E156 How Charles Haynes Became The King of Niches

Charles Haynes is the founder and managing director of Ziggurat XYZ -- representing the world’s top factual entertainment creators including industry leaders like James Hoffmann, a globally celebrated coffee expert; Matt Parker (Stand-up Maths), whose mathematical storytelling captivates millions; aeronautical engineer Xyla Foxlin, whose creative projects inspire young makers and women in STEM; Answer in Progress, who explores life’s big questions through curiosity and humor; and, pop culture commentator and comedian Carley Thorne (uncarley) among many others.

Previously Charles worked as a technology consultant and in publishing, becoming acquainted with the first forays into eBooks and digitization. And prior to that, he worked on comedy feature film 'A Cock and Bull Story' and the Silver Bear-award winning documentary 'Road to Guantanamo'. A failed comedian and would-be filmmaker, Charles also gardens.

E155 Phoebe Bain: Why Newsletters are Having More Than a Moment

Phoebe Bain is currently the Business & Finance Section Editor at ⁠1440⁠. In October 2024, she launched 1440's second-ever newsletter product, 1440 Business & Finance: a newsletter that provides more than 200,000 readers with the foundational knowledge they need to understand today's business news.

Previously, she served as a senior reporter at Ad Age covering DTC brands, influencer marketing, and more. She was an early employee at Morning Brew, where she founded Marketing Brew, a newsletter and vertical covering the most important news in the marketing industry. Before rolling out Marketing Brew, Phoebe wrote for Social Media Today under Industry Dive, and worked on the social media editing desk for Business Insider.

E154 Kyle Harris: Never lose sight of the goal

Kyle Harris has spent the last decade turning social media into a business growth engine. His journey started in the early days of digital marketing, building a strong following on Twitter and becoming a standout on Stickam, a live-streaming platform where he hosted a weekly show for nearly 1,000 engaged viewers. That ability to capture attention and create community set the foundation for what came next.

In 2013, he moved to Las Vegas and quickly tapped into the rise of Vine, growing a large audience and recognizing the power of influencer marketing before most brands caught on. By 2014, he became Social Media Director at the Stratosphere Hotel, where he launched the hotel’s first influencer campaign—leveraging his Vine network to create buzz and drive engagement. He also introduced live streaming as a marketing tool, broadcasting the hotel’s SkyJump experience via Periscope, long before live video became mainstream.

His career expanded across industries, refining his expertise in strategy, content, and analytics. That led him to work with Bar Rescue’s Jon Taffer, where he helped scale Taffer’s digital presence, facilitated his connection with Gary Vaynerchuk for one of The Ask Gary Vee Show’s highest-performing episodes, and developed a crossover campaign between Bar Rescue and SHOWTIME’s Shameless—a collaboration that earned a Shorty Award nomination.

E153 Brittany Ratelle Give Us Free Legal Advice

Brittany Ratelle is a practicing business and IP lawyer with more than a decade of experience advising creators, social-first brands and agencies in the influencer marketing and digital media space. Brittany also creates content herself as a legal “edutainer” and focuses on making business legal information relatable and accessible to modern entrepreneurs. She has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs protect and grow their brands and has worked with the Bucket List Family, Cassey Ho, Sharon Says So, Hope Scope, Glo Atanmo, Not Enough Nelsons, Dayna Bolden, Devan and Collins Key,  and others.

She regularly works on startup docs, sponsorship deals, talent representation contracts, licensing agreements, copyrights, trademarks, joint product collaborations, brand protection, product launches, and preparing for investment and exits. 

With a background in PR, marketing, and law, Brittany helps modern entrepreneurs navigate the fast-changing digital landscape without losing their minds (or sense of humor). Brittany is a fierce advocate for creators and is on a mission to empower them to negotiate better deals, diversify their revenue streams, and get their fair share of the creator economy pie. She believes creators are the media companies of the future and should act (and be treated) like it. She serves as fractional outside counsel to 6 & 7-figure creators and also provides DIY legal resources through templates, courses, and legal kits at the Creative Contracts® shop. 

She lives with her hunky husband and four kiddos in her hometown of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

E152 V Spehar: Good, Bad and Expensive Money

V Spehar is an award winning digital journalist, TikTok personality and podcaster. Spehar launched UnderTheDeskNews with the aim to make news media less intimidating and easier to understand and rapidly amassed a collective 4 million subscribers to their various social media platforms.

Their original reporting has won them one on one interviews with Vice President Kamala Harris, President Biden, President Obama, Sec. Buttigeig, Sec. Austin, Sec. Blinken as well as several members of the House & Senate. They covered the 2024 DNC as the official digital streamer, the Paris Olympics in partnership with TikTok. In addition they have lent their talents in reporting to serve as a field correspondent and host for LATimes, Washington Post, and NBC News.

V has received a special achievement Webby for their concise and compassionate reporting and was a finalist for a GLAAD media award. They were named a MediaWise Ambassador by the Poynter Institute and a RISE25 ambassador for digital excellence by Mozilla.

