Michael Sugar

Night bought Bottle Rocket Management. Yup, more M&A consolidation amongst talent rep companies! BIG congrats to Chas Lacaillade, BRM’s founder and a close friend of mine. Chas is a shrewd operator, and over the years I enjoyed watching him build a high-performing creator management company. Awesome to see him pick a strategic partner that aligns with his plan for future growth and improved client servicing. RockWater Industries served as financial advisor to BRM. I therefore can’t go into deal specifics due to the NDA between our companies. Let's break it down… ---TARGET: Bottle Rocket Management--- OVERVIEW • Talent management firm for digital content creators • Founded 2015 by Chas Lacaillade • Bootstrapped, no outside capital • Focus on YouTube creators • Reps ~40 talent clients • Based in Austin, TX TALENT HIGHLIGHTS • Austin Evans • BroScienceLife • JerryRigEverything • UrAvgConsumer ---BUYER: Night--- OVERVIEW • Next-gen representation platform for artists • Founded 2015 by Reed Duchscher • 75-100+ team per LinkedIn • Reps 100+ talent clients • Based in Austin, TX BIZ UNITS • Talent - management, focused on digital creators being entertainers and entrepreneurs • Studios - content studio, helps digital creators create and package shows for TV, streaming • Labs - venture studio, pairs operators with creators to build companies e.g. Feastables • Capital - TCG-backed fund to invest in / acquire profitable creator-led businesses • Ventures - early stage venture fund, focused on tech OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS • Reps world’s largest Twitch streamer, Kai Cenat • First manager of MrBeast, helped catapult his growth • Launched Feastables in 2022, est $100M+ 2024 revenue CAPITAL MARKETS HISTORY • 2022 raised an est high 7 to low 8 figures from TCG • 2022 raised $100M from TCG for Night Capital • 2023 bought mgmt co LFM • 2024 bought The Roost Podcast Network ---DEAL DETAILS--- OVERVIEW • Announced 11.25.24 • Deal terms undisclosed DEAL ORIGINS • Night and BRM leadership have known one another for years • Lacaillade and Night President Ezra Cooperstein both worked at Fullscreen, an early YouTube MCN VALUE PROP • Bring a top digital manager into Night’s leadership team • Deliver larger and more exciting opportunities to BRM clients • Scale talent roster and offerings for Night’s brand and client partners • Scale Night’s seasoned digital talent team via BRM team additions • More leverage to recruit more digital-native clients ...I'll write more about the deal in my Friday M&A newsletter, signup link in comments 👇 -- I'm the founder of RockWater. We do M&A and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My DMs are open.

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I wrote recently about CEOs turning to podcasting to control the message. Well, looks like politicians are turning to podcasting as well. Joe (in addition to Steven Bartlett and a few others) became a synonym for podcast success. So did guys behind (my fav) Acquired and probably Nicolai Tangen, the CEO of Norway’s 1.6T$ sovereign wealth fund. But what about “normal” people? You don’t need to aspire to become global podcasting phenomenon. Most of these guys haven’t either, they just made the first step. People that come to Poddster Singapore, are successful in what they do and they use interviews, video podcasting, conversations, not to achieve global fame, but to hit their business goals. They achieve the following: ✅ Deepen the relationship with their guest (networking) ✅ Attract inbound leads (partners, customers, employees) ✅ Build their personal or company brand (which attracts investors, board seats, business opportunities) ✅ Amplify their product (in a non salesy way) ✅ Candidly appeal to their employee base (internal town halls, executive dialogues) There are many more benefits of talks / interviews / podcasting, these are just a few. Ultimate point is… your ads are not working like they used to, traditional media has lost all lot of credibility, your events are not attracting your target audience, and ultimately, none of this is cost effective for you because you’re paying a premium to agencies and various marketing companies, which is why you’ve decided that there’s no ROI in “marketing”. Time to think about who are you hosting next for you video interview. https://lnkd.in/gDTBcB_F #video #interview #podcast #sales #marketing #networking #acquisition

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Good grief...Weedmaps busted for lying to investors about their MAUs! WM Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: $MAPS), the parent company of much maligned industry leader, Weedmaps, recently agreed to a $1.5 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over misleading #investors regarding their #usermetrics across 2021-2022. Executives #falsely inflated *monthly active users* (MAUs) by counting non-engaged visitors redirected from pop-up ads, skewing performance metrics. Despite reporting user growth, actual engagement on the site #stagnated or #declined, leading to regulatory action. The company's leadership changes and financial struggles underscore the #challenges Weedmaps has faced since going public #Cannabis #cannabisindustry #SEC #corporategovernance

