The Money Mondays Podcast – Episode 143 Building Billion-Dollar Brands in the AI Era | Zeta Global & Cameo Founders 🌍

Date: October 13, 2025
Host: Dan Fleyshman
Guests: David Steinberg (Zeta Global), Stephen Galanis (Cameo)

Episode Overview

In this special edition of The Money Mondays, host Dan Fleyshman records live from the Zeta Live conference in New York. The episode features back-to-back conversations with two standout entrepreneurs: David Steinberg, co-founder and CEO of Zeta Global, and Stephen Galanis, co-founder and CEO of Cameo.
Dan and his guests discuss building multi-billion dollar brands, the transformative power of AI and data, marketplace innovation, and the central roles of philanthropy, team-building, and adaptability in business. The show’s three key topics—how to make money, invest money, and give to charity—are explored in detail through real-world examples and candid anecdotes.

Part 1: David Steinberg – Zeta Global

[00:00–11:00]

Rapid Bio and Zeta's Core Value

• David Steinberg describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur” (00:49), having founded seven companies, sold four, and taken two public.
• Zeta Global is positioned as “the premier artificial intelligence driven marketing cloud”—helping large enterprises monetize customers more efficiently with integrated AI and big data (00:49).

Mastering Leadership and Managing Scale

• David walks through his whirlwind conference week: from media appearances and ringing the NYSE closing bell to leading a town hall for 2,200 employees and hosting major investor and client events (01:25–02:26).
• He attributes his ability to manage so much to a top-tier executive team:

  “It comes down to having one of the world’s greatest teams...each one of them could be CEO of another company.” (05:15)

Major AI Product Launch: Athena

• Athena, Zeta's new “conversational AI super agent”, was launched at the conference:

  “You can speak to Athena like you were speaking to me...it will then tell you the answers. And it can automatically control the Zeta marketing platform in real time and run marketing and then give attribution all in one user interface.” (02:33–03:07)

• Athena aims to eliminate the need for data scientists and ops specialists for marketers; voice-enabled integration for enterprise clients by Q1 (03:13–03:49).

On Real-World Meetings and Serendipity

• Despite operating in an AI-centric world, David sees unique value in in-person events:

  “Even in an artificial intelligence world, serendipity plays a big part of innovation...getting people together and learning from each other and spending time.” (03:55–04:06)

Acquisitions & M&A Discipline

• Zeta's recent purchase: $325 million for Marigold’s enterprise business, adding premier loyalty programs, messaging platforms, European footprint, and Fortune 500 clients (06:03–07:23).
• On acquisition strategy:

  “We built, effectively, a boutique investment bank inside of Zeta, and we look at 100 different companies a year seriously, to buy one, because it has to hit all five of our criteria.” (07:54)

• Five criteria: rapid integration, mutual client cross-sell, accretive from day one, incremental synergy, and acquisition of talent (07:54–09:16).

Giving Back and Philanthropy

• Steinberg underlines the necessity of charity for successful entrepreneurs:

  “If you’re successful and you’re not giving back to society, I don’t know what you’re doing.” (09:27)

• His own foundation targets disadvantaged children’s education, nutrition, and success (09:27).

Notable Quotes

• On company culture and team:

  “They feed their families, they build their future based on what we do as an organization. And we take that, we take it very seriously.” (05:15)

• On giving back:

  “It brings me so much joy to do it...I often say that the charitable giving that my wife, Kristen, and I do is almost selfish in that it makes me feel so good to do it.” (09:27)

Part 2: Stephen Galanis – Cameo

[11:00–31:30]

Cameo’s Founding Story & The Marketplace Model

• Stephen Galanis shares Cameo’s origin—born at his grandmother’s funeral through a conversation with co-founder Martin Blenko, who recognized the gap between fame and earning potential, especially for viral celebrities (12:12–13:24).
• Cameo allows fans to book over 60,000 celebrities, athletes, comedians, and influencers for personalized video messages or endorsements:

  “We were really thinking about...a platform that helped people get paid to become more famous, get paid to become more beloved. Because if you get a Cameo from somebody, you like them more than you liked them before.” (12:12)

The "New Autograph": Selfies and Personalized Videos

• Dan and Stephen discuss the cultural shift from autographs to selfies to personalized video messages:

  “The selfie is the autograph” (15:48)

• The digital age transformed fan connection—from signed memorabilia to shareable online interactions (15:54–16:38).

