In this episode of Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?, host Adam W. Barney sits down with Alex Steele, Founder & CEO of Opal, to unpack how agencies can unlock growth by rethinking how they bank.

💡 Alex shares the story of building Opal — the fintech platform redefining how ad agencies and creators manage cash flow and credit.

From partnering with Visa to solving the agency payment bottleneck, this conversation gets real about money, momentum, and the systems that fuel scale.

We cover:

🏦 Why traditional banks don’t understand agency business models

💳 How Opal is modernizing cash flow for ad-driven companies

🚀 Why scaling starts with better financial systems — not just better ads

🧩 How to build tools and partnerships that grow with you

🎙 Host: Adam W. Barney

💼 Guest: Alex Steele, Founder of Opal | [email protected]

🔥 Fix your foundation. Scale smarter.

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