On the first episode of Media Empires, Erik Torenberg sits down with Morning Brew's CEO Austin Rief to learn his perspective on the future of the media business, the critical elements that determine success, and where he sees the single biggest opportunity to build a media empire. Riverside.fm is a presenting sponsor of Media Empires. Go to https://creators.riverside.fm/MediaEmpires + use code MEDIAEMPIRES for 20% off individual plans. 

This episode was recorded in early spring of 2023, but just as relevant today.

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.

Media Empires is part of the Turpentine podcast network. To learn more: turpentine.co

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

(01:02) Sponsor: https://creators.riverside.fm/MediaEmpires

(02:10) The evolution of Morning Brew at critical junctures

(04:39) How to target your audience

(06:20) Where is the biggest opportunity: super niche or aggregation of niches?

(10:04) Austin’s hopes for media in 2023

(11:35) Why succeeding in media is different than succeeding in startups

(16:12) Data businesses in media

(17:24) B2B in media

(20:52) Austin offers advice for attracting and working with talent

(23:12) Tradeoffs in monetization

(25:00) What is the opportunity in tech media?

(26:50) How Morning Brew picks its categories to cover

(30:00) Building additional businesses on top of a media business

(30:32) How should creators pick platforms?

(36:18) How to think about podcasting

(37:44) How has the course business evolved?

(39:20) How Austin envisions Morning Brew growing

(43:29) How the Morning Brew mafia continues to build out the media ecosystem

LINKS: 

Morning Brew: https://www.morningbrew.com/

TWITTER:

@eriktorenberg

@austin_rief

@morningbrew

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

Thanks to our sponsor Riverside

Go to https://bit.ly/Riverside_MediaEmpires + use code MEDIAEMPIRES for 20% off individual plans.