Co-Founder @ Measure Studio 📈 AI-Powered Social Media Insights

I’m a 3x entrepreneur and M&A advisor who helps founders sell their businesses.

👋 WHY ME?

After I sold my first startup (Paladin), several founder friends reached out to me. They wanted to know what it was like and what I learned in the process.

A few of them were thinking about selling their companies and asked if I would help. After all, I understood the industry and probably knew most of the potential buyers.

So I agreed to help a few of those friends and found myself with a new side hustle as a boutique investment banker.

After cutting my teeth on a few deals, I realized how much I love working with entrepreneurs, so I made it official and launched my own M&A advisory practice: Quartermast Advisors.

🤝 WHAT I OFFER:

I help my clients manage the entire M&A process from start to finish, which includes:

✭ Preparing your materials (management presentation, financials, etc.)
✭ Identifying and getting in touch with the right buyers
✭ Negotiating the deal structure and economics
✭ Coordinating with legal and tax experts to protect your interests
✭ Asking thoughtful questions and providing useful advice along the way

🤔 WHY WORK WITH AN M&A ADVISOR?

Research shows that hiring a banker results in ~25% higher valuation premiums, on average.

It also frees founders up to continue operating the business and hit their targets. There's nothing worse than poor company performance during a sales process, so it's often more valuable for the team to focus on delivering good results rather than managing M&A discussions.

👨‍💻 WHO I HELP:

I stick to what I know: digital media, tech, and the creator economy. I’ve helped sell influencer agencies, talent management firms, enterprise SaaS companies, and more.

If you’ve been approached or are just thinking about selling your company now or in the future, shoot me a note. I’d be happy to chat and answer any questions.

If I’m the right fit, I’d love to help you out. And if I’m not, I’ll gladly point you in the right direction.

💬 I'VE BEEN FEATURED IN:
- Business Insider
- Digiday
- eMarketer
- Forbes
- Net Influencer
- New Economies
- PRWeek
- Scalable
- The Information
- The Publish Press
- TheWrap
- They Got Acquired
- Tubefilter
…and more

📢 I'VE SPOKEN AT:
- 1 Billion Followers Summit
- Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
- Digital Entertainment World (DEW)
- Digital First
- Digital Hollywood
- DMEXCO
- Social Media Week
- VidCon
- Youth Marketing Show (YMS)
…and more

James Creech

Brendan Gahan

With over 18 years of experience, Brendan Gahan is a renowned leader in social media advertising, influencer marketing, and the creator economy. As a former Partner & Chief Social Officer at Mekanism, he significantly contributed to the agency’s growth and innovation, playing a key role in its acquisition by Plus Co in 2022.

Gahan has been a pioneer in influencer marketing, leading one of the first YouTube/influencer activations in 2006. He also founded Epic Signal, a prominent influencer marketing agency, which was acquired by Mekanism in 2015. 

He is an active investor/advisor in the creator economy and advertising sectors, contributing to companies such as Stan, Little Chonk, Orca, Glystn, and Trendpop (acquired). Additionally, he serves as a scout for Bessemer Venture Partners and Lunar X.

His industry involvement extends to his role as a VidCon Advisory Board member and as a co-host of the Creator Economy Live podcast. He was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in 2012, and his agency was recognized as Digiday’s Digital Video Agency of the Year in 2017.

Recognized as a LinkedIn Top Voice, Gahan's deep understanding of social media and influencer marketing has not only earned him a following of over 125k on TikTok but has also led to features in major publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, The Guardian, Ad Age, and CNBC.

Advisory Board Member  

🚨 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗢𝗳𝗳 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆! 🚨
For the fourth year in a row, I'm heading to Creator Economy Live in Vegas. If you're attending, let's connect!

Two years ago at this conference I first publicly shared Creator Authority. The first of its kind agency focused on LinkedIn Influencer Marketing.

Why did I decide to go 'all in' on LinkedIn?

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 
I've been in influencer marketing since 2006. Two decades😱

In 2006, I did my first YouTube/creator brand deal. That activation led to millions of views. So much traffic hit the brand's site it crashed.

Along the way I worked with amazing brands on some epic influencer campaigns: EA, Mountain Dew, Amazon, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Starbucks, The Olympics, and even the Obama Administration.

In the early 2010's I founded Epic Signal. We were named Digiday's Digital Video Agency of the Year and I sold it to Mekanism in 2015 (where I served as a partner and Chief Social Officer). A year and a half after Mekanism was acquired the entrepreneurial itch came back.

I've watched wave after wave of this industry. And I felt like something interesting was happening on LinkedIn.

𝗕𝘂𝘁, 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻? 
I was seeing the same signals I saw with YouTube in 2006. Instagram in 2013. TikTok in 2018.

There was this nascent creator community but few brands investing. All this despite LinkedIn being the most trusted platform.

