Michael Girdley on Incubating Media Businesses

Michael Girdley, CEO of an 11-business holding company and Sean Linehan, CEO at Exec and Squad join Erik Torenberg to talk about the unique approach to incubating businesses, the importance of leveraging media presence, and understanding the intricacies of modern media and business strategies. Grow and monetize your newsletter with Beehiiv: head to https://Beehiiv.com and use code “EMPIRES” for 20% off your first three months.

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LINKS:

Girdley Enterprise: https://www.girdley.com/

Subscribe to the Media Empires Newsletter: https://media-empires.beehiiv.com/

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X / TWITTER:

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

@girdley (Michael)

@seanlinehan (Sean)

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(00:57) Michael’s journey from Silicon Valley to Texas

(02:58) High upside potential ventures

(04:25) Team-first approach to business incubation

(06:26) Art of incubation: Lessons learned

(09:52) Role of distribution in business success

(13:21) Building a media business

(17:16) Branches under Michael Girdley’s media

(19:37) Sponsors: Beehiiv and Metaview

(21:45) Ideas and consistency of media contents

(23:40) Hiring and incentivizing a CEO for media ventures

(26:02) Setting up early compensation structures

(27:05) Understanding phantom stock and profit interest

(28:14) Commitment levels for CEOs

(29:52) Reality of the HoldCo model

(32:38) Evaluating business opportunities

(34:17) Building trust with CEOs

(39:04) Raising capital and ownership structures

(46:02) Negative stigma on incubators

(48:26) Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

(53:37) Common mistakes in scaling content

(55:06) Wrap

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This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.