The AMO Show

Tim Hart is President of the Americas at Arc, the EagleTree-backed B2B events, data, and media platform that has done nine acquisitions in four years and now generates roughly $130 million in revenue across HR, education, financial services, and agriculture. In this conversation, Tim walks through how Arc is organized — a three-layer structure of platforms, communities, and shared services — and makes the case that the post-COVID value in B2B media has permanently shifted away from events-only toward a year-round content and connections model. He gets specific: Arc's revenue is 60% events, 30% marketing services, and 10% memberships and subscriptions, with the subscription line as the fastest-growing segment and a target to double it. Tim breaks down the Touchpoint Markets deal — an unusual intra-PE transfer that brought first-party data and lead gen capabilities into Arc and pushed marketing services revenue from 20% to 30% — the economics of geo-adapting HR Tech Conference from Las Vegas to Amsterdam, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi, and the real P&L behind a $500K hosted buyer summit running at 60–65% gross margin. He also explains why, after running M&A at UBM through the "Events First" era and the £4 billion Informa merger, he believes that strategy was a moment in time — and why Arc is deliberately building the opposite.Timestamps:00:00:00 — Intro 00:01:50 — Tim's career thread: UBM, Informa, Emerald, and why he joined Arc 00:04:13 — Arc's thesis: why these verticals belong together and how the platform is organized 00:14:44 — The subscription bet: DA+, ThinkAdvisor, Credit Union Times Pro, and the push from 10% to 20% 00:18:23 — Inside a hosted buyer summit: $500K revenue at 60–65% gross margin 00:22:06 — Geo-adapting HR Tech from Las Vegas to Amsterdam, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi 00:28:18 — Deal-making lessons from UBM, the Informa integration, and what goes wrong 00:36:30 — Evaluating acquisitions: pricing, founder expectations, and what changes post-close 00:40:35 — The Touchpoint deal: intra-PE mechanics and what the capabilities actually brought to Arc 00:51:13 — Organic growth, launches, and why Arc hasn't done a deal in a year 00:56:35 — Arc by the numbers: $130M revenue, mid-20s EBITDA, and where AI is driving margin 01:02:03 — The exit thesis, the "clean story" question, and why Events First was a moment in time 01:09:39 — Advice for operators and what Tim is obsessed with right now

Five years ago, Jason Yanowitz came on the AMO Show running a bootstrapped crypto media and events company doing $25 million in revenue. Since then, he's cut the news division, killed a conference brand, turned over half the company, and rebuilt Blockworks into a data and software platform now valued at $192 million. In this conversation, Jason walks through exactly how that transition happened, what the revenue actually looks like, why his investors asked him to strip media off the P&L, and why he thinks the Substack era is "mostly cope."Chapters:00:00 — Introduction 01:33 — From media company to data platform 06:39 — Cutting news, Permissionless, and half the company 09:33 — Why enterprises replaced investors as the customer 12:44 — Raising at a $192M valuation 18:41 — The three products explained 24:59 — Three-sided monetization and usage-based pricing 32:07 — Are podcasts and events still revenue lines? 37:05 — Should Blockworks kill advertising entirely? 40:00 — The future of news, AI, and print 55:49 — Why Permissionless got cut 58:16 — DAS as an ARR growth engine 01:01:49 — ~$40M ARR, path to $100M by 2028 01:05:32 — M&A: rolling up 50 crypto data companies 01:10:30 — The IPO path 01:13:25 — Why the Substack era is cope 01:14:51 — Advice for operators

Jacob sits down with Jeff Mancini, CEO of Arizent — the B2B information company behind American Banker, The Bond Buyer, Financial Planning, Accounting Today, and three other financial and professional services brands. Jeff joined the company (then SourceMedia) in 2018 as Chief Strategy Officer and took over as CEO in late 2023. In a detailed, numbers-rich conversation, Jeff breaks down how he flipped the revenue mix from 60% marketing services to nearly 50% subscriptions, why he's betting on role-based intelligence products and unlimited enterprise licensing, and how he's centralizing AI operations after watching decentralized experimentation remind him of the early dot-com era. He also shares the post-COVID events mistake that killed a flagship show — and the 30% EBITDA margins and 33% EBITDA growth the business posted last year.

