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“RockWater and Chris have been instrumental in elevating Snapback Agency’s growth. Their deep understanding of talent representation and creator economy gives us critical insights into new sales and talent growth strategies. From refining our business model to supporting long-term planning, their guidance is invaluable. RockWater’s expertise allows us to confidently scale and plan for future success. We couldn’t ask for a better strategic partner.”
Alex Sheinman, Partner & Co-Founder, Snapback Agency
“RockWater crushed it for me, and I’m thrilled with the successful outcome. The sale of Long Haul was a life-changing event for me, my team, and my clients. There were a countless number of curveballs that were thrown at us during the process and RockWater helped me navigate them excellently. I’m very grateful to Chris and his team for their hard work and dealmaking smarts throughout the sales process, and can not speak highly enough of them.”
Dan Levitt, Founder and CEO, Long Haul Management
“After trying to sell Bounty in the past, I hired RockWater to expedite the process and ensure a favorable outcome. RockWater definitely delivered on that promise – they activated their network to create a lot of buzz for Bounty, pushed initial conversations along from interest → intent → offers, and were instrumental in getting the deal across the finish line. There were lots of ups and downs in the sales process, and RockWater was incredibly helpful throughout. I’d recommend them as an M&A advisor to any founder selling their business.”
Abe Wolke, Founder & CEO, Bounty
“RockWater’s newsletter is the Wall Street Journal of the Creator Economy, offering deep strategic insights grounded in financial acumen and bridging creative vision with corporate finance.”
Brendan Gahan, Founder, Creator Authority, Former CSO, Mekanism Agency
“The insights RockWater provides in the creator economy are world-class. I routinely seek Chris Erwin’s POV on the market and developments in dealmaking”
Chas Lacaillade, CEO, Bottle Rocket Management
“Chris Erwin is one of the sharpest and well connected people I know in our industry. He and his team at RockWater provide clients with valuable insights into media, commerce, and the creator economy.”
James Creech, Co-Founder, Measure Studio
“In the crowded landscape of media advisors and analysts, Chris and the RockWater team stand out for their impressive level of insight and substance, which has served as a secret weapon more than once. Their network within the audio field is unparalleled, and they have a keen instinct for productive matchmaking.”
“Christopher and team were extraordinarily helpful as we were finding our way early on with social commerce. Our situation was unique, which meant that our options would be as well…Rockwater’s expertise and enthusiasm for the space provided lights on the path. I knew immediately that we had contacted the right team.”
“RockWater is at the forefront of where new media and sports are headed. Publishers, investors, brands, and tech co’s know that to stay ahead of the game, they need a partner like RockWater to make sense of the ecosystem shifts, platform evolutions, and the underlying strategies on social / digital; all of which can drive meaningful revenue growth and transformation.”
“I turn to the Rockwater team whenever I need to separate the signal from the noise in tracking the rapid evolution of the creator economy and its disruption to traditional media models. Rockwater’s content – newsletter, forecasts and podcast – are some of the most reliable, useful sources for us to follow how players are betting and buying in this space.”
“I have worked with Chris Erwin, both informally and formally, for several years. Chris was a trusted, valued advisor when I took my company, Midroll Media (now Stitcher), through a successful M&A process that ultimately ended in a sale to EW Scripps. In my role as COO of Team Coco, when we decided we needed help strategizing and plotting new growth initiatives, Chris was the first call I made.
As the media landscape is quickly evolving, there are few people in the world who share Chris’ breadth of knowledge across new media forms (podcasts, digital video, branded content, talent management, and more), M&A, capital raising, macro market dynamics, board management, etc. And nobody works harder than Chris. I would be excited to hire Chris again and I am certain that I will.”
“Chris and his team at RockWater are highly skilled at taking market trends and analyzing them in a digestible and useful way. The level of attention to detail that they bring to all of their work is outstanding and I really enjoy how in depth he goes with his guests on the podcast. Working with Chris in past companies, he helped me understand the gaps in my business plan really quickly so I could iterate and launch successfully!”
“The RockWater team was an invaluable resource. They provided us with a comprehensive framework to identify best fit acquisition targets, and then built us a custom business plan to operationalize their recommendations. They felt like a natural extension of our team, despite being located on the complete opposite side of the world. They’ve also been very helpful with introducing us to western IP rights holders. We’d be happy to work with them again”
“After spending over a decade on Wall Street, I’m no stranger to consuming deep research from the street. Take that level of depth, apply it to the major changes happening at light speed in the creator economy today, and there is no other shop I would recommend more than RockWater to keep you on the edge of a seminal moment in time. Real deal cats you want on call in your corner.”
