WEBVTT - UTA’s Sam Wick Talks Building Businesses for Talent ‘Accelerators’ 0:00:07.960 --> 0:00:12.360 Welcome to Strictly Business, Varieties weekly podcast featuring conversations with 0:00:12.440 --> 0:00:16.200 industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. I'm 0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:20.159 Cynthia Littleton, co editor in chief of Variety. Today. My 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:22.880 guest is Sam Wick, head of U t A Ventures. 0:00:23.160 --> 0:00:25.720 One of Wick's jobs at the talent agency is to 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:29.520 help build businesses and business opportunities for ut as many clients. 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:32.000 The era of a star holding up a coke can 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:34.960 and smiling for a check is pretty much over. Nowadays, 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:37.559 brands are looking to align with bold faced names that 0:00:37.640 --> 0:00:41.080 give them what Wick calls brand permission to reach their 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:44.640 target consumers. Wick has seen the evolution of digital media 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:47.600 from the front row, having come up as an executive 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:52.000 at MP three, dot Com, MySpace and Maker Studios before 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:54.640 he joined U T A in ten. Putting on his 0:00:54.720 --> 0:00:58.000 venture capitalist hat, Wick also offers some insights on fast 0:00:58.040 --> 0:01:01.080 growing sectors that are destined to enter sect with entertainment. 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:04.280 That's all coming up on today's episode of Strictly Business. 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:18.679 Welcome back to Strictly Business, Sam Wick, head of MUTA Ventures, 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:21.399 Thank you so much for joining us today. All right, 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:24.360 thanks for having me tell me Sam, You you know, 0:01:24.400 --> 0:01:26.399 as the head of a ventures group for one of 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:29.919 the Hollywood's largest talent agencies. You have quite a perch 0:01:30.200 --> 0:01:34.240 into the industry, and it's an industry that has has 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:37.080 really been in the last you know, two years, has 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:40.360 been in quite a run of attracting a ton of 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:45.440 attention from private equity. Seemingly every everybody that ever held 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:48.720 an executive position is about to launch us back to 0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:51.040 go buy things. There's a lot of activity in the 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:55.080 marketplace right now from your perch, what do you see 0:01:55.920 --> 0:01:59.880 that is, you know, particularly of interest to private equity investors. 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:04.840 Sectors of entertainment, media and telecom are they most interested 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:08.320 in right now? Right? So, if we even kind of 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:11.400 step back and just talk a little bit about how 0:02:11.560 --> 0:02:14.440 we think about kind of talent and how they act 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:17.040 as accelerants, you know, for a business. So, you know, 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:21.520 one UM agencies, Traditionally we're focused solely on media, but 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:27.400 as they've evolved and added additional division sports, speakers, fine arts, right, 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:31.960 you know, digital, the the breath of what we actually 0:02:32.000 --> 0:02:34.200 touch is much much broader than just media. So the 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:36.880 way that I fundamentally think about it is where do 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:40.440 our clients have brand permission? Where does their audience feel 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:43.760 a sense of attachment to the remissions or their goals. 0:02:43.760 --> 0:02:46.560 And that is so that includes media. Media is definitely 0:02:46.600 --> 0:02:50.680 a large focus area there, but it also includes consumer products. 0:02:50.680 --> 0:02:55.600 That also includes um experiential businesses like hospitality or restaurants, 0:02:55.720 --> 0:02:58.359 and it includes a pro social right. You know, one 0:02:58.360 --> 0:03:02.040 of the things that town are great are simplifying complex 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:05.959 situations or borrowing. You know, brands can borrow their brand 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:08.079 equity to help them kind of understanding. So you see 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:09.840 that a lot in like climate change or even a 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:14.320 category like finance. But go back to social just you know, 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:19.200 any any number of social justice issues absolutely get magnified. Yes, 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:21.800 but to go back to your question in terms of 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:25.760 where are people looking right? What are they thinking about right? 