. The DP bet is exciting, but could be overly optimistic based on our prelim math. My colleague Michael Booth's post breaks the math down (link below). More analysis to come in my Friday newsletter. —- I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do m&a and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My dm’s are open. #media #agency #creatoreconomy

91

11 Comments

Informa, a UK-based media and events biz, bought VidCon. Goal is to revitalize the company as both the creator market opportunity, and competion for live events, rapidly grows. Let’s break it down… ---SELLER: Vidcon--- • Live events business for digital media content creators • Founded by brothers Hank and John Green in 2010 • Team based across LA, NY, Missoula MT • Focuses on 5 audiences: fans, aspiring creators, industry pros, featured creators, sponsors • Each event has 3 distinct tracks: Community, Creator, Industry  • Expanded to int’l cities in 2017; Mexico City, Sao Paulo, London, Melbourne, Singapore, Anaheim, Baltimore • Shut down 2020-2021 due to COVID, launched virtual biz Vidcon Now • Growing competition from digital-native events like VidSummit, Creator Economy Live, Twitchcon, and new creator economy tracks from SXSW, Cannes Lions, ComicCon • Recent struggles incl canceling 2024 Vidcon Baltimore • Est team size of 15-25 people ---PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS: Vidcon--- • Est annual revenue of $18M (per growjo) • Revenue from (1) sponsors / advertising (2) ticket sales (3) subscription • Est 50-100 annual sponsors • Rumors of unprofitability • 85,000 attendees across events network in 2023 • 55,000 attendees of flagship Anaheim event for 2024, flat YoY • Peak attendance was 75,000 attendees in 2018 (up from 1,400 in 2010!) ---M&A HISTORY: Vidcon--- • 2018 Viacom (part of Paramount) acquired Vidcon to expand live events biz • 1Q 2024 hired bank to explore sale  • Aug/Sep 2024 sold to Informa ---SELLER OWNER: Paramount Global--- • Diversified media conglomerate • In process of $8B merger w/ Skydance • Core TV business in massive decline ---BUYER: Informa--- • UK-based media and events company • Publicly traded on LSE • Growing focus on fandoms via “Fan Expo HQ”: Toronto Comicon, Game Developers Conference • Bid $1.6B for Cannes Lions owner Ascential earlier in 2024 ---FINANCIALS: Informa (in GBP)--- Stock price as of 8:45AM PT on 9.16… • Stock price: £846.6 • Mkt Cap: £11.3B  • Up 9.5% YTD • Up 12.9% YoY YE 2023 financials as of 12.31.23 vs 2022... • Revenue: £3.2B, up from £2.3B • Adj Op Profit: £854M, up from £496M • FCF: £632, up from £418M • LT DEBT: £1.5B, about same YoY • C&CE: £389M, vs £2.1B (will have to dig in to see how used) ---DEAL DETAILS--- • Undisclosed • No public comments from either side about sale I'll write more about the deal value prop, and thoughts about how Vidcon can newly succeed under new ownership and amongst growing competition. As the first creator economy event I ever attended starting back in 2013, Vidcon is near and dear to my heart! More to come in my Friday newsletter, sign up link in comments below 👇 -- I'm the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My DMs are open.

