How to Build a Media Business in 2023

Our guest today is Adam Ryan, the founder of Workweek. At Colossus, we're big fans of Workweek. We've hosted the Wolf of Franchises for an excellent Business Breakdown on Orangetheory and I'm an avid reader of Adam's Perpetual newsletter. For this conversation, we discuss the ongoing shift towards individuals over institutions, how media companies might solve the business model challenge that currently plagues the industry, and where we are in the niche media cycle. Everyone seems to love B2B media, but is that really everyone? Please enjoy my conversation with Adam and then stay tuned for my debrief with Dom.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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Show Notes

(00:01:08) - (First question) - Institution building allows scale and market expansion while preserving individual influence 

(00:04:45) - Workweek focuses on individual brands to enhance recognition and attract talent

(00:06:18) - Prioritizing fair pay, early creator partnerships, and career stability

(00:11:03) - Identifying talent requires gauging industry fit, expertise, and ambition

(00:15:22) - Guiding creators in audience growth and amplifying their strengths

(00:19:24) - Influence and market valuation gap is due to business model issues in media

(00:22:28) - Disrupting the media industry by sharing net margins with talent

(00:25:14) - Expanding with talent search and franchise financial planning platforms

(00:27:35) - Creating shared entities with tailored cap structures for long-term alignment

(00:28:54) - Substack has simplified content creation, but their business model has flaws

(00:31:12) - Incentivized growth can lead to misleading metrics and detrimental ecosystem effects

(00:34:55) - Niche media is still in its early innings with high barriers to entry

(00:39:34) - Rising tide lifts all boats in the content industry, not winner take all

(00:42:40) - Newsletters drive intention, podcasts engage

(00:43:25) - Companies that stand out to him moving forward

(00:45:42) - The optionality of building complementary businesses exists for those with audience retention

(00:48:10) - Debrief