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Jun 17, 2016 · 19m · top-founders

He Can Get You 100,000 Quality Live Viewers Instantly, Ep 294: Eddie Vaca

Nathan Latka · 8m spoken Eddie Vaca · 8m 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 The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews media entrepreneur Eddie Vaca about his professional evolution through digital publishing and live video, focusing on how his company Amp Live bootstrapped to millions in revenue by solving live audience distribution.

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 50.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.8 Guest teaching 1.8 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 2.4
05100:0010:001:12–3:22 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Introducing Eddie Vaca and First Media Venture Exit Nathan probes into Eddie's early media venture and presses for the actual exit price. Eddie openly admits it was a modest $25,000 sale, which Nathan embraces and praises as a realistic entrepreneurial milestone.3:23–7:14 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Pioneering Digital Out-of-Home Media at RMG Networks Nathan displays deep knowledge of venture capital structures, calculating Ustream's liquidation preference and likely low payout for common stockholders. Eddie affirms Nathan's VC analysis as completely spot-on.7:14–14:03 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Founding Amp Live to Solve Live Audience Distribution Nathan inspects Amp Live's pricing slider in real time, calculating the implied $46 CPM and comparing the economics to traditional broadcast infomercial placements. Eddie explains their underlying publisher distribution network.14:03–16:09 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Amp Live 2016 Revenue Targets and Contact Channels Nathan clarifies Eddie's revenue trajectory, calculating a $3.9 million 2016 target based on a 3x multiplier of 2015 revenue, followed by mid-roll announcements.16:11–19:33 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Eddie Vaca A collaborative Famous Five rapid-fire segment covering favorite business books, CEOs, sales software, and sleeping habits, ending with a podcast wrap-up.1:12–3:22 · Guest teaching 1/10 Introducing Eddie Vaca and First Media Venture Exit Nathan probes into Eddie's early media venture and presses for the actual exit price. Eddie openly admits it was a modest $25,000 sale, which Nathan embraces and praises as a realistic entrepreneurial milestone.3:23–7:14 · Guest teaching 3/10 Pioneering Digital Out-of-Home Media at RMG Networks Nathan displays deep knowledge of venture capital structures, calculating Ustream's liquidation preference and likely low payout for common stockholders. Eddie affirms Nathan's VC analysis as completely spot-on.7:14–14:03 · Guest teaching 3/10 Founding Amp Live to Solve Live Audience Distribution Nathan inspects Amp Live's pricing slider in real time, calculating the implied $46 CPM and comparing the economics to traditional broadcast infomercial placements. Eddie explains their underlying publisher distribution network.14:03–16:09 · Guest teaching 1/10 Amp Live 2016 Revenue Targets and Contact Channels Nathan clarifies Eddie's revenue trajectory, calculating a $3.9 million 2016 target based on a 3x multiplier of 2015 revenue, followed by mid-roll announcements.16:11–19:33 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Eddie Vaca A collaborative Famous Five rapid-fire segment covering favorite business books, CEOs, sales software, and sleeping habits, ending with a podcast wrap-up.1:12–3:22 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Eddie Vaca and First Media Venture Exit Nathan probes into Eddie's early media venture and presses for the actual exit price. Eddie openly admits it was a modest $25,000 sale, which Nathan embraces and praises as a realistic entrepreneurial milestone.3:23–7:14 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Pioneering Digital Out-of-Home Media at RMG Networks Nathan displays deep knowledge of venture capital structures, calculating Ustream's liquidation preference and likely low payout for common stockholders. Eddie affirms Nathan's VC analysis as completely spot-on.7:14–14:03 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Founding Amp Live to Solve Live Audience Distribution Nathan inspects Amp Live's pricing slider in real time, calculating the implied $46 CPM and comparing the economics to traditional broadcast infomercial placements. Eddie explains their underlying publisher distribution network.14:03–16:09 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Amp Live 2016 Revenue Targets and Contact Channels Nathan clarifies Eddie's revenue trajectory, calculating a $3.9 million 2016 target based on a 3x multiplier of 2015 revenue, followed by mid-roll announcements.16:11–19:33 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Eddie Vaca A collaborative Famous Five rapid-fire segment covering favorite business books, CEOs, sales software, and sleeping habits, ending with a podcast wrap-up.1:12–3:22 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Introducing Eddie Vaca and First Media Venture Exit Nathan probes into Eddie's early media venture and presses for the actual exit price. Eddie openly admits it was a modest $25,000 sale, which Nathan embraces and praises as a realistic entrepreneurial milestone.3:23–7:14 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Pioneering Digital Out-of-Home Media at RMG Networks Nathan displays deep knowledge of venture capital structures, calculating Ustream's liquidation preference and likely low payout for common stockholders. Eddie affirms Nathan's VC analysis as completely spot-on.7:14–14:03 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Founding Amp Live to Solve Live Audience Distribution Nathan inspects Amp Live's pricing slider in real time, calculating the implied $46 CPM and comparing the economics to traditional broadcast infomercial placements. Eddie explains their underlying publisher distribution network.14:03–16:09 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Amp Live 2016 Revenue Targets and Contact Channels Nathan clarifies Eddie's revenue trajectory, calculating a $3.9 million 2016 target based on a 3x multiplier of 2015 revenue, followed by mid-roll announcements.16:11–19:33 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Eddie Vaca A collaborative Famous Five rapid-fire segment covering favorite business books, CEOs, sales software, and sleeping habits, ending with a podcast wrap-up.

