Larkin Media

Larkin Media is building the future of local news via email newsletters and social media. Through our family of high-energy newsletters - Round Rock Scoop, Leander Scoop, and West Austin Scoop - we're keeping our communities informed and connected in a way that traditional media can't match.

While we're laser-focused on becoming the go-to media brand for Austin's suburbs, we're also flexing our expertise in the B2B space with Insurance Scoop, a newsletter that cuts through the noise for insurance professionals.

Think of us as your neighbor who always knows what's happening - from new restaurant openings and local development to the stories that shape our communities. We're not just reporting news; we're helping build stronger, more connected suburbs. 

And this is just the beginning - we're gearing up to bring our unique brand of local journalism to more communities that deserve better local news.

Want to know what's really happening in your corner of Austin? That's what we're here for.

Publisher

Insure Metrics

Insure Metrics is a comprehensive SaaS platform designed to empower insurance agents by optimizing their workflow and enhancing client management. With advanced analytics and automation tools, Insure Metrics enables agents to focus on managing their agency and growing their business. It's the straightforward, no-nonsense tool that modernizes insurance processes for better results.

Co-Founder

Zeel AI

🚀 Zeel AI - Our first AI SaaS product built under Chop Wood Ventures.  

Zeel AI is democratizing advanced AI for businesses that don't want to deal with the technical headaches. 

We're building the swiss-army knife of AI tools, helping coaches, consultants, and SMBs create their own AI solutions without needing a PhD in computer science. 

Think of us as the company making AI actually useful for the rest of us - white-label ready, ridiculously simple to use, and packed with every AI bell and whistle you could want (custom GPTs, image creation, you name it) in one place.

Allstate

Agency Owner

I had the opportunity to lead two Allstate agencies that, if combined, would rank in the top 1% of the largest in the country, with over $16 million in premium. Managing 15 employees across two locations was a significant shift from the smaller, two-person operation I previously ran in Arizona. Navigating the complexities of people management was a steep learning curve, but I leaned on the expertise of fellow agency owners who generously shared their insights. Their support was instrumental in helping me master the unique challenges of scaling. Both agencies achieved National Conference recognition in 2016, and Tim's agency repeated the honor in 2017.

General Manager

I owned a small agency in Old Town Scottsdale.  It was a great way to learn about the business as I only had one employee and was doing everything in the office. I was forced to learn on the job and that helped me learn the business very quickly.  I love everything about the Phoenix area, but the opportunity to move back home and run my parents large agencies was too great.  I sold the business for a six figure profit after only two years.

ENS HQ

ENS HQ is the premier destination for all things ENS. 
We offer everything you could need to get started in the ENS space.
• News
• Consulting
• Brokerage
• Courses
• Newsletter
• Marketplace (coming soon)

If you need help with getting your web3 domain name, ENS HQ is here to help!

Founder

Lever - Marketplace for Companies and Web3 KOLs

Head of Partnerships

Insurance

Traveled to many states doing homeowner claims that occurred due to a local catastrophe.  I worked the New Jersey coast for Hurricane Sandy, worked the tornado in Atlanta in 2008, many hailstorms in TX, CO, GA etc. It was a fantastic experience. I got to meet a lot of great people from all walks of life, and got see so much of this country and how diverse it's people and ways of life are.

Property Insurance Claims Adjuster

I build profitable, community-first media brands at the intersection of local news, digital marketing, and applied AI. As founder of Larkin Media and creator of the Scoop newsletter network (Leander Scoop, Round Rock Scoop, and more on the way), I’ve shown that a small, loyal audience beats a broad lukewarm one: our open rates and click-throughs consistently outpace industry benchmarks while driving real revenue for neighborhood businesses.

My edge is operational rigor plus automation. I design negative-CAC growth loops—pairing Meta ads, survey-driven lead funnels, and exclusive local offers—then layer in custom GPT workflows to keep costs low and content fresh. Beyond our own titles, I run Local Newsletter Insider brand with Youtube and a newsletter (yes, very meta) and a one-to-one Accelerator that helps operators launch in weeks, not months. Clients tap us for end-to-end playbooks, ad creative, and AI-powered tooling that turns a newsletter into a full local-media engine.

