以下是“This Week in Startups”的一集内容的摘要，内容包括Grinn（一个网红营销平台）的CEO Brandon Brown的访谈，以及对Trevor Milton的欺诈起诉和Robinhood的IPO的讨论： **尼古拉创始人被起诉：** Jason Calacanis 在节目一开始就报道了尼古拉前CEO Trevor Milton因三项刑事欺诈罪被起诉的消息，起诉的原因是他为了促进股票销售而谎报了该公司几乎所有的业务方面。Calacanis回顾了他在第1090期节目中对Milton的采访，指出Milton似乎过度关注股票价格和IPO，而不是产品本身，这引起了他的警觉。他认为，Milton声称从尼古拉卡车中创造“摇钱树”的说法误导了投资者，尤其是那些刚进入市场的人，并且该视频本身可能就是证券欺诈的证据。Calacanis敦促投资者对自己的尽职调查负责，并对SPAC和加密货币等投机性投资保持谨慎。他预计市场调整将揭露更多的欺诈行为，并将此与伯尼·麦道夫相提并论。他向潜在投资者提供建议：分散他们的投资组合，只将他们净资产的一小部分投资于投机性企业，并优先考虑经过充分研究的投资策略。 **祝贺Robinhood IPO：** Calacanis祝贺Robinhood上市，并强调该公司对年轻一代的金融知识普及产生了积极影响。他提倡为年轻人提供少量资金进行投资，并学习关于股票市场的知识，从而培养金融独立性。他反驳了对年轻人投资股票的讽刺，强调他们的参与促进了市场的高效运作。他赞扬了Robinhood的产品和用户增长，并强调了其为年轻用户带来长期财务赋能的潜力。 **Grinn访谈：** Jason采访了网红营销平台Grinn的CEO Brandon Brown，讨论了该公司从每月数万美元的收入增长到超过1000万美元的年度经常性收入的过程。Brown分享了他在红牛公司担任意见领袖营销人员的背景，以及创建Grinn的动机。Grinn专注于品牌和网红之间的直接关系，而不是交易型的市场模式。 他们讨论了网红营销从尝试性行为到企业级运营的演变。Brown解释了Grinn如何为品牌简化网红管理流程，自动执行产品发货、折扣码创建和内容追踪等任务。谈话涉及法律和监管环境，强调了网红的真实性和披露的重要性，以及联邦贸易委员会（FTC）关于正确披露的指导。他们讨论了网红获得报酬的常见方式，包括免费产品、佣金或长期留任费用。 他们还深入探讨了不同级别的网红，从微型网红到巨型网红，以及他们的盈利潜力。Brown描述了公司的高速增长阶段以及所涉及的挑战，例如建立销售团队和管理快速扩张。他强调了找到强大的领导者、授权他们以及优先考虑增长而不是完美执行的重要性。Brown分享了他对收入与EBITDA的看法，认为在高速增长的SaaS公司中，收入更重要。他们还讨论了向远程工作的过渡，以及早期公司进行面对面协作以建立产品与市场的契合度和公司文化的必要性。 Brown强调了消费者注意力向移动社交平台转移以及“创作者经济”的兴起。他设想未来每个品牌都会大规模地使用创作者管理软件。他们讨论了与他们信任的品牌建立伙伴关系的重要性。讨论转向了不同营销渠道的有效性。Brown强调，通往成功的最佳途径是诚实并激发团队和合作伙伴的品牌忠诚度。Brown强调，真实性是无法购买的，而这才是最重要的。他们最后讨论了Grinn与播客行业合作的潜力。Brown提到，如果市场机会确实存在，公司需要通过投资来抓住机会。

Here's a summary of the "This Week in Startups" episode featuring Brandon Brown, CEO of Grinn, an influencer marketing platform, and a discussion on Trevor Milton's fraud indictment and Robinhood's IPO: **Nikola Founder Indictment:** Jason Calacanis opens the show with news of Trevor Milton, the former CEO of Nikola, being charged with three counts of criminal fraud for lying about nearly all aspects of the business to bolster stock sales. Calacanis reflects on his past interview with Milton on episode 1090, noting that Milton seemed overly focused on the stock price and IPO rather than the product itself, raising red flags. He argues that Milton's claims of creating a "gravy train" from Nikola's trucks were misleading to investors, especially those new to the market, and that the video itself might be evidence of securities fraud. Calacanis urges investors to be responsible for their due diligence and to be cautious with speculative investments like SPACs and crypto. He anticipates that the market correction will expose more fraudulent activities, drawing parallels to Bernie Madoff. He offers advice to potential investors to diversify their portfolios, invest only a small percentage of their net worth in speculative ventures, and prioritize a well-researched investment strategy. **Robinhood IPO Congratulation:** Calacanis congratulates Robinhood on its IPO, emphasizing the company's positive impact on financial literacy for younger generations. He advocates for providing young people with small amounts of capital to invest and learn about the stock market, fostering financial independence. He pushes back against cynicism surrounding young people investing in stocks, emphasizing that their participation promotes a higher-functioning market. He praises Robinhood's product and user growth, highlighting the potential for long-term financial empowerment for its younger users. **Grinn Interview:** Jason interviews Brandon Brown, CEO of Grinn, an influencer marketing platform, discussing the company's growth from tens of thousands of dollars in monthly revenue to over $10 million in annual recurring revenue. Brown shares his background in opinion leader marketing at Red Bull and the motivation behind creating Grinn, which focuses on direct relationships between brands and influencers rather than transactional marketplace approaches. They discuss the evolution of influencer marketing from dabbling to enterprise-level operations. Brown explains how Grinn streamlines the influencer management process for brands, automating tasks like product shipping, discount code creation, and content tracking. The conversation touches on the legal and regulatory environment, highlighting the importance of authenticity and disclosure by influencers, as well as the FTC's guidance on proper disclosure. They discuss the common ways influencers get paid, including free products, commissions, or long-term retainers. They also delve into the different tiers of influencers, from micro-influencers to mega-influencers, and their earning potential. Brown describes the company's high-growth phase and the challenges involved, such as building a sales team and managing rapid scaling. He stresses the importance of finding strong leaders, empowering them, and prioritizing growth over perfect execution. Brown shares his perspective on revenue vs ebitda suggesting revenue is more important in a high growth SaaS company. They also discuss the transition to remote work and the need for in-person collaboration in early-stage companies to establish product-market fit and company culture. Brown emphasizes the shift in consumer attention to mobile social platforms and the rise of the "creator economy." He envisions a future where every brand utilizes creator management software at scale. They discuss the importance of partnerships with brands they believe in. The discussion shifts to the effectiveness of different marketing channels. Brown emphasizes that the best path to success is being honest and inspiring brand loyalty in their team and partners. Brown emphasizes that you can't buy authenticity, and that's what matters most. They conclude with a discussion on the potential of a partnership between Grinn and the podcast industry. Brown mentions the need to capitalize with investment, if the market opportunity is there for a company.