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Jun 18, 2016 · 19m · top-founders

EP 329: It Costs $500k To Call Everyone in Florida, He's Behind Ted Cruz

Nathan Latka · 9m spoken Brian Badera · 7m 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 Episode 329 of The Top podcast, host Nathan Latka interviews Brian Badera, founding partner at Amplify Relations, about scaling a high-margin political public relations and advertising agency. Badera discusses executing mass behavioral change campaigns for high-profile political clients, managing automated telecom operations, and adapting political PR tactics to accelerate startup growth.

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 57.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 2.0 Guest teaching 2.5 Guest disagreement 0.7 Nathan pushing back 1.3
05100:0010:000:43–3:37 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Weekly Contest Giveaway and Upcoming Episodes Intro monologue, sponsor announcements, contest setup, and guest introduction. No interaction or pushback occurred.3:38–6:36 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Working with Major Political Figures and PACs Friendly background exploration of Badera's early founding story, political clients like the Koch brothers and Glenn Beck, and current business size ($2M revenue, 13 staff).6:36–9:17 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Robocall Licensing and Campaign Unit Economics Latka drills down on how Badera earns 90% margin on robocalls and questions why campaigns wouldn't bypass him; Badera educates him on campaign structures operating with lean payrolls needing complete outsourced solutions.9:17–12:35 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Balancing Political Identity and Corporate Clients Badera shares lessons on partisan branding and corrects Latka's idea of using robocalls for direct consumer sales, teaching practical regional PR strategies instead.12:35–15:22 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Brian Badera's Online Presence and Contact Info Brief contact info wrap-up transitioned into a mid-roll advertisement read for FreshBooks and HostGator.15:23–16:58 · Nathan as informed peer 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions and outro monologue; completely collaborative.0:43–3:37 · Guest teaching 0/10 Weekly Contest Giveaway and Upcoming Episodes Intro monologue, sponsor announcements, contest setup, and guest introduction. No interaction or pushback occurred.3:38–6:36 · Guest teaching 3/10 Working with Major Political Figures and PACs Friendly background exploration of Badera's early founding story, political clients like the Koch brothers and Glenn Beck, and current business size ($2M revenue, 13 staff).6:36–9:17 · Guest teaching 6/10 Robocall Licensing and Campaign Unit Economics Latka drills down on how Badera earns 90% margin on robocalls and questions why campaigns wouldn't bypass him; Badera educates him on campaign structures operating with lean payrolls needing complete outsourced solutions.9:17–12:35 · Guest teaching 5/10 Balancing Political Identity and Corporate Clients Badera shares lessons on partisan branding and corrects Latka's idea of using robocalls for direct consumer sales, teaching practical regional PR strategies instead.12:35–15:22 · Guest teaching 0/10 Brian Badera's Online Presence and Contact Info Brief contact info wrap-up transitioned into a mid-roll advertisement read for FreshBooks and HostGator.15:23–16:58 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions and outro monologue; completely collaborative.0:43–3:37 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Weekly Contest Giveaway and Upcoming Episodes Intro monologue, sponsor announcements, contest setup, and guest introduction. No interaction or pushback occurred.3:38–6:36 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Working with Major Political Figures and PACs Friendly background exploration of Badera's early founding story, political clients like the Koch brothers and Glenn Beck, and current business size ($2M revenue, 13 staff).6:36–9:17 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Robocall Licensing and Campaign Unit Economics Latka drills down on how Badera earns 90% margin on robocalls and questions why campaigns wouldn't bypass him; Badera educates him on campaign structures operating with lean payrolls needing complete outsourced solutions.9:17–12:35 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Balancing Political Identity and Corporate Clients Badera shares lessons on partisan branding and corrects Latka's idea of using robocalls for direct consumer sales, teaching practical regional PR strategies instead.12:35–15:22 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Brian Badera's Online Presence and Contact Info Brief contact info wrap-up transitioned into a mid-roll advertisement read for FreshBooks and HostGator.15:23–16:58 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions and outro monologue; completely collaborative.0:43–3:37 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Weekly Contest Giveaway and Upcoming Episodes Intro monologue, sponsor announcements, contest setup, and guest introduction. No interaction or pushback occurred.3:38–6:36 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Working with Major Political Figures and PACs Friendly background exploration of Badera's early founding story, political clients like the Koch brothers and Glenn Beck, and current business size ($2M revenue, 13 staff).6:36–9:17 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Robocall Licensing and Campaign Unit Economics Latka drills down on how Badera earns 90% margin on robocalls and questions why campaigns wouldn't bypass him; Badera educates him on campaign structures operating with lean payrolls needing complete outsourced solutions.9:17–12:35 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Balancing Political Identity and Corporate Clients Badera shares lessons on partisan branding and corrects Latka's idea of using robocalls for direct consumer sales, teaching practical regional PR strategies instead.12:35–15:22 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Brian Badera's Online Presence and Contact Info Brief contact info wrap-up transitioned into a mid-roll advertisement read for FreshBooks and HostGator.15:23–16:58 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions and outro monologue; completely collaborative.

