Alexis Grant — How to Build Content Operations Teams to Scale and Sell

“More than half of the people I talk to are burned out and that's why they want to sell. And if you're burned out, it's not too late because you can still sell the business, but it's not the optimal time.”

— Alexis Grant

This week Sachit (@sachitgupta) chats with Alexis Grant (@alexiskgrant) Founder & CEO of They Got Acquired — a media company that features acquisitions of online businesses and the founders behind them.

Previously, she was EVP of Content at The Penny Hoarder, a personal finance media brand, where she worked alongside the founder as the third employee to scale the company’s content operations. She also founded The Write Life, an online community for writers she sold in 2021.

Lexi began her career as a reporter at the Houston Chronicle and U.S. News & World Report, before growing a boutique content marketing agency, which was acquired by The Penny Hoarder in 2015. She lives with husband and two young kids in Harpers Ferry, WV.

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(02:49) - Experience and highlights from building content teams

(04:41) - How big the content side of Penny hoarder got

(05:24) - Is the company a media company?

(06:40) - Ways to monetize before advertising

(09:07) - Her fav content niches / companies that got acquired

(11:22) - Elements to think about when determining how to position or frame a media site — How to monetize or set up to sell 

(12:49) - Lessons from research she did on how media companies can be sold

(14:56) - How much a content site would sell for

(17:37) - What should creators do to monetize their audience and content, properly?

(20:28)  - How creators can sell their businesses

(22:23) - The process from buyers reaching out, to finally selling the company

(23:57) - At what point should you hire lawyers, agents and other people?

(26:13) - The most common mistakes everyone was making, in terms of selling their business

(28:34) - Things you should have in order before going down the path to sell

(34:32) - Is it possible to sell some of the pieces of business that are burning out the owners?

(39:01) - Other things creators should be thinking about during the process of selling the business

(40:10) - Will increasing revenue using services, increase the multiple?

(44:39) - How does one start building a team?

(46:59) - What Lexi’s team looks like

(49:04) - At scale version, what does the team look like?

(51:42) - What do editors do?

(53:29) - Principles creators should know about while building a team

(56:14) - Commonalities in great hires

(58:54) - Tips on training and managing creative talent

(1:00:28) - Things they have taken from writing, to podcasting

(1:02:46) - How much of an investment it takes to grow from good to great, in terms of podcasting and content

(1:03:08) - AI-generated content and where it’s going to go

(01:05:06) - Finding the voice for your writing and newsletter

(01:06:51) - Alexis’s three favorite creators

(01:08:29) - What it means to be a conscious creator

(01:09:09) - What she is most excited about in the next 5-10 years