Within B2B nothing comes close to LinkedIn:
• 79% of B2B buyers engage with creator content monthly
• 82% say it influences their purchasing decisions
• B2B creator marketing projected to hit $7.7 billion
  
The opportunity is massive. And we're still early.

𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗨𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 🎙️ 
Anyway, TLDR: I've had a great time at this event over the years and Keith Bendes and I are recording a live podcast. 

Here's the deets:
📅 Wednesday 
⏰ 4:35 PM - 5:05 PM PST 
📍 Breakout 1
👤 Our guest is Brittany Lamp, Sr. Director of Brand Content at Life360.

Come hang. HMU if you want to connect!
Come by our live podcast 👇 

https://lnkd.in/g9NPWvwy

CEO/Co-Founder Of Creator Authority (Influencer Marketing Agency)

Creator marketing budgets are up 171% YoY. And, the dollars are coming straight from paid media.

According to CreatorIQ's latest report, 71% of organizations have increased their creator marketing investment (80% among enterprises).

Momentum is building.

Looking five years out, 73% of mid-market organizations plan to increase creator marketing investment. 

For enterprise? That jumps to 85%.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺? 
This is the part that should get every marketer's attention.

Nearly two-thirds of increased influencer spend is being reallocated from digital and paid advertising channels. Specifically: 62% for mid-market and 64% for enterprise organizations.

Brands aren't finding new budget. They're moving dollars from channels that aren't delivering to channels that are.

Why?

94% of organizations say creator content drives more ROI than traditional digital advertising. 74% of enterprise brands report creator marketing ROI is up YoY.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 
The most used platforms for influencer marketing:
• Instagram: 84%
• YouTube: 76%
• Facebook: 74%
• TikTok: 63%
• LinkedIn: 29%
  
LinkedIn ranks 5th. Ahead of Snap and X.

Just a few years ago, LinkedIn was still an afterthought for most brands running creator campaigns. Not anymore (and it's still very early).

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 
LinkedIn for B2B creator marketing still feels like YouTube in 2010. The ecosystem is nascent. 

But, the opportunity is massive:
• 82% of B2B buyers say creators influence their purchasing decisions
• 70% of marketers say LinkedIn delivers positive ROI 
• LinkedIn has been the most trusted social platform for 5+ years
  
The demand signal is clear. LinkedIn is where B2B decisions get influenced.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 
When we launched Creator Authority two years ago, LinkedIn influencer marketing was surprising to many. Now it's growing from experimental line item to strategic priority.

The brands building relationships now will have a significant advantage when the rest of the market fully arrives.

----
Enjoy this? 

♻️ Repost it to your network & follow Brendan Gahan for more.
Interested in LinkedIn Influencer Marketing? Reach out to us Creator Authority.

𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝟯𝟲𝟬 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝟭.𝟲𝗠 𝗧𝗶𝗸𝗧𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗽 𝗚𝗲𝗻 𝗭 "𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀."

Keith Bendes and I did a live podcast at Creator Economy Live in Vegas last week with @Brittany Lamp, Senior Director of Brand Content & Community at Life360.

First, some context on just how big Life360 is:
• 90M families use the app globally
• 6th most popular social media app
• 13th largest app by daily active users 
• 776 TikTok posts published last year
• 231M organic impressions
  
These numbers don't happen by accident.

I noticed several key themes they implement that other successful brands apply in their social (and larger brand) strategy today:

𝟭) 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 
Life360 had a reputation problem. Gen Z called it the "helicopter mom" app.
Instead of fighting it, they owned it.

It's a jiu jitsu move. By acknowledging the perception rather than ignoring it, they've taken ownership of the narrative. This makes the brand emotionally resonant, credible, and relatable.

They used social listening to understand how their community actually talks. 

Then they spoke that language. They even crowdsourced their most brutal hate comments and turned them into merch.

𝟮) 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 
Brittany used the word "casting" intentionally when describing their creator/influencer strategy.
I thought this was really smart. This reframes the conversation.

When you think "casting," you stop overindexing on follower counts. 

You start asking better questions: Does this person represent our consumers? Do they project the image we want? Are they tonally right for the brand?

The numbers matter. But the intangibles matter more.

𝟯) 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗔𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗢𝗻 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 
Life360 has an ongoing network of 50+ creators they work with.

Why? Because one-off partnerships waste momentum.

The first project is always the hardest. Everyone's learning how to work together. But when you work with creators over time, your efforts compound.

They understand the brand. They can move fast.

Life360's social team has full autonomy from leadership. No lengthy approval processes. This enables them to push content within an hour of a trend emerging.

Relevance beats perfection. Every time.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻: 
The brands winning on social aren't fighting the conversation. They're joining it. They're building creator relationships that compound. 

They're prioritizing speed over polish.

Thanks to the Creator Economy Live team for another great event.

taplio

The Battle

James Creech

Brendan Gahan

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taplio

The Battle

James Creech

Brendan Gahan

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Brendan Gahan's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreBrendan Gahan's LinkedIn Performance