27

4 Comments

DULCEDO Management bought Node App for $13M. This marks Dulcedo’s 5th acquisition since 2016. Let's break it down... ---SELLER: Node--- • AI-powered influencer marketing platform • Mission = bridge gap between small businesses and micro-influencers • Founded 2019 by Armin Faraji, Mackenzie Dérival ✌🏾 • Initially focused on restaurants, expanded to ecom brands • Focuses on Instagram, TikTok campaigns • 2021 raised $1M seed round from Techstars, Alchemist, strategic angels ---TECH OVERVIEW: Node App--- • In 2022 selected for Google for Startups Accelerator program • Pioneered a machine-learning technology to revolutionize agency workflows by improving influencer discovery and data reporting • “Creators can participate in brand campaigns in 3 clicks via Node, as opposed to pitching/negotiating with brands” • “Brands can create a campaign and begin interacting with influencers within 5-10 min of landing on Node's website” ---PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS: Node App--- • Over 2,000 clients across North America • Generated “tens of millions of social media impressions” • Clients incl Kraft, Samsonite, Jarritos, St-Regis, Marriott • Has activated 5,000+ content creators in campaigns • Creators include A-list models, elite athletes, actors, social influencers • During pandemic scaled from 30 to 800 brands five months ---BUYER: Dulcedo Group--- • Global talent mgmt and digital marketing agency • 4 divisions – Models, Sports, Gaming, Influencer • Offices in Montreal and Toronto • Founded 2008 by CEO Karim Leduc • 3 co-owners incl founder • 70+ team members ---M&A HISTORY: Dulcedo Group--- • 2022 acquired C4G, a startup esports marketing agency • 2016 acquired 4249, an influencer relations agency • 2023 acquired Influence + All Management • 2023 acquired Sundae Creative Agency • 2024 acquired Node ---DEAL DETAILS--- • $13M purchase price • No other details were disclosed ---DEAL VALUE PROP--- • Give Node added funding, resources for growth • Access to Dulcedo's 300M network following  • Access to Dulcedo’s diverse creator roster to support IM campaigns across various industries • Accelerate development of AI-enabled tools to enhance the IM campaign lifecycle ---POST DEAL OPS--- • Dulcedo CEO will serve as interim Node CEO • Node co-founder Armin Faraji moves to COO • Node co-founder Mackenzie Dérival remains as CPO ---WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING--- I'll write more about the deal in my Friday newsletter. I'll estimate Node's revenue and EBITDA, and discuss valuation multiples and likely deal structure. Signup link in comments below 👇 -- I'm the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My DMs are open.

13

1 Comment

Forbes' Charlie Fink talks about REPLIKANT Chat launch – REPLIKANT Debuts AI-Powered Chat Platform on Steam Replikant #REPLIKANTChat #ProductLaunch #AI #AICompanions #REPLIKANTEditor #NLP #CGCharacters #3D #RealTime #Games #LiveEntertainment #Education #VirtualAssistants #Comedy #Enterprise #B2C #SteamEarlyAccess #Forbes #News

3

We at Parrot Analytics are so fortunate to have Brandon Katz working with us who, in his year-plus at the company, has penned the critically important Parrot Perspective newsletter, a monthly report that digs up an enormous amount of data to try and parse an issue affecting the entire media ecosystem. That's included the secret behind binge vs weekly strategies, how to find the next global hit by looking at local content trends in international markets, the impact of key AVODs like Tubi, and analysis of M&A activity that matters at the consumer behavior level. We've decided to try and elevate Brandon's incredible work by tying it to our D360 Lite product -- a data platform with access to much of Parrot Analytics' data sets, ranging from TV and Film Demand, to Talent Demand and our Supply dashboard. This month, Brandon looked at Netflix's film strategy — what's working, what's not, and what should Netflix do next. Our goal with Parrot Perspective is to try and find solutions to the problems we face, not just point them out again and again. Here's one quick data point that illustrates some of the many details you get in Parrot Perspective: "Netflix sits last among the major SVOD services in hit rate, which measures sentiment for films, with 64% of titles falling into the “Average” category, according to Parrot data. This leads to a number of forgettable films that don’t generate much viewership or demand, as evidenced by Netflix’s own Engagement Report. (The top 1,000 TV/Movie titles out of 18,000, or roughly 5%, accounted for nearly 60% of all viewing in the six month period). This can also lead to the company’s popular films quickly falling out of relevancy in the greater pop culture conversation. Netflix ranked last behind Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20th Century Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company in terms of the percentage of films that maintained significant public interest for more than five months, per The Wall Street Journal. As of Q1 2024, Netflix original movies accounted for 25% of the platform’s total movie catalog in the US market, a significant increase from the 20% it saw in Q3 2022. Despite this, just one Netflix original movie ranked among the 50 most in-demand films worldwide from January 1, 2020-April 3, 2024." Read all of Brandon's great insights — and gain access to a limited form of Parrot's data — at the link below. https://lnkd.in/grGFKhW5

109

9 Comments

🚀 A New Frontier of Fan Engagement: Web3 Gaming is Changing the Game ⚔️ Why battle hamsters 🐹 when you could bake muffins? 🍰💥 We officially dropped "Magic Muffins" on Telegram, and it's already bringing the heat. During the soft launch, over 1.3 million gold was spent, and 45,000 ALLY credits were used within the game as part of our ecosystem. It’s safe to say our muffin squad is cooking up something sweet. 👀 What makes these tap-to-earn games so wild to me? It’s not just about gameplay—it’s about community and engagement. A fun, simple way to create connections to the brand and ignite fans. Whether it’s Magic Muffins, Catizen or Hamster Kombat these games turn everyday users into fans through addictive, fun, bite-sized gameplay and rewards. Magic Muffins is already seeing a 60% day-one retention rate, meaning people aren’t just playing—they’re staying for dessert! 🍮 With Telegram’s massive user base, real-time interactions, and blockchain’s fast, low-cost transactions, we’ve got a recipe for viral growth loops and fan loyalty! Web3 games aren’t just about earning anymore—they’re about building fandoms that stick. The new frontier of fan engagement is here. If you’re not baking muffins or tapping hamsters in Web3, you’re missing out on an engagement and UA strategy that’s primed to evolve dramatically. Go play where the people play! 🎮 #Web3Gaming #blockchain #games #FanEngagement #MagicMuffins #CommunityFirst #StayToPlay

