David Steinberg’s Multi-Billion Dollar Mission for ZETA Global 🌎 E89

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Money Mondays Episode: David Steinberg’s Multi-Billion Dollar Mission for ZETA Global 🌎 E89
Release Date: September 30, 2024
Host: Dan Fleyshman

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Introduction

In Episode 89 of "The Money Mondays," host Dan Fleyshman welcomes David Steinberg, the visionary behind Zeta Global, to discuss his multi-billion dollar mission to revolutionize marketing through artificial intelligence (AI). Recorded live at the Zeta Global Live event, this episode offers listeners an in-depth look into Steinberg's entrepreneurial journey, Zeta Global's innovative strategies, investment philosophies, and philanthropic endeavors.

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Guest Introduction: David Steinberg

Dan Fleyshman introduces David Steinberg as a serial entrepreneur and the driving force behind Zeta Global. Steinberg boasts an impressive track record, having founded seven companies, taken one public, and serving as chairman of another. With over 43 angel investments and speaking engagements at more than 250 business events, Steinberg brings a wealth of experience and insight to the conversation.

David Steinberg [00:24]: "It's very exciting. Yes, we have over 1400 people in person, over 15,000 online. Although I think it's more to do with Shaq and Simone and Milken and Deepak than me."

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Understanding Zeta Global

Steinberg elaborates on Zeta Global's core mission as a marketing automation platform powered by data and AI. The platform aims to help large enterprises create, maintain, and monetize customers more efficiently and cost-effectively.

David Steinberg [02:40]: "Zeta Global is a marketing automation platform that uses data and artificial intelligence to help very large enterprises create, maintain and monetize customers at a substantially lower cost by using our software and our data than they could without it."

Steinberg highlights the dual benefits of AI: significant cost savings and robust revenue growth, with clients typically witnessing a return of five to seven dollars for every marketing dollar invested through Zeta.

David Steinberg [03:32]: "We're able to help large enterprises massively lower their cost to create, maintain customers, while simultaneously, for every dollar that is invested from a marketing perspective using the Zeta marketing platform, we return an average of five to seven dollars."

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The Decision to Go Public

Steinberg discusses the strategic decision to take Zeta Global public, addressing the challenges of brand recognition that led to this move.

David Steinberg [04:25]: "We would walk into RFPs, we would walk into processes, and nobody would know who we were. So we embarked on this sort of journey to go from Zeta who to why Zeta."

He explains that going public not only enhanced Zeta's credibility but also facilitated broader brand awareness, making Zeta an indispensable part of enterprise tech stacks.

David Steinberg [04:38]: "We thought going from being a larger private company to a public company was a really important component of that maturity."

Despite the complexities and regulatory burdens of being a public company, Steinberg emphasizes the exponential return on investment from increased brand visibility and client acquisition.

David Steinberg [07:16]: "We close one deal out of this, it can be 10 times what we spent on the entire event."

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Building the Brand Through Live Events

Steinberg provides insights into the effort behind organizing large-scale live events, such as renting the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier, to foster brand prestige and attract top-tier clients.

David Steinberg [07:47]: "We rented out the Intrepid aircraft carrier because we thought it would be cool."

He underscores the importance of creating unique experiences for decision-makers, which in turn amplifies brand awareness and drives client interest.

David Steinberg [07:51]: "Provide experiences they wouldn't normally get... create brand awareness."

The success of these events is evident, with Zeta Global experiencing unprecedented pipeline growth and record-breaking RFPs.

David Steinberg [08:45]: "We're blowing out of this place. We're already talking about we're going to have to double the size again for next year."

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Investment Philosophy and Strategies

Transitioning to his role as an investor, Steinberg shares his investment strategies, emphasizing simplicity and problem-solving.

David Steinberg [09:24]: "You should listen to Warren Buffett and buy as much of the S&P 500 ETF as you possibly can. And every time you make more money, buy more of it."

Steinberg advises focusing on companies that address real-world problems, a principle he believes is often overlooked by investors who chase popularity rather than substance.

David Steinberg [10:10]: "Always look at companies that are solving problems. If you look for companies that are innovative and really are solving a problem, they're going to be the winners in the end."

His investment portfolio is diversified across various funds, including early-stage fund of funds and large public fund managers, ensuring consistent returns.

David Steinberg [11:10]: "We have a sizable series of trusts that roll to the foundation. Some they roll over, you know, 10, 15, 20 years."

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Real Estate Investments

While Steinberg admits to not being deeply involved in individual real estate assets, he highlights his preference for investing in real estate-focused funds.

