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OhHello - James Borow
34 Plays1 year ago
OhHello!
It's Episode 82 and James Borow, CEO/co-founder of Market AI, is ecstatic to join the OhHello.io 🌞☕️ tribe as a "Hello" (an esteemed OhHello.io expert/mentor) ---> and we make it clear that "impartial advice matters"!
James Borow has spent the majority of his career as a founder in the hashtag#advertising ecosystem. From selling his company and then helping to create the ads business at Snap Inc., James emphasizes, in this episode, how his career has been shaped by mentors. He's been fortunate to work with a group of the same crew for 15 years and loves
👥 His Top 3 Mentors:
1️⃣ Clark Landry - Taught James to 'just go for it'
2️⃣ Paul Falzone - Showed James the importance of humility
3️⃣ Imran Khan - Inspired James, daily, with his vision and energy
📈 What James Offers on OhHello.io:
-Impartial advice for early-stage founders
-A well-rounded perspective from being a vendor, publisher, and investor in the ad tech space
-Empowering founders to not screw up and to navigate the complex world of fundraising and building
🎗️ Causes Close to His Heart:
James is passionate about supporting the Alzheimer's Association due to personal experiences with the disease
📣 Parting Wisdom:
"You can do way more than you think. Try to get in the room and you'll be surprised about how much value you can add."
Go book time w/ James ASAP on OhHello.io
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Background
00:00:04
Speaker
All right. There we go. There we go. There we go. I like it. Hello, James. How are you? I'm good, man. Thanks for having me on. Of course. Of course. Thanks for being here. It's been great getting to know you over the past couple of months. I have the pleasure of knowing who you are. Why don't you tell our Oh, hello audience? Who am I speaking with?
00:00:28
Speaker
Hi, everyone. I'm James Barrow. I'm currently the co-founder of an ad tech business called Market, and then I've been a founder and investor and advisor for the last 15 years now. I've had a business that we sold eventually to Snap, and then at Snap I was in charge of building up the ads business there.
00:00:49
Speaker
and then have just done a bunch of other random stuff, but big fan of all the stuff that you've been doing and that you've done, so pumped to be here. You rock, James. Thanks for saying that. The feeling is mutual, my friend.
AI and Business Data Chat Interface
00:01:00
Speaker
Tell us a little bit more about market for a second.
00:01:03
Speaker
Yeah, it's kind of this, the whole idea is that as AI has gotten to be just more prevalent and accessible, me and a bunch of friends from Snap had this idea of like, what if you could have a group chat with all of your business data, your ads, your creatives, your products. And so we're literally building kind of like chat GPT for all of your marketing data. So it's
00:01:28
Speaker
It's awesome. We have some incredible investors. The team is basically a group of people that I've worked with for 15 years. We worked together at my first business, and then we worked together at Snap, and then now we're doing it again. So we kind of joke that we haven't been great about making new friends.
00:01:43
Speaker
but it's pretty cool and we're very excited about it. That's badass. Well, look, you made a new friend here. You're getting additional exposure with that and with making new friends. When you think about just the people that you've been working with for the past 15 years, when you think about
00:02:00
Speaker
When you think about building culture, building technology, and when you think about being able to give back, obviously that's what I'm building, what we as a community are building with Oh, Hello. What excites you about Oh, Hello.io? What excites you about just the vision?
The Role of Mentorship
00:02:18
Speaker
Yeah, you know, it's funny, like, I never would have thought I would have said this when I was like 22. But like, my entire career has been the function of like, a series of mentors that have made just a huge impact. And you know, it's like, you know, there's just little moments of people who took time out of their day to have coffee with you or just to like pick your brain that have, I think compounded into
00:02:40
Speaker
some pretty cool things. And so what you're doing is just like a really streamlined, logical way to hopefully create more of those moments. And so there's like kind of like, just like, this should exist. And so I'm happy it does now and I'm happy to be part of it.
00:02:54
Speaker
I love it. Thanks for saying that. And it matters because people need to have access. People need to be able to, if you have a question, be able to find and pick who you want to talk with about very niche topics for the exact reason. You had mentioned some of your mentors. Would love to lean in and understand just
00:03:13
Speaker
over your career thus far of being an ad tech founder, selling companies to major social platforms, being able to be a well-respected builder within our ecosystem. Who are the mentors that have had a big impact on you,
Influential Mentors
00:03:28
Speaker
James? Tell us. Yeah, I've had a bunch, but the three that stand out, one is Clark Landry. Clark is probably one of the most prolific angel investors in LA and also operators.
