Is Media a Bad Investment?, Scott’s Dating Advice for Women, and How to Win High-End Clients

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0:01:33 Welcome to Office Hours with Prof G.
0:01:39 This is the part of the show where we answer your questions about business, big tech, entrepreneurship, and whatever else is on your mind.
0:01:43 If you’d like to submit a question for next time, you can send a voice recording to officehoursofprofgmedia.com.
0:01:46 Again, that’s officehoursofprofgmedia.com.
0:01:51 Or post your question on the Scott Galloway subreddit and we just might feature it in our next episode.
0:01:52 First question.
0:01:59 Hi, Scott.
0:02:01 This is Cindy from Jamaica.
0:02:05 I listened to your Office Hours on the future of Prof G Media.
0:02:05 Congrats.
0:02:12 And then I heard your interview with Mark Cuban on Prof G Markets in which Cuban said that media is a bad investment.
0:02:17 What are your thoughts on Cuban’s comments in light of what you were building?
0:02:20 And what are your thoughts on the future of new media?
0:02:21 Thanks.
0:02:23 The producers have pulled this.
0:02:29 They said that Mark Cuban on the Prof G Markets said there’s no chance I’d invest in the media ecosystem at all anywhere.
0:02:30 It’s brutal because it’s hits driven.
0:02:34 Creating a hit is hard no matter what the platform is.
0:02:36 And going viral is hard no matter what the platform is.
0:02:38 So just some data.
0:02:42 Social media has overtaken TV as Americans’ top news source for the first time this year, according to Reuters.
0:02:47 According to Pew, about one in five Americans regularly get news from influencers on social platforms.
0:02:50 And I think two-thirds of Americans get their news now from social media.
0:02:54 TikTok actually keeps surging as a news source.
0:02:58 One in five U.S. adults now regularly get their news on TikTok, up from 3% in 2020.
0:02:59 I’ve got to admit it.
0:03:03 My go-to’s used to be The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, NPR.
0:03:08 And now I get almost all of my news from social media, from Reels or TikTok.
0:03:11 I follow Economist and I find I get great, quick, snappy information.
0:03:15 On the long-form content side, podcasts keep expanding in the U.S.
0:03:20 YouTube now has over 1 billion monthly active podcast users.
0:03:23 36 million U.S. adults listen to at least one podcast a month.
0:03:27 105 million or half a million global monthly listeners.
0:03:32 Podcast ad revenue was up 18% in 2024, similar to Alphabet at 15% of Meta at 17.
0:03:38 So granted, off a small base, but ad revenue or the podcast business is growing faster than Meta or Alphabet.
0:03:40 Well, here’s the good news.
0:03:41 These are great businesses.
0:03:45 Prof G, the Prof G Enterprise will do about $15 million this year.
0:03:46 Pivot will do about $10 million.
0:03:47 It’s very profitable.
0:03:53 I think our revenue per employee is much bigger than any traditional cable news network.
0:03:59 Not as good as TikTok or Meta or Alphabet, but better than traditional media.
0:04:05 On the TV side, broadly speaking, streaming has surpassed the combined share of broadcast plus cable.
0:04:10 Streaming is 45% versus broadcast at 20 and cable at 24.
0:04:12 So how would you describe the ecosystem?
0:04:15 Short-form video is now mainstream consumption.
0:04:21 Creators often beat institutions for attention, and podcasts long-form are simultaneously booming, especially via YouTube.
0:04:26 About a quarter of our listens are on a TV because people stream it off of YouTube.
0:04:30 So a big priority for us over the last year was trying to up our video game, if you will.
0:04:33 So not what you asked.
0:04:34 Is media a good investment?
0:04:38 Alphabet and Meta, it’s never a bad idea to invest in monopolies.
0:04:43 I would argue they’re a little bit overvalued right now, but every year I make a big tech stock pick,
0:04:48 and I picked Alphabet at the beginning of the year because it was trading at a P of 17.
0:04:50 Average S&P company trades at 24.
0:04:59 And Alphabet is a much better company than the average S&P company, number one in autonomous with Waymo,
0:05:04 number one streaming platform with 12% viewership share of YouTube, 9% for Netflix,
0:05:12 and the world’s largest toll booth in the form of Google, which still gets about 93 or 96 times the traffic of open AI.
