Brendan Kane

So I didn't set out to be in marketing. I actually wanted to be a film producer. So I went to film school to hopefully learn the business side of the industry. Showed up at film school, quickly realized they teach you nothing about business there. So I figured the best way to learn about business is start your own. So this was like 2003, 2004.

So I didn't set out to be in marketing. I actually wanted to be a film producer. So I went to film school to hopefully learn the business side of the industry. Showed up at film school, quickly realized they teach you nothing about business there. So I figured the best way to learn about business is start your own. So this was like 2003, 2004.

So the most cost-efficient way at the time was to start internet companies. So I started a few internet companies just to learn and experiment. And then when I moved to LA to pursue a career in film, like everybody else, I had to start at the bottom, making coffee and copies and deliveries and And people would ask me, well, why did you move to LA? What do you want to do?

So the most cost-efficient way at the time was to start internet companies. So I started a few internet companies just to learn and experiment. And then when I moved to LA to pursue a career in film, like everybody else, I had to start at the bottom, making coffee and copies and deliveries and And people would ask me, well, why did you move to LA? What do you want to do?

I said, I want to be a film producer. I would see everybody's eyes glaze over. So I knew I needed a different way to kind of stand out and connect with the heads of the studios, producers, directors, and things of that nature. And I noticed that we would spend tens of millions of dollars on a single piece of content.

I said, I want to be a film producer. I would see everybody's eyes glaze over. So I knew I needed a different way to kind of stand out and connect with the heads of the studios, producers, directors, and things of that nature. And I noticed that we would spend tens of millions of dollars on a single piece of content.

And then we would invest tens of millions of dollars more into marketing that single piece of content And it's not like any other product or business where you have years or decades. You literally have months to make people, hundreds of millions of people around the world to know about this single content. So at the time, social media was just coming on. This was 2005.

And then we would invest tens of millions of dollars more into marketing that single piece of content And it's not like any other product or business where you have years or decades. You literally have months to make people, hundreds of millions of people around the world to know about this single content. So at the time, social media was just coming on. This was 2005.

So it was like MySpace and Friendster were the predominant players and YouTube and Facebook were just launching. So I just thought, especially on YouTube, there's all these creators that are amassing millions of views and millions of subscribers, but nobody's talking to them. Nobody's trying to harness that power.

So it was like MySpace and Friendster were the predominant players and YouTube and Facebook were just launching. So I just thought, especially on YouTube, there's all these creators that are amassing millions of views and millions of subscribers, but nobody's talking to them. Nobody's trying to harness that power.

So I started building digital divisions for the movie studios, and that allowed me to connect and rise to the top of that industry in a relatively short period of time. So that's how I kind of got the bug and got started in that space and just quickly realized that the film industry is just another corporation. So it wasn't really fun, exciting. It wasn't really moving.

So I started building digital divisions for the movie studios, and that allowed me to connect and rise to the top of that industry in a relatively short period of time. So that's how I kind of got the bug and got started in that space and just quickly realized that the film industry is just another corporation. So it wasn't really fun, exciting. It wasn't really moving.

Everybody would talk about innovating, but nobody would actually do anything. So that's where I left and actually started building technology platforms on top of these social networks.

Everybody would talk about innovating, but nobody would actually do anything. So that's where I left and actually started building technology platforms on top of these social networks.

So I've built the first ever influencer technology platform on top of MySpace, ended up licensing it to Viacom and MTV and other platforms that allowed me to work with people like Taylor Swift and Rihanna and others. But that's kind of how I got started in this space.

So I've built the first ever influencer technology platform on top of MySpace, ended up licensing it to Viacom and MTV and other platforms that allowed me to work with people like Taylor Swift and Rihanna and others. But that's kind of how I got started in this space.

Love that. I'm going to go off script here. We've got a lot of questions, but a lot of people want to be influencers. And Jeremy Miner, for example, the guy that made the intro, eyeballs. Jeremy was in here, I don't know, probably a year ago. And he said, would you rather have a billionaire in here or a person with a billion followers? He's like, it's a new currency. He's like eyeballs.

Love that. I'm going to go off script here. We've got a lot of questions, but a lot of people want to be influencers. And Jeremy Miner, for example, the guy that made the intro, eyeballs. Jeremy was in here, I don't know, probably a year ago. And he said, would you rather have a billionaire in here or a person with a billion followers? He's like, it's a new currency. He's like eyeballs.

What are your thoughts on that?

What are your thoughts on that?