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Feb 3, 2021 · 16m · top-founders

MediaMash Raising $1.5m So You Can Own Your Audience

Donna Valario · 8m 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, MediaMash CEO Donna Valario discusses her enterprise video platform designed to help brands host content on owned domains rather than rented social platforms, detailing their $10,000 monthly pricing, early pilot traction, and ongoing $1.5 million seed fundraise.

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 37.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.5 Guest teaching 2.5 Guest disagreement 2.8 Nathan pushing back 5.2
05100:0010:000:23–3:22 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Conversations with Nathan Latka Subscriber Announcement After an opening subscription promo, Latka introduces Valario and prompts her on the cancel culture and platform dependency risks faced by creators. Valario uses the 'rented land' analogy to articulate why creators need their own branded video infrastructure.3:22–6:39 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Platform Capabilities, Enterprise Pricing, and Early Pipeline Latka drills into unit economics, calculating that a $10,000 monthly fee equals a $120,000 ACV enterprise sale, and presses on whether the company has any active paying customers or just letters of intent.6:39–8:50 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Agency Transition and Debate Over Native SEO vs. YouTube Reach When Valario argues that social platforms like YouTube create distraction and brand safety issues, Latka pushes back with his own publishing experience, pointing out that native distribution platforms supply discoverability and views that owned websites cannot easily replicate.8:50–11:23 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 C-Suite Network Pilot and Agency Partner Go-to-Market Latka questions the viability of relying on agency reseller programs before proving product-market fit, and challenges Valario on her lack of a billion-dollar venture narrative while running out of pre-seed runway.11:23–13:59 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Debating Corporate Media Channels and CVS Retail Case Study Latka directly rejects Valario's CVS senior-focused media network example, arguing seniors will not tune into pharmacy TV channels over legacy broadcast television. Valario pushes back on changing consumer habits before pivoting to a youth demographic example.14:03–15:24 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka runs through the standard rapid-fire questions, gently pushing Valario for a more concrete answer when her reflection on her 20-year-old self is overly vague.0:23–3:22 · Guest teaching 3/10 Conversations with Nathan Latka Subscriber Announcement After an opening subscription promo, Latka introduces Valario and prompts her on the cancel culture and platform dependency risks faced by creators. Valario uses the 'rented land' analogy to articulate why creators need their own branded video infrastructure.3:22–6:39 · Guest teaching 2/10 Platform Capabilities, Enterprise Pricing, and Early Pipeline Latka drills into unit economics, calculating that a $10,000 monthly fee equals a $120,000 ACV enterprise sale, and presses on whether the company has any active paying customers or just letters of intent.6:39–8:50 · Guest teaching 4/10 Agency Transition and Debate Over Native SEO vs. YouTube Reach When Valario argues that social platforms like YouTube create distraction and brand safety issues, Latka pushes back with his own publishing experience, pointing out that native distribution platforms supply discoverability and views that owned websites cannot easily replicate.8:50–11:23 · Guest teaching 2/10 C-Suite Network Pilot and Agency Partner Go-to-Market Latka questions the viability of relying on agency reseller programs before proving product-market fit, and challenges Valario on her lack of a billion-dollar venture narrative while running out of pre-seed runway.11:23–13:59 · Guest teaching 3/10 Debating Corporate Media Channels and CVS Retail Case Study Latka directly rejects Valario's CVS senior-focused media network example, arguing seniors will not tune into pharmacy TV channels over legacy broadcast television. Valario pushes back on changing consumer habits before pivoting to a youth demographic example.14:03–15:24 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka runs through the standard rapid-fire questions, gently pushing Valario for a more concrete answer when her reflection on her 20-year-old self is overly vague.0:23–3:22 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Conversations with Nathan Latka Subscriber Announcement After an opening subscription promo, Latka introduces Valario and prompts her on the cancel culture and platform dependency risks faced by creators. Valario uses the 'rented land' analogy to articulate why creators need their own branded video infrastructure.3:22–6:39 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Platform Capabilities, Enterprise Pricing, and Early Pipeline Latka drills into unit economics, calculating that a $10,000 monthly fee equals a $120,000 ACV enterprise sale, and presses on whether the company has any active paying customers or just letters of intent.6:39–8:50 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Agency Transition and Debate Over Native SEO vs. YouTube Reach When Valario argues that social platforms like YouTube create distraction and brand safety issues, Latka pushes back with his own publishing experience, pointing out that native distribution platforms supply discoverability and views that owned websites cannot easily replicate.8:50–11:23 · Guest disagreement 3/10 C-Suite Network Pilot and Agency Partner Go-to-Market Latka questions the viability of relying on agency reseller programs before proving product-market fit, and challenges Valario on her lack of a billion-dollar venture narrative while running out of pre-seed runway.11:23–13:59 · Guest disagreement 6/10 Debating Corporate Media Channels and CVS Retail Case Study Latka directly rejects Valario's CVS senior-focused media network example, arguing seniors will not tune into pharmacy TV channels over legacy broadcast television. Valario pushes back on changing consumer habits before pivoting to a youth demographic example.14:03–15:24 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka runs through the standard rapid-fire questions, gently pushing Valario for a more concrete answer when her reflection on her 20-year-old self is overly vague.0:23–3:22 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Conversations with Nathan Latka Subscriber Announcement After an opening subscription promo, Latka introduces Valario and prompts her on the cancel culture and platform dependency risks faced by creators. Valario uses the 'rented land' analogy to articulate why creators need their own branded video infrastructure.3:22–6:39 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Platform Capabilities, Enterprise Pricing, and Early Pipeline Latka drills into unit economics, calculating that a $10,000 monthly fee equals a $120,000 ACV enterprise sale, and presses on whether the company has any active paying customers or just letters of intent.6:39–8:50 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Agency Transition and Debate Over Native SEO vs. YouTube Reach When Valario argues that social platforms like YouTube create distraction and brand safety issues, Latka pushes back with his own publishing experience, pointing out that native distribution platforms supply discoverability and views that owned websites cannot easily replicate.8:50–11:23 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 C-Suite Network Pilot and Agency Partner Go-to-Market Latka questions the viability of relying on agency reseller programs before proving product-market fit, and challenges Valario on her lack of a billion-dollar venture narrative while running out of pre-seed runway.11:23–13:59 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Debating Corporate Media Channels and CVS Retail Case Study Latka directly rejects Valario's CVS senior-focused media network example, arguing seniors will not tune into pharmacy TV channels over legacy broadcast television. Valario pushes back on changing consumer habits before pivoting to a youth demographic example.14:03–15:24 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka runs through the standard rapid-fire questions, gently pushing Valario for a more concrete answer when her reflection on her 20-year-old self is overly vague.

