The Rebooting Show Building a post-scale media company
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Dec 4, 2025 Jasper Wang, COO and co-founder of Defector, a worker-owned sports media company, delves into the unique structure of Defector that emerged from the Deadspin walkout. He discusses the cooperative governance model and its impact on stability, boasting zero turnover over five years. The conversation covers challenges like subscriber ceilings and ideological limits on growth, while highlighting the benefits of worker ownership for fostering trust and collaboration. With insights on revenue diversification and support for journalist collectives, Jasper offers a refreshing take on the future of independent media.
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Stable, Purposeful Growth Over Hockey Sticks
- Defector is a subscription-first, worker-owned cooperative that avoided outside investment and values stability over rapid growth.
- Jasper expects subscription growth to top out near their current scale and focuses on other revenue streams instead.
Retention Strong, Acquisition Lags
- Retention improved in years four and five while acquisition slowed, creating a subscription ceiling for the current model.
- Jasper views a mid-40k subscriber base as plausible near-term scale given their governance and choices.
Choose Governance Before Growth
- Prioritize job stability and worker ownership over external growth if those are core company goals.
- Accept slower scaling as the trade-off for reduced risk and collective decision-making.