Speaker and podcast guest

Kyle Kane

Co-Founder and CMO of onSpark, #14 Fastest Growing AI Company in America (Inc. 5000, 2026)

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026Oct 13 to 15, Moscone West, San FranciscoBooth B37 and the main stageBook time with Kyle

Networking is noise. Kill your pitch. No one wants to buy from strangers. Kyle brings the $2 billion partnership playbook to your audience, and the stories behind it.

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Kyle Kane laughing
$2B+Career partnership value driven
1.2M+Followers across all platforms, led by Instagram
10K+Founders in The Deal Room
No. 14Inc. 5000 2026, AI and Data

About Kyle

Kyle Kane is the Emmy-winning co-founder and CMO of onSpark, the AI-powered operating system for the partnership economy, which debuted at No. 180 on the 2026 Inc. 5000 and No. 14 in AI and Data and was named to TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield 200. Signed to Universal as a songwriter at 17, he spent 18 years brokering partnerships for Katy Perry and Samsung, Rihanna and Vita Coco, and Kylie Jenner and Daniel Wellington, driving more than $2 billion in partner revenue. After his best friend lost his business, and then his life, Kyle set out to put the Fortune 500 playbook in the hands of founders who could never afford it. He keynoted CES with Amazon, has given two TEDx talks, and is finishing Borrowed Gravity (Aevitas Creative Management), the book that tells founders to stop networking, kill the pitch, and borrow trust. He is also leading The Grounds, a privately funded $120 million, 50,000-capacity festival campus planned for Jacksonville.

onspark.com borrowedgravity.com @kylexkane kyle@onspark.com

Featured on

TechCrunch·Entrepreneur·Inc. 5000·Business Insider·USA Today·Yahoo Finance·Psychology Today·Forbes India·Haute Living·Hankook Ilbo·Authority Magazine·National Today·Thrive Global·Influencive·Vocal·Wikitia·First Coast News·Florida Times-Union·News4JAX·Action News Jax·WOKV·Hoodline·ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC affiliates

Interview topics

Networking is noise. Stop networking.

A drawer of business cards produced nothing. One conversation at a Las Vegas bar put Samsung inside Katy Perry's "Birthday."

Why the networking economy gets paid on attendance, how collectors become architects, and how to activate the network you already have.

Kill your pitch

Everybody wants to buy something. Nobody wants to be sold.

Why the most rehearsed ritual in business fails as physics, and the study, name, shape, invite conversation that replaces it.

No one wants to buy from strangers

When AI writes every cold email, the only attention worth having comes with trust attached, and trust can be borrowed.

Borrowed Gravity, the O.P.A. framework for choosing to buy, build, or borrow attention, and why rented channels keep flooding.

Held at gunpoint by the people who called themselves my partners

The man who got Kyle out of that room never used the word partner, and he was the only partner in the story.

Vendors, brand deals, and sponsors versus true partnerships, verifying the humans as well as the numbers, and why only shared stakes survive bad weather.

Saying no is the strategy

The sponsorship Kyle turned down came back sixty days later as the best deal of his early career.

Partnership cadence, proving it small before you bet it big, and why ninety reversible days beat five blind years.

Suggested episode titles

  1. Stop Networking: Networking Is Noise
  2. Kill Your Pitch
  3. No One Wants to Buy From Strangers
  4. Held at Gunpoint by My Partners
  5. Saying No Is the Strategy
  6. Borrowed Gravity: Grow on Someone Else's Trust

What your listeners walk away with

Suggested questions

  1. What did growing up in the music industry teach you about the value of partnerships?
  2. What is it like building a $120 million venue from scratch?
  3. Why does Jacksonville need a 50,000-capacity festival campus, and why build it with private money?
  4. You say networking is noise. You threw away a drawer of business cards and kept one conversation from a Las Vegas bar. What happened next?
  5. You tell founders to kill their pitch. What do they say instead when they finally get the meeting?
  6. No one wants to buy from strangers. How does a founder with no audience borrow trust?
  7. You were signed to Universal as a songwriter at 17. What did the record business teach you about leverage?
  8. What did Katy Perry x Samsung, Kylie Jenner x Daniel Wellington, and Rihanna x Vita Coco have in common?
  9. A canceled Drake show cost you millions and 26,000 refunds. What did that night teach you about choosing partners?
  10. You've been held at gunpoint by people who called themselves your partners. What separates a partner from everyone else?
  11. What is the difference between a sponsorship and a partnership, and why do most brands confuse them?
  12. You turned down real money and called it the best decision of your early career. Why is saying no the strategy?
  13. Your best friend lost his business, and then his life. How did that change what you build and who you build it for?
  14. Your TEDx talk was about mental health and entrepreneurial resilience. Why is founder isolation a business problem?
  15. You're a non-technical founder running a company on 72 AI agents. What should founders automate first, and what never?
  16. What happens to business development when an AI agent can find the partner, get the intro, and close the deal?
  17. Why do most partnerships die after a great first call?
  18. What should a founder with no audience and no budget do on Monday morning to land a first partner?