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

0:00 · Nathan 73.2% · guest 26.8%0:00 · Nathan 73.2% · guest 26.8%3:00 · Nathan 40.7% · guest 59.3%3:00 · Nathan 40.7% · guest 59.3%6:00 · Nathan 21.3% · guest 78.7%6:00 · Nathan 21.3% · guest 78.7%9:00 · Nathan 36% · guest 64%9:00 · Nathan 36% · guest 64%12:00 · Nathan 44.9% · guest 55.1%12:00 · Nathan 44.9% · guest 55.1%15:00 · Nathan 65% · guest 35%15:00 · Nathan 65% · guest 35%18:00 · Nathan 91.9% · guest 8.1%18:00 · Nathan 91.9% · guest 8.1%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 4:03 Defending digital out-of-home relevance

Eddie firmly counters Nathan's suggestion that digital out-of-home media is dead in an era of mobile phones, citing modern drive-through screens as evidence.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 6:32 Challenging Ustream's flawed business model

Nathan presses Eddie to explain why Ustream failed to command a higher exit multiple and asks directly what was fundamentally flawed about its business model.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 4:23 Explaining the modern evolution of DOOH

Eddie corrects Nathan's narrow perception of digital out-of-home advertising by explaining its transition into internal comms and instant dynamic menus.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 5:34 Mastery of VC cap table math

Nathan demonstrates financial acumen by calculating how Ustream's $60M fundraising and 2x exit multiple likely wiped out common shareholder returns via liquidation preferences.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Eddie Vaca and First Media Venture Exit 3112 Nathan probes into Eddie's early media venture and presses for the actual exit price. Eddie openly admits it was a modest $25,000 sale, which Nathan embraces and praises as a realistic entrepreneurial milestone.
Pioneering Digital Out-of-Home Media at RMG Networks 8324 Nathan displays deep knowledge of venture capital structures, calculating Ustream's liquidation preference and likely low payout for common stockholders. Eddie affirms Nathan's VC analysis as completely spot-on.
Founding Amp Live to Solve Live Audience Distribution 6313 Nathan inspects Amp Live's pricing slider in real time, calculating the implied $46 CPM and comparing the economics to traditional broadcast infomercial placements. Eddie explains their underlying publisher distribution network.
Amp Live 2016 Revenue Targets and Contact Channels 4102 Nathan clarifies Eddie's revenue trajectory, calculating a $3.9 million 2016 target based on a 3x multiplier of 2015 revenue, followed by mid-roll announcements.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Eddie Vaca 3101 A collaborative Famous Five rapid-fire segment covering favorite business books, CEOs, sales software, and sleeping habits, ending with a podcast wrap-up.

Statements from this episode (9)

Assertion Supported
Latka: Ustream sold to IBM for $130 million
“He then went on to Ustream, which just recently sold to IBM for one hundred and thirty million bucks.”
Nathan Latka Jun 17, 2016 ▶ 1:37
Assertion Supported
Latka: Ustream raised around $60M and exited for roughly twice that
“They raised, I believe somewhere around sixty million dollars. And I believe their exit was for something like two times that.”
Nathan Latka Jun 17, 2016 ▶ 5:38
Assertion Supported
Vaca: Ustream had 80M monthly unique visitors, rivaling Twitch
“As a media company, it was fantastic. You know, eighty million unique visitors a month. You look at that and Twitch and they're, they were side by side.”
Eddie Vaca Jun 17, 2016 ▶ 6:48
Insight
Vaca: Driving live video tune-in outside of sports is extremely difficult
“The biggest problem with live and the broadcast media industry today is seeing is to drive tune in outside of sports is extremely hard.”
Eddie Vaca Jun 17, 2016 ▶ 7:59
Disclosure
Vaca: Amp Live raised a $100K friends and family round
“We have literally raised a small friends and family round of a 100,000 dollars.”
Eddie Vaca Jun 17, 2016 ▶ 8:59
Assertion Not yet assessed · timeframe Jun 2016
Vaca: Amp Live generated $1.3 million in revenue in 2015
“Our revenue in 2015 was 1.3 million dollars.”
Eddie Vaca Jun 17, 2016 ▶ 9:36
Assertion Not yet assessed · timeframe Jun 2016
Vaca: Amp Live drove 300,000 viewers for a 20-minute runway show
“Our shortest, shortest broadcast to date has been a 20 minute runway show where we drove 300,000 viewers for it.”
Eddie Vaca Jun 17, 2016 ▶ 11:50
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Vaca: Amp Live aims for $3.9M in revenue for 2016
“We're aiming for three X what we did in, in our first year. [850] Nathan Latka: So 3.9 million. [851] Eddie Vaca: Yeah. [851] Eddie Vaca: Somewhere around there.”
Eddie Vaca Jun 17, 2016 ▶ 14:06
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Vaca: Amp Live generated over $600K in Q1 2016 revenue
“We did a little bit over 600,000 dollars in Q one.”
Eddie Vaca Jun 17, 2016 ▶ 14:19
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