ADSN

James Borow and Daniel Druger

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ADSN (The Ads Network) is a weekly show for people building and investing in ads, media, and monetization products. Every Tuesday, join James Borow and Daniel Druger as they bring over 30 years of experience to discuss the headlines and the why and how behind them. They also welcome industry leaders to go deep on topics in a fun and approachable format. Join the ADSN crew every Tuesday 🗓️

17 hr ago

30 Minutes: Peptides, GLP-1s and the DIY Health Revolution ft. Dr. Neil Paulvin

"The health paradigm has totally changed. It's never going back to where you're just going to go see your doctor in the physical office and get treated. That's never going to happen again." Dr. Neil Paulvin, a board-certified physician with over 20 years of experience in integrative medicine joins 30 Minutes to cut through the BS when it comes to peptides and DIY health. Dr. Paulvin has been prescribing peptides since 2017 and breaks down the six major categories, from anti-inflammatory and muscle building to the vanity stacks covering weight loss, hair, and skin. He explains why BPC-157, the most hyped peptide on social media, still lacks proper human studies because no one can patent it or justify the $5-10 million needed for clinical trials, and why marketing names like "Wolverine Stack" and "Glow" are made-up terms from unregulated sellers, not real medical protocols. The conversation covers where the industry is headed: big pharma is expected to control 75-80% of the peptide market within 3-5 years by patenting slightly modified versions of existing peptides. Dr. Paulvin also walks through retatrutide (GLP-3), which he calls the "home run of all home runs" but warns comes with significantly stronger side effects. He makes the case that peptides do work at the right dosing for the right patient, but stresses that Manhattan bodegas selling them at the front counter is a sign the industry has "jumped the shark," and that none of this replaces the fundamentals of sleep, exercise, diet, and stress management. Thank you to our sponsors: AdQuick – Making OOH advertising as easy to plan, buy, and measure as digital. adquick.comThrad.ai — Building the advertising infrastructure for AI. thrad.aibeehiiv — The all-in-one platform for newsletters, websites, and every tool you need to grow and earn. beehiiv.comThe Farm — Fraction commercial legal with an in-house approach to outside counsel. thefarmllp.com STAY CONNECTEDJames on Twitter & LinkedIn – /jamesborowDaniel on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok – /danieldruger Subscribe & leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
3 days ago

ADSN RUNDOWN | Agents Won't Kill Ads, YouTube Kills the View, Apple's API

Daniel and James open with a run of ad-tech news that keeps circling one idea: everything is becoming an ads business, and agents won't change that. Starting from Antonio García Martínez's viral post, they make the case that the visible ad is just the tip of the iceberg — the targeting, attribution, and budgeting underneath is the real machine, and AI agents will simply inherit it. From there they hit Spotify testing a skip button that conveniently only skips publisher-sold podcast inventory, YouTube quietly redefining a "view" as an impression after years of setting the industry standard, and Apple's new unified campaign-management API, which James reads as step one toward an Apple Pay–powered audience network rather than a full DSP. The back half gets into the scramble for supply and the widening AI gap. Pinterest is buying its way out of being supply-poor with TV Scientific and a Zillow data deal that brings 34 audience segments back into play, while Andreessen and Ramp data shows the median company spending about $12 per employee each month on AI versus $7,500 at the top 1% — maybe the biggest adoption gap tech has seen. They also dig into a WPP rebate lawsuit that exposes how agencies really make their money, celebrate Snap-alumni startup Higgsfield's $400M raise at a $5.4B valuation, and close with primary posts on LeBron trading distribution dreams for a subscribe button, Gen Z moving 52% of their investing into sports betting, and James's theory that high interest rates are quietly making movies good again. Thank you to our sponsors:- AdQuick – Making OOH advertising as easy to plan, buy, and measure as digital. adquick.com- Thrad.ai — Building the advertising infrastructure for AI. thrad.ai- beehiiv — The all-in-one platform for newsletters, websites, and every tool you need to grow and earn. beehiiv.com- The Farm — Fraction commercial legal with an in-house approach to outside counsel. thefarmllp.comSTAY CONNECTEDJames on Twitter & LinkedIn – /jamesborowDaniel on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok – /danieldrugerSubscribe & leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
13 Aug