They currently host the podcast “American Fever Dream” with Betches media, release a twice weekly Substack, and dozens of short form video explainers on the day's news in a kind way from a safe space, and are working on a book with Zando Publishing to be released early 2026.

E151 Roberto Munoz: Can you measure this?

Roberto Munoz is CEO & Founder of Munoz Comms, a strategic communications consultancy that helps businesses navigate growth, change, and transformation.

With more than 20 years of experience, Roberto has shaped and protected reputations across industries—from high-growth startups to global market leaders—working with companies including HSBC, Fannie Mae, ABB, Tesco, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Jaguar Land Rover. His expertise spans senior in-house roles and agency leadership at Edelman and Weber Shandwick.

A specialist in brand positioning, narrative development, and thought leadership, Roberto helps brands craft compelling stories and design impactful strategies that shift stakeholder perceptions.

Follow him on LinkedIn or join his Newsletter.

E150 Jim Louderback: Give creators the keys

Jim Louderback is one of the top leaders at the intersection of creators, media and technology.  He has built and sold multiple creator economy startups to companies including WB Discovery and Paramount, and led editorial and ops at cable networks, event companies, magazines and digital publishers.  Jim currently writes the popular weekly newsletter "Inside the Creator Economy" on LinkedIn, speaks and moderates at global events and works with several startups in the creator space.  Follow him on LinkedIn and sign up for the newsletter today.

E149 Phil Ranta: Click on all of the buttons

Phil Ranta, Chief Business Officer of Fixated and a LinkedIn Top Voice in Innovation & Technology, has over 18 years of experience in the creator economy. Formerly, he was the COO of the talent management and creator services company We Are Verified, managing a department focused on creator entrepreneurship, premium production, and web3 opportunities.

As the former Head of Gaming Creators, North America at Facebook, Phil achieved over 5x departmental growth in his first year, signing exclusive streaming contracts with DisguisedToast, Corinna Kopf, and UFC / WWE superstar Ronda Rousey. Phil also built two of the largest creator networks in the world as COO at Studio71 and VP, Networks at Fullscreen, both successfully exited (to ProSieben and Otter Media, a joint venture between AT&T and Peter Chernin, respectively). Other roles include Head of Creators at Mobcrush, a live streaming technology with hundreds of thousands of authenticated users, Executive Producer at Viva! Vision, producing content delivered to over 250 million mobile phones worldwide, and content creator who produced videos and podcasts that have achieved hundreds of millions of views and downloads. He was formerly one of Variety's New Hollywood Leaders - Digital.

E148 The Making of Lilly: An underdog story about an underdog story

Starring Patricia Clarkson, John Benjamin Hickey and Thomas Sadoski and directed by Rachel Feldman, Lilly is based on the remarkable story of Lilly Ledbetter, whose fight against pay discrimination in an Alabama tire factory took her through courts and Congress despite powerful opposition. Following the transformation of an ordinary citizen into the face of an issue, Lilly illuminates the impact a single courageous person can have. In theatres on May 9.

Kate Kelley is a dynamic leader at the intersection of marketing, social impact, and entertainment, using film to drive meaningful change.

As Associate Producer and EVP of Corporate Partnerships for LILLY, she leads initiatives that empower women and advance workplace equity through content creation, strategic collaborations and advocacy-driven partnerships.

Kate also heads corporate partnership development for Shine Global, an award winning nonprofit media company using film to raise awareness and inspire action for children and families. Additionally, as Senior Advisor to Simple Spirits, a mission-driven spirits portfolio tackling food insecurity in America one drink at a time.

With deep expertise in brand strategy, Kate has collaborated with major brands, agencies, and cultural institutions including Paramount, Disney, Youtube, and the Tribeca Film Festival, mobilizing action and impact through business and entertainment.

E147 Cathy Davenport Lee: Is AI Excitement Outrunning Possibility?

Cathy Davenport Lee is a product design, marketing and creative leader with over 15 years of experience at the intersection of product experience, brand strategy, and cutting-edge technologies. As the Principal Creative Director at Eluvio, Cathy has led the product design of award-winning products, such as the Eluvio Media Wallet - which has received the NAB Product of the Year and IBC Best of Show awards multiple years running. On a day-to-day basis, Cathy oversees design on a robust suite of applications, both customer-facing and internal-facing; several of which include integrated AI features. She also leads the visual ID and branding for the company.

Previously Cathy spent nearly 8 years as VP of Interactive Design at HBO. She directed a large multidisciplinary team, oversaw social creative for hundreds of titles, and enhanced iconic campaigns for series like Game of Thrones and Westworld. She was an evangelist for integrating emerging technologies like VR and AR to create more immersive audience experiences. Additionally, she oversaw the product design for HBO.com and several bespoke websites for high-profile shows (Silicon Valley, Westworld, Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, etc). Cathy served as part of an Emerging Technology task force while working at HBO, which worked to both to educate the department on the possibilities of technologies, as well as to guide specific applications.