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:28.359 And so I'll hone down on a couple of themes 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:31.440 that I've been thinking about specifically related to media, and 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:33.280 then maybe a little bit later we can talk about 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:36.720 the thesis that actually gets us to these categories. But 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:41.080 on one end, you've got UM this movement towards media 0:03:41.120 --> 0:03:44.080 companies focusing on direct consumer businesses. And if you think 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:47.320 about companies like Disney and Discovery, historically they were more 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:51.320 B two B two C companies. They created great content right, 0:03:51.360 --> 0:03:53.480 and they went to someone like Comcast. You did all 0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:58.080 the marketing, the customer acquisition, the the LTV, TOKAC analysis, 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:01.560 the churn analysis, all of us. They're getting good at this, right, 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:04.400 and Disney is getting really good at this, right. So 0:04:04.440 --> 0:04:07.160 then they start thinking about where the growth is for 0:04:07.200 --> 0:04:10.720 these kinds of businesses, right, And Disney now has three 0:04:10.800 --> 0:04:13.600 direct to consumer services, and ESPN and Hulu and Disney 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:16.839 plus it's pretty logical that you could think about, well, 0:04:17.200 --> 0:04:20.200 they now understand that funnel, they understand how to market, 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:23.280 what are the other things that could fit with their 0:04:23.320 --> 0:04:25.719 brand identity. So, for example, we're an investor in a 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:30.040 company called masterclass Um, which is an incredible you know business, right, 0:04:30.480 --> 0:04:32.600 you could see a company like that really fitting in 0:04:32.720 --> 0:04:37.359 quite nicely with Disney or frankly Discovery right um. But 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:40.520 you could also see those same types of companies not 0:04:40.600 --> 0:04:44.239 just focusing on video assets, but any asset that has 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:47.679 a subscription method, right, So think about a music service 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:51.280 or a wellness service. Could a company like Calm or 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:54.840 headspace to be bundled together with some of the offerings 0:04:54.880 --> 0:04:57.159 that some of these media companies have, So so anything 0:04:57.240 --> 0:05:00.880 kind of in this larger subscription um area. I think 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:03.560 it's really quite quite interesting for us if the world 0:05:03.600 --> 0:05:06.880 of the new bundle people are bundling and yeah, in 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:10.040 the old days it was MTV and CNN and Nickelodeon 0:05:10.080 --> 0:05:12.520 and Lifetime, and now it could be, like you said, 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:15.840 any number of channels plus a wellness app or a 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:19.640 or a zen meditation. You're right that unbundling and re 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:23.600 bundling is why I think why everything feels so kind 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:26.599 of kind of frenzied right now in the business, because 0:05:26.600 --> 0:05:29.440 there's all this opportunity, but there's also like, what's going 0:05:29.880 --> 0:05:32.760 what's going on? So yeah, as you say, okay, so 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:35.240 I want to give you another theme, which is um 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:37.000 and this is like this has been going on for 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:39.360 up right, which is if you find places where people 0:05:39.400 --> 0:05:42.560 are spending more time then where dollars are spent, there's 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:44.560 going to be growth. Right. So if you think about this, 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:47.039 you know where I initially built my career, which was 0:05:47.080 --> 0:05:50.920 in digital media perfect example. Right, for many, many years, 0:05:51.200 --> 0:05:53.560 there's more time spent than dollars spending. Everyone kept saying, well, 0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:58.480 advertising dollars are eventually going to shift. Where's that happening today? Audio? Right, 0:05:58.720 --> 0:06:02.800 So often as we say podcasting, but it's not just podcasting. 