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Jun 24, 2022 · 16m · top-founders

950k QR Codes Installed and $1m in Venue Revenue, Digital Seat Closing $5m Series A Now

Cameron Fowler · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 5m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of Conversations with Nathan Latka, Digital Seat Media co-founder and CEO Cameron Fowler explains how the company scaled its stadium QR-tag engagement platform to nearly one million seats across forty-four major venues. Fowler discusses their seat-level personalization technology, dual software and sponsorship revenue model, and the closing of a $5 million Series A financing round.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 35.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.6 Guest teaching 3.6 Guest disagreement 1.2 Nathan pushing back 3.0
05100:0010:000:48–3:26 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Introducing Cameron Fowler and Digital Seat Media's Market Nathan seeks to understand Digital Seat's core business model and target audience. Cameron explains the multi-vendor replacement strategy and seat-level programmatic targeting.3:26–7:19 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Pricing Structure and Venue Contract Economics Nathan presses on the core billing unit, asking whether seat count, events, or live attendees drive pricing. Cameron explains their hybrid pricing approach and historical technology blockers around native QR code scanning.7:20–11:18 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Scaling Deployments: Tagging Nearly One Million Stadium Seats Nathan models run-rate revenues from venue counts and presses Cameron directly to state baseline revenue rather than giving a vague answer about COVID disruptions.11:18–14:36 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Team Composition and Lean Engineering Philosophy Nathan dives into capitalization and team structure, doing fast math to calculate the implied $25M+ pre-money valuation and convertible note dilution on the upcoming Series A.14:36–15:53 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 The Famous Five: Leadership Insights and Daily Habits A fast-paced closing 'Famous Five' round covering book recommendations, executive influences, sleep, and advice.0:48–3:26 · Guest teaching 4/10 Introducing Cameron Fowler and Digital Seat Media's Market Nathan seeks to understand Digital Seat's core business model and target audience. Cameron explains the multi-vendor replacement strategy and seat-level programmatic targeting.3:26–7:19 · Guest teaching 5/10 Pricing Structure and Venue Contract Economics Nathan presses on the core billing unit, asking whether seat count, events, or live attendees drive pricing. Cameron explains their hybrid pricing approach and historical technology blockers around native QR code scanning.7:20–11:18 · Guest teaching 5/10 Scaling Deployments: Tagging Nearly One Million Stadium Seats Nathan models run-rate revenues from venue counts and presses Cameron directly to state baseline revenue rather than giving a vague answer about COVID disruptions.11:18–14:36 · Guest teaching 3/10 Team Composition and Lean Engineering Philosophy Nathan dives into capitalization and team structure, doing fast math to calculate the implied $25M+ pre-money valuation and convertible note dilution on the upcoming Series A.14:36–15:53 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five: Leadership Insights and Daily Habits A fast-paced closing 'Famous Five' round covering book recommendations, executive influences, sleep, and advice.0:48–3:26 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Cameron Fowler and Digital Seat Media's Market Nathan seeks to understand Digital Seat's core business model and target audience. Cameron explains the multi-vendor replacement strategy and seat-level programmatic targeting.3:26–7:19 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Pricing Structure and Venue Contract Economics Nathan presses on the core billing unit, asking whether seat count, events, or live attendees drive pricing. Cameron explains their hybrid pricing approach and historical technology blockers around native QR code scanning.7:20–11:18 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Scaling Deployments: Tagging Nearly One Million Stadium Seats Nathan models run-rate revenues from venue counts and presses Cameron directly to state baseline revenue rather than giving a vague answer about COVID disruptions.11:18–14:36 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Team Composition and Lean Engineering Philosophy Nathan dives into capitalization and team structure, doing fast math to calculate the implied $25M+ pre-money valuation and convertible note dilution on the upcoming Series A.14:36–15:53 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five: Leadership Insights and Daily Habits A fast-paced closing 'Famous Five' round covering book recommendations, executive influences, sleep, and advice.0:48–3:26 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Introducing Cameron Fowler and Digital Seat Media's Market Nathan seeks to understand Digital Seat's core business model and target audience. Cameron explains the multi-vendor replacement strategy and seat-level programmatic targeting.3:26–7:19 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Pricing Structure and Venue Contract Economics Nathan presses on the core billing unit, asking whether seat count, events, or live attendees drive pricing. Cameron explains their hybrid pricing approach and historical technology blockers around native QR code scanning.7:20–11:18 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Scaling Deployments: Tagging Nearly One Million Stadium Seats Nathan models run-rate revenues from venue counts and presses Cameron directly to state baseline revenue rather than giving a vague answer about COVID disruptions.11:18–14:36 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Team Composition and Lean Engineering Philosophy Nathan dives into capitalization and team structure, doing fast math to calculate the implied $25M+ pre-money valuation and convertible note dilution on the upcoming Series A.14:36–15:53 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five: Leadership Insights and Daily Habits A fast-paced closing 'Famous Five' round covering book recommendations, executive influences, sleep, and advice.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 46.3% · guest 53.7%0:00 · Nathan 46.3% · guest 53.7%3:00 · Nathan 24.8% · guest 75.2%3:00 · Nathan 24.8% · guest 75.2%6:00 · Nathan 37.1% · guest 62.9%6:00 · Nathan 37.1% · guest 62.9%9:00 · Nathan 30.7% · guest 69.3%9:00 · Nathan 30.7% · guest 69.3%12:00 · Nathan 27.6% · guest 72.4%12:00 · Nathan 27.6% · guest 72.4%15:00 · Nathan 56.1% · guest 43.9%15:00 · Nathan 56.1% · guest 43.9%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 10:24 Cameron defends revenue baseline during COVID