00:03:43
Speaker
But I met him when I was, I think like 23. My mom actually introduced us. He tells everyone who will listen the story. I know he told you this story at one point, but it's a longer, we don't have enough time to go into it. But he took a really big shot on, you know, kind of.
00:04:00
Speaker
given me a chance early on when I was just out of college. And we co-founded our first business together, Shift. We've done a ton of investing together. We've together helped other friends start companies that have gotten pretty big. So I think he just sort of taught me that you just kind of have to go for it. There's no way I would have had the confidence to even try to do all this stuff without kind of
00:04:25
Speaker
him. And then another mentor, a guy named Paul Falzoni. Paul is the GP at a fund called Manifest. And he is just like one of the best deal makers, like one of the most sort of empathetic, nicest people in the world, extremely successful, but super into the radar. And honestly, it's just kind of like taught me that like, you just can't be an asshole. And
00:04:51
Speaker
And it's been, it's like, that's sort of non-obvious in some ways, I think. Matters. Growing up. It absolutely matters. Yeah. So he's been incredible and is just a really good friend. And then probably the third one is Emron Khan. He was chief strategy officer at Snapchat. I worked for him there and he took Alibaba public.
00:05:12
Speaker
And, you know, he's just, I mean, he's like at a different level in terms of just like energy and I think just sort of vision. But I also just like, it was really cool to experience like, you know, someone you consider to be a friend, pull off all these crazy things. It does kind of inspire you to be like, okay, like I can do this. Maybe not to the scale of taking Alibaba public, but
00:05:37
Speaker
but it's inspiring to see and I think those three, there's no way that I think I'd be where I am today without those three in particular. So as I'm listening to you talk about those three, I hear just the importance of family, the fact that in all seriousness that having that bond with your mom to realize and understand, to be able to introduce you to someone and then
00:06:05
Speaker
Equally as important, building that level of trust with someone new who's experienced, who's been there, who's done that, and then both of you mutually understanding one another and taking a gamble, taking a risk, building a business with each other, being able to
00:06:20
Speaker
that goes to number two, being humble, having humility, being a good person, just don't be a dick, just be a nice person. That's absolutely what matters. And then the third part, being able to see some other leadership pull off some incredibly well-respected
00:06:40
Speaker
global feats, and being able to surround yourself with smart people. So I think that's, that's a good summation of the mentors that have helped impact you. Through those three mentors and through other mentors, James, help us understand some of the characteristics that you're going to be offering to the Oh, hello community to fellow mentees.
Supporting Early Stage Founders
00:07:01
Speaker
Yeah, I think like I
00:07:05
Speaker
I've been really lucky. I've had some, like I've mentioned, just like some great advisors and, you know, I think in particular, like early stage founders.
00:07:13
Speaker
People are just trying to navigate this whole world of fundraising, building, how to sell. I mean, a lot of this stuff is not obvious. A lot of it is difficult. And then there's a lot of the people that you are connected to, from a professional standpoint often, directly may not always have your best incentives at heart. So I think it's actually really healthy to have some kind of just third party that can come in there and be like, listen,
00:07:41
Speaker
take it or leave it. This is what I think based on what I know. And you know, for you to be kind of impartial, I think is, is extremely important. And that's where like, you know, I've, I have my mentors, I have an executive coach, like all these people kind of around me, even you know, my wife, like who I think are like looking out for the best things for me, which is like a very hard thing to get a lot of times. So I think hopefully I can do that for people on the platform.
00:08:06
Speaker
I really respect that you had brought up the impartial component. I think you're the first of 80 and 90 different interviews that I've had. They have talked about that. It's good to have that. Can you lean in a little bit more about just hearing and getting the impartial advice?
00:08:23
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, listen, like everyone has their own context. And so, you know, I think, yeah, I mean, and again, and it's it doesn't mean that a third party will be impartial, but at least having some level of sort of just distance from like your own individual problems, I think is probably pretty healthy and actually hard to come by. It's why everyone it's why everyone wants mentors. It's like why people annoy people on Twitter to get coffee.
