This is Jesse Pujji and today we’re breaking down Cameo, a video-sharing marketplace where you can buy personalized videos from your favorite celebrities. Cameo was founded in 2016 and reached unicorn status last year after producing millions of messages since its founding. To breakdown Cameo, I'm joined by the company’s CEO and Founder, Steven Galanis. In this breakdown, we discuss the unusual origin story of the business, how they manage the two-sided marketplace, and discovering a scalable pricing model. Please enjoy this business breakdown of Cameo. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.   -----   Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt   Show Notes [00:02:51] - [First question] - What Cameo is and their size and scale today [00:03:51] - An overview of Cameo’s value proposition for creators and customers [00:05:28] - The most common events tied to someone wanting a Cameo   [00:07:15] - Case study of a creator making Cameo a meaningful income source [00:09:10] - The early inspiration for the idea that eventually became Cameo   [00:11:46] - Biggest differences between Cameo today and its original form   [00:13:26] - What the competitive landscape looks like today in this space [00:14:51] - How they compete and what makes them defensible  [00:16:44] - The potential market size for this type of business and the supply side [00:19:01] - Describing their business model from a high viewpoint   [00:21:55] - Managing the supply side and the metrics used to do so  [00:24:15] - Important data points to consider for customer acquisition [00:27:09] - Interesting supply and demand dynamics that drive each other [00:29:01] - Thoughts about customer retention and expanding Cameo’s use cases [00:30:35] - Important sub drivers of pricing and how it affects the business and demand [00:34:43] - How the B2B side of the business has evolved and its overall potential [00:37:41] - Growth levers inside the core marketplace and new initiatives  [00:39:08] - Overview of overhead, costs, and their revenue model  [00:40:29] - The Represent acquisition and philosophy of M&A [00:43:28] - A tendency to have legends who’ve retired joining the platform [00:44:56] - What would contribute to an explosive future for Cameo’s trajectory in ten years [00:47:18] - The biggest potential risks to Cameo as a business [00:48:40] - Thoughts about brand in terms of building Cameo’s industry presence    [00:50:04] - Competing with OnlyFans and how brand plays a role in that  [00:51:46] - Lessons for builders and investors when studying Cameo’s story   [00:54:42] - Where to go to learn more about Cameo and talent marketplaces 

Today’s Breakdown is a little different. For one, I’m Ali Hamed, an investor at Crossbeam and CoVenture, and I’ll be your host. Secondly, in this conversation, we are studying a private company that you’re unlikely to have heard of. That business is Spotter, and they play a fascinating role in the flourishing creator economy. Specifically, they provide capital and knowledge to a number of the world’s most influential creators, including Mr Beast. So in the process of discussing Spotter, we will also dive into the inner workings of YouTube and their creator platform. To break down Spotter, I’m joined by their CEO, Aaron DeBevoise. Aaron has spent his career at the intersection of entrepreneurship, investing, and digital content. I’ve worked with Aaron for a number of years and learned a ton about this ecosystem from him. Please enjoy this Business Breakdown of Spotter.    For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.   -----   Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt   Show Notes [00:02:52] - [First question] - How the YouTube ecosystem became what it is today [00:05:52] - The transition from mobile to professional television quality content [00:08:58] - How advertising on YouTube works and generates revenue for its creators  [00:11:47] - The moment YouTube had to differentiate themselves from Google’s ad auction [00:13:20] - How the pandemic has accelerated the pace of their ad revenue  [00:16:19] - Why YouTube nailed monetization in a way that other platforms haven’t  [00:18:53] - His background and how he came to learn so much about YouTube [00:22:57] - Capital deployed and projects financed so far in the YouTube ecosystem [00:25:13] - Overview of the main ways to fund a YouTube creator  [00:27:30] - Thoughts on pricing and his risk reward perspective [00:30:49] - The breadth of uses for proceeds when creators invest in their brands [00:36:42] - What ad optimization and asset management means in this asset class [00:38:48] - The order of magnitude people are willing to pay for premium content [00:40:06] - Where the barriers to entry are that make Spotter so defensible [00:45:06] - The future of YouTube in the next five to ten years [00:47:03] - Something he used to believe about YouTube that has changed