When Nathan tries to pin down growth numbers, Cameron pushes back on the assumption that revenue was zero, clarifying they did several hundred thousand in revenue despite live events shutting down.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 10:32 Nathan cuts off narrative to demand exact revenue

Nathan cuts Cameron off mid-sentence to insist on knowing exact numbers before hearing the contextual backstory.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:45 Cameron explains mobile QR adoption timeline

Cameron educates Nathan on why their startup could not launch between 2013 and 2018 due to lack of native iOS and Android camera QR scanning capabilities.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 13:28 Nathan breaks down Series A valuation and dilution math

Nathan immediately calculates the implied $25M+ pre-money valuation and points out the compounding dilution from previous convertible notes.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Cameron Fowler and Digital Seat Media's Market 5412 Nathan seeks to understand Digital Seat's core business model and target audience. Cameron explains the multi-vendor replacement strategy and seat-level programmatic targeting.
Pricing Structure and Venue Contract Economics 6524 Nathan presses on the core billing unit, asking whether seat count, events, or live attendees drive pricing. Cameron explains their hybrid pricing approach and historical technology blockers around native QR code scanning.
Scaling Deployments: Tagging Nearly One Million Stadium Seats 7525 Nathan models run-rate revenues from venue counts and presses Cameron directly to state baseline revenue rather than giving a vague answer about COVID disruptions.
Team Composition and Lean Engineering Philosophy 7313 Nathan dives into capitalization and team structure, doing fast math to calculate the implied $25M+ pre-money valuation and convertible note dilution on the upcoming Series A.
The Famous Five: Leadership Insights and Daily Habits 3101 A fast-paced closing 'Famous Five' round covering book recommendations, executive influences, sleep, and advice.

Statements from this episode (11)

Assertion Supported
Digital Seat Media partners with Learfield IMG, Rose Bowl, Thunder, and Jazz
“So we have a partnership with Learfield IMG. We do Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Washington, the Rose Bowl. But then we have some professional partners on the side, like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz that are both in, in the NBA.”
Cameron Fowler Jun 24, 2022 ▶ 1:27
Disclosure
Digital Seat Media prepares installation with unannounced MLB partner
“We haven't announced it yet, but we've got a major league baseball partner that we're getting ready to install.”
Cameron Fowler Jun 24, 2022 ▶ 1:40
Assertion Supported
Digital Seat Media programs QR tags down to the individual seat
“So we program the tags down to the individual seat.”
Cameron Fowler Jun 24, 2022 ▶ 3:06
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Digital Seat venue contracts range from $15,000 to six figures annually
“You can have some smaller venues that are paying 15,000 dollars a year, 20,000 dollars a year, and you can have some big ones that are paying six figures.”
Cameron Fowler Jun 24, 2022 ▶ 3:37
Disclosure
Digital Seat waited until 2018 for native OS QR scanning before launching
“We waited until 2018 when QR code scanning became natively unlocked on iOS devices and on Android. And that's when we said, hey, okay, we need to go and see what we can do in this market.”
Cameron Fowler Jun 24, 2022 ▶ 6:00
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Digital Seat has installed nearly 1 million QR codes across venues
“I think we're approaching right at a million. I think we've got 900,000 and some change, so.”
Cameron Fowler Jun 24, 2022 ▶ 7:41
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Digital Seat tagged 98,000 Rose Bowl seats in 10 hours
“Like we did the whole Rose Bowl, all hundred or 98,000 seats in I think like 10 hours.”
Cameron Fowler Jun 24, 2022 ▶ 8:13
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Digital Seat has around 50 paying brand partners including Google and Starbucks
“So we've got about 50 some odd brands from Google to Alaska Airlines to Pizza Hut to Starbucks that all pay to be on the platform.”
Cameron Fowler Jun 24, 2022 ▶ 9:35
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Digital Seat Media generated a couple hundred thousand dollars in 2021 revenue
“No, it wasn't zero. We were a couple 100,000 dollars last year.”
Cameron Fowler Jun 24, 2022 ▶ 10:34
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Digital Seat Media increased Cheez-It sales lift by 20% in Stillwater
“Now that we have that data showing that, you know, we've increased sales lift for Cheez-It products in Stillwater, Oklahoma by 20% now it's a lot easier to have those conversations and go, hey, you know, now it's time to pay for it.”
Cameron Fowler Jun 24, 2022 ▶ 11:00
Disclosure
Digital Seat is finalizing funding to reach $11 million total raised
“We're finalizing a round right now, and that'll put us at about eleven million total raised.”
Cameron Fowler Jun 24, 2022 ▶ 12:31
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