Open Market

Open Market is a podcast about building companies in the advertising industry. This is not another news podcast. Rather, hosts Eric Franchi and Joe Zappa dive into the stories of successful companies to help listeners understand how to replicate that success.

Episode 117: OpenAds CEO Steven Liss & CTO Michael Bishop on AI Ads, CTV, and “Taste Slop”
Open Market
Episode 117: OpenAds CEO Steven Liss & CTO Michael Bishop on AI Ads, CTV, and “Taste Slop”

Recent Episodes

117
Oct. 14, 2026

Episode 117: OpenAds CEO Steven Liss & CTO Michael Bishop on AI Ads, CTV, and “Taste Slop”

The slop has developed taste. We’re all processing this. Steven Liss and Michael Bishop join Joe Zappa and Eric Franchi to discuss AI creative that people might actually want to watch.
116
Sept. 22, 2026

Episode 116- Mediaocean AI Ventures: Bill Wise and Guy Kuperman on Adtech’s Next Wave

Mediaocean’s Bill Wise and Guy Kuperman join Joe and Eric to discuss the launch of AI Ventures. Building an AI product is getting easier. Finding customers, earning trust and making it work across adtech? Still hard. They explain how Mediaocean plans to help founders and why Bill thinks plumbing is sexy.
115
Sept. 15, 2026

Episode 115 - Founder and CEO Jared Siegal on Risk, Resilience and Building Aditude

An MS diagnosis changed Jared Siegal’s perspective on risk, work and the future. Instead of slowing down, he decided to take control of it. The founder and CEO of Aditude joins Joe Zappa and Eric Franchi to explain how a side business built during a five-hour daily commute became a monetization platform processing more than a trillion impressions annually. Jared shares why he turned down an acquisition offer, how he evolved from operator to orchestrator, and why former athletes often thrive in
114
Sept. 8, 2026

Episode 114- 3 Italians walk into an adtech podcast- CEO & Co-Founder Joe Marino of RibEye

Three Italians walk into an adtech podcast and somehow end up discussing local media, A players, private equity, childhood labor, and the emotional damage caused by getting cut from middle-school football. Ribeye CEO and co-founder Joe Marino joins Joe Zappa and Eric Franchi to explain why building a company is not easy, despite how effortless every founder makes it look on LinkedIn.
113
Sept. 1, 2026

Episode 113 Joe Zappa on What Happens When Sales Breaks Delivery

Joe Zappa and Eric Franchi sit down for a candid founder-to-founder conversation about what happens when rapid growth exposes weaknesses in your business. After Sharp Pen Media grew quickly, Joe realized that delegating client work was not the same as building a system to manage it. He shares how client churn forced him to rethink his role as CEO, establish clearer outcomes, use AI to identify account risks and make sure marketing contributes directly to pipeline. They planned to cover four to
112
Aug. 25, 2026

Episode 112 How Not to Get Screwed on Your Startup Exit with Allie Colman of Aprio

This week on Open Market, Allie Colman, Tax Partner and Northeast Technology Industry Leader at Aprio, joins Joe Zappa and Eric Franchi to break down the tax and equity decisions founders should think about before they become expensive mistakes. QSBS, R&D credits, 83(b)s, exit planning, and yes, a hypothetical $1B exit. Joe does the math. Eric refuses. Allie saves the episode.