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Nov 28, 2017 · 16m · top-founders

857 How The New Rich Use Instagram To Travel $10k+ For Free

Nathan Latka · 7m spoken Zach Benson · 6m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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Assistagram founder Zach Benson joins Nathan Latka to detail how his agency leverages virtual assistants, engagement pods, and power liking to hack Instagram's Explore page and barter social influence for luxury hotel accommodations.

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 51.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.3 Guest teaching 3.3 Guest disagreement 0.3 Nathan pushing back 2.0
05100:0010:001:33–7:36 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Introducing Guest Zach Benson and Assistagram Nathan digs into the unit economics of Assistagram, asking how a twelve-hundred-dollar monthly retainer scales if influencers must be paid per engagement group. Zach educates Nathan on Instagram rounds, engagement groups, and how owning a massive network of partner pages allows them to trigger algorithm boosts without high marginal costs.7:37–13:15 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Securing Luxury Hotel Stays Through Value-Driven Outreach Nathan validates Zach's business model by sharing his personal experience booking luxury stays in Bali and Bangkok through Assistagram. Zach breaks down the outbound cold-emailing metrics and his tactic of offering Instagram masterclasses to hotel management to guarantee free lodging.13:16–15:23 · Nathan as informed peer 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Website Analytics and Optimization with Hotjar The segment opens with an ad read for Hotjar and transitions into the Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions. Zach names Nathan as the CEO he follows, keeping the exchange friendly and lighthearted.1:33–7:36 · Guest teaching 5/10 Introducing Guest Zach Benson and Assistagram Nathan digs into the unit economics of Assistagram, asking how a twelve-hundred-dollar monthly retainer scales if influencers must be paid per engagement group. Zach educates Nathan on Instagram rounds, engagement groups, and how owning a massive network of partner pages allows them to trigger algorithm boosts without high marginal costs.7:37–13:15 · Guest teaching 4/10 Securing Luxury Hotel Stays Through Value-Driven Outreach Nathan validates Zach's business model by sharing his personal experience booking luxury stays in Bali and Bangkok through Assistagram. Zach breaks down the outbound cold-emailing metrics and his tactic of offering Instagram masterclasses to hotel management to guarantee free lodging.13:16–15:23 · Guest teaching 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Website Analytics and Optimization with Hotjar The segment opens with an ad read for Hotjar and transitions into the Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions. Zach names Nathan as the CEO he follows, keeping the exchange friendly and lighthearted.1:33–7:36 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Guest Zach Benson and Assistagram Nathan digs into the unit economics of Assistagram, asking how a twelve-hundred-dollar monthly retainer scales if influencers must be paid per engagement group. Zach educates Nathan on Instagram rounds, engagement groups, and how owning a massive network of partner pages allows them to trigger algorithm boosts without high marginal costs.7:37–13:15 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Securing Luxury Hotel Stays Through Value-Driven Outreach Nathan validates Zach's business model by sharing his personal experience booking luxury stays in Bali and Bangkok through Assistagram. Zach breaks down the outbound cold-emailing metrics and his tactic of offering Instagram masterclasses to hotel management to guarantee free lodging.13:16–15:23 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Website Analytics and Optimization with Hotjar The segment opens with an ad read for Hotjar and transitions into the Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions. Zach names Nathan as the CEO he follows, keeping the exchange friendly and lighthearted.1:33–7:36 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Introducing Guest Zach Benson and Assistagram Nathan digs into the unit economics of Assistagram, asking how a twelve-hundred-dollar monthly retainer scales if influencers must be paid per engagement group. Zach educates Nathan on Instagram rounds, engagement groups, and how owning a massive network of partner pages allows them to trigger algorithm boosts without high marginal costs.7:37–13:15 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Securing Luxury Hotel Stays Through Value-Driven Outreach Nathan validates Zach's business model by sharing his personal experience booking luxury stays in Bali and Bangkok through Assistagram. Zach breaks down the outbound cold-emailing metrics and his tactic of offering Instagram masterclasses to hotel management to guarantee free lodging.13:16–15:23 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Website Analytics and Optimization with Hotjar The segment opens with an ad read for Hotjar and transitions into the Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions. Zach names Nathan as the CEO he follows, keeping the exchange friendly and lighthearted.

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

0:00 · Nathan 83.4% · guest 16.6%0:00 · Nathan 83.4% · guest 16.6%3:00 · Nathan 30.5% · guest 69.5%3:00 · Nathan 30.5% · guest 69.5%6:00 · Nathan 38.3% · guest 61.7%6:00 · Nathan 38.3% · guest 61.7%9:00 · Nathan 24.1% · guest 75.9%9:00 · Nathan 24.1% · guest 75.9%12:00 · Nathan 72.5% · guest 27.5%12:00 · Nathan 72.5% · guest 27.5%15:00 · Nathan 81.2% · guest 18.8%15:00 · Nathan 81.2% · guest 18.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 5:00 Zach dismisses simplistic DM pitching

Zach reframes Nathan's suggestion that influencers accept quick five-dollar payments, explaining that big accounts ignore small money unless real relationship value is provided.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 6:11 Nathan challenges unit economics and scaling

Nathan directly challenges how the company makes sustainable profit if they pay multiple influencer accounts out of a modest twelve-hundred-dollar client fee.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 3:06 Zach breaks down Instagram rounds mechanics

Zach explains how coordinating groups of fifteen accounts across fifty to one hundred DM rounds triggers the Explore page algorithm to organically blow up accounts.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 4:40 Nathan identifies cold DM saturation

Nathan demonstrates marketing savvy by questioning how cold DMs stand out when large influencers receive hundreds of identical comment-for-comment pitches daily.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Guest Zach Benson and Assistagram 5514 Nathan digs into the unit economics of Assistagram, asking how a twelve-hundred-dollar monthly retainer scales if influencers must be paid per engagement group. Zach educates Nathan on Instagram rounds, engagement groups, and how owning a massive network of partner pages allows them to trigger algorithm boosts without high marginal costs.
Securing Luxury Hotel Stays Through Value-Driven Outreach 4401 Nathan validates Zach's business model by sharing his personal experience booking luxury stays in Bali and Bangkok through Assistagram. Zach breaks down the outbound cold-emailing metrics and his tactic of offering Instagram masterclasses to hotel management to guarantee free lodging.
Sponsor Spotlight: Website Analytics and Optimization with Hotjar 1101 The segment opens with an ad read for Hotjar and transitions into the Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions. Zach names Nathan as the CEO he follows, keeping the exchange friendly and lighthearted.

Statements from this episode (3)

Disclosure
Benson: Assistagram manages 10-15 accounts at $1,200-$1,500 monthly
“And so yeah, right now we have about 10 to 15 different accounts that we work on. Usually it's between 1215 hundred a month, depending on the package that they choose and their needs.”
Zach Benson Nov 28, 2017 ▶ 2:48
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Benson: Assistagram's network controls pages reaching over 180 million users
“So like me and my network, like our team has over a hundred and eighty million reach. So we own like, you know, four to 50 different pages between me and all my friends that actually work for me.”
Zach Benson Nov 28, 2017 ▶ 6:29
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Benson: Custom scraper reached 26,000 dance studios in six hours
“My friend made a scraper, so, like, that's how I was able to, like, I'm also a professional dancer, so that's how I was able to connect with, like, 26,000 dance studios in six hours, so, I mean, we use that too for the hotels.”
Zach Benson Nov 28, 2017 ▶ 9:36
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