Harry Stebbings, host of 20VC, wants founders to stop throwing money at marketing that vanishes. Instead, he pushes for what he calls "immortal assets" — brand investments that generate value for years, even decades. This isn't about fleeting billboards; it’s about strategic choices that keep your brand in front of people, perpetually.

He points to football shirts as a prime example: “A football shirt. There are kids all around the world wearing Manu shirts from 10 years ago with a Vodafone logo on it. That's pretty valuable to have people still wearing your massive logo in the thousands and thousands from 10 years ago.” The same logic applies to podcast sponsorships that live on in a show's back catalog.

Complementing Stebbings' vision, Paul Erlang, CEO of FOMO, reveals their intense data-driven approach to user acquisition. His company runs an in-house team of 30 to 40 creators, constantly iterating and optimizing content. “We're constantly getting rid of the bad ones, adding new ones, and doubling,” Erlang explains, treating content as a science, not an art.

This scientific rigor also extends to managing customer acquisition cost (CAC) versus lifetime value (LTV). Erlang challenges the instinct to always minimize CAC. He suggests that savvy founders should “actually start to increase your CAC even if the LTV stays the same to capture a larger and larger audience as long as the CAC is lower than the LTV.” It’s a counter-intuitive move that opens the door to broader market capture.

FOMO’s experience, and the story of Robinhood, proves that data often uncovers unintuitive truths. Erlang shares that Robinhood initially saw iOS users depositing twice as much as Android users. The reason? A slow Android loading screen. Data revealed the problem; gut instinct never would have. This insight underscores why early intuition eventually gives way to a numbers game.

Key Takeaways

  • Forget transient marketing; Harry Stebbings urges founders to invest in "immortal assets" like perpetual podcast sponsorships or football shirt endorsements that generate value for years, even decades, like old Manu shirts with Vodafone logos.
  • FOMO's Paul Erlang runs an in-house team of 30 to 40 creators, constantly iterating content to optimize for impressions and conversions, treating user acquisition as a rigorous, data-driven system.
  • Intuition quickly hits limits in marketing: Paul Erlang shares how Robinhood discovered their Android users deposited less because of a slow loading screen, a fact only uncovered through deep data analysis, not gut feeling.
  • Smart founders should strategically increase their Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) to capture broader audiences, as long as the LTV (Lifetime Value) remains higher, pushing past early comfort zones.
  • This long-term brand strategy crystallizes in Harry Stebbings' "Immortal Assets Marketing Rule," which prioritizes compounding visibility over short-lived exposure.

The Harry Stebbings' Immortal Assets Marketing Rule

  • Identify Perpetual Value: The thing I say actually on brand marketing is look for immortal assets. And what I mean by immortal assets is like if you sponsor a podcast, make sure that the podcast has it in perpetuity.
  • Examples of Immortal Assets: If you sponsored an episode that we did with Bill Gurley, it still gets thousands and thousands of plays per month even though it was recorded 3 years ago. That's quite valuable. If it's a billboard and in 2 weeks it's gone, that's not that valuable. What are some other examples? A football shirt. There are kids all around the world wearing Manu shirts from 10 years ago with a Vodafone logo on it. That's pretty valuable.
  • Contrast with Transient Assets: If it's a billboard and in 2 weeks it's gone, that's not that valuable.

When This Works (and When It Doesn't)

This rule works best for founders ready to think past quarterly reports, making brand investments that build compounding recognition over years. It's especially powerful for products with long sales cycles or high LTV, where sustained brand trust pays dividends. For example, a fintech app or a complex B2B SaaS platform benefits hugely from having their name consistently visible in trusted channels. However, this strategy is less effective for hyper-local businesses needing immediate foot traffic, or for rapidly changing product lines where a brand message might quickly become outdated. If you need sales next month, an "immortal asset" might feel too slow; but if you're building an enduring company, it’s a non-negotiable.

What to Do With This

Let's apply Stebbings' framework. Imagine you run a B2B SaaS for SMBs. This week, ditch the idea of spending $5,000 on a short-run LinkedIn ad campaign. Instead, research podcasts relevant to your target SMB owners. Find one with a strong back catalog and negotiate a perpetual sponsorship where your company gets a permanent mention in their most downloaded older episodes. Even if it costs more upfront, this "immortal asset" will continue to deliver thousands of impressions monthly for years, compounding your brand visibility long after a fleeting ad disappears. Analyze the reach of their top 10 historical episodes and project the value over five years. That's how you find your own "football shirt" moment.