The Revenue Room™, by H2K Labs
Welcome to The Revenue Room™, brought to you by H2K Labs. Our podcast is designed for CEOs and their revenue-critical executive teams leading media, events, data/info, and marketplace businesses. We focus on boosting revenue, enhancing profitability, and elevating enterprise value. Each episode delves into cutting-edge data-driven strategies to accelerate revenue, manage risks, and establish scalable, predictable processes. We also discuss elevating revenue to the core of operational excellence, empowering you to consistently outperform your competitors.
The Revenue Room™, by H2K Labs
Why Traffic-Reliant Media is "Done For" (And Why Media + Events + Data Wins)
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In this episode of The Revenue Room, host Heather Holst-Knudsen sits down with Jacob Donnelly, founder of A Media Operator (AMO). They discuss why media business models built on algorithmic traffic are operating on borrowed time, and why anyone dependent on it is simply "done for". Between the threat of AI replicating "average" content and a shifting M&A landscape heavily influenced by Private Equity, the old publishing playbook is broken. Jacob reveals how the smartest CEOs are future-proofing their businesses by abandoning the mass-reach illusion and building a durable "three-legged stool": Media, Events, and Data.
Why Listen:
- Learn why Artificial Intelligence makes "average" content obsolete, and why CEOs need to have hard conversations with PE owners about compressing short-term EBITDA to invest heavily in elite, proprietary content.
- Discover why publishers must prioritize the Lifetime Value (LTV) of their audience and treat advertising as a high-margin secondary model behind reader revenue—much like Uber's advertising model.
- Understand the current M&A market, why Private Equity buyers assign premium valuations to diversified media and event assets, and why pure-play event companies are leaving massive value on the table.
- Hear the hard truth on why the easiest way to make 7 figures is a media company, but the hardest way to make 8 figures is a media company.
- Find out why founder-led companies with clear-cut voices and rapid decisiveness drastically outperform executive-run media brands during times of industry disruption.
About RevvedUP 2026
RevvedUP 2026 is where CEOs and revenue-critical C-Suite leaders reset their growth playbook for the AI-first economy. Taking place March 23–24, 2026 at The Vinoy Resort in St. Petersburg, FL, this two-day strategy lab helps leaders pressure-test how AI moves from cost center to growth driver and turn data and disruption into competitive advantage.
About Heather Holst-Knudsen
Heather Holst-Knudsen is the founder and CEO of H2K Labs and Revenue Room™ Connect. A seasoned executive and operator across media, marketplaces, events, and technology, she specializes in digital transformation, data-driven growth, and customer-centric value creation. Heather shares her insights on multisided business models through The Revenue Room™.
About Revenue Room™ CXO
Revenue Room™ CXO is a private executive community for CEOs and revenue-critical C-Suite leaders navigating growth in the data and AI economy. Through curated peer discussions and strategy sprints, members tackle real-world challenges in revenue transformation, customer intelligence, and business model innovation.
Learn more or apply for membership at info.h2klabs.com/apply-cxo.
00:00 - Introduction: Welcome to The Revenue Room & Jacob Donnelly’s background
03:13 - The launch of AMO and why the mass-scale traffic model is fundamentally flawed
07:41 - Making the leap to full-time entrepreneurship and launching the first AMO Summit
13:48 - The "Three-Legged Stool": 3 characteristics of a durable, future-proof media business
15:00 - The existential threat of AI and the death of "average" content
20:00 - The "Uber" Analogy: Why advertising is best utilized as a secondary revenue model
21:00 - The M&A Mandate: PE ownership, market uncertainty, and building enterprise value
26:44 - Dropping the Google traffic "drug" and how Morning Brew scaled to $75M without it
31:17 - Scaling Strategy: Expanding into adjacent markets and launching an events vertical
36:33 - What scares (and excites) operators about the future of media
45:46 - The Executive Mandate: Why decisiveness wins and founders outperform executives
47:38 - Founder mistakes: The cost of resisting hiring a salesperson
54:27 - Closing thoughts & an exclusive invite to RevvedUp 2026
