From Morning Brew to Smooth Media: Jenny Rothenberg’s Blueprint for Scaling the Creator Economy
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
Release Date: 02/27/2025
Navigating Mental Health in Entrepreneurship with James Roycroft-Davis
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am thrilled to have , an investor at , a venture capital firm dedicated to supporting founders who innovate at the intersection of mental health and human performance. Evio's notable portfolio includes successful companies like Calm, Grow Therapy, BetterUp, Foresight, Sway Health, Mental, and Favs. Timestamps 00:00 Journey into Venture Capital 03:25 Mental Health and Personal Experience 06:18 Advice for the Younger Generation 09:26 Family Business Dynamics 12:30 The Future of Engineering and AI 15:33 Marketing in the Age of AI 18:27 Growth Strategies for Startups 21:29 Investing in Mental...
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Transforming Talent Acquisition with Michael Colonnese from SV Academy
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have , the CEO of SV Academy, a pioneering talent platform that helps companies hire pre-trained sales and customer success professionals—with no fees and no catch. In this conversation, Michael Colonnese, CEO of SV Academy, discusses the innovative approaches to talent acquisition and training in the sales sector. He shares insights on the skills gap, the importance of potential over experience in hiring, and the transformative impact of tech sales careers. Michael also addresses the challenges of onboarding, the role of AI in sales, and the need for a reformed education...
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Financial Modeling for Startups with Cesare Pesci
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am thrilled to have Cesare Pesci, a Junior Associate at YOBE Ventures, where he combines a background in investment banking, sustainable finance, trading, consulting, and sales to support growth-stage and tech founders. In this conversation, a junior associate at Yobe Ventures, discusses his journey into venture capital, the dual role of investment and advisory, and the importance of networking. Cesare shares insights on evaluating founders, the significance of sustainability in investing, and the differences between European and US ecosystems. He emphasises the value of failure as a...
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Backing India’s Next Wave of Founders with Gaurav Gulati of Aroa Ventures
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have , co-founder and COO of Innov8, which was acquired by OYO. Gaurav is a GP at , which he backs startups that deliver strong returns and meaningful impact. In this conversation, Gaurav Gulati, founder of Aroha Venture Partners, shares his journey from the US to India, his experiences in building startups, and the founding of his mission-driven VC firm. He discusses the importance of a global perspective in venture capital, the challenges of supporting founders, and the evolving landscape of AI and pricing strategies in startups. Gaurav emphasises the significance of...
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Building Narrative Capital in VC with Clay Norris
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have is a GP at Outlaw and founder of ConfluenceVC, known for pioneering "narrative capital"—leveraging media to build venture scale. In this conversation, Clay Norris, a General Partner at Outlaw and founder of Confluence VC discusses his journey into venture capital, the importance of building an audience, and the concept of narrative capital. Clay shares insights on fundraising challenges for emerging managers, portfolio construction strategies, and the evolving landscape of venture capital, including the impact of AI and the role of founders in running their own funds....
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Bootstrapping a SaaS Success Story with Sameer Narkar from Konnect Insights
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have Sameer Narkar, the founder of Konnect Insights. This unified customer experience management platform brings together social listening, omni-channel ticketing, analytics, and AI under one roof. In this conversation, Sameer Narkar, founder of Konnect Insights, shares his journey of building a successful SaaS company focused on customer experience management. He discusses the importance of bootstrapping, the role of AI in enhancing customer interactions, and strategies for global expansion. Sameer emphasises the need for effective sales teams, the evolution of product...
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Unpacking the VC Game with Dario De Wet from LTV Capital
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am thrilled to have Dario De Wet, a VC investor and founder of LTV Capital, and managing director at Monza Group International. In this conversation, Dario De Wet shares his entrepreneurial journey from selling Game Boy emulators in South Africa to becoming a venture capital investor and founder of LTV Capital. He discusses the unique entrepreneurial spirit in South Africa, the balance between his passion for motorsport and his VC career, and the evolution of his investment strategies. Dario emphasises the importance of understanding the venture capital landscape, the impact of AI on...
