Mike Michalowicz turned down an offer to host a TV show on a FAST channel, a free ad-supported platform run by device makers like Samsung and Sony. After two decades, he's learned to measure opportunities against his company's mission rather than chase every chance that comes along.
There's a TV show we just got. Did I tell you about this? No. Oh, so I got invited to do a TV show.
Oh, nice.
Yeah, so that's them calling, but I don't know if I'm interested anymore.
No? Isn't this crazy? Wait a minute, why?
So it's with a fast channel. Fast channel is the new media. So the current most common or in-demand media is called streaming. Netflix, YouTube TV. Sure, sure. The new things are called fast channels. Fast channel is where the device provider, you have a Samsung TV or a Sony TV, those companies, Sony is making their own content And skipping out on all the other streaming type.
I should have known that would be the next step. I didn't even think of it.
Wow. Isn't that funny? And maybe this points back to failure, is the TVs had success and you become blinded by your own success and you're like, okay, we just provide other people's stuff. And then someone said, my God, we're starting to lose business. Why aren't we doing this ourselves?
Yeah. Why not make our own stuff?
So a major device company, I just don't want to shout their name. It could have been one I said or it could be a different one, reached out and said, we'd like you to do a TV show. The thing is, I don't know if it's going to serve us on our mission anymore. So I'm just being very cautious about this. Me 20 years ago, I'm like, oh my God. Now, which is so ironic, it's something I'm like, this will be of such service to us. Now I'm like, will it? So I'm taking it with me.
I hope this isn't a big fat failure, Mike.
Yeah, I'm an idiot.
