AdTech AdTalk Mimetic Desire (ft. Jonah Goodhart, CEO of Mobian)
Oct 17, 2025
Jonah Goodhart, Founder and CEO of Mobian, an innovative ad tech company, dives deep into the evolving landscape of advertising. He shares why he loves the industry, emphasizing its storytelling power despite AI’s rise. The discussion touches on AI's conflict with human creativity, the significance of understanding context in advertising, and the struggles publishers face with misclassification issues. Jonah highlights Mobian's unique approach to enhancing advertiser performance while advocating for open APIs to foster collaboration in ad tech.
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Advertising Is Storytelling And Infrastructure
- Jonah values advertising as storytelling and sees it as central to human teaching and aspiration.
- He argues ads fund the internet and enable modern innovations, so the industry deserves respect.
Post-Exit Industry Comparison
- Jonah spent time in healthcare after selling Moat and found the advertising industry more congenial.
- He stayed in ad tech because he prefers its vibe and the people compared with other industries.
AI Finds Non-Story Signals
- AI optimization finds signals humans miss because it isn't constrained by narrative bias.
- These signals can often be explained later as meaningful features like emotion or attention.