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Backing Bold Founders & Betting on Bharat: Shashank Randev on Building 247VC
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have — a seasoned operator turned investor and the Founder & General Partner at , one of India’s boldest new seed funds. Before launching 247VC, Shashank co-founded 100X.VC, where he backed over 180 startups and helped pioneer the iSAFE note in India. In this conversation, Shashank Randev, a seasoned operator and investor, discusses his journey from 100XVC to founding 247VC. We explore the evolving landscape of venture capital in India, the importance of backing diverse founders, common mistakes made by pre-seed founders, and the unique position of 247VC in the seed...
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Evolution of Market Entry Strategies with Sachit Rajan
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am thrilled to have , who is a Venture Capital Partner at and a Venture Partner at NetworkVC.org, specialising in early-stage startups across SaaS, fintech, and AI. With extensive experience leading multi-market operations at Charter Finco, Sachit has driven strategic growth, business scalability, and global market expansion. In this conversation, Sachit Rajan shares his extensive journey in the world of startups and venture capital, discussing his experiences in market entry strategies, supporting early-stage startups, and navigating the evolving Middle East market. He emphasises the...
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Michelle Denogean on AI's Role in Transforming Travel and Marketing
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have is the author of the book "GrowUp! Take Your Startup to the Next Level," offer a comprehensive guide to navigating the challenges of scaling a startup. She is the CMO of Mindtrip, a travel company. Michelle Denogean earned her MBA at Pepperdine University In this episode, Michelle Denogean, author of 'Grow Up', shares her extensive experience in startups and marketing, discussing the impact of AI on the travel industry, the importance of understanding one's superpowers as a founder, and strategies for growth in challenging markets. She emphasises the significance of...
info_outlineJenny Rothenberg, the COO of Smooth Media, an NYC-based agency representing knowledge creators. She is the ex-director of growth at Morning Brew.
In this episode, the CEO of Smooth Media, Jenny Rothenberg shares her journey from Industry Dive and Morning Brew to founding her own media and agency powerhouse. Jenny reveals how she leveraged data-driven paid ads, referral programs, and strategic content repurposing to scale audiences and build thriving relationships with knowledge creators. She discusses pivotal lessons learned from growth experiments, from subway ad missteps to optimizing subscriber engagement and much more!
Timestamps
01:00 – 01:30
Jenny discusses her early career at Industry Dive
01:30 – 02:00
Overview of Industry Dive’s B2B media publications
05:00 – 05:30
Transition to Jenny’s move to Morning Brew
07:30 – 08:00
Morning Brew’s growth strategy is outlined
09:00 – 09:30
Deep dive into using Facebook ads as a “golden ticket” for subscriber acquisition.
11:00 – 11:30
Exploration of Morning Brew’s referral program
12:30 – 13:00
Advice for new newsletter creators in 2025 on why a heavy paid acquisition model might not be ideal.
15:00 – 15:30
Recommendation to leverage free content platforms (LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram Reels) as top‐of‐funnel strategies.
16:00 – 16:30
Story of collaborating with creators (like Colin & Samir) to launch Publish Press for the creator economy.
17:30 – 18:00
Introduction of Smooth Media’s acquisition strategy
18:30 – 19:00
Defining “knowledge creators” and why Smooth Media focuses on creators who deliver educational, insightful content.
19:00 – 19:30
Best growth decision recap
20:00 – 10:30
Insights on repurposing content across channels and how to build an effective content marketing flywheel.
30:30 – 31:00
Discussion on hiring for growth roles
Jenny’s Links
LDN– https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyrothenberg
Website – https://www.smoothmedia.co/
My Links
Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes
Newsletter: https://partner-grow.beehiiv.com/subscribe
YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit857/
Agency: https://bit.ly/41YuNnx