Medium: Reaching Profitability while The Internet is Broken + CorePod | E2003
This Week in Startups
Navigating the Challenges of Hardware Startups
This chapter explores the complexities of entering the hardware industry, highlighting funding challenges and the necessity of user engagement for product development. The discussion wraps up with an invitation for audience participation and appreciation for shared creativity.
This Week in Startups is brought to you by…
Notion. Notion Projects combines project management with your docs, knowledge base, and AI. Try notion projects for free at notion.com/twist
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OpenPhone. Create business phone numbers for you and your team that work through an app on your smartphone or desktop. TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/twist
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Timestamps:
(0:00) Tony Stubblebine of Medium joins Alex.
(3:10) The broken internet and ad-based models
(5:57) Impact of AI on content creation and platform quality
(10:01) Medium's curation and financial model
(11:18) Notion - Try notion projects for free at https://www.notion.so/twist
(18:23) Medium's growth, geographic expansion, and AI translation
(20:02) Brex - Get the business account trusted by 1 in 3 US startups at https://www.brex.com/twist24
(22:05) AI-driven media platforms and the impact of AI spam
(29:32) OpenPhone - TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/twist
(30:59) Medium's subscriber growth and financial milestones
(34:35) AI data exclusivity and challenges in forming training data cohorts
(41:26) Medium's venture scale potential, profitability, and mission
(45:17) CEO's mindset and financial scaling towards 10 million subscribers
(50:41) Tony's personal use of AI in his workflow
(53:24) Future of AI in practical applications and business model disruption
(57:09) Organizing content and the challenge of integrating different formats
(1:02:19) Growth potential of niche markets and Medium's independence
(1:06:23) Jam with JCal! Introduction to Ulan Abdurazakov and CorePod
(1:07:27) Corepod product discussion and go-to-market strategy
(1:17:23) Jason Calacanis's advice on testing and market validation
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Check out Medium: https://medium.com/
Check out CorePod: https://www.corepod.tech/
Enter the Jam with JCal contest: https://www.jamwithjcal.tech
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Follow Tony:
X: https://x.com/tonystubblebine
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonystubblebine/
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Follow Ulan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ulanbek-abdurazakov/
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Follow Alex:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm
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Thank you to our partners:
(11:18) Notion - Try notion projects for free at notion.com/twist
(20:02) Brex - Get the business account trusted by 1 in 3 US startups at https://www.brex.com/twist24
(29:32) OpenPhone - TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/twist
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Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
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Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis
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Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com
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