Inside The Media Marvel That Is TBPN

Ashley Vance, the founder and CEO of Core Memory, walked into a rival’s studio—TBPN’s “Ultra Dome”—wearing Meta glasses, filming his own arrival. It was a deliberate move: keep competitors close, learn from them, and use that knowledge to leapfrog. The moment captures the operating logic behind Core Memory, a media company Vance launched just over a year ago. The episode is less about biography and more about how he built a lean, aggressive news operation in the middle of a talent war and a fintech turf battle.

The Operating System: Speed, Scraps, and Counterprogramming

Vance’s approach to media is built on speed and asymmetry. He doesn’t try to out-resource Bloomberg or the Wall Street Journal. Instead, he counterprograms. When TBPN—a competing fintech media outfit—has a big guest or a sponsor, Vance shows up in person, recording, turning a rival’s moment into his own content. “Keep your competitors close, be learning from them,” he says, “but be learning from them in a way that you can like leapfrog.” That leapfrogging isn’t about copying; it’s about finding the gap they leave open.