David Steinberg [12:01]: "I love real estate. But you'd have to talk to my buddy Tariq El Moussa standing right over there."

He emphasizes the significance of real estate as an asset class and his strategic investments in large real estate and infrastructure funds.

David Steinberg [13:10]: "I'm a humongous fan of real estate as an asset class. Location, location, location."

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Philanthropy and Charity Initiatives

Steinberg passionately discusses his philanthropic efforts through the David and Kristen Steinberg Foundation, focusing on disadvantaged youth and community support.

David Steinberg [14:17]: "Michael Blackson has started a school in Africa that my foundation built. The entire computer center, donated every component of it because I believe if we don't help kids who are at a disadvantage with technology, they're going to raise the next generation to be disadvantaged as well."

Zeta Cares, the company's charitable ecosystem, not only provides financial donations but also engages in hands-on community service, fostering a culture of giving back.

David Steinberg [14:21]: "We don't just donate meaningful money, we donate large amounts of time. We do multiple days a year where we go pack lunches or we help with food drives or we're fixing up parks."

When asked about his long-term charitable commitments, Steinberg reveals his dedication, typically allocating 30% of his adjusted gross income to his foundation annually.

David Steinberg [16:06]: "I put 30% of my total adjusted gross income on average, into my foundation every year."

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The Future of Artificial Intelligence

Concluding the discussion, Steinberg delves into the transformative potential of AI, likening its impact to historical technological advancements like the printing press and the internet.

David Steinberg [17:17]: "Artificial intelligence is going to be the next wave of that, where machines can help make decisions and do mundane tasks that today humans are required to do. But they can do them better, faster, and cheaper."

He envisions AI deeply embedding into every facet of human life, fundamentally altering how society functions and driving unprecedented efficiencies and innovations.

David Steinberg [17:09]: "We firmly believe that it's the next wave of technology."

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Conclusion

Dan Fleyshman wraps up the episode by encouraging listeners to connect with David Steinberg and explore Zeta Global's offerings. The episode not only highlights Steinberg's entrepreneurial and investment acumen but also underscores his commitment to leveraging technology for societal good.

Dan Fleyshman [18:40]: "David, I love your show, and I think you're the best."

Listeners are left with a comprehensive understanding of how Steinberg and Zeta Global are poised to shape the future of marketing through AI, while also making significant strides in philanthropy and investment.

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Key Takeaways:

• Zeta Global’s AI-Driven Marketing: Revolutionizing customer acquisition and retention with substantial ROI.
• Strategic Public Offering: Enhancing brand credibility and visibility in the competitive market.
• Unique Brand Building: Utilizing large-scale events and star-studded guest appearances to attract and retain clients.
• Investment Philosophy: Focused on simplicity, problem-solving, and diversification.
• Philanthropic Commitment: Significant contributions to education and community support through dedicated foundations.
• AI’s Transformative Potential: Positioned as the next major technological wave, reshaping industries and societal functions.

For more insights and updates, follow David Steinberg on Instagram and explore Zeta Global at zetaglobal.com.

Transcript

[A]

The Internet. These were all technologies that changed the world in an incredibly profound way. I believe artificial intelligence is going to be the next wave of that where machines can help make decisions and do mundane tasks that today humans are required to do. But they can do them better, faster, and cheaper.

[B]

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a very, very, very special edition of the Money Mondays. Over the last 81 weeks, we've been the top 10 business podcasts in the world. And we've never, ever, ever done the podcast outside of an RV motorhome. However, because of our guest today, I've decided I'm gonna break the rules and come here to the Zeta Global Live event. There's over 1,000 chief marketing officers that are right outside this booth right now, and 15,000 CMOs and brand executives watching live online, all because of this gentleman right here. Now, as you guys know, these podcasts are typically 40 minutes, because the average workout, 45 minutes. The average commute to work is 45 minutes. This episode, we're going to keep short between 25 and 30 minutes for your listening pleasure because we got to get this gentleman back out there on the stage. There's amazing speakers here. Simone Biles, Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Milken, Deepak Chopra, the CEOs of Pepsi, Yahoo, Google. There's just so much going on, so much action right outside of this booth. So I'm going to go get. I really want this to happen, a quick two minute bio so David, we can get straight to the money.

