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Nov 12, 2017 · 22m · top-founders

841: Why He Can Charge $1000 CPMs, $31m Raised Helping Create Better Content

Shaul Olmert · 13m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m spoken
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Host Nathan Latka interviews Playbuzz co-founder and CEO Shaul Olmert to explore how the digital storytelling platform scaled to 170 employees and raised $31 million. Olmert explains Playbuzz's unique business model, which leverages interactive content and verified audience engagement to command effective $1,000 CPMs across major global publishers.

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 4.3 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 1.8 Nathan pushing back 3.5
05100:0010:0020:001:38–4:04 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Introducing Shaul Olmert and the Playbuzz Platform Latka introduces Playbuzz with upbeat banter before asking standard introductory questions about their business model. Olmert explains the premise of interactive content versus text bounce rates in a cooperative manner.4:04–7:24 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Monetization Mechanics and High CPM Branded Content Latka actively probes into financial mechanics, interrupting Olmert to pin down gross ad spend figures and whether Playbuzz takes more than a 10 percent margin. Olmert explains their $1,000 effective CPM branded content product.7:24–11:48 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Guaranteed Engagement and Multi-Publisher Distribution Latka drills into the definition of engagement versus views and pushes Olmert on the exact dwell time threshold required to trigger billing. Olmert explains how Playbuzz filters fraud and scales cross-publisher campaigns.11:50–16:09 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Playbuzz Origins, Viral Growth, and Venture Funding Latka investigates company financials, headcounts, and poses a hypothetical $120M acquisition offer from Disney. Olmert rebuffs the buyout figure, noting Playbuzz's valuation is already substantially higher.16:09–18:30 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Audio Storytelling and Future Expansion into Voice Latka inquires about audio storytelling and voice platforms, prompting Olmert to preview Playbuzz's upcoming interactive podcasting tools. Latka showcases his own technical solution with GetLatka to illustrate the data challenges.18:33–22:01 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Sponsor: JetSmarter Private Aviation Community Following a sponsor read, Latka runs through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions. Olmert gives non-conventional answers by rejecting business books and refusing to idolize other CEOs, remaining genial throughout.1:38–4:04 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Shaul Olmert and the Playbuzz Platform Latka introduces Playbuzz with upbeat banter before asking standard introductory questions about their business model. Olmert explains the premise of interactive content versus text bounce rates in a cooperative manner.4:04–7:24 · Guest teaching 3/10 Monetization Mechanics and High CPM Branded Content Latka actively probes into financial mechanics, interrupting Olmert to pin down gross ad spend figures and whether Playbuzz takes more than a 10 percent margin. Olmert explains their $1,000 effective CPM branded content product.7:24–11:48 · Guest teaching 4/10 Guaranteed Engagement and Multi-Publisher Distribution Latka drills into the definition of engagement versus views and pushes Olmert on the exact dwell time threshold required to trigger billing. Olmert explains how Playbuzz filters fraud and scales cross-publisher campaigns.11:50–16:09 · Guest teaching 4/10 Playbuzz Origins, Viral Growth, and Venture Funding Latka investigates company financials, headcounts, and poses a hypothetical $120M acquisition offer from Disney. Olmert rebuffs the buyout figure, noting Playbuzz's valuation is already substantially higher.16:09–18:30 · Guest teaching 3/10 Audio Storytelling and Future Expansion into Voice Latka inquires about audio storytelling and voice platforms, prompting Olmert to preview Playbuzz's upcoming interactive podcasting tools. Latka showcases his own technical solution with GetLatka to illustrate the data