ADSN RUNDOWN | How Creators Took Over The Open Web

Daniel and JB are back for the ADSN rundown and this week's theme is clear: the creator economy just became the main economy. They kick off with Orin John showing that creators can now link Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to Google Search Console — the first real step in creators becoming the new publishers. Then they break down YouTube doubling its monetization requirements and X relaunching its creator program, both cracking down on faceless AI channels. The message from every platform is the same: original content from verified creators wins, everything else is getting squeezed out. From there, Ari Seifer raises the white flag on the open web (it's dead, the walled gardens won), SpaceX's Starlink subscription flywheel reveals a $30B free cash flow path that should make every social network rethink its business model, and Satya Nadella says LinkedIn is merging four job titles into one — though LinkedIn employees in the comments aren't so sure. JB rebuilds his Situation Game with Claude and reports vibe coding has gotten dramatically better in just two months. They close with Primary Posts: Corgi's internal "Yapper Leaderboard" for team posting, and John Palmer's take that the most underrated hire right now is the "senior idea guy" — because with AI making execution easy, knowing what to build is the real bottleneck. Thank you to our sponsors: AdQuick – Making OOH advertising as easy to plan, buy, and measure as digital. adquick.com Thrad.ai — Building the advertising infrastructure for AI. thrad.ai beehiiv — The all-in-one platform for newsletters, websites, and every tool you need to grow and earn. beehiiv.com The Farm — Fraction commercial legal with an in-house approach to outside counsel. thefarmllp.com STAY CONNECTED James on Twitter & LinkedIn – /jamesborow Daniel on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok – /danieldruger Subscribe & leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
11 Aug

30 Minutes: Self-Driving Cars Are Here And What It Means for You ft. Harry Campbell

Episode One of an ADSN Original: 30 Minutes kicks off welcoming Harry Campbell, founder of Driverless Digest and one of the leading global experts on autonomous vehicles and mobility. He joins hosts James Borow and Daniel Druger to break down the state of the self-driving industry. Harry unpacks the Waymo vs. Tesla debate, explaining why Waymo has a massive safety and operational lead, but how Tesla's fleet scale could flip the script if they crack full autonomy. He walks through how LiDAR costs have plummeted upending Tesla's original camera-only thesis, and why Uber is facing an existential investor crisis as its Waymo partnership deteriorates and its stock underperforms. The conversation digs into regulation and the human cost of disruption, from taxi medallion collapses to the 110K Uber and Lyft drivers in New York City facing an uncertain future. Harry also breaks down the drone delivery boom in Texas, why near-zero delivery costs could create unlimited TAM, and what excites him most over the next 3-5 years as more AV companies enter the game. Whether you're a consumer, investor, or just someone who's been curious about getting into a Waymo, this is the episode to understand where autonomous vehicles actually stand today. Connect with Harry at: https://therideshareguy.com/https://www.thedriverlessdigest.com/ Thank you to our sponsors: AdQuick – Making OOH advertising as easy to plan, buy, and measure as digital. adquick.comThrad.ai — Building the advertising infrastructure for AI. thrad.aibeehiiv — The all-in-one platform for newsletters, websites, and every tool you need to grow and earn. beehiiv.comThe Farm — Fraction commercial legal with an in-house approach to outside counsel. thefarmllp.com STAY CONNECTED James on Twitter & LinkedIn – /jamesborow Daniel on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok – /danieldruger Subscribe & leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
6 Aug

ADSN RUNDOWN | AI Slop Backlash, BMW the Ad Company?, and Arnold Flexes His App

Rundown is back and this week is all about backlash. Backlash against AI slop, against automating parenting, and against putting ads in your $60K BMW. They kick off with LinkedIn testing a "Sounds Like AI Slop" button, Snapchat banning AI from Spotlight, and YouTube nuking 130,000 channels overnight. Then Sam Altman gets roasted for suggesting ChatGPT generate podcasts for his kids (just talk to your children, Sam), and OpenAI catches heat for hosting an influencer retreat. The through-line: the honeymoon phase with AI is over and consumers are pushing back hard. On the business side, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Pump Club app goes viral with a genius retention play — he pays your membership if you actually work out. BMW's Spider-Man display takeover shows exactly how not to monetize a premium brand. Orchid HQ proves controversial launch videos still cut through noise. And Mike Christo's 12-year-old son helped one-shot a full video game with Opus V — one prompt, 31,000 lines of code, making the case that OpenAI should be building a gaming platform. They close with Primary Posts: Daniel Burke's take on why the next billion-dollar companies won't come from people who've done it before, and Akash Gupta breaking down how The Odyssey cleared Oppenheimer's entire domestic run in 13 days on $0 of licensed IP. Thank you to our sponsors: AdQuick – Making OOH advertising as easy to plan, buy, and measure as digital. ⁠adquick.com⁠⁠Thrad.ai⁠ — Building the advertising infrastructure for AI. ⁠thrad.ai⁠beehiiv — The all-in-one platform for newsletters, websites, and every tool you need to grow and earn. ⁠beehiiv.com⁠The Farm — Fractional commercial legal with an in-house approach to outside counsel. ⁠thefarmllp.com⁠ STAY CONNECTED James on Twitter & LinkedIn – /jamesborow Daniel on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok – /danieldruger Subscribe & leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
4 Aug

No Permission Episode 1: Tackling the 67% GenZ Loneliness Epidemic ft. Carter Munk

