“A U.S. launch is judged twice: first by the customers you win, then by the investors and acquirers who study how you won them. Build for both from the first day.”
The partner who has launched from zero in someone else’s market. Mitchell has spent four decades building media and technology businesses: at HBO and E! in Los Angeles, at the launch of subscription television in Auckland and Sydney, and at OpenTV in Silicon Valley through its IPO. He joined Traksjon because he knows what a newcomer is up against, and what a board, an investor or an acquirer will later want to know about how the market was won.
Most companies plan a U.S. entry as a sales campaign and measure it as one. Mitchell plans it as a chapter in the company’s financial story. The distinction matters, because the investors, partners and acquirers a company meets in the United States will judge the entry by what it proved, not by how busy it looked.
The work is practical: agreeing before launch what the first year has to prove and to whom, putting in place the board reporting and governance an American investor expects to see, choosing partnerships that open distribution rather than add logos to a slide, and preparing for the conversation that often follows a successful entry, whether that is a funding round, a merger or a sale.
He has done this as an operator and as an advisor, across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Australia and New Zealand. Twice he has been the outsider, launching a business in someone else’s country. He knows how little of a home-market reputation survives the crossing, and what has to be built in its place.
Already in the U.S., and ready for what comes next. A company with American revenue and no plan for its next round or exit is often growing without a story an investor can follow. Mitchell tightens the governance, the numbers and the narrative, so that growth reads as momentum rather than activity.
Entering for the first time. First entries are usually funded as a sales push and judged, a year later, as an investment. Mitchell helps founders and boards set the proof points before launch, then builds the partnerships that let a newcomer reach customers it could not reach alone.
Returning after a difficult first attempt. A stalled entry is rarely only a market problem. More often the board, the budget and the U.S. team never agreed on what success meant. Turnarounds are a core part of Mitchell’s board work: he resets the plan, the governance and the expectations before a second attempt spends the next budget.
Mitchell is Managing Partner of Berman Strategic Advisors, the Los Angeles advisory firm he has led since 2013, working with boards, founders and private equity sponsors on growth, governance, capital and exit. Four companies he has advised have gone on to an acquisition or IPO, among them 3BlackDot, acquired by Webedia in 2017; Super League Gaming, which listed on Nasdaq in 2019; and IRIS.TV, acquired by Viant in 2024.
Before that he was CEO of Blend Digital, advising digital media companies and their investors, and co-founder, CEO and Executive Chairman of ZillionTV, a direct-to-consumer television streaming venture for which he raised $48 million and built a team of more than ninety.
Earlier he was Senior Vice President of Global Marketing at C-COR, later acquired by ARRIS, and Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing and Operations at OpenTV, where he ran six divisions through the company’s IPO.
Before Silicon Valley he spent most of a decade launching businesses from zero. In Sydney he was Senior Vice President and General Manager of Galaxy Media/East Coast Pay TV (Foxtel Australia), building the marketing and programming teams for its launch. In Auckland he was Corporate Director of Marketing and Sales for the launch of Sky Network Television.
In between, he led SMART, Inc., a Los Angeles start-up making mapping and market-data software for telecommunications, cable and entertainment companies. Earlier still, he worked in affiliate operations at HBO and Cinemax, then helped launch E! Entertainment Television as Vice President, Western Region.
He holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Sociology from UCLA.
Mitchell speaks at industry conferences in the United States and abroad, and is a member of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He has served as an advisory board member and judge for the UCLA Social Enterprise Academy, on the board of Silicon Beach Young Professionals, and as a strategic advisor to Auckland Tourism, Events & Economic Development, the Auckland Mayor’s Office and the New Zealand Consul General in Los Angeles.
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