challenges.18:33–22:01 · Guest teaching 2/10 Sponsor: JetSmarter Private Aviation Community Following a sponsor read, Latka runs through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions. Olmert gives non-conventional answers by rejecting business books and refusing to idolize other CEOs, remaining genial throughout.1:38–4:04 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Shaul Olmert and the Playbuzz Platform Latka introduces Playbuzz with upbeat banter before asking standard introductory questions about their business model. Olmert explains the premise of interactive content versus text bounce rates in a cooperative manner.4:04–7:24 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Monetization Mechanics and High CPM Branded Content Latka actively probes into financial mechanics, interrupting Olmert to pin down gross ad spend figures and whether Playbuzz takes more than a 10 percent margin. Olmert explains their $1,000 effective CPM branded content product.7:24–11:48 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Guaranteed Engagement and Multi-Publisher Distribution Latka drills into the definition of engagement versus views and pushes Olmert on the exact dwell time threshold required to trigger billing. Olmert explains how Playbuzz filters fraud and scales cross-publisher campaigns.11:50–16:09 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Playbuzz Origins, Viral Growth, and Venture Funding Latka investigates company financials, headcounts, and poses a hypothetical $120M acquisition offer from Disney. Olmert rebuffs the buyout figure, noting Playbuzz's valuation is already substantially higher.16:09–18:30 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Audio Storytelling and Future Expansion into Voice Latka inquires about audio storytelling and voice platforms, prompting Olmert to preview Playbuzz's upcoming interactive podcasting tools. Latka showcases his own technical solution with GetLatka to illustrate the data challenges.18:33–22:01 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Sponsor: JetSmarter Private Aviation Community Following a sponsor read, Latka runs through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions. Olmert gives non-conventional answers by rejecting business books and refusing to idolize other CEOs, remaining genial throughout.1:38–4:04 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Introducing Shaul Olmert and the Playbuzz Platform Latka introduces Playbuzz with upbeat banter before asking standard introductory questions about their business model. Olmert explains the premise of interactive content versus text bounce rates in a cooperative manner.4:04–7:24 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Monetization Mechanics and High CPM Branded Content Latka actively probes into financial mechanics, interrupting Olmert to pin down gross ad spend figures and whether Playbuzz takes more than a 10 percent margin. Olmert explains their $1,000 effective CPM branded content product.7:24–11:48 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Guaranteed Engagement and Multi-Publisher Distribution Latka drills into the definition of engagement versus views and pushes Olmert on the exact dwell time threshold required to trigger billing. Olmert explains how Playbuzz filters fraud and scales cross-publisher campaigns.11:50–16:09 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Playbuzz Origins, Viral Growth, and Venture Funding Latka investigates company financials, headcounts, and poses a hypothetical $120M acquisition offer from Disney. Olmert rebuffs the buyout figure, noting Playbuzz's valuation is already substantially higher.16:09–18:30 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Audio Storytelling and Future Expansion into Voice Latka inquires about audio storytelling and voice platforms, prompting Olmert to preview Playbuzz's upcoming interactive podcasting tools. Latka showcases his own technical solution with GetLatka to illustrate the data challenges.18:33–22:01 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Sponsor: JetSmarter Private Aviation Community Following a sponsor read, Latka runs through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions. Olmert gives non-conventional answers by rejecting business books and refusing to idolize other CEOs, remaining genial throughout.