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

0:00 · Nathan 61.8% · guest 38.2%0:00 · Nathan 61.8% · guest 38.2%3:00 · Nathan 27.5% · guest 72.5%3:00 · Nathan 27.5% · guest 72.5%6:00 · Nathan 30.6% · guest 69.4%6:00 · Nathan 30.6% · guest 69.4%9:00 · Nathan 24.3% · guest 75.7%9:00 · Nathan 24.3% · guest 75.7%12:00 · Nathan 31% · guest 69%12:00 · Nathan 31% · guest 69%15:00 · Nathan 66.1% · guest 33.9%15:00 · Nathan 66.1% · guest 33.9%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:07 Valario defends retail video channels against TV viewing skepticism

Valario directly pushes back against Latka's dismissal of her CVS example by pointing out that traditional TV viewing is dying and digital native behavior requires brand channels.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 12:41 Latka rejects the premise of consumers watching a pharmacy brand network

Latka refuses Valario's enterprise case study, arguing three million seniors watch Fox News or Jeopardy and would never intentionally tune into a CVS channel.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 2:17 Valario details the technical and SEO downside of rented platforms

Valario educates the host on dynamic indexing, meta-tagging, and cookie deprecation, explaining how third-party platforms capture search equity that belongs to the creator.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 8:12 Latka counters on YouTube's algorithmic discovery advantage