Takeaways:Rafat Ali discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally transformed his approach to financial resilience and operational strategy.The evolution of Skift's events business towards a more intelligence-driven model is a response to post-pandemic market demands.A key focus for Skift is embracing AI technologies to enhance efficiency and profitability across various business operations.Rafat highlights the necessity of adapting staffing strategies in the context of an increasingly AI-driven workforce.The conversation reveals that Skift has shifted its revenue model, with an emphasis on sponsorships over ticket sales in events.Rafat emphasizes the importance of human connections in business, advocating for a growing focus on events and networking opportunities.

Takeaways:In our discussion, we addressed the strategic rationale behind HubSpot's acquisitions of media companies, emphasizing the importance of building valuable content properties that cater to high-intent audiences.Jonathan Hunt articulated the significance of measuring the effectiveness of media channels, particularly newsletters and YouTube, in generating software customers for HubSpot's offerings.We explored the notion that audience development has transformed into a more collaborative effort between content creators and businesses, aiming to maximize engagement and revenue generation.The integration of AI technology into the content production process has allowed HubSpot Media to enhance efficiency, enabling the rapid creation and distribution of diverse content formats across multiple platforms.We discussed the necessity for media companies to pivot towards a focus on intent-driven content, rather than merely chasing impressions, in order to foster deeper audience relationships.Jonathan Hunt highlighted the importance of allowing creators the autonomy to drive content direction, as their familiarity with audience preferences often leads to more authentic and engaging material.

Mike Rothman, the President of The Dispatch, engages in an enlightening dialogue with moderator Jacob Donnelly regarding the intricate dynamics of operating a subscription-based media entity amidst the evolving landscape of news consumption. Central to our discussion is the strategic interplay between advertising and member subscriptions, as Rothman elucidates how The Dispatch deftly navigates the challenges of maintaining a membership-first model while incorporating advertising without compromising subscriber value. We delve into the implications of acquiring SCOTUS Blog, which symbolizes a bold step in expanding The Dispatch's influence and content offerings. Furthermore, Rothman shares insights into the company's growth trajectory, marked by a significant uptick in subscriptions and revenue, alongside a commitment to enhancing engagement through innovative events and community-building initiatives. This episode offers a profound examination of the current state and future aspirations of The Dispatch, emphasizing the importance of credibility and thoughtful content in a polarized media environment.Takeaways:The Dispatch operates with a subscription-first model, balancing advertising without compromise.Mike Rothman emphasizes the importance of a direct relationship with customers in media.Significant growth in subscriptions has been achieved through strategic marketing and conversion efforts.The Dispatch aims to expand its B2B offerings, particularly in the legal sector, after acquiring SCOTUS Blog.Community-driven events, known as Juntos, foster deeper member engagement and participation.The overall vision for The Dispatch is to become a household name while maintaining its core values.

The dialogue between Jacob Donnelly and Louise White, CEO of Sift, encapsulates critical insights into the evolution of a media and events company specializing in the accounting sector. White elucidates her journey from a non-executive director to the helm of Sift, highlighting the company's strategic shift from a subscription-based model to a robust focus on events and marketing services. This change, she argues, was necessitated by the realization that the subscription model was not yielding the desired market engagement or financial returns. Instead, Sift is now poised to leverage its deep-rooted community engagement and proprietary data to drive growth and profitability through events that foster genuine connections within the accounting industry. White's perspective on pricing as a pivotal lever for business growth further underscores her strategic acumen, as she advocates for a pricing model that reflects the true value delivered to clients. Her insights into the operational transformations at Sift provide a blueprint for other media businesses navigating similar challenges in a rapidly changing market landscape.Takeaways:Louise White emphasizes the significance of community engagement and data-driven insights in transforming Sift's business model.The decision to cease the paid subscription service reflects Sift's strategic shift towards enhancing event-driven revenue streams.Effective pricing strategies are crucial for profitability, as they serve as a primary lever for business growth and sustainability.Louise White advocates for understanding customer needs to provide tailored solutions, fostering long-term relationships with clients.Sift's events business has experienced a remarkable growth trajectory, showcasing the value of personalized engagement with vendors and attendees.The importance of continuous transformation in business emphasizes building value through strategic decisions and innovative service offerings.