00:08:53
Speaker
and pick their brain for advice. And even as a founder in particular, listen, we have amazing investors. I love our investors. But A, they have a lot going on. And then B, it's a different relationship when there's a financial relationship. You're hesitant to be more vulnerable. You're hesitant to share just what's really in your head, which is logical.
00:09:20
Speaker
And so, you know, I think for like early stage founders in particular, having something like this super helpful.
00:09:27
Speaker
And then also just like ad tech, martech, space is changing a lot. Like hopefully I can give good perspective from like being a vendor at one point, you know, like, and then I was on the basically publisher side at snap and then I've done investing. So I have the investor hat, you know, hopefully that's like a round, well-rounded point of view where I can at least help you not screw up whatever you're trying to do.
00:09:51
Speaker
Fantastic response. There's a reason and rationale why I'd ask that because that's part of the reason why we are building Oh, hello, why we're building the community why we're building the platform because getting that impartial advice.
00:10:05
Speaker
There needs to be objectivity versus subjectivity when people are being vulnerable and being able to ask questions and seek help from experts.
Personal Traits and Values
00:10:15
Speaker
With that, just tell us more about what defines you as a dad, as a husband, as a founder, as an investor. What are just some traits or characteristics that you just are proud about? That's a good question. Thanks. I think. I think.
00:10:31
Speaker
Yeah, I think I'm very loyal. I think I'm a really good person. I really try to be a good person. It's obviously every day you try to be better, but I pride myself on trying to be an honest, loyal friend. My family's the most important thing to me. When it comes to work, I do think my skill set is I'm willing to outwork people. I think I have a little bit of a different gear.
00:11:01
Speaker
And, you know, I think, and then I think, you know, over time, it's been, you know, just I think the trustworthiness and why I've had a group of people that I've worked with for so long is that like, we all trust each other. I think we've all been sort of battle tested. And, you know, I think there's kind of a kind of no assholes rule that has like stuck in a sort of like permeated around all that. And so I think that's probably the main characteristics.
00:11:28
Speaker
Thank you for sharing that. As you know, as a hello, as a mentor on the platform, you're able to donate your proceeds to different charitable causes that are near and dear to you. What are some causes that are important to you, your wife, your family?
Commitment to Alzheimer's Association
00:11:44
Speaker
Yeah, I think Alzheimer's Association, without a doubt, unfortunately my mom has it, my grandmother had it. So that's one where like, you know,
00:11:55
Speaker
probably donate 100% of it to it. It's such a worthy cause. But I looked at the list that you have affiliations with. They're all incredible. And I just think the ability to donate a portion of anything that comes in, I think, is actually a really, really powerful thing. And it's a good forcing function, I think, to even get people thinking about where they would be donating. So I think it's very cool you're doing it.
00:12:18
Speaker
Thanks. Thank you, James. Really appreciate it. And I appreciate the fact that all of our mentors that sign up, that is part of what they do, is that they donate two great causes that are important to them. So any other parting words of wisdom, any other advice that you have for our Oh, hello viewers, for our listeners, just through your experiences?
Encouragement and Realizing Potential
00:12:38
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I think
00:12:39
Speaker
The biggest one that I've learned at least is that you can do way more than you think. I'm going to screw it up. There's an Obama quote about how he kept being like every room he was in, he was surrounded by these people. And he's like, I can't believe these are the people I have to work with. And then he keeps going and it ends up being, it's like the UN. And he's like, these guys, he's basically talking about the dynamics of being successful and being a leader.
00:13:08
Speaker
are the same regardless of what stage you're on. I think one thing I found to be really enlightening was at Snapchat, we were going public, there's really big stakes. I was looking around and I was like, I can absolutely do this. There's no reason why I can't do this. People are often just scared about being in the room, but I think I would encourage people to try to get in the room and you'll be surprised about how much value you can add.
00:13:38
Speaker
So yeah, that'd probably be the main one for me. Badass James. This has been, so yes you can. Yes we can. This has been great James. Thank you so much. Thank you to everyone who's been watching, listening. Thanks man. Thanks. This is great. Take care everybody. Until the next one.