Latka draws on his direct media experience to show that owned sites require expensive outbound marketing, whereas YouTube provides organic algorithmic distribution.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Conversations with Nathan Latka Subscriber Announcement 3311 After an opening subscription promo, Latka introduces Valario and prompts her on the cancel culture and platform dependency risks faced by creators. Valario uses the 'rented land' analogy to articulate why creators need their own branded video infrastructure.
Platform Capabilities, Enterprise Pricing, and Early Pipeline 6225 Latka drills into unit economics, calculating that a $10,000 monthly fee equals a $120,000 ACV enterprise sale, and presses on whether the company has any active paying customers or just letters of intent.
Agency Transition and Debate Over Native SEO vs. YouTube Reach 7447 When Valario argues that social platforms like YouTube create distraction and brand safety issues, Latka pushes back with his own publishing experience, pointing out that native distribution platforms supply discoverability and views that owned websites cannot easily replicate.
C-Suite Network Pilot and Agency Partner Go-to-Market 7237 Latka questions the viability of relying on agency reseller programs before proving product-market fit, and challenges Valario on her lack of a billion-dollar venture narrative while running out of pre-seed runway.
Debating Corporate Media Channels and CVS Retail Case Study 7368 Latka directly rejects Valario's CVS senior-focused media network example, arguing seniors will not tune into pharmacy TV channels over legacy broadcast television. Valario pushes back on changing consumer habits before pivoting to a youth demographic example.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 3113 Latka runs through the standard rapid-fire questions, gently pushing Valario for a more concrete answer when her reflection on her 20-year-old self is overly vague.

Statements from this episode (11)

Assertion Supported
YouTube now places ads on creator videos without their consent
“YouTube's now putting ads on, on your stuff, whether you want them to or not.”
Donna Valario Feb 3, 2021 ▶ 2:55
Disclosure
MediaMash platform pricing averages around $10,000 per month
“But basically it's around 10,000 dollars a month.”
Donna Valario Feb 3, 2021 ▶ 4:08
Disclosure
MediaMash has secured one deposit customer and two LOIs
“We actually had a customer last year who kind of they put a deposit and they're helping us flesh out the platform. So we're doing it to their specs and we are, we have letters of intent from two more customers that we're hoping to launch February first.”
Donna Valario Feb 3, 2021 ▶ 4:58
Disclosure
MediaMash previously closed a $250,000 pre-seed round
“So we raised we closed two 50 pre-seed.”
Donna Valario Feb 3, 2021 ▶ 5:43
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Native video hosting will make search engines prioritize websites over YouTube
“By starting to put it on your website, then you'll get that search engine benefit. And then the search engines will start sending people to your website instead of YouTube.”
Donna Valario Feb 3, 2021 ▶ 8:34
Disclosure
C-Suite Network will partner with and resell MediaMash to members
“So they have tons of video content. They're going to put it all on their website. And then also they're going to act as a partner for medium ash. And resell it to their members because they video.”
Donna Valario Feb 3, 2021 ▶ 9:21
Disclosure
MediaMash will scale growth via a HubSpot-style agency rev share
“So I think the partnership program is a big part of our go to market. I have a lot of agency contacts and I think it's a great value add for them and we can do a rev share. I'm trying to model it after the HubSpot model.”
Donna Valario Feb 3, 2021 ▶ 9:38
Disclosure
MediaMash is out of runway and seeking a $1.5M round
“We're kind of at the end of our runway. We're doing another round. We're trying to raise 1.5.”
Donna Valario Feb 3, 2021 ▶ 10:32
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Donna Valario projects MediaMash will reach $1M ARR by year-end
“So at the end of the year, I think we could be at 70 K AR MRR, and then that would bring us to, like, a million ARR for the year.”
Donna Valario Feb 3, 2021 ▶ 10:46
Insight
Brands need their own media channels to survive Amazon competition
“Everyone needs to be a media company. Brands need to have their own, like, Media. They need to control it. They need brand safety. They need to be able to tell their story. Consumer product brands right now are like, they're having so many problems. They're ev…”
Donna Valario Feb 3, 2021 ▶ 11:28
Assertion Partly supported
CVS is building a retail media network with shoppable video
“It's not intrusive, but then right there while you're watching it on, on your device, you can add the fiber one to your cart and CVS actually just did that. They're creating this whole media company so that they can control. Their audience and their, the way t…”
Donna Valario Feb 3, 2021 ▶ 12:25
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