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Check out my blog post https://wix.to/z6JyJHn When legends collide: Trump joins Rogan for an unfiltered, rule-breaking conversation you’ll have to hear to believe! This isn’t just another episode—it’s the future of media, where voices meet raw truth. Are you ready to listen? 🎙️ #PodcastingPower #EpicConversations #FreeSpeechRevolution" #newblogpost

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Today's Boring Biz (# 98): Pirate Ship Party Boat Tour - $4.0M Revenue - $3.5M Cashflow - $2.9M Ask Price - 0.8x Multiple - Baja California (Mexico) Note: We do not represent this deal, highlighting for informational purposes only for viewers What does the company do? 1. Pirate ship party tours 2. Themed entertainment experiences 3. Alcohol + merchandise sales Investment highlights 1. Exclusive liquor license to sell off dock 2. Equipment: 2x large ships + 1x speed boat 3. Seller ran similar business 1990 - 2013, longtime operator Investment risks/concerns 1. Owner dependency risk 2. Vulnerability to Mexico tourism laws 3. Owner health issues/ fire sale #SMB #ETA #finance #Cashflow #investing #search #searchfund #privateequity #microprivateequity #smallbusiness #venturecapital #vc #entrepreneur #business #businessowner #pirate #ship #party #boat #mexico Disclaimer: Hypothetical and illustrative only. Please do your own research (DYOR) or work with tax and legal professionals before making a decision. This video are intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice, nor should be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security by SMB PE LLC or any third party.

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The #VentureStudio community is thriving and when two leaders from different studios get together it is always going to be a great conversation. This podcast is huge as two brilliant Venture Studio leaders Barry O'Reilly from Nobody Studios and Ben Yoskovitz from Highline Beta join to unpack the innovative world of venture studios and uncover the strategies that make startups thrive. In this episode, you will learn: 📈 The fundamentals of creating and scaling a venture studio 🛠️ Strategies for innovating with accelerators, incubators, and venture capital 💡 How to apply Lean Startup principles to build products people actually want 🤝 The importance of collaboration between founders, corporate partners, and investors 🔄 Insights into the specialization and future trends of venture studios Take a listen and learn from two masters.

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For my Investors, Family Offices, and Film Entrepreneurs in Los Angeles: We're heading to Los Angeles October 11th -13th for a meetup and birthday celebration of one of our producers. You're welcome to come. Here's the link to RSVP: https://lu.ma/sc6plybi Hollywood Birthday Bash & Exclusive Film Investment Meetup ​I’m excited to announce a special two-day celebration in Hollywood for a dear friend whose team has produced over 100 films and TV shows, including the iconic Fast and Furious franchise. ​But this event is more than just a birthday party! We’re inviting investors and family offices for an exclusive opportunity to discuss our Film Investment Fund and the unique benefits of investing in the entertainment industry. ​Why Attend? ​Networking: Build meaningful relationships with top investors, producers, and key industry players. ​Investment Opportunities: Learn how our fund focuses on smaller-budget films that maximize equity returns while minimizing risk. ​Industry Insights: Hear firsthand from those who have successfully navigated the film business and discover why film and entertainment can be a smart investment choice. ​Creative Control & Financial Gains: Understand how to leverage tax incentives, distribution channels, and the digital landscape to boost returns. ​Join us for a celebration filled with Hollywood flair, great conversations, and the potential for exciting new collaboration

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This NYT expose on how 'It Ends With Us' producer Justin Baldoni paid a PR firm $175k over 3 months to professionally smear co-star Blake Lively in order to preemptively disarm and discredit her grievances against him is chilling and essential reading. My takeaways: - Our media and social media landscape has created vulnerabilities that can be easily exploited. There is a playbook for placing and amplifying certain narratives - that organically gather momentum and end up significantly swaying mainstream public opinion. - To promote a certain narrative, you don't even have to incept the whole narrative! You can simply make certain narrative building blocks available, and people will connect the dots themselves. In this case, Baldoni's PR team surfaced old interviews of Blake where she comes across as a catty mean girl - inviting people to see her other actions through the lens of this 'character'. Suddenly, her promotion of her haircare brand was yet another example of her being vapid and self-obsessed. Her encouragement of people to wear florals was evidence she is shallow and uncaring of domestic violence survivors. - As media consumers, we were not match fit when it came to recognizing this concerted smear campaign. Huge props to Zara McDonald and Michelle Andrews from the Shameless Media podcast who were early to call bull on Justin. They give credit to an amazing podcast called 'Who Trolled Amber Heard' for revealing how (the same PR firm!) used similar tactics to massively sway public opinion in favour of Johnny Depp. - $175k may feel like a big bill for a PR firm, but when you think about how widespread the anti-Blake narrative became, and how much damage it did to her commercial endeavours (e.g. haircare and drinks line) - it's nothing. It's terrifying that public opinion can be bought so cheaply. Investigative journalism from well-resourced mastheads has never been more important - so huge kudos to NYT's Megan Twohey for writing the story and Blake Lively for clapping back. #blakelively #justinbaldoni #pr #publicity

