BUILDERS Podcast: How Monet Used Facebook Groups to Sign Up 7,500 Content Creators Before Building the Product

Host: Front Lines Media
Guest: Jacob Kassin, CEO & Founder of Monet
Episode Date: March 12, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the unconventional journey of Jacob Kassin, founder and CEO of Monet—a fintech platform transforming payments, financing, and operational support for agencies and content creators within the media and entertainment industry. Jacob shares raw and candid insights into his early missteps, the reality of startup fundraising, tactical growth hacks (including leveraging Facebook groups to sign up thousands of creators pre-product), and evolving Monet’s business model to serve high-revenue clients and solve systemic industry cash flow challenges.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Realities of Early-Stage Startup Life and Fundraising

• Jacob’s journey began with a significant misstep: self-funding Monet with his own money (£200,000+) before attempting to raise a round, resulting in “wasted” spend on product development and consultants ([00:00]–[00:22]).
• Fundraising proved more difficult than anticipated: the belief that self-investment would inspire confidence in VCs turned out to be largely untrue ([05:24]). Initial success came with angels, not VCs.

Quote:

“I did the biggest mistake, I think, of launching this whole business, which was I spent all my own money and then I tried to raise the first round... Three months in and that was about £200,000 of spend wasted.”
– Jacob ([00:00])

• His “outsider” status in VC circles and lack of network made capital-raising particularly tough, despite previous success and experience ([05:30]–[05:56]).
• Monet eventually attracted its first investor—James Zizilet, former Cognizant CEO—before building momentum with further angel investors ([05:56]).

2. Unlocking Demand: Facebook Groups as a Growth Engine

• Jacob leveraged niche Facebook groups to sign up approximately 7,500 content creators before building the product—a major validation step ([03:36]–[03:57]).
• His marketing and growth background enabled him to recognize Facebook groups’ power as concentrated communities with trust and intent.

Quote:

“I figured out a way of using Facebook groups... to sign up about seven and a half thousand content creators. I thought, holy shit, there's a real business here.”
– Jacob ([03:57])

3. Monet’s Evolution: From Creator Tools to Agency-Focused Financing

• Early prototype targeted content creators with back-office banking tools, but platform limitations and banking partner issues prompted a strategic pivot ([06:30]).
• Landed a large customer (nearly £50m in annual revenue) before being able to actually finance them—an “absurd” chicken-and-egg problem that forced structural changes ([06:30]–[08:24]).
• Monet’s product evolved:
  • Moved beyond simple lending to include SaaS fees, payment facilitation, and broader agency-focused infrastructure.
  • Focused on solving deep-rooted cashflow issues for agencies managing large contracts but thin margins ([08:53]–[12:55]).

4. Product and Market Positioning Announcements

• Monet now serves the entire spectrum of media/entertainment agencies and large-scale productions, extending into film, TV, and influencer agencies ([08:53]).
• New flagship product: An AI-powered back-office platform, providing revolving credit facilities, campaign management, advanced cash flow and payments tool for agencies— freeing clients to focus on creative output, while Monet manages financial logistics ([08:53]–[12:55]).

Quote:

“We launched the main product into this really interesting back office, which is enabled of AI... for agencies like a revolving facility that's super flexible, that works with them, involves campaign management, it underwrites them at every stage.”
– Jacob ([11:32])

• New entry into film and TV debt financing, specifically via tax credits, presales, and broadcast license fees ([12:55]).

5. Hard Choices & Strategic Sacrifices

• Shifting approach required board and investor buy-in, particularly convincing high-profile fintech veterans that generalized revolving facilities were superior to “asset-light” project financing ([13:08]).
• The move aligned with bank partners' preferences—banks favor simple, large-term commitments over complex small-facility arrangements ([13:08]–[15:05]).

6. Surfacing the Emotional and Mental Side of Founding

• Jacob describes running Monet “off a cliff and narrowly saving it” at least twice, requiring radical recaps, removing problematic investors, and always “fighting from a corner” ([16:36]).
• Shares the psychological impact of having his personal capital at risk versus traditional investors ([20:06]).
• Embraces being the “underdog”: lets others believe they’re in control while working his angles, buys time, and aligns with stronger allies ([18:18]–[19:57]).

