The Smart Alec Show

#17 Jeff Zeller: Working across Music, Sports, & Entertainment, The Harvard MBA, Marketing & Partnerships, & Crypto

Episode Summary

Jeff Zeller is the Senior Director of NFT Partnerships and Business Operations at Crypto.com. He’s led a career at the intersection of sports, music, technology, culture, and content. Jeff’s worked with iTunes as a Content Producer, PRMD Music as an A&R/ Creative Intern working with artists such as the late legend AVICII & also found Marshmello during his rise to stardom, along with serving as CEO of “Dancing Astronaut” which was a media company covering the dance and electronic music scene. Jeff went on to work with Sony as digital strategy Chief of Staff, then to ESPN as Director of Entertainment Marketing & Parternships leading partnerships for many properties such as “The Last Dance” with Peloton and Spotify, before moving into the crypto space. Jeff is a graduate of Stanford (where he played tennis), a Harvard MBA grad, and also the founder of AZ Management. Above all, Jeff is an incredible guy, a family man, and legend in the making — and we’re honored to have pontificated on life with him on this episode and call him a friend of the show. Connect with Jeff: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffzeller/ - IG: @jeffzeller ; https://www.instagram.com/jeffzeller/?hl=en - Twitter: @jaz ; https://twitter.com/jaz?lang=en OUTLINE: - 0:00 Foreword - 4:10 Start of Conversation - Topics discussed: - Marketing - Differences between content, partnership, and other marketing types - Evolution of digital and social media - From the days of the home phone to the Blackberry to the adoption of iPhone all the way to the modern social media world we lie in today - Implications on psychology, politics, society, and more - Working with iTunes as a Content Producer - Working with the music industry - Living in Stockholm, Sweden — what makes Sweden such a hub for music genius and creativity? - Sweden’s infrastructure that supports creatives and artists better than USA - Working with AVICII, discovering Marshmello and working with him - DJ life - Time at At Night Management/ PRMD Music, serving as CEO of Dancing Astronaut in the electronic dance music scene, working at Sony as Digital Strategy Chief of Staff - Working at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and music with ESPN - ESPN Hype Hits project - Landing partnerships with Spotify and Peloton for The Last Dance - Favorite moments - Tips for success - New adventure into crypto.com - Thoughts on the recent market turbulence - Optimism for the future of web3, crypto, and decentralized finance overall with regards to positive impact on society - Crypto.com’s unique partnerships within sports - Much more! Recorded on November 11th, 2022 #harvardmba #partnerships #sportsbiz #crypto #marketing #harvard #nft Connect with Alec on Social: - Linktree to all platforms: https://linktr.ee/smartalec Podcast info: - Podcast website: https://smartalecshow.com - RSS feed: feed:https://feeds.simplecast.com/ngBH2BfM - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/634MOIW582k2STgC06Rvl9?si=ulGRaagxSBCHROX0OEQCCA - Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-smart-alec-show/id1577614268 - Amazon Music & Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/96993c84-1664-4a67-921d-9b731fbdca99

Episode Notes

Jeff Zeller is the Senior Director of NFT Partnerships and Business Operations at Crypto.com. He’s led a career at the intersection of sports, music, technology, culture, and content. Jeff’s worked with iTunes as a Content Producer, A&R as a Creative Intern working with artists such as the late legend AVICII & also found Marshmello during his rise to stardom, along with serving as CEO of “Dancing Astronaut” which was a media company covering the dance and electronic music scene. Jeff went on to work with Sony as digital strategy Chief of Staff, then to ESPN as Director of Entertainment Marketing & Parternships leading partnerships for many properties such as “The Last Dance” with Peloton and Spotify, before moving into the crypto space. Jeff is a graduate of Stanford (where he played tennis), a Harvard MBA grad, and also the founder of AZ Management. Above all, Jeff is an incredible guy, a family man, and legend in the making — and we’re honored to have pontificated on life with him on this episode and call him a friend of the show.


 

Connect with Jeff:


 


 

OUTLINE:


 


 

Recorded on November 11th, 2022


 

#harvardmba #partnerships #sportsbiz #crypto #marketing #harvard  #nft


 

Connect with Alec on Social:

- Linktree to all platforms: https://linktr.ee/smartalec 


 

Podcast info:

- Podcast website: https://smartalecshow.com

- RSS feed: feed:https://feeds.simplecast.com/ngBH2BfM

- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/634MOIW582k2STgC06Rvl9?si=ulGRaagxSBCHROX0OEQCCA

- Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-smart-alec-show/id1577614268 

- Amazon Music & Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/96993c84-1664-4a67-921d-9b731fbdca99