How to Produce Great People

An Update on Exhibit A

Author

Michael Batnick
December 02, 2025

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Is this thing on?

Ah, yes. The keyboard still works. I haven’t written in a minute. Nobody cares.

When I first started writing circa 2013*, I read “Nobody Wants to Read Your Shit” by Steven Pressfield. Great book. Not the point of this post.

Anyway, I want to share an update on a company we created earlier this year called Exhibit A. The TL:DR is that it’s working. We’re busy and could use some help. If you want to work with us, reach out to me directly.

I was listening to the legend Barry Diller on Patrick’s podcast this week. Big recommend. Patrick asked how he produced so many great people that went on to do incredible things? Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Dara Khosrowshahi, to name a few. This was his response.

“Give people more responsibility than they qualify for.” I hit pause and wrote that down.

This was the full quote:

I like people coming into any orbit of mine without any experience, particularly without any necessarily expertise, without having been quote, made. And then you give people more responsibility than they qualify for because in that forge you find out who swims and who doesn't. And if you have that kind of environment out of it's going to come pretty good people.

Barry and Josh did this for me my entire career, and nothing makes me happier that I now get to be on the other side of that. Matt Cerminaro is Exhibit A, eh. In February 2024, Matt emailed one of our employees at RWM with the subject line: It would mean the world if you showed this to Michael. Thank you!!

I opened it up, and saw his enthusiasm jump out of the screen:

Dear Michael, 

The note below should only take 2-3 minutes for you to read. That is all I ask for, and I thank you for your time.

I have been a listener of Animal Spirits and TCAF since I was a Junior in College. I would listen to you, Josh, and Ben on repeat in the car. I believe I have listened to every episode of TCAF and 70% of Animal Spirits. 

In December, 2021, you had Tom Lee on your podcast - that podcast episode changed the trajectory of my life as afterward I reached out to Tom and he hired me on my way out of College.

He sent me thirteen charts, all formatted like this.

I shared more of this story here, in the off chance you want to read more of my shit. The point is, Matt has been running Exhibit A for nine months, and let’s just say he’s swimming. Michael Phelps, before things got weird.

Exhibit A is a phenomenal tool being used by hundreds of advisors to accelerate their sales cycle, and to effectively communicate with their clients.

We have 140 charts, with new ones being added every week. These are the last six Charts of The Week, which hit the platform every Friday morning. I shrunk them to copy/paste.

We are eternally grateful for our early adopters. One of the best things about being a small company is getting to work directly with our customers to deliver value to their business. The collaboration we have with them on a daily basis drives the platform forward. We’re never going to lose that. It’s in our DNA.

Matt and the rest of the team, Eric, Aram, and Jacob, are building something from nothing. And it’s working. I’m excited for what lies ahead.

*The book came out in 2016. Memories lie.