Paul Miller, the CEO of Questex, articulates the transformative potential of the B2B media and events industry in this insightful discussion. He explores the pivotal notion that 2026 may herald a significant shift in the mergers and acquisitions landscape, emphasizing Questex's commitment to a mixed model that synergizes media and events. The conversation delves into the strategic rationale behind reducing the number of annual events, shifting focus towards quality and impact, and adapting to evolving market demands. With an eye on both organic growth and acquisitions, Miller outlines Questex's proactive approach to maintaining relevance and driving innovation in sectors such as life sciences and healthcare. The episode culminates in an examination of the company’s robust growth trajectory, underscoring its resilience in an ever-evolving marketplace.

This podcast episode features an in-depth conversation with Devin Emery, President of Morning Brew Inc., who elucidates the transformative journey of the company from a singular daily newsletter to a multifaceted media entity. The central theme revolves around the strategic evolution of Morning Brew's consumer business, particularly its innovative pivot towards a creator-led portfolio. Emery articulates how the organization has effectively partnered with creators to enhance brand engagement and expand its multimedia presence, while also addressing the challenges faced by other media companies in making similar transitions. Throughout the discourse, we delve into the financial dynamics underpinning this evolution, exploring the intricate balance between revenue generation and maintaining the brand's core identity amidst rapid growth. Emery's insights reflect a keen awareness of the changing landscape of media consumption and the imperative for companies to adapt to sustain relevance and profitability.Takeaways:The evolution of Morning Brew's consumer business is a striking example of successful adaptation in a competitive media landscape.Devin Emery emphasizes the importance of aligning creator partnerships with the core values of the Morning Brew brand.The transition from a newsletter-focused strategy to a multimedia approach has presented unique challenges and opportunities for Morning Brew.Understanding audience engagement metrics is crucial for maintaining the integrity of the brand amidst a rapidly changing media environment.Morning Brew's strategic focus on first-party data is a key differentiator in enhancing advertiser relationships and generating insights.Maintaining the essence of the brand while expanding into new content areas is essential for sustainable growth and audience retention.

Episode SummaryJacob sits down with Craig Fuller, founder and CEO of Firecrown — a media holding company built around legacy print brands including Flying, Boating, Trains, Model Railroader, and Astronomy, alongside the B2B data powerhouse FreightWaves. In a candid, wide-ranging conversation, Craig pulls back the curtain on the bruising lessons of rapid M&A, the founder's rock-bottom moment that changed everything, and why he believes owning audiences — not renting them — is the ultimate media business model.What We CoverHow Firecrown was born — Craig's journey from launching FreightWaves as a venture-backed freight data company to spinning out its media arm and rolling it into a print magazine empireThe 2025 reckoning — What happened when Craig did 20 acquisitions in 3 years and the infrastructure cracked under the weightThe marine business miscalculation — How buying Active Interest Media's marine portfolio the week before a 20% revenue drop forecast exposed deep operational blind spotsGoing "founder mode" — The Saturday Craig didn't get off the couch, and how a podcast with his dad snapped him out of itThe $9.2M cost cut — How Craig got ruthless from July onward and slashed nearly $10M in expenses in the second half of 2025Why salespeople tied to brands — not companies — is a massive problem in media roll-upsThe Sonar data business — Why FreightWaves is "the Bloomberg of freight" and what it will take to get to a $50–100M ARR exitThe "Bloomberg Option" — The clever deal structure that keeps FreightWaves media and data separate but reversible for future buyersPath to $1B in revenue by 2030 — The compounding math behind Firecrown's acquisition strategy and why Craig's family office financing is a cheat codeAI in media — but not where you think — Why the real opportunity isn't content generation, it's back-office automationVibe coding as an operational superpower — How Craig's team built an internal contributor management app in a week using Replit, saving $1.8M annuallyThe secret teaser: a "Landman for trucking" — Craig hints at a Hollywood-style freight drama series in the worksKey TakeawaysOn acquisitions without a playbook: "We were opportunistic, but we didn't have a system for buying businesses and integrating them. We let these businesses run on their own. That creates a lot of cultural problems and resentment."On working in vs. on the business: "All too often we work in the company and not on the company. You're afraid of admitting your business has problems. You have to get outside of it and realize it."On AI and media: "Everyone talks about AI replacing editorial. I don't think that's where the opportunity is. The opportunity is in the back office — the operating systems that encompass all these technologies."On the unit economics of scale: "At $2M in revenue, the best case is you pay yourself. You don't start to get economies of scale until about $10M top line."On patient capital: "The limitation is ultimately: can we execute, and can we finance it? Those are the only two things that hold any business back from growth."About Craig FullerCraig Fuller is the founder and CEO of Firecrown, a media holding company that owns enthusiast print and digital brands across aviation, marine, trains, and astronomy. He is also founder of FreightWaves, a B2B freight data and media company often called "the Bloomberg of freight," and its flagship data product Sonar. Craig has built Firecrown from $9M to $60M in revenue in roughly two years through aggressive M&A, and is targeting $1B by 2030.Links & ResourcesA Media Operator — amediaoperator.comFirecrown — firecrown.comFreightWaves — freightwaves.comSonar (FreightWaves data product) — sonar.freightwaves.comFlying Magazine — flyingmag.comTimestamps00:00 — Introduction: Craig's origin story and the FreightWaves pitch that started it all02:06 — What is Firecrown? The print roll-up thesis explained06:32 — 2025: The year the wheels came off08:46 — The marine business acquisition that went sideways immediately12:14 — Going founder mode: Craig takes a no-prisoners approach to costs14:04 — The M&A trap: inheriting old problems plus your own16:58 — Consolidating sales teams and why individual brand-tied reps kill efficiency43:23 — The emotional toll: "It was a brutal year"45:41 — Lessons from Mark Zuckerberg and Peter Thiel on founder control47:18 — The FreightWaves / Sonar split explained56:07 — The "Bloomberg Option": structuring a reversible transaction01:05:07 — How Sonar built its proprietary freight data moat01:08:23 — Sonar's exit path: why $50–100M ARR is the target01:10:36 — Firecrown's path to $1B: compounding through M&A01:11:03 — AI in media: the back-office opportunity nobody's talking about01:17:02 — Vibe coding: how Craig's team built a $1.8M savings app in a week01:23:50 — Founder advice: working on your business, not in it01:28:36 — The big tease: a Hollywood freight drama seriesBecome an AMO Pro member for deeper analysis and access: amediaoperator.com