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New at Puck: A chat with the REAL Hollywood power players: Six 15-year olds who go to movies in theaters once or twice a month. Not a statistically significant survey (these kids all live on the Westside of L.A., and one of them has a parent in the industry), but a good sense of how Hollywood's target audience for summer movies is perceiving the product, with some surprising insights about movies in general. https://lnkd.in/gNG7kca7

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Genflow has 97 team members right now. It’s taken a lot of time, energy and mistakes in the early days. So I’m sharing this, with the hope it will save other agency owners resources… How I built a winning team that took us to a $100M valuation ⬇️ → Trust is key: I trust every single one of our team, being able to trust and rely on team members to not just deliver but overdeliver consistently is critical. → Hire for culture fit: align values, mindset, and goals is critical from day one. → Clarity: to expect high-quality work from your team, you first need to be clear on what good looks like. → Give people all the tools they’d need to delivery: software, process library, trainings, etc. → Invest in and optimise for growth: delegation is effective only when you work with people who are hungry to learn and grow. → KPIs and OKRs: nobody in the team should ever have any ambiguity about what’s expected, break business goals down into personal goals for them. → Accountability: hire top operators only, you want people who can think on their feet and don’t have to be chased get the job done. → Set an example: lead from the front, embody the way you want your team to work, live the culture you want to set. Scaling your agency to 8 figures is impossible without the right team. To learn the exact templates and SOPs we use at Genflow, check out: https://www.agency8x.com/

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My newsletter has launched a special partnership with  Untangled with Charley Johnson. If you upgrade to a paid subscription to The Golden Hour you will also get a paid year-long subscription to Charley’s newsletter—a 2-for-1 deal! Untangled is an acclaimed newsletter and podcast about our sociotechnical world, and how to change it. “Sociotechnical” is a term for the idea that people, technology, and power are entangled, and can't be analyzed separately. Just as The Golden Hour focuses on the intersecting crises we are navigating as a civilization, and how mental health is directly connected to our collective experience and actions, Untangled helps people see clearly the way technology is entangled in social systems. We are really doing complementary work, helping people see present and future possibilities clearly in fast-changing times. Link in comments--thank you for your support.

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📣 Entrepreneurs, Today's Business Tip! If you didn't know, Roku has many independent channels created by content creators, experts, entrepreneurs, and creatives like me and you. Outside of the popular mainstream channels on Roku here's a quick quiz. #keytosuccess #idefinetv #entrepreneurship #successtips #entrepreneurmindset #Roku #contentcreators #streamingtv #businessgrowth #FutureOfTV #AsSeenOnTV #Rokumarketing #tvexposure #leadgenerationtips #brandawareness #videoproduction

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I recently sat down with Frank Poe of Poe Law PLLC to dive into the legal side of the creator economy! We discussed key issues like morality clauses, intellectual property, privacy, and the role of platforms in social commerce. Creator likeness and long-term accessible usage rights have proven to drive significant value but also created a chasm between brands and creators on what is considered fair and termed usage rights. Frank shares insights on this, including the 2013 GEICO ad featuring Dikembe Mutombo. Full conversation coming soon! #CreatorConversations #CreatorLaw #Licensing #CreatorEconomy

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🚀 It’s back! The Founder's Forum, a meetup group that's been around since 2016, is making its grand return—to sunny San Diego later this year! 🌞✨ Why the Founder's Forum is Unmissable: ✅ Exclusive & Free: Invitation-only for founders and funders. ✅ No Formalities: No presentations, no handouts, no booths – just genuine, face-to-face connections. ✅ Creative Networking: Fun activities like matching drink tickets to spark conversations. 🍹 After vanishing for a while, it’s reappearing in San Diego, and we’re thrilled to announce that Highly Capitalized Network-HCN is a proud media partner! We’ll be there interviewing the next generation of Cannabis and psychedelics #entrepreneurs. 📌 Don't miss out on this unique opportunity! Follow Founder's Forum page here, on LinkedIn, for more info and updates. Remember, it’s invite-only, limited to founders and those who fund founders in both psychedelics & in #Cannabis

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Netflix gets in on the longevity zeitgeist with a new docu-series for finding love again in the second half of life. Six individuals from 56-71 re-enter the scene to find love and companionship. Expect to see more dating shows like this (there are six of them in China). If you are healthy and single at 50+, you may live to be 90. Why not have another romance? #ROARforward into new love.

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