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

0:00 · Nathan 72.3% · guest 27.7%0:00 · Nathan 72.3% · guest 27.7%3:00 · Nathan 16% · guest 84%3:00 · Nathan 16% · guest 84%6:00 · Nathan 22.9% · guest 77.1%6:00 · Nathan 22.9% · guest 77.1%9:00 · Nathan 17.7% · guest 82.3%9:00 · Nathan 17.7% · guest 82.3%12:00 · Nathan 17.3% · guest 82.7%12:00 · Nathan 17.3% · guest 82.7%15:00 · Nathan 36.9% · guest 63.1%15:00 · Nathan 36.9% · guest 63.1%18:00 · Nathan 52.5% · guest 47.5%18:00 · Nathan 52.5% · guest 47.5%21:00 · Nathan 55.1% · guest 44.9%21:00 · Nathan 55.1% · guest 44.9%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 14:09 Rebuffing hypothetical Disney acquisition price

Olmert swiftly shuts down Latka's $120M buyout hypothetical by stating their private market valuation is already past that number.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 8:26 Drilling into engagement thresholds

Latka refuses to let ambiguous marketing terms pass, pressing Olmert to define whether an engagement is simply a paid view and how many seconds are required.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 6:41 Explaining the $1000 effective CPM pricing model

Olmert breaks down how charging one dollar per guaranteed interactive engagement translates into an effective $1,000 CPM that out-earns standard digital ad units.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 17:39 Latka explains his proprietary audio data engine

Latka demonstrates deep domain understanding of content transformation by walking through how GetLatka parses audio into structured financial profiles.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Shaul Olmert and the Playbuzz Platform 3212 Latka introduces Playbuzz with upbeat banter before asking standard introductory questions about their business model. Olmert explains the premise of interactive content versus text bounce rates in a cooperative manner.
Monetization Mechanics and High CPM Branded Content 5325 Latka actively probes into financial mechanics, interrupting Olmert to pin down gross ad spend figures and whether Playbuzz takes more than a 10 percent margin. Olmert explains their $1,000 effective CPM branded content product.
Guaranteed Engagement and Multi-Publisher Distribution 6426 Latka drills into the definition of engagement versus views and pushes Olmert on the exact dwell time threshold required to trigger billing. Olmert explains how Playbuzz filters fraud and scales cross-publisher campaigns.
Playbuzz Origins, Viral Growth, and Venture Funding 5435 Latka investigates company financials, headcounts, and poses a hypothetical $120M acquisition offer from Disney. Olmert rebuffs the buyout figure, noting Playbuzz's valuation is already substantially higher.
Audio Storytelling and Future Expansion into Voice 5312 Latka inquires about audio storytelling and voice platforms, prompting Olmert to preview Playbuzz's upcoming interactive podcasting tools. Latka showcases his own technical solution with GetLatka to illustrate the data challenges.
Sponsor: JetSmarter Private Aviation Community 2221 Following a sponsor read, Latka runs through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions. Olmert gives non-conventional answers by rejecting business books and refusing to idolize other CEOs, remaining genial throughout.

Statements from this episode (9)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Olmert says 80% of readers bounce quickly from text articles
“There are so many industry stats showing that 80% of people bounce from text articles very quickly.”
Shaul Olmert Nov 12, 2017 ▶ 2:47
Assertion Supported
Playbuzz is used by ESPN, BBC, and tens of thousands of publishers
“Total publishers is, you know, tens of thousands. But, ah, you know, what's I think really important is that market leaders such as ESPN, Huffington Post, the BBC, Sky, MTV, ah, and many others are using our toolset”
Shaul Olmert Nov 12, 2017 ▶ 3:20
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Average time spent on Playbuzz content is two to four minutes
“Just to give you a sense, the average time spent on a PlayBuzz item can be between two to four minutes. When the industry standard is, you know, is measured in seconds, unfortunately.”
Shaul Olmert Nov 12, 2017 ▶ 4:27
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Playbuzz generates 'many dozens of millions' in annual revenue
“Let's just say that we are in the revenues is in the many dozens of millions for the year.”
Shaul Olmert Nov 12, 2017 ▶ 4:54
Disclosure
Playbuzz charges $1 per engagement for a $1,000 effective CPM
“Our rate card in the U S is around one dollar per engagement. So I guess you can say that it would it would mean something in the neighborhood of effective CPM of a thousand dollars.”
Shaul Olmert Nov 12, 2017 ▶ 6:42
Assertion Supported
Playbuzz became Facebook's most-shared website within a year of launching
“Our website, plebaz.com, became the most shown website on Facebook. Less than a year after it launched, just by virtue of housing, editorial content,”
Shaul Olmert Nov 12, 2017 ▶ 12:14
Assertion Supported
Playbuzz has raised $31M from investors including Disney and Saban Ventures
“We raised a total of thirty-one million dollars until today. We have investors such as the Walt Disney Company, Savant Ventures and a bunch of other very credible investors.”
Shaul Olmert Nov 12, 2017 ▶ 12:55
Assertion Supported
Playbuzz's current valuation is higher than $120 million
“Our value is actually higher than that already”
Shaul Olmert Nov 12, 2017 ▶ 14:09
Disclosure
Playbuzz is developing interactive, data-driven tools for podcasters
“We want to be in a position where we enable you as a storyteller the tools to make your podcast even more interactive, more engaging, more data-driven. So it's definitely the direction we're going.”
Shaul Olmert Nov 12, 2017 ▶ 17:29
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