Can you actually manufacture virality?

Zach Katz and Jason Wilhelm, the co-founders of Fixated, join to explain that you can.

Fixated was built to be the architect behind some of the internet's biggest cultural phenomena. They've done well so far -- their first client was Sketch, who they brought on when he had only a few hundred viewers, and scaled him into a megastar. Since then, they've taken on big investor money and bought firms like Ellify, Elevate, and Studio71 to continue to scale.

Today on the show, Zach and Jason pull back the curtain on the creator economy, exposing the dark side of early talent management and revealing the uncompromising "burn the boats" mentality required to reach the top. From building massive creator houses to discovering true talent in a sea of millions, you'll learn how two industry pros navigate the modern creator economy.

0:00 The Boldest Claim in Content: Can You Actually Manufacture Virality?

2:15 Pop Culture History: The Hilarious "Sean Kingston" Origin Story

4:51 Building the Sway House: Professionalizing the Creator Mansion Model

9:36 Exposing Predatory MCN Deals & The FaZe Clan "Shush" Story

16:22 The Fixated Blueprint: How to Guarantee Distribution & Views

33:33 The Sketch Story: Finding a Mega-Creator Before They Explode

39:25 Controversial Takes: Why "48 Laws of Power" is Messing Creators Up

57:27 The "Burn the Boats" Mentality: Why Having a Plan B Guarantees Failure

#businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters

WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?

Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.

The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.

The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.

If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

How do you protect the soul of the working class when you're the one brokering the billion-dollar deals?

Kevin Acklin is the former President of the Pittsburgh Penguins and former Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Pittsburgh. Born and raised in South Oakland, Kevin shares his incredible journey from leading his childhood hockey league in penalty minutes to navigating the highest stakes in sports and civic leadership.

Kevin unpacks the formative moments of his career, including a shocking boardroom revelation in North Carolina that forever cemented his drive to protect the "little guy." We also get the untold, behind-the-scenes story of how he orchestrated the return of NHL legend Jaromir Jagr to Pittsburgh.

00:00 Intro: Preserving Pittsburgh's Soul

00:49 The Enforcer of South Oakland: Growing up across the street from Dan Marino and leading the league in penalty minutes

06:26 The Man in the Arena: Drawing inspiration from Teddy Roosevelt and empowering the community

11:33 The Boardroom vs. The Working Class: The emotional North Carolina term sheet story that cemented his defense of the "little guy"

20:35 Rebuilding the City: From painting cannons to saving August Wilson's boyhood home and becoming Chief of Staff

29:29 Bringing Jaromir Jagr Home: The mysterious phone call, the jersey retirement, and the stolen bobbleheads

45:43 Lightning Round

54:28 What's Next?: Life at Stevens & Lee, looking toward the future, and why his client will always be Pittsburgh

#businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters

WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?

Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.

The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.

The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.

If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Pittsburgh International Airport, is executing the first ground-up, brand-new airport build in the US since the pandemic. Today she joins Thought Liters to tell that story and answer an important question: why do it

You'll also get to learn about Christina lifts up leaders, her 2030 vision for air travel in and out of the Steel City, and how she went from intentionally flunking out of college to becoming a high-powered CEO.

Special thanks to Cafe Conmigo (and their owner Derek) who let us use their space inside the new terminal to film.

0:00 The $1.7B Comeback (Trailer)

1:09 Meet Christina Cassotis & The Pan Am Pilot Influence

3:09 The Iced Tea Flight at Cafe Conmigo

5:01 Why Great Ideas Fail (How to "Architect" Change)

6:48 Leadership is Just Selling an Idea

8:22 The Day the Hub Pulled Out: "This Isn't Coming Back"

11:06 Speaking Truth to Power & Winning the Room

15:23 Inside the New Terminal: Constellation Lighting & Design

22:34 The Biggest Challenge: Building During a Global Pandemic

26:49 Lightning Round: Rating Wild Airport Upgrades

30:28 Inside the Actor's Studio: What Gets a CEO Out of Bed

41:01 Last Call: Legacy-First Leadership & Mentorship

47:16 Unfinished Business: The Final 6% of the New PIT

49:18 Flunking Out of College & Advice for Your 20s

51:00 The Final Sip & Behind the Scenes at Cafe Conmigo

#businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters

WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?

Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes,

The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.

The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.

If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.