A week in AI is like a year in other industries. I hope these issues become your weekly source of AI information, inspiration, and ideas. If we haven’t met before, I’m Amanda Smith. I write about AI and the fascinating folks who are building in this brave new world.
Good morning. Some of my favorite founder stories are the ones who are bringing innovation to old categories.
If you ever wanted to see your business (or your face) on TV but never had the budget, this week’s read is for you.
Enjoy.
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Company background: Adwave
Founded: 2024
Team size: 15
Funding to date: Not disclosed
ARR: Not disclosed
Growth metric: “Distribution in SMB markets is often trust-driven as much as channel-driven.”
David Naffis, Adwave
David Naffis is a veteran founder and operator of ad tech companies, including Remixd and VideoByte – both of which were acquired. Prior to this, he worked on early neural network applications at the National Archives. Naffis has always had an ear for opportunities.
During his years in ad tech, he noticed how hard it was for small businesses to get on TV, without agency relationships and big budgets. By late 2024, the combination of streaming economics and AI-generated creative made it possible to approach things differently.
While SMBs focus on social and search, Naffis watched TV being underappreciated as a performance channel, particularly the premium streaming and cable inventory. The unlock? AI.
Creating a TV commercial from a URL
Adwave allows any small business to create a broadcast-quality TV commercial from just a website URL, in under 10 minutes. The platform uses AI to analyze a website, pull imagery and branding materials to generate a 30-second TV spot that airs on 100+ channels such as NBC, Hulu, Fox, and ESPN.
The goal is to remove the production burden while keeping the creative grounded in the brand.
“We comply with the technical and quality standards required by the networks we work with, so the ads are built to run within that environment from the outset,” he said.
Naffis said the cost starts at $50 and covers media placement, while the creative generation is included at no cost.
“There’s no separate production fee, agency markup, or long-term commitment. You set your budget, see an estimate of how many views you’ll get before launching, and can adjust or pause at any time,” he said.
That minimum works well for highly targeted local campaigns, but most businesses choose to spend more as they look to expand their reach.
Testing his thesis
“Our clearest signal of product-market fit was seeing the users we designed for, namely business owners without agencies or media buyers, successfully launching campaigns on their own. When the intended customer is using the product the way you envisioned, that’s a strong signal,” Naffis shared.
In terms of the broader landscape, there are emerging self-serve CTV platforms, but many still assume a level of advertiser sophistication or require businesses to bring their own creative assets, Naffis said.
Adwave’s differentiation has been reducing both the media-buying friction and the production friction while keeping it self-serve.
It took the team about seven months to prepare for launch. They focused on small businesses across a range of verticals such as home services, financial services, real estate, food and beverage, and dental.
Traditional category, new model
Vertical-specific media has been an important part of Adwave’s growth strategy.
“Small business owners often don’t consume traditional ad tech media; they’re reading trade publications and industry-specific outlets they trust. Meeting them in those environments has been valuable for awareness and credibility,” Naffis revealed.
“One lesson we learned early is that distribution in SMB markets is often trust-driven as much as channel-driven. In many cases, those niche media environments act as validators,” he added.
They’ve also seen encouraging results from paid social, particularly around awareness and demand generation, and the product itself can create organic discovery. “When local businesses begin seeing peers advertising on TV in ways they didn’t expect, that often drives curiosity and inbound interest.”
TV still has that wow factor.
Takeaways
AI is only as valuable as the experience around it. If the technology is powerful but the product is difficult to use, you haven’t removed friction; you’ve just relocated it.
Communicate the real utility of the AI. There’s a lot of overclaiming in the market, and people are increasingly good at spotting it.
Distribution and vertical understanding matter as much as the technology itself. Even if you’re building a horizontal platform, growth often comes from going deep in specific markets, understanding their language, and solving problems in a way that feels native to that audience.
How's the depth of today's edition?
If one of these stories stuck with you, I’d love to hear which one.
Speak soon,
Amanda
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