My guest this week is Tagg Henderson, co-CEO of BNP Media, a b2b media company operating in a variety of different niches. In this 40 minute conversation, we talked about how the business got its start, the 90 day pivot from print to digital that happened during 2020, the various revenue streams including advertising, events, research, and continuing education, the new agency that they brought on about a year ago and how that helps the business, and where he sees the business going from here. I hope you enjoy our discussion.

My guest this week is Phillip Jackson, co-founder and CEO of Future Commerce. In this hour long conversation, we talked about how the brand got its start, the various revenue streams across advertising, subscriptions, learning, insights, and events, why they can accomplish all of this with a very lean team, and where he sees the brand going from here. Future Commerce is doing things differently than other b2b media companies, but I think that is to their advantage. I hope you enjoy our discussion.

My guest this week is Curtis Cord, the founder and editor in chief of Olive Oil Times. In this 35 minute conversation, we talked about how the business got its start, its expansion into launching the NY World Olive Oil Competition, its education business where it holds sommelier courses in New York and London, and why he feels so passionately about making sure his various websites load as quickly as possible. This episode was a reminder to me that there are possible media niches in all places. I hope you enjoy our discussion.

My guest this week is Eric Hoffman, CEO of Hoffman Media, a publisher that publishes a number of publications targeting women and southern living. We talked about how the business first got its start, why they charge what they do for subscriptions, the five figure experiences business they have, and so much more.

My guest this week is Kat Craddock, the editor-in-chief and CEO of Saveur, a publication that she acquired from Recurrent Ventures a little over one year ago. In this episode, we dove into how the deal happened, how she financed it, why they reintroduced a print product, and so much more.

My guest this week is Richard Lander, Director at Citywire, a UK-based media company that serves the asset management and wealth industries. In this 40 minute conversation, we talked about the various parts of the business, why the pandemic ultimately killed the print business, their events model, the various ways they generate revenue from licensing, and an interesting intent-based product they call Goldmine. I hope you enjoy this discussion.

This week we have a special edition of the AMO Podcast with Todd Handy, the chief revenue officer at SEBPO, a leading global outsourcing partner that serves the advertising, media, and technology industries. In this discussion, we dig into how companies should properly think about outsourcing, the scale, save, and succeed framework, how to overcome or avoid the common mistakes and fears in outsourcing, and why media companies need to be thinking about dual transformation. I hope you enjoy this discussion.