Contrarian takes, clip-ready

Networking is noise. Stop networking.
Everybody wants to buy something. Nobody wants to be sold.
No one wants to buy from strangers.
A partnership where only one side can bleed was never a partnership.
Ninety reversible days beat five blind years.
Sales got the CRM. Marketing got automation. Partnerships got a spreadsheet.

Promotion plan

1.2M+Followers across Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, and more10K+Deal Room founders

Watch and listen

onSparkThe partnership engine, in Kyle's words
YouTube
Startups Decoded, Ep. 76Your Network Has a Revenue Problem, with Andy Walsh
YouTubeAppleSpotify
The Side Hustle Show, Ep. 756The Partnership Playbook, with Nick Loper
WebsiteAppleSpotify
Digital Niche Agency, Ep. 97Even if you get a one-to-one return, it's still worth optimizing
YouTube
Talks and interviewsKyle's latest talk
Latest talk
TEDx, two talksRap to Riches · Mental Health: A Toolkit for Entrepreneurial Resilience
Rap to RichesResilience

For press

Everything a reporter needs on one screen. For interviews, quotes, or a meeting at TechCrunch Disrupt, email kyle@onspark.com.

Short bio

Kyle Kane is the Emmy-winning co-founder and CMO of onSpark, the AI-powered operating system for the partnership economy, ranked No. 14 in AI and Data on the 2026 Inc. 5000. A former Universal songwriter, he has brokered partnerships for Katy Perry, Samsung, and Kylie Jenner that drove more than $2 billion in partner revenue. The long bio is in the About section above.

Latest press releaseonSpark launches an AI operating system for the partnership economy
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Speaker kit and one sheetFull bio, topics, and booking details
KitOne sheet

Recent press

EntrepreneuronSpark named No. 14 in AI and Data, Inc. 5000 Yahoo FinanceonSpark on the 2026 Inc. 5000 Business InsiderAI operating system for the partnership economy USA TodayRunning a business now means wearing 10 hats Psychology TodayWhy partnerships fail Yahoo FinanceonSpark launches AI-powered partnership engine National TodayonSpark launches AI-powered partnership engine VocalWhy most business partnerships fail RandleshamThe Post-Sale Playbook Authority MagazinePushing the boundaries of AI Authority MagazineFrom command and control to coaching Authority MagazineFive marketing strategies Authority MagazineTop 5 new marketing trends Authority MagazineFive things for a successful startup Authority MagazineFresh Founders Authority MagazineCMO Perspectives: marketing budget

The Grounds: $120M festival campus, Jacksonville

First Coast NewsThe Grounds: 50,000-seat venue proposed Florida Times-Union50,000-seat concert venue proposed News4JAX$120M, 50,000-seat venue on the Westside Action News JaxPrivate investors eye the Westside for a new venue WOKVPrivate investors eye the Westside for a new venue HoodlineWestside eyed for $120M concert grounds Yahoo News$120 million, 50,000-seat venue proposed Yahoo NewsA major festival campus for Jacksonville

Career press

Forbes IndiaPart artist, part scientist Haute Living4 principles of success Influencive180 South, one of the fastest-growing Thrive GlobalThe new breed of a modern brand guru IssueWireJoins Nobody Studios as CMO Authority MagazineCMO Perspectives, The Deal Room Authority MagazineFive strategies, The Deal Room MediumAdvancing world-class solutions MediumInterview with the CEO of 180 South Cotribute180 South: natural born givers Underdog NYCKyle Kane WikitiaKyle Kane

Photos

Approved for press, episode artwork, and promotion. Click any photo to download.

Kyle Kane laughing, black and white shirtKyle Kane studio headshotKyle Kane, arms crossedKyle Kane seatedKyle Kane outdoors

Ready to book Kyle?

Pre-interview call available. Kyle shows up prepared, on time, and ready to deliver for your audience. 1.2M+ followers promote every episode.

kyle@onspark.com Speaker kit PDF One sheet PDF