Open Market

Want adtech to share your market map? Put someone’s logo on it. Want comments? Leave someone’s logo off. Eric Franchi of Aperiam Ventures tells Joe Zappa of Sharp Pen Media how a pattern in startup pitches became the Unified Media Platform map. They get into who helped name the category, why Eric skipped the trade-press exclusive, and what it takes to go “Gen X viral.” Plus, Joe makes the case for paying Manhattan rent, Eric asks whether Joe actually enjoys sales, and the two compare notes on when to bring up price with a prospect.

What happens when a platform built around paid subscriptions brings brands into the mix? Dan Robbins returns to Open Market to explain how he’s helping build Substack’s brand business. Dan joins Joe and Eric to unpack sponsored post unlocks, brand-funded subscription upgrades, and curated mastheads, along with the challenge of measuring partnerships built for depth. They discuss creator control, the risk of commoditizing premium media, and why the best sponsorships should help ambitious work happen. Plus: Joe takes the conversation in a direction involving geese that nobody could have prepared for.

Everyone in ad tech is suddenly “agentic.” What actually changes when AI starts buying the media? Joe Zappa and Eric Franchi welcome Adgentek Co-Founder & CEO Frank Sinton and Co-Founder & President Paul Harrison to debate what comes after programmatic. Having built Beachfront and Simpli.fi, respectively, Frank and Paul know the infrastructure they’re now trying to rethink. They explain why they see CTV as an early opportunity for agentic buying, how agents could reduce layers of intermediaries, and why a chatbot interface alone doesn’t transform an advertising business. Paul makes a bold prediction: real-time bidding will eventually be replaced. The group explores what that could mean for DSPs, publishers, agencies, and small businesses. Plus: Eric defends the Unified Media Platform acronym, Joe becomes “in-person curious,” and everyone considers whether Advertising Week needs an agentic rebrand.

The slop has developed taste. We’re all processing this. Steven Liss and Michael Bishop join Joe Zappa and Eric Franchi to discuss AI creative that people might actually want to watch.

Mediaocean’s Bill Wise and Guy Kuperman join Joe and Eric to discuss the launch of AI Ventures. Building an AI product is getting easier. Finding customers, earning trust and making it work across adtech? Still hard. They explain how Mediaocean plans to help founders and why Bill thinks plumbing is sexy.

An MS diagnosis changed Jared Siegal’s perspective on risk, work and the future. Instead of slowing down, he decided to take control of it. The founder and CEO of Aditude joins Joe Zappa and Eric Franchi to explain how a side business built during a five-hour daily commute became a monetization platform processing more than a trillion impressions annually. Jared shares why he turned down an acquisition offer, how he evolved from operator to orchestrator, and why former athletes often thrive inside high-performance companies. The conversation also explores overlooked opportunities across the open web, mobile apps and gaming, plus Jared’s surprisingly skeptical take on AI. And yes, he calls AI a “fad” before revealing that Aditude is building an agentic product of its own.

Three Italians walk into an adtech podcast and somehow end up discussing local media, A players, private equity, childhood labor, and the emotional damage caused by getting cut from middle-school football. Ribeye CEO and co-founder Joe Marino joins Joe Zappa and Eric Franchi to explain why building a company is not easy, despite how effortless every founder makes it look on LinkedIn.

Joe Zappa and Eric Franchi sit down for a candid founder-to-founder conversation about what happens when rapid growth exposes weaknesses in your business. After Sharp Pen Media grew quickly, Joe realized that delegating client work was not the same as building a system to manage it. He shares how client churn forced him to rethink his role as CEO, establish clearer outcomes, use AI to identify account risks and make sure marketing contributes directly to pipeline. They planned to cover four topics. Joe’s first topic took the entire episode. Some things never change.

This week on Open Market, Allie Colman, Tax Partner and Northeast Technology Industry Leader at Aprio, joins Joe Zappa and Eric Franchi to break down the tax and equity decisions founders should think about before they become expensive mistakes. QSBS, R&D credits, 83(b)s, exit planning, and yes, a hypothetical $1B exit. Joe does the math. Eric refuses. Allie saves the episode.

Doug Lauretano, Founder & CEO of Tuple, joins Open Market to discuss why legacy DSPs may be limiting buyer access to valuable impressions.He explains how Tuple is building a next-generation DSP focused on greater visibility, transparent fees, and buyer control.Plus, Doug, Joe, and Eric settle the important question of where to find the best pizza in New York.