My guest this week is Jim VandeHei, co-founder and CEO of Axios. In this hour long conversation, we talked about the importance of advertising for the main business and why they never paywalled that, the company’s expansion into niche subscriptions, events, local news, entertainment, and software, how they've structured the team to build these various division. We also dug into a couple of M&A what-ifs tied to Politico and The Athletic, and then ended with his new book, Just the Good Stuff. I hope you enjoy our discussion.

My guest this week is Andrew Perlman, co-founder and CEO of Recurrent. In this 45 minute conversation, we talked about the firm’s M&A strategy, their thesis on content to commerce and the various revenue sources, how they are thinking about platforms cutting into traffic to publisher sites, and how they’ve structured the teams with various GMs across the portfolio. I hope you enjoy our discussion.

My guest this week is Andy Cates, the President and founding Chair of Memphis Fourth Estate, a 501(c)(3) that launched and operates The Daily Memphian. In this conversation, we talked about why The Daily Memphian care so much about reaching break even on operating revenue versus purely fundraising, the inherent challenges they have raising money from national journalism funders due to this belief in building sustainably, how they’ve thought about growth over the six years of its existence, and so much more. I hope you enjoy our discussion.

My guest this week is Stephanie Kaplan Lewis, co-founder and CEO of Her Campus Media, a network of brands that serve college students across thousands of colleges. In this conversation, we dug into the early days of the business, the various advertising products they take to market, how they think about the inevitable graduation of their audience, and where they see the business going from here. I hope you enjoy our discussion.

My guest this week is Isaac Saul, founder of Tangle, a media company that tries to summarize the best arguments from across the political spectrum. In this hour-long conversation, we talked about the brand's exceptional free to paid conversion rate, where they are exploring advertising and events, the major headwinds the brand and all political media is dealing with, and how he plans to overcome it.

My guest this week is Ellen Hyslop, co-founder of The Gist, a fan-first sports media brand based out of Canada (but serving the United States). In this episode, we talked about the early days of the business, what sorts of growth tactics they used when first starting versus what now works, how their user onboarding impacts the types of content that readers see, the various ad products they take to market, and where the business goes from here.

Brian Van Heuverswyn is the chief operating officer at Active Interest Media, a portfolio of enthusiast brands, including Power & Motoryacht, Fine Gardening, Woodsmith, and so many more. In this conversation, we talk about how AIM came to be, the most recent Taunton Press acquisition, the move toward digital, and so much more.

Scott Jamieson is the CEO (COO when recording) of Annex Business Media, a network of b2b publications headquartered in Canada. In this episode, we talked about how Annex came to be along with him finding himself running the business, how the brands of Annex are stronger when united, and how they have made the transition from being predominately print to offering some very innovative digital ad products.

Mitch Bettis is the owner and President of both Arkansas Business Publishing Group and 360 West Magazine in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. In this episodewe discuss how he came to own Arkansas Business, how the business has evolved from generating predominantly print revenue to diversified sources, the various consumer and b2b brands that he owns, and why he believes time tracking is so important.

Sam Parr is the co-founder, a highly vetted membership community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs. As he articulates it, Hampton has the ability to one day become a $100m+ business. In this episode, we talked about why he felt there was an opportunity here, how they admit new members and build the monthly core groups, and his advice for operators to charge more for their products.

Earlier this month, Tim Hartman, CEO of GovExec, and I took the stage at Omeda's Idea Exchange to do a live recording of the podcast. This is the outcome of that conversation. We talked about what it was like closing on the GovExec deal only days after the Covid-19 lockdowns had taken place. We also talked about how the company has acquired and integrated various other companies. Finally, we dug into the different aspects of GovExec's business model.

Chris Ferrell is the founder and CEO of Endeavor Business Media, a b2b media company growing unbelievably quickly. His original goal? Hit $100 million in revenue. When that happened years faster than anticipated, he set a new goal: hit $100m in EBITDA. In this episode, we talked about how they have grown through acquisition, how they force all acquired companies onto the same technology stack, and how he sees market research becoming as big a part of the business as media.

Alexis Grant is the founder of They Got Acquired, a recently launched publication that covers digital companies acquired in the $100k to $50m range. In this conversation, we dug into the early decisions Alexis made when launching, how sponsorships took the business by surprise, and how they are planning to really monetize the business.

Dan Runcie is the founder of Trapital, a publication dedicated to the business of hip hop. In this conversation, we discussed how he had to put his CEO hat on to make the decision to shut the paid subscription down versus listening to the emotional side, how he thinks about the brand evolving in connection with him, and where he sees the business growing from here.

