AdTechGod · 2026-09-29
Ep 151: Tanja Mimica of Kovva on What the Future Holds for Media Buyers
This is Wakewire's analysis, based on the recording and the passages quoted here. Tone and candor labels are our read, not a finding about anyone's motive. Our standards
- Source
- AdTechGod
- Released
- 2026-09-29
- We read it
- 2026-10-02
- Recording
- Recording has gaps
- Read confidence
- low
- Review
- Passed automatic checks
What the episode covered
Tanja Mimica said Kova automates recurring operational workflows for media buyers across ad platforms and productivity tools. The register is mixed: concrete founder history sits beside product-positioning language, and the provided transcript has a mid-answer jump plus a cut-off ending. Watch whether Kova adoption is measured by automated workflows and whether agencies redefine junior buyer work around AI.
Our summary, written from the transcript. Not the speakers' words.
The episode, in order
01Commercial opening
The sponsor is in the same broad ad tech environment as the discussion, but the recording does not state any relationship between Freewheel and Kova.
02Founder background
This gives her stated basis for speaking about media buying operations and platform adoption.
03Kova problem statement
Kova is framed as solving cross-tool operational work rather than being another DSP or measurement product.
04AI and media buyer jobs
The conversation treats job change as likely, but not as simple replacement.
05Product direction
That is the clearest product strategy signal in the transcript.
Sponsors named in this episode
| Sponsor stated | Where, claim and disclosure |
|---|---|
| Freewheel Buyer Cloud |
|
No sponsor named doesn't mean no ads. Each row was taken from the ad break as it was read on air. The verbatim passage behind every row is checked against the transcript character for character. Short excerpts appear below.
Roles and stated affiliations
Sponsor or conflict flagged. Named ad tech sponsor adjacent to episode topic — The recording includes a commercial message for Freewheel Buyer Cloud before a discussion about media buying technology. No disclosure was stated on the recording about any relationship between Freewheel and Kova.
Wakewire's read of interests
- Ad Tech God: Host of the podcast and seller of the episode's commercial inventory. He states that Mimica is a friend of the podcast and that he is familiar with the Kova team.
- Tanja Mimica: Co-founder and COO of Kova, discussing the company she is building and positioning it for media buyers and agencies.
- Freewheel Buyer Cloud: Named sponsor in the pre-roll commercial, promoted as a TV and video buying platform.
Recording limits
- The transcript appears to jump after 'emails asking for a' into a different answer, leaving the requested example incomplete.
- The transcript ends mid-sentence after 'And', so the final answer on future opportunities is incomplete.
Claims that need more support
- Tanja Mimica said the vast majority of a media buyer's day is spent between platforms, but the episode does not provide a supporting figure or source.
Claims made on air that the episode itself did not back up.
Are you from this show? You can ask for a correction, reply, or ask us to stop coverage on the rights page.
The read
The useful subtext is that Kova is being positioned less as a new buying destination and more as automation around the tools buyers already use. Mimica is most concrete when she describes founder history, fundraising amount, acquisition timing, and product measurement. The more promotional layer is the broad premise that media buyers spend most of their day between platforms, since the transcript does not supply a figure for that. The strongest signal is that Kova wants success judged by completed workflow automation, not by time spent in its own interface.
This read assumes: The transcript excerpt is representative of the episode segment supplied. Kova's product positioning in the conversation reflects the company's current go-to-market framing. The incomplete transcript may omit additional examples, evidence, or caveats.
Every opinion labeled as one. This is Wakewire's analysis of the recording, not a finding about anyone's motive.
What was said
Commercial opening
The episode begins with a disclosed commercial message for Freewheel Buyer Cloud, described as a TV and video buying platform.
Founder background
Mimica described co-founding Martin in 2018, entering ad tech through an agency partnership, building a DSP, and selling to PubMatic in 2022.
Kova problem statement
Mimica said platforms are building AI inside their own walls while media buyers spend much of their work between platforms, in spreadsheets, email, Slack, reporting, reconciliation, and troubleshooting.
AI and media buyer jobs
Mimica said she does not know whether AI will replace media buyers, then compared AI-driven work shifts to agriculture, bookkeeping, accounting, and coding.
Product direction
Mimica said Kova sees itself as an orchestration layer and workflow automation tool, with success measured by automated workflows rather than chat sessions.
Our paraphrase, not the speakers' words.
The passages we relied on
"how we measure success now has changed. It's not about how many chat sessions do you have within the agent, whether that's in, in the Kova UI or in Slack. It's now, how many workflows have you automated? Because ultimately…"
"This is Ad Tech God, and this is a commercial message. Meet Freewheel Buyer Cloud. Not just another DSP, but a fully integrated TV and video buying platform built with intelligence at its core. It's designed to help you plan,…"
Short excerpts, credited to the show, at most 40 words each and 150 per episode. We do not publish transcripts. We link to the episode so you can hear it from the show itself.
What to watch for
- Kova reports adoption in automated workflow counts, not only demos, logins, or chat sessions. (Next 6 to 12 months)
- Agencies describe new junior media buyer responsibilities that involve supervising, checking, or designing automated workflows. (Next hiring cycle)
- Kova publishes or customers describe concrete before-and-after time savings for reporting, discrepancy checks, reconciliation, or troubleshooting. (Next 2 to 4 customer references)
- Users interact with Kova mainly through Slack, email, Teams, or workflow playbooks rather than through a standalone UI. (Next product releases)
Written by Wakewire's system under our editorial standards. Reading is open to everyone. A free account personalizes your brief.