0:05:21 But this geopolitical overhang of, or existential threat overhang of AI, what it’ll do to surge,
0:05:26 and also the antitrust decision, which ended up being a big nothing burger.
0:05:31 And since then, Google, I believe, has surged.
0:05:33 I’m going to look what the stock has done this year.
0:05:38 The one year or year to date, Google is up 30%.
0:05:44 So it looks like we got that one right, and it’s up almost 50% over the past year.
0:05:45 That was an easy one.
0:05:47 It was just trading too inexpensively.
0:05:54 So, yeah, media monopolies, direct-to-consumer media, whatever you want to call these big tech media companies, very strong.
0:05:59 Cable news or traditional media is just the best way to describe it.
0:06:06 Newspapers, magazines, ad-supported television, cable television, would best be described as just a total shit show.
0:06:12 So I think there’s a lot of opportunities for your own human capital, whether it’s posting on LinkedIn,
0:06:16 whether it’s Substack, whether it’s creating your own YouTube presence.
0:06:20 And sometimes these are just adjuncts to increase your profile.
0:06:23 I think if you want to be – I mean, it sounds terrible.
0:06:26 When I go pitch my book, they look at my social media footprint.
0:06:29 It’s become so important.
0:06:36 If you want to be in the ecosystem around media or influence or branding, they’re going to look at your social footprint.
0:06:42 So applying your own human capital against new media I think is a good investment.
0:06:48 The hard part about it is that because they’ve taken out the means of production, because you don’t need MSNBC,
0:06:55 this podcast will get more listenership and viewership on YouTube in the core demographic.
0:06:58 That is 25 to 54 than your average MSNBC show.
0:06:59 Why?
0:07:06 They get larger top-line gross numbers, but 70% of their viewership is not in the core demographic,
0:07:09 whereas 70% of our viewership is in the core demographic.
0:07:14 But these are more – what I would say is a great investment for your own human capital if you’re talented
0:07:19 and want more control and to make a good living, not great investments from a shareholder standpoint,
0:07:23 because the means of production, the barriers have come way down.
0:07:23 Oh, my God.
0:07:24 That was a long-winded answer.
0:07:25 Thanks for the question.
0:07:30 Question number two comes from Reddit, timesheepherder450 asks,
0:07:37 Prof, I hear you and feel it when you say that 90% of women compete for the top 10% of men in dating pools.
0:07:41 As a woman, I’m curious, what do you think are the most meaningful ways to differentiate myself in that environment?
0:07:48 In other words, how can women improve their odds or approach when so much of the market is chasing the same small population of men?
0:07:53 For reference, I’m 30 and have a high-paying job in finance in a male-dominated field.
0:07:57 I live on my own and have a robust group of female friends who feel largely the same way.
0:08:03 So I feel more comfortable advising young men because I relate to them, and I was in their shoes.
0:08:06 So I feel like I understand that better.
0:08:09 But that’s not going to stop me from advising you.
0:08:12 Look, what I would suggest is the following.
0:08:22 If you talk to—surveys of married couples show that 70% to 80% of the time, one was much more interested than the other in the beginning.
0:08:23 And it was usually the man.
0:08:25 Men are much less choosy.
0:08:29 Typically, what happens is guys sort of immediately are in lust.
0:08:32 Women sort of fall in love, if you will.
0:08:44 And that is, I think that you want to put yourself in a position where you have more contact with potential mates as opposed to a bar where you might sum up people and find, I don’t like any of these guys.
0:08:52 Because typically what happens is women fall, and that is they see the same guy at Temple and think, I really like the way he treated his parents.
0:08:59 They hang out with a guy and his friends, and just their pheromones get turned on and think, I like the way this guy smells.
0:09:07 Or I like he’s funny, or I worked with him and just found he was so good at what he did, or I spent time with him and he was really kind.
0:09:15 And the hard part is there are very few third spaces for people to connect and fall in love as opposed to just swipe left or swipe right.
0:09:17 So what to do?