Scott Gerber is the co-founder and CEO of Community.co, which partners with media companies to create high-priced professional communities. In this conversation, we discussed what goes into making a great community, why it has become such a big buzzword in the market today, and how people should think about growing.

Arsalan Arif is the co-founder and publisher of Endpoints News, a media company that covers the massive biopharma world. During this episode, we discussed the unique subscription they offer, the various events products they bring to market, and why his advice to media operators is not to get into media unless you really love it.

Adam Ryan is the co-founder and CEO of Workweek, a new media company that brings together creators in different industries. During this episode, we discussed how the business got started, the long-term vision for the business, why new entrants into the newsletters space will likely never be able to compete with Morning Brew or The Hustle and so much more.

Amanda Hesser is the co-founder and CEO of Food52, a media, and commerce brand dedicated to the wonderful world of food. With a blend of content and commerce, Food52 has become one of the most impactful brands in the food industry and is now growing to touch more parts of the home.

Naomi Shah is the founder and CEO of Meet Cute, an audio romcom media company. With a focus on creating consistent 15-minute episodes versus trying to aim for hits, Meet Cute is building a robust catalog of IP that the company could use in the future for exciting opportunities.During this episode, we talked about a lot, but a few things jumped out to me…On consistency vs. hitsFor many studios, the goal is to create a hit. They create a few big projects every year with the hope that when one is released, people will flock to it and it’ll be an economic success.That’s not Meet Cute’s approach. Instead, the team strives to consistently deliver on its proposition: a 15-minute romcom audio episode. It doesn’t deviate from consistently delivering that product to people.The benefit here is that the listener builds a relationship with the Meet Cute brand while the company is less dependent on any one piece of content being a savior of the business. I like the consistency over hits approach.On IP and monetizationThe easy road for monetizing would be throwing a quick ad in the beginning of an episode. But for a 15 minute show, a 30-60 second ad eats up a lot of time.Instead, they are looking at all the IP they’re creating as an opportunity to monetize down the line. Consider opportunities like merchandise tied to specific characters. As people fall in love with them, they’ll want to represent those characters.Another opportunity is taking these audio stories and turning them into videos. Could they take their IP and partner with Netflix to create a movie or limited series? When you own valuable IP, your means of monetization are endless.On using data to inform decisionsWhile there is definitely a limited amount of data in audio, some of what they look for is how far into an episode a user got, how many actually completed the full episode, and how many went on to additional episodes.With that limited data, they are able to push that back into their writing flywheel. For example, if they’ve found that cliffhangers often work, that might become part of their strategy going forward.

Mario Gabriele is the founder of The Generalist, a tech publication that tells stories about companies from idea to IPO. The company is new, but he has learned quite a bit about launching a paid subscription and the early days of building a community.

Jesse Jacobs and Mike Kerns are co-founders of The Chernin Group, an investment firm known for their involvement in companies including Barstool Sports, Food52, MeatEater, and so many more. Part of the reason they have found such success is because they have been diligent with executing their thesis.

David Nemetz is the GM of Culture & Innovation at Bustle Digital Group, overseeing brands including Inverse, Input, and Mic. He is also the former co-founder of Bleacher Report, which unlike many digital media companies that started at a similar time, actually had a successful exit.

Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau is the CEO and Publisher of MIT Technology Review, the oldest technology magazine in the world. Over the past few years, the business has been going through a transformation of building out the tools and processes to run a digital-first media business.

Jason Yanowitz is the co-founder of Blockworks, a media and events company covering the crypto asset space. Originally, the plan was to create an advisory, but multiple iterations later, it is now has a newsroom, a podcast network, and an events business that plans to go physical again in 2021.

Scott Brodbeck is the founder, editor, and publisher of Local News Now, a network of hyperlocal media properties. What started as a single guy with a camera and a police scanner has turned into a media company with a small staff serving the D.C. area through multiple websites, both owned and through partnerships.