I’m always up for collaborating with entrepreneurs, agency owners, or SaaS builders who see the potential in hyper-local influence—whether that’s co-developing new markets, swapping growth insights, or integrating AI into existing media stacks. If building durable, high-margin audience businesses speaks to you, let’s connect.

Regional Mr. Beast

this is a concept i've been thinking about for months

so much of what makes the local media space so unique, is how you can take ideas that are already crushing nationally, and just do a local version

Nate Spangle is doing exactly this, extremely successfully

he's done things like: 

-eating contest: Nate ate 4 massive pork tenderloins (an Indiana staple) in a single day to promote "Tenderloin Tuesday."

-do sponsors job for a day: how to advertise a plumber? film yourself doing his job, terribly. it's funny, engaging, and proves the value of the plumbers. wins all around

-world's first All-Indiana tailgate: bought beater truck, got all local sponsors to put stickers on it, had only indiana food, etc

engagement on content like this is super high, growing his following, and most importantly, getting sponsors interested in having him create content for them

try looking for interesting viral trends, and how you can adapt them locally

this is what Shaan Puri discussed on the most recent My First Million episode. Nate is already doing it successfully, and i think so many of us in local media can crush with this, with the right planning and effort

TJ Larkin Jr

Highly recommend anyone interested in local media, newsletters, creators or podcasting come to this event.

Last year was killer, and confident this year will be even better.

Get a ticket today (use TJ10 to get extra 10%off) and come hand out with me in Austin!

The Newsletter Guy | I help founders & marketers build owned audiences and drive revenue with newsletters | Agency, event, newsletter, & podcast below 👇

YES, I'm asking for your money. If you're a media founder, publisher, or creator, it's worth taking 1 minute to read this: 

Since Friday you've seen dozens of emails, ads, and posts about sales. 

I'm doing one too :)

But instead of trying to persuade you - I'll get straight to the point:

If you've enjoyed my content, buy a ticket for New Media Summit. 

It’s my conference. 

It's happening in Austin, Texas, Feb 26-27.

It brings together 500+ of the world's smartest media founders, creators, journalists, and marketers shaping the future of media and education.

Seriously...

Our speakers have 14.2M+ email subscribers, 6.8M+ YouTube subscribers, and 25M+ social followers, collectively.

Speakers include: Codie Sanchez, Matt Paulson, Chenell Basilio, Ryan Deiss,  Tim Huelskamp, Erika Burghardt, Alexis Grant, Isaac Saul, Anik Singal, Sean Devlin, Sam Gaudet, Sherrell Dorsey, and MORE. 

Hundreds of amazing people have already secured tickets. 

Many attendees are just as impressive as our speakers. 

✅ Why should you join?

Well, until tonight at midnight EST tickets are cheap.

40% off AND when you buy any ticket, you get a GA ticket FREE.

After midnight, that deal expires completely. 

✅ Is it worth it? 

Our speakers spent years and millions of dollars figuring out, what you can learn in just one session… or one conversation.

I believe BEST investment you can make is getting in the room with the people building what you want to build.

You'll learn the distribution, monetization, content creation, and AI strategies used by $10M-$100M content businesses. 

✅ But this event is so much more than the content on the stage...

The most important part is the connections you make.

We make networking effortless.

Even for introverts (like me)!
Even if you show up and don't know anyone!

There are so many amazing useful (and fun) networking opportunities we have planned. 

✅ Why do I need you to buy a ticket?

Compared to the money you've probably spent on software, courses, and programs -- event tickets are cheap. 

But putting on an event is expensive as hell.

We're spending at least $300,000+ and hundreds of hours on New Media Summit with the plan to hopefully break even.

That's the biggest investment we've ever made as a small business.

I want this to be a staple in our community for years to come.

If you would like to help make it happen...

Go to: NewMediaSummit(dot)com

Or click the link in the comments:

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