0:09:28 I think it’s actually harder for women than people acknowledge right now, because I think a lot of men, especially young men, have been told by society, they don’t want to be that guy.
0:09:30 They don’t want to be the creep that comes up to you when it’s not welcome.
0:09:37 And as a result, and I’m not exaggerating, if I go out and I’m with friends, I’ll have women say to me, no men approach me.
0:09:39 Like, no men.
0:09:40 Where are the men?
0:09:41 Not a single man approach me.
0:09:42 I look amazing.
0:09:44 I’m friendly.
0:09:44 I’m open.
0:09:47 And no men approach me.
0:09:48 So, suggestion.
0:09:54 It’s kind of my social advice is the same as my professional advice, and that is say yes.
0:09:56 Go to stuff.
0:09:57 Do run clubs.
0:09:58 Go to book clubs.
0:09:59 Go to bars.
0:10:01 Go to dinner parties.
0:10:07 Anything that puts you in the company of strangers where something serendipitous might happen.
0:10:07 Be open.
0:10:08 Be friendly.
0:10:18 And then, I would never tell a woman to lower her standards, but what I would suggest is, even if there’s not fireworks in the beginning, be open to a second coffee.
0:10:25 Because there’s a lot of research that shows that, again, women sort of fall in love more slowly than men.
0:10:35 And I think in a digital economy where it becomes win or take most, women are sometimes, and men, taught to think if there’s not immediate sparks or there’s not an immediate attraction, to write it off.
0:10:37 Thanks so much for the question.
0:10:39 We’ll be right back after a quick break.
0:10:50 Fox Creative.
0:10:56 Support for this show comes from AWS Generative AI Accelerator Program.
0:10:59 My name is Tom Elias.
0:11:01 I’m one of the co-founders at Bedrock Robotics.
0:11:04 Bedrock Robotics is creating AI for the built world.
0:11:07 We are bringing advanced autonomy to heavy equipment.
0:11:09 To tackle America’s construction crisis.
0:11:16 There’s a tremendous demand for progress in America through civil projects, yet half a million jobs in construction remain unfilled.
0:11:21 We were part of the 2024 AWS Gen AI Accelerator Program.
0:11:24 As soon as we saw it, we knew that we had to apply.
0:11:31 The AWS Gen AI Accelerator Program supports startups that are building ambitious companies using Gen AI and physical AI.
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0:13:25 Welcome back onto our final question.
0:13:26 Hey, Prof G.
0:13:27 This is Lee in Florida.
0:13:30 I’m a 36-year-old married father of two young boys.
0:13:33 I’m also a dentist and my question is around my job.
0:13:41 I’ve recently been fortunate enough to find my way into a very successful practice with an excellent reputation that sees numerous, very wealthy families as patients.
0:13:47 Thankfully, I found it very easy to interact with pretty much all the patients at the practice, by just being myself.
0:13:48 And the welcome has been warm.
0:13:53 And the selling dentists and staff have been enthusiastically endorsing me to all their patients.
0:14:03 As I take over ownership of the practice, I am faced with the obvious reality that I am definitely not the friendly, jovial, 71-year-old man that these people have known for the better part of their lives.
0:14:04 I’m new.
0:14:10 I love for all the practice’s patients to stick around, and so far things have gone really well in that regard.
0:14:16 My wife and I have found a small modicum of success, but interacting with a mega-wealthy and billionaire class is pretty new to me.
0:14:25 I’d like your input or thoughts on tailoring an exceptional experience to all of my patients, but perhaps particularly to the mega-wealthy patients to practice C’s,
0:14:33 so that everyone who walks in the door feels special, feels important, feels valued, and leaves feeling like their dental team genuinely cares about them.
0:14:34 Because we do.
0:14:35 Thanks.
0:14:40 So first off, you know, take pause and recognize your achievement.
0:14:47 And it sounds like you’ve struck a relationship with a dentist who wants to hand over his practice or slowly but surely sell your practice.
0:14:52 So you’re in a great spot, and I think you and your partner should feel really good about your achievements.
0:15:00 Now, with respect to your question around how to handle the kind of wealthy class, I don’t speak for the wealthy.