[A]

Well, first of all, Dan, thanks. I'm obviously a big fan of your stuff and watch it. And we appreciate your being here to lead one of our panels. It's very exciting. Yes, we have over 1400 people in person, over 15,000 online. Although I think it's more to do with Shaq and Simone and Milken and Deepak than me. Fortunately, I was able to convince them to come. But, you know, for us at Zeta, this is all about thought leadership and, you know, where is the market going? And you know, right now the market is all about artificial intelligence and that quite frankly, at Zeta, we're an artificial intelligence company. Personally, I'm a serial entrepreneur. I became an entrepreneur for the same reason many of us did. I came out of school in 1990 and I couldn't get a job. So when I came out of school, it was sort of the Great Recession of 1990. I thought I was going to be an investment banker. You know, Goldman and Morgan Stanley didn't agree. And I ended up founding a wireless company shortly thereafter because I Thought wireless was going to sort of change the world. I have founded seven companies to date, taken to public, sold for, and I'm chairman of another one.

[B]

Wow. So what is Zeta Global?

[A]

So Zeta Global is a marketing automation platform that uses data and artificial intelligence to help very large enterprises create, maintain and monetize customers at a substantially lower cost by using our software and our data than they could without it. So when you think, Dan, of the promise of artificial intelligence, right, you've got one side of the trade is cost savings for enterprises. The other side of the trade is revenue growth. Zeta's AI is purpose built to do both. We're able to help large enterprises massively lower their cost to create, maintain customers, while simultaneously, for every dollar that is invested from a marketing perspective using the Zeta marketing platform, we return an average of five to seven dollars.

[B]

Oh my gosh.

[A]

To our clients.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Yeah, it's been, it's been exciting. I think it's one of the reasons we're growing so rapidly right now.

[B]

So back in the days, almost 20 years ago, April of 2005 is when I first went public. I was a kid, I was 23 years old. I did it for four years. And I always said, you know what, I'm never going to do that again. Mostly because of the paperwork, the headaches, the 10Qs and 8Ks in every letter. You can imagine every letter, a lot of letters and a lot of CEOs and CFOs and auditors of auditors and auditors. You have a very large public company approaching almost $1 billion in revenue. Talk us through. Why decide to go public and what's the plan for Zeta Global?

[A]

Well, I joke. I took my last company public in 2004 and I sort of joked I would never do exactly, you know, for Zeta. We went public for a whole host of reason, I would say, the most important of which was we had a challenge with people knowing our brand. Sort of the joke was Zeta who?

[B]

Oh my gosh.

[A]

We would walk into RFPs, we would walk into processes, and nobody would know who we were. So we embarked on this sort of journey to go from Zeta who to why Zeta.

[B]

Right, right.

[A]

And as a part of Whyzeta, we thought going from being a larger private company to a public company was a really important component of that matur. The other big thing was Zeta Live. Right. And my long term goal is to get to, must have Zeta. So instead of just saying, why do we need your product? I want us ultimately to be boardroom conversation around. Why is Zeta not in Our tech stack. We need Zeta. And that's really what we're on the journey to. It's harder as a tech company to do that as a private company than it is as a public company. Even though, as you know, as a public company there's a tremendous amount of reporting requirements, a lot of accountants, a lot of lawyers. But that also gives the credibility to the organization that you've been through that process and you've dealt with all that. So it's a bit of a double edged sword.

[B]

So with having so many clients, hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue, building this brand year after year, why spend months and months on this, a live event that takes months of headache and pulling your hair out to organize, to put on a show for literally what, 1400 CMOs and executives. That's, that's a lot of work.

[A]

Yeah, it is. And you know, because you do more shows than anybody, right? You're, this is, you're the best at this.

[B]

I don't recommend it.

[A]

I mean, listen, it continues to be this sort of evolution of the Zeta brand. And when you have, you know, multiple Fortune 500 CMOs, when you have multiple CEOs presenting, when you have people like Shaquille O'Neal and Michael Milken and Simone Biles and Deepak Chopra and others, Tiffany Haddish, who align their brands with yours, it really helps us along that journey of moving from why Zeta? I'm sorry, from Zeta who? To why Zeta? In fact, what we're seeing is our pipeline from a new customers perspective is at an all time high and the RFP is we're getting asked to participate in are at all time highs, I mean, blowing records. A lot of that is because of the brand evolution. This event, which is the premier technology event in New York City every year. Yeah, it's crazy. This year is really a big part of that brand evolution. So yes, it is a lot of work. I would go so far as to say it is pain in the ass. But the truth of the matter is for us, the return on investment is exponential.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

We close one deal out of this, it can be 10 times what we spent on the entire event.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And we often are closing many, many times that.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

Anything times one is one. You understood my point?