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:05.919 Clearly there's incredible growth and podcasting. We see a lot 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:09.720 of the same dynamics happening with creators, the creator economy 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:12.479 and podcasts like we have a client my favorite murder 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:16.200 has an incredible kind of connection to reach same way 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:18.520 the digital talent you know do you know do today, 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:22.000 But it's broader than just podcasting, right, and such as content, 0:06:22.040 --> 0:06:24.919 it's the entire infrastructure layer. We have an investment in 0:06:25.320 --> 0:06:29.200 a platform company called Art nineteen that does distribution and monetization, 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:32.240 but it's also connected devices. So if you think about 0:06:32.240 --> 0:06:36.760 what's happening with Alexa or Google, right, that's a separate ecosystem, 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:41.160 more time spent than dollars spent, right, Um. And then 0:06:41.279 --> 0:06:44.440 you could also look at you know, areas like converting 0:06:44.680 --> 0:06:47.919 print to audio and there's been a lot of investment 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:51.599 they're making that content, making content kind of easier to consume, 0:06:52.000 --> 0:06:54.719 you know, on the go. Right, So that is also 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:58.440 a general theme for us. Right, I'm thinking like even 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:01.919 within those industries, there's so much tech innovation that needs 0:07:01.960 --> 0:07:04.400 to to make up We've been so spoiled, were so 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:08.960 spoiled by these great interfaces but every click is somebody 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:12.560 pouring over to make it that easy. And a lot 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:15.280 of investors have told me, like, you know, it's not 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:20.040 as sexy, but ad tech and connectivity tech is there 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:23.800 is just amazing, like you know, moving ahead at at 0:07:23.800 --> 0:07:27.080 warp speed innovations going on there. I'm sure you're seeing. 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:32.680 It is a truism that it is oftentimes not just 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:36.360 the vision but the execution, the detail. So it is 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:41.320 the little things right that um maybe we don't think about. 0:07:41.320 --> 0:07:44.000 They're not as flashy, right if well, you know, but 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:46.240 that really make a difference. And so when you look 0:07:46.280 --> 0:07:49.080 at and we have a lot of businesses and consumer products, 0:07:49.320 --> 0:07:52.040 we spend a lot of time thinking about what is 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:58.560 the acquisition funnel, what is the drip marketing strategy across 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:03.280 you know, email and text and you know, and what 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:07.480 is the proper churn rate and and inventory allocations and 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:10.360 three PM Like these are things that are not particularly 0:08:10.400 --> 0:08:12.760 like you know, high flying and sexy, but they are 0:08:12.800 --> 0:08:16.360 typically a hallmark for um, you know, what moves a 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:18.840 business from being just good, you know it too great. 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:21.320 And so you know, going back to the audio theme, 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:24.240 you know why you know why is why does why 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:27.480 is clubhouse winning in the audio category, right, because it's 0:08:27.480 --> 0:08:30.160 gonna be ton of competitors. Why are they winning, right? 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:33.240 And and it's oftentimes that attention to detail the network 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:35.280 effects that really, at the end of the day, make 0:08:35.320 --> 0:08:40.479 a huge difference easy of us. So with the direct 0:08:40.520 --> 0:08:44.600 subscription boom at the biggest of the big companies, how 0:08:44.640 --> 0:08:47.840 are you seeing that filter out to opportunities to investors 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:51.560 in other areas. We both invest and we build businesses 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:55.280 with our clients and UM when we build, what we've 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:59.320 found is that over time the market is evolving and 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:02.000 it's it's in a sense upstreaming. So it used to 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:05.679 be that the talent would just start something from scratch, 0:09:05.920 --> 0:09:10.720 raised capital, build the brand. Increasingly we're seeing this interest 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:12.760 in and this is when we work with with private 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:17.480 equity quite a bit, or with corporations spinning out new divisions. 