E5: "The Business of Building a B2B Media Company" | Sean Griffey, Industry Dive
"Media Empires" | The Business of Newsletters, Podcasts, Creators, and Data Acquisition
Shownotes Transcript
Erik Torenberg sits down with Sean Griffey, CEO and Co-founder of Industry Dive, a business journalism company that reaches 14 million executives across 32 publications, and was acquired by Informa for $525 million. Riverside.fm is a presenting sponsor of Media Empires. Go to https://creators.riverside.fm/MediaEmpires) + use code MEDIAEMPIRES for 20% off individual plans.
In this conversation, Erik and Sean discuss the story of how Industry Dive came to be, how Sean evaluates acquisition deals and talent in the media space, and what Sean would do differently if he started building Industry Dive in 2023.
Media Empires is part of the Turpentine podcast network. To learn more: www.turpentine.co)
SPONSOR:
Head to Beehiiv, the newsletter platform built for growth, to power your own. Connect with premium brands, scale your audience, and deliver a beautiful UX that stands out in an inbox. 🐝to https://Beehiiv.com) and use code "EMPIRES" for 20% off your first three months.
We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com).
RECOMMENDED PODCAST:
🎙️**ECON 102 W/ NOAH SMITH - **Keeping econ entertaining - Noahpinion author Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg break down business news and politics every week.
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1696419056)
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6q7Gn5lP8TTtBPuV1NJSGs)
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Episode Preview
(01:13) Sponsor: Riverside.fm
(02:29) The story of Industry Dive
(04:58) The evolution of business media
(07:05) What did everyone miss in the consumer media space?
(08:17) Business media models and their tradeoffs
(12:27) Industry Dive's value prop
(15:34) How Sean evaluates acquisition deals
(18:40) Choosing a media platform
(22:35) What Sean would do differently if he started Industry Dive today
(28:22) Sean's dream acquisition
(29:42) Building a viable initial audience
(34:12) Substack
(36:56) Data worth collecting and evaluating in media
(40:42) Advice for evaluating talent in media
LINKS:
IndustryDive: https://www.industrydive.com/
TWITTER:
@seangriffey (Sean)
@industrydive (Industry Dive)
@eriktorenberg (Erik)
@MediaEmpiresPod (Media Empires)