[B]

Totally. But after this, you go from 8am to 5pm with 15,000 people watching it live online, you decided to rent out an entire frickin naval ship, the USS Intrepid, and bring the largest human on the planet, the largest personality, who to me is like a superhero, Shaquille O'Neal. Yes, talk us through. Why do you rent out a naval ship?

[A]

Well, we rented out the Intrepid aircraft carrier because we thought it would be cool.

[B]

It is cool.

[A]

And honestly confirms. Right, but, but to get the type of people we want from a decision maker perspective, you need to be able to first and foremost, provide experiences they wouldn't normally get, which, by the way, is hard because these people normally get whatever they want. And two, the group has to feel curated. They have to feel like they're in the right place with the right people at the right time. And that's how you create brand awareness. And people start saying, wow, I want to work with these guys. And that's why you do this. It's why you rent an aircraft carrier. It's why you convince Shaq and Simone and Milken and Deepak to come. And it's just been, you know, it's been a journey. You know, we started this as. This is only our fourth.

[B]

Oh, really?

[A]

And we're blowing out of this place. I know. We're already talking about we're going to have to double the size again for next year. And it's, you know, we had to turn away, unfortunately, large numbers of people who wanted to attend just because we didn't have the room.

[B]

Okay, so let's take off the Zeta Global hat for a second and put on David the investor hat.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Talk us through investing funds, private equity. Walk us through that side of your world.

[A]

You know, listen, when, when I look, there's multiple ways of investing, I sort of joke last night, a very good friend of mine who's a super famous actress was asking me how she should invest her money. And I said, you should listen to Warren Buffett and buy as much of the S&P 500 ETF as you possibly can. And every time you make more money, buy more of it.

[B]

Yeah, I love it.

[A]

And it's literally that simple. Right? And I, by the way, could go through my family offices, investments. We have 67 different fund managers, investment partners, you name it. And I would tell you the most consistent return we have is the S and P5. It's. I mean, we go into hedge funds that are like the biggest brands in the world. There's. I mean, there's some that are incredible. We're happy to be in there. What I would say is if outside of that, always look at companies that are solving problems. And I think that's something that's missed by most investors. Most investors sort of look at this and say, oh, this guy's Hot or that guy's hot. What problem they solve?

[B]

Airbnb, Amazon, Uber, Zeta. Zeta Global.

[A]

So I have to say, can never. But the truth of the matter is that if you look for companies that are innovative and really are solving a problem, they're going to be the winners in the end.

[B]

So you have so much access to deal flow. You obviously have thousands of entrepreneurs around you, thousands of brands you work with. How do you decide which brand or product or service that you decide you're going to put your money into?

[A]

It's a really good question. We sort of break my world into a number of different components. Obviously Zeta Global being the most important. And I focus the most on that. I'm then chairman of an investment fund called KVS Investment Corp. Which today really focuses on doing early stage fund of funds. We don't really do a lot of direct stuff. Now the beauty of that is if you get to the point where you can get into some of these very hot early stage funds, what happens is they get allocation into the next few rounds and they can't do it. They can't fulfill it big enough.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So then they do what's called setting up SPVs. And we try to get into as many funds as we can.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So we can look at as many as we got it. And by the way, we've done very, very well with that. And then our family office, which is called Excalibur, that's mostly dealing with public fund managers. Whether it's hedge funds or it's managers of individual portfolios or it's very large positions in the S&P 500. Interestingly enough, I have very little to do with that. I spend most of my time focused on running Zeta and a separate team makes most of those decisions for me.

[B]

Got it. What about real estate? Do you like real estate?

[A]

I love real estate. But you'd have to talk to my buddy Tariq El Moussa standing right over there.

[B]

His book signing.

[A]

Right now he's book signing literally right over there. You know what I would say is I don't know enough about real estate personally to invest into individual assets. What I do love are investing into funds that have an investment thesis around real estate.

[B]

I'm seeing a pattern.

[A]

Yeah. Fund and years ago we started investing into management teams that owned large numbers of residential apartments and rented them out for very meaningful cash flow return. It's been great. We invest with Blackstone, which is a large investment vehicle. We're in all of their real estate funds, we're in their infrastructure funds. So I'm not the guy to talk about what piece of real estate you should buy and manage, but other than, other than that. And by the way, but I'm a humongous fan of real estate as an asset class and you know, as they say, right. Location, location, location.

[B]

So once you're in California, we're gonna do a long form episode. I know you got to go. So I'm going to go to the last section and when I get you back in California, I'm going to bring the motor home over to you.

[A]

Remember, I'm only in California very rarely.

[B]

Yes. Just for that two days is be perfect for me.

[A]

Great.