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:22.079 UM you know, potentially buying a company and using UH 0:09:22.120 --> 0:09:25.880 and working with talent to inject their their brand story 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:29.760 and authenticity and accelerate the brand, or even taking a 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:33.840 brand like a lot of the large public companies have 0:09:34.080 --> 0:09:36.480 brands that are just kind of operating at at a steady, 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:40.480 steady state level, right, and you know, the gross margins 0:09:40.520 --> 0:09:44.040 the same, the profitabilities the same, the marketing expenses the same. 0:09:44.280 --> 0:09:47.240 They're not gonna double down on marketing, but they feel 0:09:47.240 --> 0:09:49.120 like if they could, if talent could come in and 0:09:49.240 --> 0:09:52.360 really fit with that brand and help them move the 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:56.840 needle via earned media, right, you're willing to compensate the 0:09:56.920 --> 0:09:59.600 talent in exchange for that. And so you do see 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:01.720 that up in a lot you know, you know, on 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:05.640 the talent you know side again, I think more frequently 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:10.960 in both um consumer media, but also uh quite often 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:14.760 in consumer products you know as well. And are you 0:10:14.800 --> 0:10:17.360 seeing I would imagine that you're seeing, you know, we're 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:22.240 talent getting some form of equity, whether it's you know, 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:25.400 equity equity or a small slice of equity. But I 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:27.960 mean that seems to be a growing area. I would imagine, 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:30.360 you know, a growing area focus for the you know, 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:33.160 for the many you know, top tier folks that you 0:10:33.160 --> 0:10:36.040 guys represent. Yeah, there is, there is, There's there's a 0:10:36.080 --> 0:10:39.160 couple of themes, right because you know, there's always been 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:42.440 a very robust endorsement business for a lot of talent. 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:45.920 But what we're increasingly saying is that the talent are 0:10:46.040 --> 0:10:50.640 interested both because of the potential financial returns. But also 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:54.520 I think the legacy aspect of it in building you know, 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:59.360 big and meaningful you know businesses, and there are macro 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:02.480 factor is driving this. You know one if you look 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:06.520 at and you look at studies around younger consumers, they 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:10.920 are increasingly looking for brands that they that have a 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:14.240 founder led story and they understand the mission around and 0:11:14.360 --> 0:11:17.120 talent are highly effective at this. You also hear the 0:11:17.160 --> 0:11:21.880 same thing from retailers, so um Target has done especially 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:25.880 well at this over the past few years and bringing 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:29.000 in founder, founder led brands. I think the other fact, 0:11:29.080 --> 0:11:32.480 and this really touches in with media, is that it's 0:11:32.520 --> 0:11:35.720 harder and harder to tell your brand story through traditional media. 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:38.640 Right there's less advertising space. And so if you look 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:40.719 at the platforms that are growing, let's so let's let's 0:11:40.720 --> 0:11:44.720 look at the social networks. Think any of the right, Facebook, Instagram, Snap. 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:48.600 The actual content that people are consuming is generally the 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:51.800 social content that you and I or a celebrity or 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:54.880 an influencer is creating. And so they're actually controlling that 0:11:55.000 --> 0:11:58.040 marketing message in a way that's much more powerful. And 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:01.880 I think the brands are increasing recognizing that that they 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:04.560 are an effective manner kind of breaking through, you know, 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:09.040 breaking through the noise. You must have seen um you know, 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:11.040 I mean you must be watching with interest. The growth 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:15.680 of TikTok and and TikTok as a as a marketing platform, 0:12:15.840 --> 0:12:18.280 is you know, the fact that that feels almost baked 0:12:18.280 --> 0:12:21.679 into its d n A. It seems like, you know, 0:12:22.280 --> 0:12:27.120 there's so much opportunity there, Uh certainly. I think one 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:29.439 thing that's interesting is before TikTok, you may have to 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:33.560 go back, uh ten years to find the last breakthrough 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:36.680 social media product, which is probably Instagram, right, So it's 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:38.920 been a while, so it's hard to get those network effects. 0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:42.559 And each of these platforms has a different kind of 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:46.920 influence or a creator and typically a different kind of 0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:51.080 um product are kind of product opportunity comes out of it. 