Benzinga and Stakeholder Labs Launch Marketopolis Series to Bridge CEO-Retail Investor Communication Gap

Benzinga, a leading financial media and data company, and Stakeholder Labs, a startup helping public companies activate retail investors and drive market awareness, have partnered to launch Marketopolis, a new series giving everyday investors direct access to CEO perspectives on modern markets and digital communication. The series addresses the growing demand among retail investors for unfiltered insight into corporate leadership thinking and market strategies.

Retail investors today are looking for unfiltered insight and are more engaged within their circle, said Jody Rones, Chief Revenue Officer of Benzinga. By partnering with Stakeholder Labs, we're creating content for the people behind public companies to speak directly to the individual investor. The launch reflects a broader movement toward convergence of company storytelling and financial markets engagement, with the series designed to bridge the gap between C-suite leadership and everyday investors.

Across episodes, themes of transparency, long-term value creation, retail investor influence and the role of social platforms in shaping public company narratives emerge consistently. This isn't your typical one-on-one interview, said Matt Joanou, CEO and Co-Founder of Stakeholder Labs. It's a conversation that reveals how senior leadership thinks about their shareholders, capital markets, and growth. Each episode gives retail investors a seat at the institutional table.

The first four episodes, presented in partnership with SoFi, will feature Grindr CEO George Arison, Lovesac CEO Shawn Nelson, The Arena Group CEO Paul Edmondson and Bark CEO Matt Meeker. Episodes premiere weekly beginning Wednesday, October 8, 2025, across YouTube, LinkedIn, Benzinga.com and podcast platforms.

Marketopolis goes beyond quarterly results to reveal how CEOs think about their roles and approach communicating with the market. Each conversation explores their personal relationship with money and investing, including how they track their own stock. The show also uncovers the philosophies that shape leadership and the journeys that led them to the corner office, providing candid insight for retail investors who want perspective typically reserved for Wall Street institutions.

Marketopolis is about more than just the numbers, added Joanou, who also serves as host of the show. It's about the people, the strategies and the stories behind the companies we invest in and buy from every day. Our partnership with Benzinga ensures these conversations reach the broad and growing audience of investors hungry for authentic, actionable insights.

The show is designed for retail investors who want direct and unfiltered access to decision makers while also providing executives, communications professionals, and investor relations teams with fresh ideas on next-generation approaches to financial communications. Each interview also speaks to aspiring leaders early in their careers, offering a realistic look at what it takes to run a public company or take a business public.

Benzinga's distribution will extend the show's reach to millions of investors worldwide, combining trusted financial coverage with authentic leadership insights. Partnering with Stakeholder Labs to launch Marketopolis is a natural extension of our mission to make markets more accessible and engaging, said Rones. Retail investors today care not just about quarterly performance but also the story, strategy, and values behind the companies they support.