Nick Friese is the founder and CEO of Digiday Media, a company with three verticals: Digiday, ModernRetail and Glossy. Friese started the company during the Great Recession and has gone through a tremendous journey building this company with events, membership and marketing services.On building membershipThe membership product at Digiday started primarily as a print product. As Friese explained it, people were comfortable paying for a magazine, so that’s what they sold. And despite costing nearly $200 for four issues, it sold.But as time went on, they started adding other features to the membership, including member-only content and then the metered paywall until now, it’s a much more expensive product at the company.The lessons they’ve learned has been applied to the other verticals where now Glossy and ModernRetail actually have more robust membership offerings that the original at Digiday.On equal numbers of buyers and sellers at eventsA solid number of Digiday’s events are hosted buyer events, where the buyers typically come for free. In exchange for that, the sellers get guaranteed meetings with decision makers.According to Friese, this boils down why people really want to attend events. They’re looking to do business. It’s about meeting your contemporaries.This is also how they think about verticals over all. If you can clearly define the buyers and sellers in an industry, you’ve got the potential for something.On their structure of verticalsFriese has a different approach to the various franchises than other vertical media companies. Each publication has its own writers, editors, marketers and sales people.This is different than how others have done it where the editors and writers are unique to the publication, but everything else is centralized with services spread across all the verticals.In Friese’s mind, each brand has its own very unique image, so he believes it’s important for the majority of the people working on it to be focused exclusively to those brands.

Sherrell Dorsey is the founder and publisher of The Plug, a publication focused on the Black innovation economy. While it started as a morning newsletter she did before going to work, it has now morphed into a media company with original reporting, data, research, events and podcasts.In this show, we discussed a variety of important topics, but a few things jumped out...On quarterly, not monthly pricingThis was an important topic to me. The Plug's membership is sold quarterly or annually, but not monthly. As she said, this runs counter to the habit so many of us have formed paying for subscriptions every month.In her mind, though, a month is just not a long enough time to form a relationship. By extending it to a quarter, she feels that The Plug has enough opportunity to demonstrate value to a reader.It's an important distinction because if we look at when most subscribers churn, it's after the first month. By extending to a quarter, you have more time to form a habit with them and, ideally, keep them engaged for much longer.On not charging a CPMFor most media companies, charging a CPM is how they do things. But in niche media, it's harder. As Dorsey explained, because they don't have scale, they need to price things based on value.Whether it's their podcasts, newsletter sponsorships or other content initiatives, they try to determine how valuable a sponsorship is worth to a partner and then work on pricing from there.On being diversifiedAlthough we didn't explicitly talk about this, The Plug generates revenue through advertising, events, membership fees and has received grants to create new content initiatives.This embodies a core ethos of successful media companies. Those that are overly reliant on a single source—or a single property—carry more risk than those that are well diversified.While The Plug has gone on to raise some money, it's clear in our conversation that Dorsey continues to think very diligently about not overextending the business and ensuring there are multiple streams of revenue.

Mike Orren is the Chief Product Officer at The Dallas Morning News and has called this the pivotal year for local media. With Orren leading, Dallas Morning News has been undergoing a digital transformation, using the revenue generated from the print operation to invest in the online business. In this episode, we talked about a wide variety of topics that you'll find informative and interesting.

John Yedinak is co-founder and President at Aging Media, a vertical media company focused on the business of aging. With so many people retiring every single day and few b2b companies covering the space, John and his brother have grown into multiple verticals over the years and have even more growth ahead of them.

Julia Beizer is Chief Product Officer & Global Head of Digital at Bloomberg Media. While Bloomberg is primarily known for its terminals, the digital team has built a robust media operation that has now added hundreds of thousands of paying subscribers.In this episode, we discussed quite a few different topics, but a few things jumped out to me...On program managers vs. product managersA big mistake that media companies make is that they hire product managers because they need someone to "get stuff done." But as Julia explained, "everyone can get stuff done."What companies are actually looking for is a project or program manager. This is a person who is very focused on the delivery of certain features or initiatives getting out the door.Product management is more expansive. These are people that sit at the intersection of competing business interests: user needs, commercial interests, editorial vision and resources. Product managers synthesize all of these ideas and figure out the best thing to do.On building a revenue optimization systemI call this a revenue server and Julia calls it a revenue optimization system, but they are effectively the same thing. How can media companies look at their users and determine the right way to monetize each visitor?Bloomberg is in the early stages of this and it's pretty manual. A few of her people meet with the subscriber and advertising sides in a meeting called "Project Needle" because they are trying to thread the needle of maximizing revenue on both sides.This refocuses the conversation from RPM (revenue per thousand) to the lifetime value of a user. It's not just about understanding how much a single page makes, but how much a user across the website generates for the business.On advice from Jeff BezosSoon after Bezos acquired The Washington Post, they were discussing a product that was being preinstalled on Kindle Fire devices across the country. They mentioned that they were going to bring the product to user testing.Bezos’ response was, “hey, that’s great and you should obviously get that user feedback, but you also want to think about, do we love it? Do we love this product?”This goes against everything taught in product school, but the lesson Julia has taken to heart is, “if you deeply, deeply understand your customer and get in the mindset of your customer, you’re a good barometer of what the right thing to do is for the business.” 

