Digital ad fraud is one of the biggest hidden costs in modern marketing — and many companies do not realize how much of their advertising budget is being wasted on fake clicks, bot traffic, fraudulent accounts, and misleading campaign data.
In this episode of Grownlearn, host Zorina Dimitrova speaks with Rich Kahn, CEO of Anura, a digital ad fraud prevention platform protecting more than 2 million websites. Rich has over 31 years of experience in digital marketing and has built five self-funded multimillion-dollar internet companies.
Rich explains how digital advertising fraud works across platforms such as Facebook, Google, partner networks, affiliate traffic, and programmatic advertising. He also shares why certain channels carry higher fraud risk, how AI-driven bots are changing the fraud landscape, and why clean traffic matters for marketing ROI, ROAS, and long-term business growth.
We discuss how Anura detects fraudulent traffic in real time by collecting more than 800 data points, why companies often discover fraud only after performance starts to break down, and what founders, marketers, agencies, SaaS companies, eCommerce brands, and investors should understand before scaling paid advertising.
Beyond ad fraud prevention, Rich also shares his entrepreneurial journey: building multiple companies without outside funding, scaling through product-driven growth, developing enterprise relationships, and why face-to-face business development through trade shows still works.
This episode is especially relevant for founders, marketers, agencies, eCommerce businesses, SaaS companies, investors, and anyone spending money on digital advertising.
Guest: Rich Kahn, CEO of Anura
Host: Zorina Dimitrova, Strategic Growth & Capital Advisor and host of Grownlearn
Listen to more episodes:
Grownlearn Podcast: https://grownlearn.onpodium.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1bUIDGbSQl4BlHeNeeJfva
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/at/podcast/grownlearn/id1515759956
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/grownlearn
Learn more about Grownlearn: https://grownlearn.org/
Episode Chapters
00:00 – Podcast Intro & Why Digital Ad Fraud Matters
01:15 – Rich Kahn’s Entrepreneurial Journey
03:50 – How Digital Ad Fraud Works Across Facebook, Google & Partner Networks
08:17 – What Advertisers Should Ask Agencies About Fraud Detection
10:39 – Inside Anura’s Fraud Detection Platform
16:10 – AI Bots, Fake Traffic & the New Era of Ad Fraud
19:49 – Product-Driven Growth & Building Through Relationships
22:49 – Scaling a Self-Funded Company
25:21 – Trade Shows vs Digital Marketing
27:00 – The $160B Fraud Problem & the Future of Clean Traffic
In this episode of Grownlearn, host Zorina Dimitrova speaks with Rich Kahn, CEO of Anura, a digital ad fraud prevention platform protecting more than 2 million websites. Rich has over 31 years of experience in digital marketing and has built five self-funded multimillion-dollar internet companies.
Rich explains how digital advertising fraud works across platforms such as Facebook, Google, partner networks, affiliate traffic, and programmatic advertising. He also shares why certain channels carry higher fraud risk, how AI-driven bots are changing the fraud landscape, and why clean traffic matters for marketing ROI, ROAS, and long-term business growth.
We discuss how Anura detects fraudulent traffic in real time by collecting more than 800 data points, why companies often discover fraud only after performance starts to break down, and what founders, marketers, agencies, SaaS companies, eCommerce brands, and investors should understand before scaling paid advertising.
Beyond ad fraud prevention, Rich also shares his entrepreneurial journey: building multiple companies without outside funding, scaling through product-driven growth, developing enterprise relationships, and why face-to-face business development through trade shows still works.
This episode is especially relevant for founders, marketers, agencies, eCommerce businesses, SaaS companies, investors, and anyone spending money on digital advertising.
Guest: Rich Kahn, CEO of Anura
Host: Zorina Dimitrova, Strategic Growth & Capital Advisor and host of Grownlearn
Listen to more episodes:
Grownlearn Podcast: https://grownlearn.onpodium.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1bUIDGbSQl4BlHeNeeJfva
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/at/podcast/grownlearn/id1515759956
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/grownlearn
Learn more about Grownlearn: https://grownlearn.org/
Episode Chapters
00:00 – Podcast Intro & Why Digital Ad Fraud Matters
01:15 – Rich Kahn’s Entrepreneurial Journey
03:50 – How Digital Ad Fraud Works Across Facebook, Google & Partner Networks
08:17 – What Advertisers Should Ask Agencies About Fraud Detection
10:39 – Inside Anura’s Fraud Detection Platform
16:10 – AI Bots, Fake Traffic & the New Era of Ad Fraud
19:49 – Product-Driven Growth & Building Through Relationships
22:49 – Scaling a Self-Funded Company
25:21 – Trade Shows vs Digital Marketing
27:00 – The $160B Fraud Problem & the Future of Clean Traffic
Comments & Upvotes