Quote:

“If I'm dealing with parties who are much bigger than me, I can't puff out my chest... The only real thing you can do is allow people to believe that they're in control of the situation whilst you work on your plan and buy yourself time.”
– Jacob ([18:20])

• Reflects on how chaos sharpens his focus, but admits that good times can slip into complacency—a challenge for founders comfortable “with their back against the wall” ([21:20]–[22:53]).

7. Big Picture Vision and Future Ambition

• Goal: Become the largest finance and back-office platform specializing in media, film, and entertainment, adapting as the creative landscape evolves ([23:06]).
• Significant, untapped opportunity in the US market—but Jacob remains patient, wary of premature expansion ([15:07]–[16:36]).
• The interconnectedness of creative and financial sectors creates a “rare corridor” for innovation—few founders have deep experience in both worlds ([23:06]–[25:34]).

Quote:

“There's so much space in entertainment and media, if you understand it... Finance and entertainment and media and creative industries [are] very different worlds. There's a very narrow corridor of people that have true experience in both.”
– Jacob ([24:26])

8. Key Industry Insights and Trends Highlighted

• Agencies’ finances: Enormous cash flows and invoice cycles, but thin actual margins and unpredictable, project-based revenue.
• Influence of tax credits in film production; specifics of financing large-scale entertainment content via complex rebates, contracts, and presales ([25:41]).
• Structural change from traditional TV sponsorship to brands producing their own content and fully owning the “audience journey” ([26:44]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I sat there thinking, I'm struggling to raise a penny of cash and I'm accidentally financing one of the biggest artists in the world indirectly... we've done all sorts of other stuff. We've done Netflix TV shows and so on.”
  – Jacob ([01:20])

• “The journeys are never glamorous. Or, if they are, they're not real. It's an inside job.”
  – Jacob ([03:40])

• “If you don't go through those hard moments, your worst day has only ever been your worst day.”
  – Jacob ([20:06])

• “I've run this business off the cliff a couple of times and I've been very lucky to figure it out… My best skill is fighting my way out of a corner.”
  – Jacob ([16:42])

• “We're definitely not a bank, but you can see how in the future, if we got big enough, you deline us with that kind of model.”
  – Jacob ([11:37])

Timeline of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | |----------------|------------------------------------------------------------| | [00:00–01:20] | Early funding mistake, self-financing, Coldplay story | | [03:36–05:24] | Facebook group growth hack, signing up 7,500 creators | | [05:24–06:27] | Investor reaction, challenges raising from VCs | | [06:30–08:24] | Early customers, banking infrastructure challenges | | [08:53–12:55] | Product evolution, agency + film solutions, big new launch | | [13:08–15:05] | Strategic sacrifices, convincing the board | | [15:07–16:36] | UK/EU focus, US market ambitions | | [16:36–19:57] | Navigating “hell moments”, crisis management | | [19:57–20:06] | Personal money at stake, psychological impact | | [21:20–22:53] | Founder psychology, motivation during chaos vs calm | | [23:06–27:25] | Big vision, niche opportunities, industry evolution | | [27:29–27:42] | How to follow Jacob and Monet |

Where to Follow & Learn More

• Monet: monet.money
• Jacob Kassin on LinkedIn: (search “Jacob Kassin Monet”)
• Contact: Jacob encourages direct outreach, especially if in London or Amsterdam ([27:29]).

Tone & Atmosphere

• Raw, self-deprecating honesty from Jacob throughout—unfiltered founder stories.
• Practical, battle-tested growth lessons; no sugarcoating of startup challenges.
• Enthusiasm for the industry’s potential, tempered by caution and hard-earned wisdom.

This episode is a must-listen for founders or operators in fintech, media, or creative industries, and for anyone seeking actionable lessons in resilient, customer-first growth and the reality behind the "overnight success" myth.