This is a featured episode of the NEW No Permission Podcast hosted by Daniel. Subscribe at No Permission Podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/033nNxrnG1SI4HRqq1RUeL) ******** "People crave intimacy in the sense of companionship and friendship rather than romance." Carter Munk, founder and CEO of Pinned Social is on a mission to solve loneliness. This is his story as a 3x founder, never asking for permission to build. How many 3x, sub-30 year old founders do you know? Introducing Carter Munk who founded Moe's Coffee in the US – an Australian coffee brand now in 50+ locations across Canada — while still in school. Later co-founding Circa, a dating app that raised nearly $2 million, before leaving to build Pinned, a new kind of social app designed to solve the loneliness problem his generation faces despite even though they are the most digitally connected in history. The thesis behind Pinned: people don't see their friends because they don't know how to coordinate, not because they don't want to. He walks through how he validated the idea by interviewing 250 people, self-funded the early days, launched to a 12,000-person waitlist, and hit 5,000. He also gets real about outsourcing mistakes at Circa, why he has no backup plan, and the advice he'd give anyone thinking about starting something. 🤝 Partner with No Permission: daniel@nopermissionpodcast.com 🎤 Your host: Daniel Druger – 3x exited founder / operator, product exec at Comcast, ex-Snapchat, startup investor. 15+ years working as a founder and with founders 📫 STAY CONNECTED Instagram: /danieldruger TikTok: /danieldruger LinkedIn: /danieldruger Newsletter: theadsn.com 👉 Hit Subscribe & tap the 🔔, then leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. This quick act of kindness helps more people discover No Permission and the next generation of great builders.
29 Jul

ADSN RUNDOWN | Women Dominate the App Economy, TikTok Rivals Amazon, Jersey Mike's $8B IPO

THE RUNDOWN | WEEK OF 7/26 Daniel and James are back with The Rundown. This week they cover everything from women taking over the app economy to TikTok building an Amazon Prime rival, Jersey Mike's $8 billion IPO, and Larry Page saying he'd go bankrupt before losing the AI race. They kick off with a compelling case for why vibe coding and built-in influencer distribution mean women are about to dominate the next wave of app builders, then dig into Meta's new Sellers app (not a Shopify killer) and TikTok's inevitable evolution from ads to commerce to payments to logistics. The back half covers why open weight AI models are an openness fight worth having, how Chinese labs are distilling Western AI models the same way TikTok copied Snap, and why a sandwich chain IPO being 10X oversubscribed tells you everything about where real value is being created. They close with Primary Posts — Sean Frank's "can't win if you don't try" ethos (plus a tease of ADSN's new podcast "30 Minutes"), and Ashwin's moat framework that should be required reading: brand, distribution, speed, and cleverness beat product every time. Thank you to our sponsors: AdQuick – Making OOH advertising as easy to plan, buy, and measure as digital. adquick.comThrad.ai — Building the advertising infrastructure for AI. thrad.aibeehiiv — The all-in-one platform for newsletters, websites, and every tool you need to grow and earn. beehiiv.comThe Farm — Fractional commercial legal with an in-house approach to outside counsel. thefarmllp.com STAY CONNECTEDJames on Twitter & LinkedIn – /jamesborowDaniel on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok – /danieldrugerSubscribe & leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
16 Jul

Why No One Knows Who You Are (And How to Fix It) | Joe Zappa, Sharp Pen Media

"If no one knows who you are, nothing good can come from that." – Joe Zappa Daniel and James sit down with Joe Zappa, founder of Sharp Pen Media, a communications agency built entirely for ad tech. At just 31, Joe has become one of the most visible people in the ad tech world across X, LinkedIn, two podcasts, and a newsletter. His core thesis? Most B2B companies and CEOs are completely invisible, and that invisibility is far more dangerous than saying the wrong thing. Joe built his entire business by putting himself out there, and in this episode he lays out exactly how anyone can do the same. Joe gives a 30 day strategy to make a big impact, explains why comms teams are often the biggest blockers, how Terence Kawaja says invisible founders are killing their own exit multiples, and why Brian Chesky's AI-generated X thread is a cautionary tale for executives who outsource their voice. Joe lays it all out in this episode and the bar is so low that just showing up consistently puts you ahead of 90% of B2B. Thank you to our sponsors for making this possible:AdQuick – Making OOH advertising as easy to plan, buy, and measure as digital. adquick.comThrad.ai — Building the advertising infrastructure for AI. thrad.aibeehiiv — The all-in-one platform for newsletters, websites, and every tool you need to grow and earn. beehiiv.comThe Farm — Fraction commercial legal with an in-house approach to outside counsel. thefarmllp.com STAY CONNECTEDJames on Twitter & LinkedIn – /jamesborowDaniel on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok – /danieldrugerSubscribe & leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

ADSN (The Ads Network) is a weekly show for people building and investing in ads, media, and monetization products. Every Tuesday, join James Borow and Daniel Druger as they bring over 30 years of experience to discuss the headlines and the why and how behind them. They also welcome industry leaders to go deep on topics in a fun and approachable format. Join the ADSN crew every Tuesday 🗓️

Creator

James Borow and Daniel Druger
Years Active

2023 - 2026
Episodes

121
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© James Borow and Daniel Druger
Show Website

ADSN