How Cameo Attracts & Serves Talent

• Three main recruitment methods for creators:
  1. Direct outreach based on viral trends (16:54),
  2. Talent-to-talent referrals (“17% of our marketplace were referred by other talent, and they’ve done 65% of the lifetime GMV” (16:54)),
  3. Open enrollment—now anyone can apply, with the best rising through algorithms based on demand (18:35).
• Newcomers promote their Cameos via all channels—social, newsletters, stage shoutouts—empowered by easy sharing and organic viral growth (19:24–20:44).

The Secret to Outlasting Competitors

• Cameo succeeded where many clones failed because of:
  • Timing (the rise of self-shot video and strong camera tech by 2017)
  • Founders’ unique “market fit”—agent and tech backgrounds with deep, but not too deep, Hollywood/creator ties
  • Marketplace savvy, particularly with pricing:

    “Find an equation to help people price themselves...for NBA/NFL players, take their salary, divide by 2,000 hours in a work year...that was a really big unlock.” (22:10–24:55)

Butterfly Effect: Community Building

• Dan recounts a personal anecdote about how a meeting with Stephen led to massive growth in the sports card community—underscoring the power of networks and “the butterfly effect” (24:55–26:29).
• Stephen credits Dan’s ability to catalyze communities:

  “You can only lead the horse to water...It’s been incredible to watch from the sidelines how you’ve taken this community and really elevated a whole category.” (26:29–28:19)

Philanthropy & Charity on Cameo

• Early pushback led Cameo to embed giving deeply:

  “One of the first [charity moments] that really stood out...Hurricane Harvey hit Houston...we decided to give 100% of all our proceeds to Hurricane Harvey relief fund...it was the biggest booking week we had.” (28:33)

• Cameo for Charity: 95/5 split through partnership with Pledge, no profit taken by Cameo for charity bookings (28:33–30:09).
• High-profile users like Tony Hawk have generated significant donations.

Notable Quotes

• On fame and monetization:

  “For the first time, people are kind of more famous than rich.” (12:12)

• On the marketplace's social effect:

  “85% of videos in our marketplace are booked for other people. So if I book a cameo for you and you think it’s funny, what do you do? You put it in the group chat and suddenly all these other people know about it.” (19:24)

• On charity and optics:

  “At the beginning, a lot of people were like, the athletes are not going to join unless it’s for charity because it's a bad look.” (28:33)

Key Timestamps

• [00:49] David Steinberg – Zeta Global intro & value proposition

• [02:33] Launch of Athena, Zeta’s conversational AI agent

• [05:15] Building and relying on elite teams

• [06:03] Strategy behind recent $325 million acquisition

• [07:54] Zeta’s five M&A criteria

• [09:27] The vital role of philanthropy in business

• [12:12] Stephen Galanis – Cameo’s founding story

• [15:54] “Selfie is the new autograph” and the evolution of fan engagement

• [16:54] How Cameo recruits creators; the power of referrals

• [19:24] How talent makes money and Cameo’s organic growth loop

• [22:10] Technical and cultural factors behind Cameo’s success

• [24:55] Dan's story: The butterfly effect of networks

• [28:33] Integrating philanthropy into business; Cameo for Charity

Where to Find the Guests

• David Steinberg:
  • zetaglobal.com
  • Instagram & X (@davidsteinberg)
• Stephen Galanis / Cameo:
  • cameo.com / @cameo on social
  • Stephen’s podcast: Zeitgeist Podcast

Tone and Takeaways

Casual, fast-paced, and insightful, the episode offers unparalleled insider access to two industry disruptors. The through-line is the overlap between technological innovation, human connection, and purposeful giving—whether building AI-driven platforms or viral talent marketplaces, the real edge comes from team culture, adaptability, and a genuine mandate to give back.

“If you’re successful and you’re not giving back to society, I don’t know what you’re doing.” – David Steinberg (09:27)

“If you get a Cameo from somebody, you like them more than you liked them before...you go from a casual fan to a rabid super fan.” – Stephen Galanis (12:12)

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in how billion-dollar brands are built—and why giving back is woven into the blueprint.