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

0:00 · Nathan 86.4% · guest 13.6%0:00 · Nathan 86.4% · guest 13.6%3:00 · Nathan 28.8% · guest 71.2%3:00 · Nathan 28.8% · guest 71.2%6:00 · Nathan 28.2% · guest 71.8%6:00 · Nathan 28.2% · guest 71.8%9:00 · Nathan 36.6% · guest 63.4%9:00 · Nathan 36.6% · guest 63.4%12:00 · Nathan 76.5% · guest 23.5%12:00 · Nathan 76.5% · guest 23.5%15:00 · Nathan 78.4% · guest 21.6%15:00 · Nathan 78.4% · guest 21.6%18:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%18:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 9:33 Embracing Republican partisan identity despite lost business

Badera unhesitatingly defends his identity and client base despite losing corporate pitches, dismissing the idea of hiding who they are.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 7:52 Questioning why PACs do not bypass Badera's 90% margin

Latka pushes back on the 90% profit margin, questioning why clients would not go straight to the Canadian telecommunications vendor.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:58 Educating on the startup nature of Senate campaigns

Badera explains the operational reality of political campaigns keeping headcount minimal and outsourcing full campaign execution to specialized agencies.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 6:04 Dissecting percentage of ad spend unit economics

Latka immediately calculates and extracts the standard 15% agency cut and explores specific product margins.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Weekly Contest Giveaway and Upcoming Episodes 0000 Intro monologue, sponsor announcements, contest setup, and guest introduction. No interaction or pushback occurred.
Working with Major Political Figures and PACs 3311 Friendly background exploration of Badera's early founding story, political clients like the Koch brothers and Glenn Beck, and current business size ($2M revenue, 13 staff).
Robocall Licensing and Campaign Unit Economics 4614 Latka drills down on how Badera earns 90% margin on robocalls and questions why campaigns wouldn't bypass him; Badera educates him on campaign structures operating with lean payrolls needing complete outsourced solutions.
Balancing Political Identity and Corporate Clients 4523 Badera shares lessons on partisan branding and corrects Latka's idea of using robocalls for direct consumer sales, teaching practical regional PR strategies instead.
Brian Badera's Online Presence and Contact Info 0000 Brief contact info wrap-up transitioned into a mid-roll advertisement read for FreshBooks and HostGator.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 1100 Standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions and outro monologue; completely collaborative.

Statements from this episode (10)

Disclosure
Amplify Relations worked for the Koch brothers and Americans for Prosperity
“We actually did a lot of work for the Koch brothers and Americans for prosperity.”
Brian Badera Jun 18, 2016 ▶ 3:43
Disclosure
Amplify Relations organized Glenn Beck's nationwide anti-ACA town hall tour
“No, actually what we did with Glenn Beck was a series of town hall meetings all over the country in opposition to the Affordable Care Act.”
Brian Badera Jun 18, 2016 ▶ 4:17
Disclosure
Badera funded Amplify Relations entirely using his student loan money
“19 years old, we lived on student loans we used student loan money to fund the entire startup of the company.”
Brian Badera Jun 18, 2016 ▶ 4:58
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Amplify Relations generated nearly $2 million in revenue in 2015
“And we'll have done, what, about, just shy of two million in revenue.”
Brian Badera Jun 18, 2016 ▶ 5:12
Disclosure
Ted Cruz's Super PAC is an Amplify Relations client
“Ted Cruz's super PAC is actually a client. So we're doing some of that work.”
Brian Badera Jun 18, 2016 ▶ 6:45
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Robocalling every Florida voter costs $500k at a 90% profit margin
“But for example, to call every voter in Florida you're looking at a cost of around 500,000 dollars to the client and we're able to capture 90% of that as revenue for our, or as profit for the firm.”
Brian Badera Jun 18, 2016 ▶ 7:22
Insight
Average US Senate campaigns run $20M budgets with 2-3 direct employees
“A, you know, let's take an average United States Senate campaign, for example, probably only has two, maybe three direct employees, and then another 10 or 15 consultants and ad firms that are supporting them. And they're running a 10 or a twenty million dollar…”
Brian Badera Jun 18, 2016 ▶ 8:17
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Amplify Relations lost a British beer client over Republican political ties
“We actually just had a just got ruled out of a pitch with a British beer company because they said they wouldn't work with anybody who's Republican.”
Brian Badera Jun 18, 2016 ▶ 9:26
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Amplify Relations can survey 20,000 potential customers via phone in minutes
“So in a matter of minutes, we can survey 10 or 20,000 potential customers on their, what they're looking for from your product.”
Brian Badera Jun 18, 2016 ▶ 10:36
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Pitching regional mid-size town newspapers guarantees startup media coverage
“If you want to garner real media impressions, go to regional papers in towns with a 100,000 to 500,000 people in them, and if you tell them about your product, I guarantee they'll run a story because they're desperate for content.”
Brian Badera Jun 18, 2016 ▶ 11:33
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