Matt Pohlson is the co-founder and CEO of fundraising platform Omaze. He describes how Omaze scaled video production and outcompeted talent agencies and tech giants.
0:00 / 0:22exact quote · 22.5s
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“At one point we were producing 400 celebrity videos a year, you know, and our team, like, figured out that process, was really good at learning from that process. Like, that's why we, like, that's why we were the only ones who did a celebrity that made it. We've committed WME, tried to do it, CAA tried to do it. Even Airbnb and Groupon at the time tried to do, but that machine is why we were able to beat them and so we learned watching that from him.”
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More from Matthew Pohlson
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Omaze's Subscriber Retention Rates Rival Netflix and Spotify
“It's right up there with the top consumer subscription companies in the world. I mean, it's comparable to Netflix, Spotify.”
Matthew PohlsonJun 6, 2025▶ 42:3020VC: The Science of Storytelling: Three Steps to Master the Perfect Story | From Near Death Experience to Unicorn Startup: The Untold Story of Omaze with Matt Pohlson
PredictionOpen · timeframe Jun 2040
Omaze Targets $8B Revenue and Gates Foundation-Level Charitable Impact
“It's not our 10 year vision, but it's our 15 year vision, is Fortune 500 impact number one. The Fortune 500 is right now is eight billion in revenue to be on that list. Impact number one means the number one source of charitable funds in the world outside of g…”
Matthew PohlsonJun 6, 2025▶ 1:22:0020VC: The Science of Storytelling: Three Steps to Master the Perfect Story | From Near Death Experience to Unicorn Startup: The Untold Story of Omaze with Matt Pohlson
AssertionSupported
Outlander's Sam Heughan Outgrossed Brad Pitt as Omaze's Top Talent
“Whereas like a guy named Sam Heughan, who's on a show called Outlander, which is a kind of a sci-fi romantic show set in Scotland. He's our highest grossing talent of all time, more than George Clooney or Brad Pitt or Matt Damon, or you name it, because he has…”
Matthew PohlsonJun 6, 2025▶ 11:4220VC: The Science of Storytelling: Three Steps to Master the Perfect Story | From Near Death Experience to Unicorn Startup: The Untold Story of Omaze with Matt Pohlson
Disclosure
Omaze Spent $250K on a McLaren With Only $900K in Cash
“And so I, then I went to our CFO, Nina, and I said, hey, I think we should offer a car. We should go buy a 250,000 dollar McLaren, offer it with just a maze, no talent. Because if we could do that on our own, then we would control our own destiny. We would rea…”
Matthew PohlsonJun 6, 2025▶ 24:3020VC: The Science of Storytelling: Three Steps to Master the Perfect Story | From Near Death Experience to Unicorn Startup: The Untold Story of Omaze with Matt Pohlson
AssertionContradicted
The Bachelor Has the Highest Educated TV Audience in the US
“Same in the US, like The Bachelor, the highest educated audience in the US is The Bachelor.”
Matthew PohlsonJun 6, 2025▶ 38:3420VC: The Science of Storytelling: Three Steps to Master the Perfect Story | From Near Death Experience to Unicorn Startup: The Untold Story of Omaze with Matt Pohlson
AssertionContradicted
40% of All Global Television Content Is House-Related
“40% of all television in the world is about houses, like some kind of house transformation show, some kind of DIY, you know, 60% of all TV is reality, and two-thirds of that is about houses.”
Matthew PohlsonJun 6, 2025▶ 41:0020VC: The Science of Storytelling: Three Steps to Master the Perfect Story | From Near Death Experience to Unicorn Startup: The Untold Story of Omaze with Matt Pohlson
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