Ryan Selkis is the co-founder and CEO of Messari, a crypto data and market intelligence platform. Ryan and I go way back with him hiring me at CoinDesk nearly four years to the day. Since then, he has gone on to build an exciting and well respected data and research company in the rapidly evolving world of crypto assets.

Packy McCormick is the writer and creator of the business strategy newsletter, Not Boring. Although he has only been doing this full time since April, it has quickly morphed into a project with a loyal audience and an advertising-driven business model that bucks the trend of many of the newsletters launching today.We discussed a lot about what goes into building these solo products, but a few things jumped out to me...On building a referral systemThe referral system in newsletters has become a favorite way to grow audiences; however, for Substack writers, it doesn’t exist. Packy decided to go around that and build his own, hacked together version of it.The way it works is straight forward… They use a system called GrowSurf that is plugged into a Webflow landing page. GrowSurf manages the whole process of giving unique codes to everybody.When people sign up, he has to download a CSV of the email subscribers and upload them into Substack so they can start receiving the newsletter. So, as Packy says, it’s a manual process.On going ads vs. paid subscriptionMost people who have launched newsletters over the past year have gone all in on subscriptions. I, too, have leaned heavily into subscriptions. Packy, though, opted not to go that direction.Instead, Packy does what a lot of media companies do and sells advertising. He has a couple of different products that range from sponsorships in newsletters to outright, dedicated sponsored content emails.His logic? He wasn’t sure if an audience would be able to justify expensing his newsletter and he preferred seeing the list grow faster with the free newsletter. And so far, he’s been very pleased with the results.On staying focused on your passionEarly in his attempts at building Not Boring, he tried to lean heavily into community. But what he found was this wasn’t the right play for what he was trying to do because he didn’t enjoy it. He preferred to focus on the business strategy side of things.His advice for others is to be very specific about what you want to focus on and continue leaning into this. It allows for more informed conversations with readers and allows you to meet a lot of new people, which is integral to these one-person operations.However, he also advised creators to experiment with different things. There are a variety of ways your specific focus can manifest itself, so be comfortable with those different potential options.

Neil Vogel is CEO of Dotdash, a series of brands across verticals like food, technology finance and others. What started as About.com has morphed into an incredibly profitable, fast-growing media company. Although Neil has poor taste in sports teams, when it comes to running this network, I have to tip my hat.In this episode, we discussed a variety of topics, but a few things jumped out to me…On ad strategy at DotdashWe all have been to that website that causes the fans on our laptops to go into overdrive. Whether it’s popups, pre-rolls, interstitials… You name it, we’ve likely all experienced it.Dotdash bet that by reducing the number of ads on the site—2/3rds of what their competitors might have—that the sites would load faster and that would make people happier. That, in turn, would result in people engaging with the content and ads more.The other part of the strategy is focusing in on contextual advertising. An example Neil shares is if someone is coming for the site on July 2nd and looking for BBQ recipes, they know exactly what type of advertising to deliver to them.On creating great content & SEOThere is no denying that Google drives a decent percentage of traffic to the various Dotdash sites, though Neil qualified that it’s no more or less than most other publishers on the web.However, the way he sees it, the only real “secret” to SEO is doing exactly what Google wants: delivering the absolute best content out there. That’s Google’s business. And so, Dotdash invests millions in creating the absolute best content.But it’s more than just that… In his mind, creating great content is fundamental to the quality of the brands they’re building. I wrote about this on Friday, but because of the quality of the brands built on the great content, he believes people would miss the brands if they went away.On not chasing the shiny thingsSome of the biggest mistakes that they made early on at Dotdash was seeing what other people were doing, knowing that it was the wrong approach, but still trying to do them anyway.The advice that Neil has for prospective operators is to stay focused on what you know works. It’s easy to get distracted by the shiny things and the press other people are getting, but it’s about staying focused on what works.