In a space dominated by overnight token millionaires and Silicon Valley maximalists, Jonny Caplan has taken a different route to impact. Not as a VC. Not as a protocol founder. But as a storyteller. A multi-award-winning director, entrepreneur, and media producer, Caplan has spent the last decade reframing how the world sees Web3 innovation — and more importantly, who gets to tell its story.
Jonny Caplan didn’t start out as a media producer. He was an entrepreneur first — a founder who had lived the grind of building startups from scratch, with no golden parachute or family backing. His career began in the rough waters of bootstrapped ventures, growing businesses with whatever tools were available at the time. But the one problem he kept running into wasn’t tech or talent — it was visibility.
“Every company needs exposure, exposure, exposure,” he said on The CoinRock Show.
“It was a hard slog to get those broadcast partners. It was a hard slog to build a reputation”
It was this realization that led Jonny to media — not as a side gig or marketing channel, but as a full-fledged business. After pitching a startup-focused show to Amazon and getting rejected for not being dramatic enough, Jonny took matters into his own hands. He self-financed the pilot, built a production company, and eventually launched a catalog of independent, founder-centric shows. He didn’t just break into media — he reinvented the playbook, licensing his work to more than 40 networks across 80+ countries while retaining 100% ownership.
“We built a company where we independently finance it. We made all the shows that you talk about,” he said.
“When I went to Amazon in the first instance of creating this company and I said to them, I want to make a show all about entrepreneurship, they were like, great. Do they fight? Is there drama?”
Today, that decision looks prophetic. The shows he built — many of them before Web3 had even hit mainstream consciousness — have helped startups raise over half a billion dollars in funding. And they’ve done more than entertain. They’ve educated, inspired, and onboarded a generation into the future of tech.
NFT Me and the Power of Real Onboarding
One of Jonny’s most impactful creations is NFT Me, a documentary series that didn’t just explain Web3 — it broadcast it. The show brought the crypto and metaverse conversation out of Twitter Spaces and Discord servers and into living rooms around the world. It reached the front pages of over 50 newspapers, found distribution on Amazon Prime, and was even picked up by PwC and NASA as an educational tool.
“We realized… why are we sitting in rooms talking to each other about how do? Why isn’t it simpler to learn and get in it? So we made NFT Me.”
Unlike the countless crypto apps and onboarding tools that burned through VC cash with little to show, NFT Me delivered real impact — and it did so without massive funding rounds. Jonny and his team spent their own money, said yes to fast distribution deals, and prioritized reach over revenue.
“We honestly didn’t make money out of the show,” he admitted.
“But we felt the world needed to understand it.”
In the process, Jonny became more than just a filmmaker — he became an educator, a storyteller, and one of Web3’s most effective advocates. He brought credibility and production quality to a space that had often been seen as niche or unserious. And perhaps most importantly, he did it all while staying independent, proving that high-impact media doesn’t have to come from traditional studios.
Scaling Stories Without Selling Out
While NFT Me helped put Web3 on the global stage, it was just one chapter in Jonny’s growing content empire. Over the past few years, he has produced seven original series, three feature-length documentaries, and has multiple more in production. Topics span from cannabis innovation to AI, gambling culture, and futuristic tech — all shot in cinematic 4K and delivered with the polish of a seasoned network.
But even with this growing slate of projects, Jonny remains committed to a principle that sets him apart: owning his work.
“We own 100% of our content,” he said proudly.
“So instead of being limited to one, our ROI went up because we have the control of what we do..”
This philosophy has allowed him to explore bold new concepts — like his latest docu-drama Place Your Bets, which blends interviews with legends like Phil Hellmuth, Jennifer Tilly, and Maya Lansky II with fictional storytelling about the psychological pull of gambling. It’s his first venture into hybrid storytelling, and it reflects a broader ambition: not just to document what’s happening in the tech world, but to shape how people feel about it.
Behind it all is a media model that’s built to last. Rather than rely on ad revenue or centralized platforms, Jonny’s shows are sold into regional licensing deals, giving him financial flexibility and long-term control. In some regions, his company shares in ad revenues. In others, they license content outright. The approach is diversified, resilient — and scalable.
A Builder’s Builder in a World of Noise
In an age where influencers chase engagement and startups chase headlines, Jonny Caplan stands out for one reason: he builds. Not for likes, not for hype, but for impact. His media company is more than just a production house — it’s a launchpad for stories that matter, startups that need visibility, and industries that deserve better narratives.
“Being entrepreneurs, being investors, being in the market… we kind of see it in time. And then we’re able to generate it and build it.”
This ability to anticipate trends and act on instinct is what allowed Jonny to beat most of the world to topics like cannabis reform, metaverse culture, and decentralized innovation. It’s also what made NFT Me more than just a show — it was a public service.
Jonny Caplan is the rare kind of founder who knows how to work both sides of the lens. He’s been the entrepreneur trying to break through, and now he’s the producer helping others do it. His career isn’t about building a brand — it’s about building bridges. Between Web2 and Web3. Between founders and audiences. And between stories that are told — and stories that truly matter.
Where to Find Jonny Caplan
- Watch his shows: Amazon Prime Filmography
- Explore all links: linktr.ee/jonnycaplan
- LinkedIn: Jonny Caplan on LinkedIn
- Instagram: @jonnycaplan
- Twitter/X: @jonnycaplan
- Entrepreneur Articles: Read on Entrepreneur
