Travis Makes Money Make Money with the Savannah Bananas
In this episode, Travis and his producer Eric riff on the wild success of Jesse Cole and the Savannah Bananas, a baseball franchise that exploded by obsessing over fan experience instead of traditional revenue models. Using Jesse’s journey from near-bankruptcy to selling out NFL stadiums, they unpack how “fans first” thinking can transform any business, not just sports.
On this episode we talk about:
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Why Jesse Cole eliminated every ad in the stadium and built a business that doesn’t rely on sponsorships
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How the Savannah Bananas turned low-level summer league baseball into a sellout national phenomenon
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The power (and risk) of saying no to traditional TV money and insisting on non‑exclusive broadcast deals
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Why most owners cling to short‑term cash (fees, sponsors, overpriced concessions) instead of long‑term fan loyalty
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How to apply “fans first” thinking in your own business by overdelivering value and playing a longer game
Top 3 Takeaways
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When you truly put fans first—removing junk fees, overdelivering on experience, and making the product genuinely fun—you create word-of-mouth growth that no ad budget can buy.
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Long-term vision requires rejecting easy, short-term money; saying no to ads, exclusive rights, or bad-fit sponsorships can unlock far bigger upside later.
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Disruptors often look “insane” at first, but building for the next 10–20 years instead of the next 10–20 months is how you end up owning the category.
Notable Quotes
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"Nobody walks into a ballpark saying, ‘I can’t wait to see what billboards they have in the outfield.’"
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"Most people would rather keep the sponsors and the processing fees than mortgage their house to build the experience they actually believe in."
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"If you massively overdeliver for the people already willing to part with their hard-earned dollars, it’s going to end up going pretty well for you."
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