[B]

So the last section is on charity. Why do you think it's important for, let's say the 1400 CMOS here? Why do you think it's important for their brands to have some sort of charity philanthropic for their brand?

[A]

They're not all CMOs. There's a lot of CMOs, a lot of executives too. But you know, to me, what I can tell you is, first of all, we have a thing called Zeta Cares, which is literally our entire charitable ecosystem at Zeta, where we don't just donate meaningful money, we donate large amounts of time. And we do multiple days a year where we go pack lunches or we help with food drives or we're fixing up parks or we're going to. You know, we do a lot with a number of. They don't call. I'm trying to remember the new word for it. Like we used to call them soup kitchens.

[B]

Perfect.

[A]

Call them that anymore. But they.

[B]

Sure, that's a good name.

[A]

Yeah, well, that's what they used to call them. I'm old. So that's what we used to call.

[B]

You do something with Michael Blackson, right? You did something with his orphanage.

[A]

Yeah. So Michael Blackson has started a school in Africa that my foundation built. The entire computer center, donated every component of it because I believe if we don't help kids who are at a disadvantage with technology, they're going to raise the next generation to be disadvantaged as well. So at our foundation, which is the David and Kristen Steinberg foundation, we're very, very focused on disadvantaged youth feeding. You know, there are tens of thousands of kids in this country who don't get breakfast.

[B]

Right.

[A]

They have to pay for school lunch that they can't afford. We have a big program around feeding kids every day. Very, very focused on what the Milken Institute is doing around education and health care. And we've been very involved there. So I would say that our foundation takes up a meaningful part of my thought process, and it's something I spend a lot of time with my three older children. You know, my. I have. I have Isabel, Amelia, and Carter, my three older kids. And they really. I'm trying to get them involved, and they're very interested in the charitable component of my life.

[B]

So that actually leads me to the one question I ask on every single episode. So 100 years from now, with modern technology and science, hopefully you got bionic arms and bionic legs. It's time.

[A]

Hopefully we don't. Hopefully we have organic.

[B]

Organic. All of that regrow, but keep going. At that time, it's finally time for David to pass away. He's 162 years old. Okay. What percentage. Hopefully, you amass billions of dollars over the years and you help billions of people with your charities. What percentage does that go to those children?

[A]

Yeah, it's a good question. I don't honestly know what I would say is, like many people in my position, I put 30% of my total adjusted gross income on average, into my foundation every year.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

That's the taxable, allowable amount. But it's meaningful, for sure. So I tend to do that. We have, you know, a sizable series of trusts that roll to the foundation. Some they roll over, you know, 10, 15, 20 years. And it's. It's something that I'm, you know, very, very invested in. I can't say what percentage of whatever I am as I'm going to be giving to charity, just because at this point, I'm still too young to have thought about that.

[B]

No one's ever answered the same ever. Not once.

[A]

Yeah, I don't know.

[B]

It's been fascinating. Shaquille O'Neal, when you interview him, ask him.

[A]

I'm not going to ask him that today. We have a bunch of questions we've.

[B]

Already gone through in the prep work. He loves saying. He's like, I'm rich. My kids aren't rich. He's like, I'm rich. You need three degrees to get money from me. He likes.

[A]

There's a lot of people who feel that way.

[B]

Final question. What is the future? Why do you have AI so integrated into this event? Why is AI important?

[A]

You know, if you think about the sort of advent of technology, you really can go back. I mean, I wouldn't go back quite to fire, but if you start with the Gutenberg printing press and you move up to the telegraph, the telephone, the computer, the Internet, these were all technologies that changed the world in an incredibly profound way. I believe artificial intelligence is going to be the next wave of that, where machines can help make decisions and do mundane tasks that today humans are required to do. But they can do them better, faster, and cheaper, for sure, in a way that, you know, they can process and synthesize information into intelligence in a way that no system has ever been able to. So as that embeds itself into every single component of our lives, it's going to change the way we function as a species. And, you know, we. We firmly believe that it's the next wave of technology.

[B]

I can feel it in the room. I can feel it the way you integrate into this event with all these brand executives. Thank you for being here. So everyone watching, check out David A. Steinberg across Instagram. Check out Zeta Global. If you have a big brand or you work with someone, maybe your dad, mom, uncle, grandfather has a big brand, check out zetaglobal.com. work with their company. They're a publicly traded company. I appreciate you for being here. I know you got to go start interviewing Shaquille O'Neal and all these fun guests, but I appreciate it, and we'll see you soon.

[A]

Dan, I love your show, and I think you're the best.

[B]

Thank you.