“To plan FAO’s digital transformation, we needed an expert team who understood how parents and kids are spending their time and money online, which is powering new direct-to-consumer business models for toy retailers. RockWater was a great bolt-on partner to us and facilitated outlining an exciting new growth strategy for FAO Schwarz.”
“Chris is one of the smartest people in media I know. He has the unique ability to be super strategic while also caring deeply about operational execution. Chris and the RockWater team truly get where modern media is today and where it’s headed, with a special expertise around the intersection of commerce / consumer revenues, brands, and IP.
Their research and analysis are often times unconventional, but always super thought-provoking and spot on. Outside of research, Chris and the team have been super proactive about bringing us specific revenue generating opportunities, and brokered senior relationships for strategic partnerships.”
“RockWater was a great executive ally. They took time to understand our growth needs, created a custom workplan, and executed with precision. Their recommendations were data-based and actionable, and are now part of our operating plan. RockWater also brought good energy to our org, which helped get team buy-in. We look forward to working with them again.”
“Chris’s team delivered sharp decision-making frameworks and actionable market intelligence for our leadership. Their work significantly accelerated our go-forward planning and new product development.
I regularly bounce new business ideas off Chris, as he has a great mind for sustainable value creation vs short term distractions in the media, tech and commerce industries. I look forward to working with him again.”
“RockWater’s team dovetails incredibly sophisticated marketplace intelligence with an impressive, far-reaching network of leading professionals at nearly every top digital-focused company – with this powerful combination, they provide clients with invaluable strategic insights and guidance. Chris and the team helped us quickly identify and prioritize opportunity lanes for FilmNation as we expanded our global content platform into the digital space. We’d recommend them with the highest praise, in a heartbeat.”
“RockWater is my oracle for the media and commerce world. Chris Erwin and his team help me think many, many moves ahead of most players because they deeply understand all the pieces from a variety of perspectives.”
“RockWater delivers something few others can: unique perspective. Chris and his team analyze the complicated playing field and cut through the BS to deliver actionable insights that add immediate value. RockWater acts as an extension of my own team, adding a tool to our toolbox at the exact moment we need it.”
“In a fast-changing media landscape, RockWater is a pivotal partner. They help executives navigating an increasingly fragmented digital media ecosystem to boil the ocean of information impacting the present and future of the industry, providing valuable insights that inform strategic business decisions and drive sustainable growth.”
“Every time I’ve worked and spent time with Chris and his RockWater team it’s been a true joy. He deeply understands where the market is headed and provides actionable insights and guidance to help companies launch profitable new businesses. He also has a deep and wide-ranging network that has helped me build meaningful and lasting connections with a positive impact for my companies. I learn from him every time we interact!”
“As a venture capitalist looking for the next disruptive force in media and entertainment, RockWater has become an essential source of detailed thinking around the trends and companies that will be driving major change in this industry for years to come.”
“Prism Labs isn’t a media company, but having worked with Chris closely in the past I jumped at the chance to use his advisory services to help us evaluate some strategic options. With RockWater you can count on thoughtful, flexible, diligent and extremely capable support. RockWater’s strong positive culture shines through with every interaction.”
“RockWater has been a great consigliere to Rolla. Their team offers guidance on everything from fundraising and business models to product and go-to-market strategies. Their expertise at the intersection of real estate and the creator economy has been super helpful, and they always make time to answer our questions with critical insights. RockWater is also a tireless motivator to keep our spirits up and pushing forward!”
“When we began looking for intelligence partners, we knew we wanted a group who would work with us as part of a team, not a vendor. We found exactly what we were looking for in RockWater. Starting from a very open place, they were comfortable with and capable of helping us identify and focus on the most advantageous areas of business for the group. The research they deliver is consistently contextual, actionable and valuable in driving strategic decisions and growth.”
“…we’ve had a wonderfully positive experience with RockWater’s support in scaling our opportunities with revenue and partnerships.”
“Working with Chris Erwin was an absolute pleasure. Chris was a trusted advisor when I was looking to start a new media business. Given his vast expertise and knowledge of the media landscape, he was the perfect person to go to when my partners and I needed help plotting our path to success in the marketplace, while also helping us to derive a strategy on how to conquer our niche. His in-depth direction and immersive analysis on how to navigate the tricky waters of this world was priceless.”
“Chris and the RockWater team gave us the exact leverage we were looking for in an advisor. The team brings deep industry perspective, thoughtful frameworks and a strong network of relationships.”
“Chris and his team are not just collaborators, they’re visionaries. They see opportunities for clients that they don’t see themselves. We have ideated with RockWater, and think of them as a group of creatives, as well as strategists.”
“Chris and the RockWater team provide a differentiated perspective on the sports ecosystem. Specifically, their ability to leverage their deep expertise in media and apply it to frontier markets such as sports betting and esports helped us to flesh out white space opportunities for our roadmap.”