Hey, We’re Colin and Samir, YouTube creators and podcasters that break down the latest news in the creator economy from a creator's perspective. We have a long history building communities and brands through digital content. New episodes of The Colin and Samir show go live every Monday morning at 9AM EST on Spotify and YouTube.com/ColinandSamir.

9 Lessons From TBPN's $100M+ Exit

July 28, 2026 0:34:08 5.79 MB ( -5.8 MB less) Downloads: 0

"Companies are bought, not sold." That's the mindset John Coogan and Jordi Hays say got them a nine-figure acquisition from OpenAI, without ever trying to sell.


Recorded live at Press Publish LA, this is our second sit-down with the TBPN guys, but the first since the deal went public. Two years ago they were building a daily live show from scratch. Now they've sold it to OpenAI for nine figures, and they're breaking down exactly how they got there.

We get into:

  • Why they chose to nichemaxx in a world full of view-maximizers

  • The importance of having a “golden retriever” mindset

  • Why they never tried to sell the company, and how that gave them leverage

  • What their role at OpenAI actually is

It's a candid look at how staying disciplined about who you're serving can be worth more than chasing scale.

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