0:15:04 What I can tell you is people, just they say people eat with their eyes.
0:15:06 I think people evaluate a dental practice with their eyes.
0:15:10 Are the people in cool figs or whatever it is, scrubs?
0:15:12 Does the place look good?
0:15:15 Do you have a cool Nespresso machine?
0:15:18 Like just a nice, clean, professional-feeling space.
0:15:23 The staff that greets you, how professional they look, how computer-generated is automated.
0:15:26 Are you sending people reminders via text message?
0:15:28 Does your site look clean?
0:15:29 You know, all that good stuff.
0:15:35 The billionaire class, in sum, I think they just want competence.
0:15:37 But I think that’s what everybody wants.
0:15:39 I don’t think we’re that—I’m not a billionaire.
0:15:43 I guess I would describe myself as wealthy, but I’m far, far from a billionaire.
0:15:52 All they want is competence, friendly, competent, get them in the chair, this is what’s going on, hi, how are you, and just hire outstanding people.
0:15:57 Now, hiring outstanding people on a staff means, quite frankly, firing a lot of people.
0:16:02 That doesn’t sound aspirational, but it means paying them a little bit extra but demanding more from them.
0:16:20 That they’re very good at what they do, that they look good, that they’re presentable, that they have—you’re all in kind of the same uniforms, that the place looks fantastic, that you have new technology, and that when you find good people, you—I’ve always found you want to find—you want to hold people to a higher standard and then pay them at a higher standard.
0:16:27 But I don’t think that they’re much different, if you will, than, quote-unquote, middle-class families.
0:16:29 I think they appreciate they want to get in and out.
0:16:31 They want to know that you’re very good at what you do.
0:16:33 Go through the customer experience.
0:16:35 I used to do this as a consultant.
0:16:38 From the moment they park to the moment they get out of the car, what is the first thing they see?
0:16:40 How do the windows look?
0:16:42 How does the technology look?
0:16:43 What do they see in the waiting room?
0:16:45 What’s the vibe like?
0:16:47 What’s the music playing at a low volume?
0:16:53 What’s the technology you’re offering them in the store that signals—or in the chair that signals the innovation?
0:16:54 What’s the follow-up?
0:16:55 What does the text look like?
0:16:56 What does the design look like?
0:16:58 Every single touch point.
0:17:01 And then, obviously, you’ve got to be great at what you do in the chair.
0:17:08 But I think it’s more about signaling innovation through a variety of touch points and kind of a 360 around the consumer.
0:17:16 But I don’t have any—I really don’t think you need to be thinking about how and why to treat people who are very wealthy differently.
0:17:29 What I would suggest is that you and your wife be as social as possible because the reason I saw Dr. Spodak and Del Rey is that, like everything else in my life, all my friends now are my kids’ friends’ parents.
0:17:34 So I think there’s definitely an advantage to being as social as possible and putting yourself out there.
0:17:38 And when people hear you’re a dentist, they’re going to look you up and want to come to you.
0:17:40 But let me finish where I started.
0:17:41 And I apologize.
0:17:45 I didn’t give you any, like, silver bullets here other than just running a great practice.
0:17:53 The fact that you have the discipline, the certification, and that you figured out a good dental practice to sound like it’s, like, slowly by over time.
0:17:55 Brother, you’re tracking.
0:17:57 You, it sounds like you’re doing really well.
0:18:02 And I don’t think you need to overthink segmenting your consumer base and how you should treat people differently.
0:18:08 Just give them all fantastic service and make sure that the environment signals innovation.
0:18:11 Thanks very much for the question, doctor, and best of luck to you.
0:18:17 That’s all for this episode.
0:18:21 If you’d like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to officehours at prop2media.com.
0:18:24 That’s officehours at prop2media.com.
0:18:31 Or if you prefer to ask on Reddit, just post your question on the Scott Galloway subreddit, and we just might feature it in an upcoming episode.
0:18:36 This episode was produced by Jennifer Sanchez.
0:18:38 Our assistant producer is Laura Janair.
0:18:40 Drew Burrows is our technical director.
0:18:42 Thank you for listening to the Prop2Pod from Prop2Media.