Becoming a Great Agent: Taste and Relentlessness

My guest today is Ari Emanuel. Ari runs one of the most influential portfolios in global sports, entertainment, and media. He oversees TKO, which includes the UFC and WWE, serves as the Executive Chairman of WME Group, and recently founded MARI, a new company focused on global events and live experiences.

At the center of this conversation is Ari's anti-AI bet: as AI makes digital content cheaper and everyday work more automated, he believes the value will increasingly concentrate in live and physical experiences. He explains how he’s building his portfolio around that belief, what defines a great live experience, and how he thinks about AI’s impact on content and IP.

Ari is best known as a dealmaker, and he shares the principles behind his success – relentless follow-up, over-communication, velocity, and an obsession with making things happen – and how those things become the operating system he uses today.

If you’re listening to this, I recommend watching the video of this interview. Ari’s energy is constant and visceral, and gives a different dimension to this episode.

Please enjoy my conversation with Ari Emanuel. 

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

Show Notes:

(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best

(00:04:20) Meet Ari Emanuel

(00:05:32) The UFC Story

(00:10:03) Mindset, Relentlessness, and Emotional Endurance

(00:13:52) AI’s Impact on Content and Distribution

(00:18:44) Value, Taste, and the Future of Content

(00:19:43) The Anti-AI Bet: Live Events and Experiences

(00:22:39) Monetization, User Experience, and the Premium Economy

(00:26:21) Building and Scaling Live Event Businesses

(00:27:16) Boxing and the Business of Live Entertainment

(00:28:45) Lessons from Dana White and Dealing with Dyslexia

(00:31:32) Getting a Job at CAA and How to Be a Successful Agent

(00:35:50) Ari’s Operating System

(00:38:04) Lessons from Egon Durban

(00:39:36) Betting on Himself and Elon

(00:43:16) Who Wants to be Normal?!

(00:44:23) The Art of Dealmaking

(00:48:58) Money, Family, and Learning from Mistakes

(00:52:45) The Future of Tech, Media and Content

(00:57:32) Concerns and Excitement about the Future

(01:00:16) Art

(01:01:01) The Kindest Thing