18

What's up with DWNLOAD Media? It's a frequent question, so I want to be transparent about what's happening—acknowledging the wins and the losses. We launched in May 2023 with Red Seat Ventures, DWNLOAD Media aimed to unify top independent podcast networks, leveraging global audience and revenue growth (a roll-up strategy). We secured seed funding from Co_Made Sthlm, teamed up with RockWater Industries, and spent 2023 evaluating podcast companies worldwide. Our goal was to gauge industry health and see if founders would accept more grounded valuations than previous frothy highs. The excitement we had from targets exceeded our expectations. Operating as an independent sponsor, we didn't have a large capital pool to close deals. Instead, we sourced deals and presented them to investors. In 2024, we presented a handful of opportunities to investors, totaling about $200 million in valuation, which was more significant than our original guidance. Perhaps I took too big of swings, but market conditions, risk-averse investors, and a need for more profitability made closing the capital challenging. We also walked away from some opportunities that we could have closed on. In late Spring, a trusted investor told me, "It's not if but when. We'd rather overpay later if it reduces risk." Initially frustrating, this feedback led me to let the industry's growth speak for itself, and that is why I am publishing quarterly updates targeted to the investment community to make sure they see the realities of the podcast industry. Was our timing off? Possibly. But the inbound from funds wanting to learn more about podcasting and DWNLOAD has never been higher, and I'm excited to dive back into these conversations after a bit of an August break. Rather than continuing as an independent sponsor, the goal is to raise the war chest and get to work. This 'reset' also allows me to explore taking on a couple of consulting/advising roles. If you think I could be helpful, shoot me a DM! The podcast industry is booming, and our thesis remains strong. As these companies continue to grow with a focus on profitability, valuations based on EBITDA will rise, and more money will enter the space. DWNLOAD Media will be there for it. I'm excited for what's next, even if it's outside my original timing. (and here's a pic of me also excited about some oysters, a glass of wine, and beautiful summer weather in the podcast capital of the world, Westport, CT)

94

18 Comments

Great read on the concept and practical examples of "Synth.AI" or synthesizing information into AI workflows. As we move forward with building experiences and solutions on top of these LLM's the concept of synthesizing information to feed into LLM's for robust outputs that can be immediately actioned is game changing #AI #GenAI #Innovate https://lnkd.in/g_ttCnu8

13

Apparently only 15% of companies have ROI metrics for #GenAI? I'm sure this will change in the next year, but this still means we're way off pace as a whole. There's a lot of money being poured into this tech; is it actually generating revenue/improving productivity? Here's the full KPMG study: bit.ly/4fCWXIt

17

The venture capital firm MMC Ventures put out some forward-looking research on ethical AI data-licensing, providing an excellent overview of current issues like provenance, standards, business models, regulations and the value of data. The authors Advika Jalan and Charlotte Barttelot do a great job writing about a potentially dense subject in an accessible (and often fun) way. Highly recommend! "Drawing a parallel to the Napster-Spotify transition, American University International Law Review noted in its 2019 study of online piracy: 'Our main conclusion is that online piracy is declining. The key driver for this decline is the increasing availability of affordable legal content, rather than enforcement measures.' Similarly, we believe that tools that improve discoverability of copyright clean data, enable hassle-free licensing for copyrighted works and seamlessly embed consent management within AI developer workflows would make it easier for them to build models ethically… and in the process be compliant with upcoming regulations." Calliope Networks Carlos Sanchez Xenia Shevnina Max Einhorn Ali Hekmatpour Jim Tosney James Golden Pablo Iacoviello Han Seng Lim Mirjam Laux Peter Kerckhoff Brendan Gallagher Wendy Bernfeld Keith Kupferschmid Mark Turner Uday Ghare Olivier Delfosse Dataset Providers Alliance https://lnkd.in/gKMFEZ3m

32