Employee Spotlight: Jacob Salamon

Employee Spotlight with Jacob Salamon, VP of Business Development

What attracted you to joining TMB?

I was eager to work for a business at this particular stage of its development – at an inflection point, evolving from one business into another. In TMB’s case, its recent acquisition of Jukin Media presented an inspiring opportunity to learn first-hand from the successful integration of two sizable companies, transitioning from a traditionally print-driven business to one with strong digital, social, and video DNA.

?At this stage of my career, I was also excited to make an impact at scale and across a diverse portfolio of brands and businesses. From streaming TV and social to web, print, licensing, commerce, and originals development, I’ve been genuinely invigorated by the TMB’s breadth, giving me a chance to sink my teeth into meaningful strategic projects with traction from day one.

?TMB’s unique combination of iconic traditional brands (Reader’s Digest, Taste of Home), massive digital-first assets (FailArmy, The Pet Collective), and diversified revenue streams make TMB a stimulating place to learn and grow.

?I’ve also been incredibly impressed with the team I get to work with every day!

?What are you currently working on?

?As a way of future-proofing the business, I’m working to establish partnerships, investments, and revenue streams in areas we’re not actively focused on. Specifically, I’m supporting three key areas: new platforms, blockchain, and audio.

?On the new platforms front, I’m building strategic partnerships with some of the largest social platforms, enabling us to extend our brands into new corners of the web, while helping our partners extend their own brand footprints and establishing co-selling relationships that amplify the efforts of our respective sales teams.

?In terms of blockchain, I’m preparing for the launch of our second NFT drop with The Pet Collective and Theta Labs in October (a follow-up to our FailArmy drop which sold out in one second!). We’re also in the early stages of building our blockchain roadmap, to understand how decentralized tech can improve our operations, cut costs, and generate exciting new sources of revenue for the industry. More to come…

?On the audio side, I’m working to pilot audio articles for our portfolio of websites and supporting the development of our first premium narrative podcast with the team at Reader’s Digest.

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?What are you most excited about in the coming months?

?With dozens of active projects in the works, I’m eager to see these visions come to life, including the launch of our upcoming NFT drop for The Pet Collective and several monetization experiments across our social footprint.

?Additionally, I’ve been thrilled with the soft launch of our newest streaming TV channel, At Home with Family Handyman. This launch opens up new opportunities for growth on the Connected TV side, an area we are heavily invested in and continue to see as a valuable path for our future growth – both for our owned and operated brands and through work with partners.

?What do you look for in a partner when considering business development deals?

?I’m always excited to work with partners who have an entrepreneurial spirit and are eager to learn new things through the partnership. Our best partners are open, curious, creative, and collaborative – all while ensuring the financial incentives work for everyone involved.

?Business development is truly about partnership. I love working with partners who can easily find common ground and get excited about building opportunities that play to one another’s strengths.

?You are a former CEO - how has that experience shaped your leadership style today?

?Serving as CEO of Wisecrack was one of the most thrilling and rewarding experiences of my life – and also one of the most educational. Simply put, as a CEO I learned to balance a huge volume and variety of projects simultaneously while also becoming relatively comfortable with uncertainty.

?The role also required a mastery of the inner-game, especially knowing how to quickly manage reactions and emotions in times of pressure, difficulty, or setbacks.

?My leadership style is influenced by my experience as both a CEO and an employee. I place a huge emphasis on emotional motivation, communication, vision, and the entrepreneurial “we’ll find a way” mindset.

?It’s vital to me that those I work with understand how their individual efforts ladder up to a larger goal or outcome for the business and why their work matters. But more importantly, I want those I work with to feel seen, understood, valued, and supported.