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:57.480 So what's interesting about and about TikTok specifically is for 0:12:57.520 --> 0:13:00.120 me is one the growth of food. Like food has 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:04.120 always been a category that we've always felt that talent 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:06.560 could push on. It's always been historically been a category 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:09.719 that's not been as attractive because the margins have been 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:13.080 somewhat thin. At the retail level. You've got to sell 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:15.560 a lot of boxed macaroni and cheese to make it 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:18.360 worth your Yeah, when you're seeing a lot of creators 0:13:18.400 --> 0:13:22.000 do very interesting things. So, for example, we represent Half Baked, 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:25.559 harrist Right, who is one with the YouTube an TikTok, 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:29.920 Joshua Wiseman who is a fast growing kind of young 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:33.800 hip you know, celebrity chef. And so each of these 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:37.719 platforms does create their own set of stars and influencers 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:41.040 which then leads to a series of businesses that they 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:42.920 can build. When you go out in the in the 0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:45.640 business building part of your job, when you go out 0:13:45.720 --> 0:13:48.720 to look to raise money for people, do you find 0:13:48.760 --> 0:13:51.200 that you find do you have the usual suspects? Do 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:54.120 you have the usual ten firms that come in to 0:13:54.240 --> 0:13:56.480 my mind, I keeps every time I turn around, there's 0:13:56.520 --> 0:14:00.120 a new something, something capital new, you know, venture is 0:14:00.200 --> 0:14:02.240 inc It feels it feels like there's just like a 0:14:02.240 --> 0:14:05.600 lot of new faces coming into the you know, a 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:09.880 new interest in the industry. Are you seeing them right? Um? Well, 0:14:10.040 --> 0:14:12.880 first I should start by saying it's not just me. 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:17.079 I have an amazing team. Um. And I will also 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:19.520 say that I think, you know, pound for pound it 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:23.720 it's the best you know, uh team possible. And it 0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:26.320 is largely a team composed of female executives and that 0:14:27.080 --> 0:14:29.600 I have a sense as that's why we're overperforming. Well, 0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:34.680 you want to get something done right UM. But you 0:14:34.720 --> 0:14:39.280 know what's what's interesting is I think, as we've discussed, 0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:42.800 I come from a background of having raised venture capital 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:45.520 for my own companies, building them and selling them, and 0:14:45.560 --> 0:14:49.960 that was the model that I truly understood UM coming 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:52.920 into it to U t A. What I've learned is 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:56.800 that you know, being in client services, we're not a 0:14:56.840 --> 0:14:59.280 one We can't really have one size fits all. That 0:14:59.400 --> 0:15:02.600 not every business, not every talent is meant to go 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:07.040 through the venture process. And so in developing our group, 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:10.240 we developed in essence of financial coverage model and we 0:15:10.280 --> 0:15:15.840 work with family offices, all stages of venture private equity 0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:20.920 and also UM corporations. And the models have a wide 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:24.360 variety in terms of how they're capitalized. So there are 0:15:24.400 --> 0:15:27.800 businesses UM that we've gone out and we've raised venture 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:31.080 capital for so UM. So for example, we have a 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:34.840 business with Ray called Ciena Naturals, which is a natural 0:15:34.880 --> 0:15:38.360 haircare company is run by a woman named on a joke, 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:43.960 who's fantastic. That company UM is venture backed, large venture backed. 