Larry Namer on Building E. And Choosing What to Scale
At a Family Office Club event, Richard C. Wilson introduces Larry Namer for a fireside chat about his media career and business decisions.
Richard C. Wilson introduces Larry Namer as an entertainment entrepreneur and says E. Was sold to Comcast for over $3 billion. Larry describes moving from cable operations into programming and shares decisions about the network's launch, business model, and growth. They also discuss how he evaluates ventures, builds teams, reaches decision-makers, and thinks about media's future.
In this video: Richard C. Wilson (Founder of the Family Office Club), Larry Namer (E. Channel founder)
What they said
- Launching E. With $2.5 million. Larry said the network needed $60 million to $100 million to launch. After a long run of pitches, he accepted an offer of $2.5 million and decided they would figure it out. (at 4:44)
- Larry on free trailers and ad sales. Larry said studios gave them movie trailers for free, and he guaranteed the trailers would air. He used audience research to show studio marketers they could reach people interested in movies. It took the studios three years to notice their ad spending surrounded that content. (at 17:15)
- Larry on passion and sticking with a venture. Larry said following a passion can tie an entrepreneur's ego to a project. In his view, that can keep people holding on too long when their time could go toward other work. (at 10:20)
- Larry on planning for global markets. Larry said his media plans shifted from 95% US and 5% other to 30% US, with other countries named. He said businesses need to account for global markets and the role of content and technology in growth. (at 12:11)
- Larry on founder-led ventures. Larry said he favors ventures with a media angle and asks whether he would want to step into daily work if the founders became unavailable. He expects that at some point he may have to get involved. (at 18:11)
In their words
"I probably read 50 magazines a month and I probably read four books a month."
"I never go to sleep without answering every piece of email every single day."
Why it matters if you are building or preserving great wealth
Larry put a concrete number on what he said buyers valued: 20 million subscribers could make a network seem durable even before it made a profit. In his view, that audience could hold value through a change in management.
From Richard's exclusive Billionaires.com interviews
Lessons from Richard C. Wilson's one-on-one interviews, as published on each interview page.
- Bobby Castro: Change the strategy to scale. Bobby says that to scale a business, everything has to change. He suggests asking whether the business is scalable, whether it offers a solution and whether it is disruptive.
- Tony Robbins: Think like an owner. His biggest turning point was moving from operator to owner. An operator tries to supervise everything and cannot scale.
- Don Wenner: Commit to scale. Don's major turning point came when he decided to build a great company that makes an impact. Making money and being successful was not enough for him.
See the data
Frequently asked questions
What was E.'s first breakthrough program?
Larry called Talk Soup his first real breakthrough show.
What did Larry say about Moviefone?
Larry said he offered a man who brought him Moviefone a million dollars' worth of advertising for 10% of the company. He said it grew into a $500 million company and E. Turned unused ad inventory into $50 million.
Sources
Quotes are copied from the video captions and checked against the transcript. Timestamps link to the moment in the video. General information only, not legal, tax or investment advice.