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:47.400 But there are other businesses where we've structured them as 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:51.760 joint ventures with corporations or brand incubators. An example of 0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:54.720 that would be we have a business called Anomally with 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:58.640 Prianka Chopra, Jonas Uh and Mesa. Mace is backed by 0:15:58.960 --> 0:16:02.080 mass A beauty brand, the incubator, and they're backed by Being, 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:05.320 which is a private equity company UM, and they have 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:07.640 different I'm not saying one's better than the other, right, 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:11.120 It's really about what are the ultimate goals and objectives 0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:14.520 you know, of our of our clients UM. But there 0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:17.120 are a wide variety of bottles, so it's not I 0:16:17.160 --> 0:16:21.160 wouldn't say it's there's no usual substance you know, useful 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:24.840 suspects model, although there are certain marketplaces. So if you're 0:16:24.840 --> 0:16:27.400 going to build a beauty brand, you know that there 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:30.880 are a certain number of very strong brand incubators that 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:32.520 you're gonna work with, and if you're going to do 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:33.840 it on your on, there are a certain number of 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:36.280 venture funds who are top to your funds who really 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:39.080 excel right at and investing if you want to go 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:43.200 down down that path. But what's really interesting to me, 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:45.560 and particularly kind of given out the sizing, is that 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:49.520 the range of models that that we've been able to 0:16:49.560 --> 0:16:52.120 kind of work through. And I will tell it's it's 0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:56.000 say it's it's really um, it's changing in real time. 0:16:56.280 --> 0:16:59.240 What are you finding in terms of particularly younger talents 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:01.000 that comes to you. Are you finding is there a 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:04.960 real sense of like digital entrepreneurship out there? Are people? 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:08.359 Do people come in Talented people come in come in 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:10.639 your doors with the idea of yeah, I can build 0:17:10.640 --> 0:17:13.960 a company. You know. It feels to me like there 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:17.119 is a breed of you know, twentysomething that has a 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:20.520 podcasting company in their head and working, you know, working 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:23.680 on other audio projects on the side. I'm amazed at 0:17:23.680 --> 0:17:28.479 how many plates people can juggle, right, So we call 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:31.960 them the multi hyphen it's right because they can do 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:36.199 so many different things. And so there is UM. Well, 0:17:36.200 --> 0:17:39.080 I'm just starting with a question on on digital platforms. 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:43.680 I think many of the creators who um are building 0:17:43.680 --> 0:17:49.240 businesses on digital platforms. Um, they're breaking down that that 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:52.480 that that wall, that barrier. Right. I used to always 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:55.359 say this, and men was in the managin of Maker 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:58.760 Studios and YouTube Network, and what I saw there was 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:02.640 when you were speaking directly to your audience, they really 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:07.000 understood who you were, and you had a greater ability 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:11.200 to influence influence purchase behavior. Um. And so I think 0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:14.440 a lot of the digital creators are really savvy and 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:17.720 really understand us. UM. And so if you look at someone, 0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:20.680 for example, like Emma Chamberlain is one of the biggest 0:18:20.800 --> 0:18:25.280 digital stars period full stop. UM. We worked with her 0:18:25.280 --> 0:18:27.360 and we've we've built a coffee company with her called 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:33.040 Chamberlain Coffee, which is doing incredibly well. UM. But it's 0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:38.359 because I think the audience understands from day one, right, 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:42.560 her love of of coffee in that category. Um. And 0:18:42.600 --> 0:18:45.440 that's happening across the board. You could look at our clients, 0:18:45.480 --> 0:18:49.840 the Demilio's um who are on on TikTok, you could 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:53.880 you could look at a number of the beauty influencers, right, 0:18:54.080 --> 0:18:58.000 they've almost baked in commerce as part of their DNA. 0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:04.680 The content itself, right is you know, instructional is educational 0:19:04.880 --> 0:19:07.560 right in a way that it wasn't you know for 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:11.680 a previous generation who was on film and TV. It's 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:18.080 a very different, very different tool. Kid. We'll be back 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:25.040 with more from Sam Wick after a quick break, and 0:19:25.160 --> 0:19:28.200 we're back with U t A. Sam Wick. Sam tell 0:19:28.280 --> 0:19:32.040 us about your own journey through digital startups and entrepreneurship. 0:19:32.160 --> 0:19:34.120 How did you How did you get on the path 0:19:34.200 --> 0:19:37.320 that led you to U T a UM. One of 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:39.760 my colleagues like to say, it's the wind, the long 0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:44.199 and winding road, how I got to you T a UM. 0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:47.640 I've always been interested in media and tech. I actually 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:52.880 started my career doing A and R for American recordings. 0:19:52.920 --> 0:19:55.440 I worked for a guy named Rick Rubin who anywhere 0:19:55.480 --> 0:19:58.240 to him anyone loves hip hop Los O very well. 0:19:58.280 --> 0:20:00.520 I actually signed a group called System of a Down 0:20:01.160 --> 0:20:03.040 UM and that was my whole first career and I 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:06.920 and I loved music then and I love music now. 0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:08.879 And one of the things that I often say is, 0:20:08.920 --> 0:20:12.000 no matter what job I choose, it always seems that 0:20:12.000 --> 0:20:15.480 that company chooses to be in music. UM. From there, 0:20:15.680 --> 0:20:19.600 I moved into media and tech and I did a 0:20:19.640 --> 0:20:23.320 series of companies. I ran content for MBA three dot com, 0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:26.879 which we took public in the early aughts. UM. I 0:20:26.960 --> 0:20:29.680 then did a SAS company with Mike Jones, who runs 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:32.600 a very well thought of incubator here in Los Angeles 0:20:32.640 --> 0:20:35.119 called science called user Plane, that we sold to a 0:20:35.119 --> 0:20:39.280 o LL. I ran marketing and content from for my 0:20:39.359 --> 0:20:43.720 Space if you remember that. Uh And then UH I 0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:46.920 was on the management team of Maker Studios and it 0:20:47.359 --> 0:20:50.600 was you know, which we sold to Disney. That in 0:20:50.640 --> 0:20:53.040 and of itself must have been quite a journey. I 0:20:53.080 --> 0:20:56.040 had to tell you. Disney is a really amazing company. 0:20:56.080 --> 0:20:59.720 It is like, you know, the way they tell stories 0:21:00.640 --> 0:21:04.080 UM and and not just you know, on a screen 0:21:04.160 --> 0:21:06.879 or on a box, but thinking about the brand, the 0:21:07.160 --> 0:21:13.320 entire brand life cycle of storytelling is incredibly powerful. UM 0:21:13.359 --> 0:21:16.280 And being from UH I grew up in southern California, 0:21:16.600 --> 0:21:18.320 I used to go to Disneyland every year for my 0:21:18.400 --> 0:21:21.040 birthday and and and so there were days that I 0:21:21.040 --> 0:21:22.800 would pinch myself as I was sitting there on the 0:21:22.800 --> 0:21:24.679 corner of Dope Drive and Mickey Ev or maybe it's 0:21:24.720 --> 0:21:27.560 Mickey Mickey Drive and dopev I can't remember. But you know, 0:21:28.000 --> 0:21:31.480 it was truly a great place, you know, to be in. 0:21:31.640 --> 0:21:35.080 You're actually seeing a number of those Disney executive as 0:21:35.160 --> 0:21:37.800 disruption occurs, doing things that are very innovative. Right. So 0:21:38.000 --> 0:21:40.960 you know Ben Sherwood who ran Disney Media Networks as 0:21:41.000 --> 0:21:45.320 a new UM coaching and sports startup called Mojo, which 0:21:45.359 --> 0:21:50.000 were an investor in UM and you know, Kevin Mayer 0:21:50.119 --> 0:21:51.960 is obviously doing some things that are quite you know, 0:21:52.040 --> 0:21:56.920 intriguing as well. Um, so it actually did quite quite 0:21:57.000 --> 0:21:59.879 enjoy my time there. But um what I what I 0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:04.040 learned both from from Maker and from Disney, was that 0:22:04.119 --> 0:22:09.359 I felt that this trend of creators being able to 0:22:09.400 --> 0:22:11.240 build businesses and all the things that we've just talked 0:22:11.240 --> 0:22:14.160 about earlier day was only going to accelerate. And that's 0:22:14.160 --> 0:22:16.879 what really attracted me to U t A. I started 0:22:16.920 --> 0:22:20.800 thinking about, well, if there's a platform for digital creators, 0:22:20.840 --> 0:22:26.199 there's probably a bigger platform for all creators, all talent, 0:22:26.600 --> 0:22:30.239 all thought leaders, all speakers. Uh and what could be 0:22:30.280 --> 0:22:33.439 the most exciting place to do that? Uh? Well, U 0:22:33.440 --> 0:22:35.920 t A. You know what surprises me is just kind 0:22:35.920 --> 0:22:39.879 of the amount of ambition, which, of course, you know, 0:22:39.920 --> 0:22:42.280 people that that make it in Hollywood are never short 0:22:42.320 --> 0:22:46.600 of ambition. But the I think just the sense of 0:22:46.600 --> 0:22:49.719 like business literacy, the idea that oh I can I 0:22:49.760 --> 0:22:51.840 can create a company. I can create a company that 0:22:51.920 --> 0:22:54.400 will then you know, kick off returns that can help 0:22:54.480 --> 0:22:58.600 my effort to provide clean water in you know, in 0:22:58.640 --> 0:23:02.120 another country. I mean that the the connectivity that that 0:23:02.560 --> 0:23:05.520 and and as you talk about the power that talent 0:23:05.720 --> 0:23:09.480 can wield to accelerate things, to bring you to bring 0:23:09.520 --> 0:23:13.440 things to market. Now, UM, do you ever I would 0:23:13.480 --> 0:23:16.040 imagine that that there must be times when you have 0:23:16.160 --> 0:23:18.959 and again not not not as super specifics, but there 0:23:19.000 --> 0:23:21.320 must be times when people want to bring you ideas 0:23:21.359 --> 0:23:24.160