These briefs are produced by leveraging publicly available data sources and information. If you notice a mistake or see an area for improvement, please let us know through this typeform or via email (team@sandhill.io).

Snapshot

Aleph is a leading global enabler of digital advertising. It connects the largest digital platforms with thousands of advertisers and billions of consumers in emerging and underserved countries. It has commercial and exclusive agreements with over 25 digital platforms including Twitter, Meta, LinkedIn, Snapchat, TikTok, Spotify and Twitch. Aleph also utilizes its global footprint and end-to-end digital advertising solution to enable advertisers in 72 countries to maximize their digital advertising potential. 

It is headquartered in Miami, Florida, and has managed to raise $470M in a single private equity round. It was last valued at $2B.

About Aleph Holding: Website, LinkedIn

Business Overview and Products

Aleph works with leading digital platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Spotify and 15 others. It represents them across 50+ markets in Latin America, Europe and APAC. It helps advertisers maximize the value of their investment through a combination of innovative proprietary technology, digital expertise and local market knowledge. 

The teams at Aleph help brands master the leading digital platforms, bringing them closer to their customers. These services are delivered through Aleph’s portfolio of digital media service brands, which include IMS; Httpool; WISE.BLUE; and Social Snack. 

How It Works

Aleph is a holding company that owns a suite of digital media service companies through which it enables advertising on digital platforms across geographies. The primary focus is on advertising in under-served markets. This suite of companies includes internet media services such as IMS, which focuses on Latin America; and Httpool which focuses on Europe and Asia. It also has Social Snack, a content and creative development agency; and WISE.BLUE, the largest performance tech-API platform for Twitter. Aleph also helps advertisers maximize the value of their investments through partnerships.

Business Model and Pricing

The Aleph business model works with a unique combination of innovative technology, local market knowledge, and trusted relationships with advertisers. Aleph generates revenue by helping corporations and social media companies work with each other in regions mainly outside the US and Europe. According to Aleph’sfounder Gaston Taratuta, roughly 90% of Aleph’s revenue is generated from outside the US. 

Traction

In 2020, Aleph achieved $475M in sales. According to Aleph executives, the company has been on track to double its annual revenue in 2021 to roughly $150M and grow its gross advertising sales to be $1B. It has also catered to more than 20 partners and over 5,000 clients across the US, Latin America, Europe and Asia. It has now also entered the MENA region and increased its presence to over 90 markets in the world.

In 2021, Aleph grew revenues from its top digital platform partners by 190%. Moreover, its list of new clients has grown 26%, serving over 10,000 advertisers globally.

Founder(s)

Gaston Taratuta: Founder and CEO at Aleph. Gaston has 20 years of experience in the digital marketing industry. He founded IMS in 2005 and now oversees all IMS sales teams and manages the company’s strategic direction. 

Aljoša Jenko: Partner and CEO at Aleph. He has extensive international experience as entrepreneur, CEO and digital advertising specialist. He co-founded several advertising, media, software and technology companies across Europe, Asia and the US. 

Ignacio Vidaguren: Partner and COO at Aleph. Ignacio joined IMS as the new COO, responsible for expanding IMS products and services, developing new revenue opportunities and overseeing the company’s day-to-day business operations. 

Mariano Roman: Partner and CTO at Aleph. He has 26 years of experience in leading media agencies such as Universal McCann, Agulla & Baccetti and MediaCom, where he was the CEO for Latin America. 

History and Evolution

Aleph was originally founded as IMS (Internet Media Services) by Gaston Taratuta in 2005 in Miami. However, in 2015 the company sold a 51% stake to Sony Pictures Television for roughly $100M. Some of this stake was repurchased by Gaston and his fellow co-founders in 2019 and the name Aleph was coined. Sony continued as a minority shareholder. 

In July 2021, Aleph Holding reportedly sold a stake to private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners for $470M, which valued the company at $2B. This fundraising will allow existing employees and shareholders, including founder Gastón Taratuta, to sell stock. It is also rumored that the company is preparing for an initial public offering as soon as early 2022. However, before the IPO takes place, Aleph hopes to continue expanding its offerings in developing countries through acquisitions.

Additional Learnings

• Just after the $470M fundraising round, Aleph announced the acquisition of an 86% stake in Egyptian advertising platform Connect Ads, in a deal comprising cash and stock.

• In January 2022, Aleph announced that twitter had made a minority investment in the company. The investment will help support Aleph’s educational efforts worldwide. These include building a proprietary educational tech platform, digital advertising training and certification to over 50,000 digital professionals in 90 countries across 5 continents, and efforts to create new digital jobs in underserved markets. Aleph is currently an exclusive advertising partner for Twitter.

• In August 2021, Latin American Fintech company MercadoLibre agreed to acquire a $25M stake in Aleph and will (in collaboration) monetize advertising space on MercadoLibre’s digital properties in countries where MercadoLibre does not have local sales operations.  

Market Snapshot

• With the explosive growth of digital advertising, many brands across the world have been able to reach their customers faster and more accurately than ever. According to eMarketer, global digital advertising spending is expected to reach $455B in 2021.

• While Facebook and Youtube have been most popular in terms of user base and ad spending, other platforms have become just as useful for advertising companies to use for their benefit. For example, in 2021, TikTok had 732 million active users and Snapchat had 514 million, making these apps the 7th and 11th most popular social media platforms in the world.

• According to a study by Hinge Research Institute, brands that embrace digital marketing can grow as much as 4x faster and be 2x more profitable than brands that stick to traditional marketing methods.

Suggested Next Reads

• A new unicorn on the digital advertising market: Aleph Group, owner of Httpool in Romania, receives a CVC investment (Business Review, July ‘21)

• Aleph Holding, Aiming for 2022 IPO, Sells Stake to CVC (The Wall Street Journal, July ‘21)

These briefs are produced by leveraging publicly available data sources and information. If you notice a mistake or see an area for improvement, please let us know through this typeform or via email (team@sandhill.io).

Snapshot

Founded in 2015, Karnataka-headquartered ShareChat is India’s leading social networking platform that operates exclusively in Indian languages. The platform allows users to discover and share content in categories like sports, news, tabloid gossip, jokes, good morning messages, fashion, and more. 

In 2021, ShareChat became India’s first social media unicorn after raising $502M in a Series E funding round led by Tiger Global. The company is now valued at $3.7B after raising $266M in its last Series F financing round.

ShareChat is backed by notable investors like Twitter, Snapchat, LightSpeed Venture, Tiger Global, Temasek, Elevation, and Mirae Asset. In 2022, the company currently has 180 million monthly active users that share 2.5 billion content pieces per month, followed by a creator community of over 32 million generating more than 75 million content pieces per month.

On the Web: Website, Linkedin

Business Overview & Products

Sharechat has content available in 14 different regional Indian languages to cater to a diverse audience. This content includes messages, poems, memes, videos, and more. The company operates across India and offers content in Assamese, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Haryanvi, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Tamil, and Telugu. 

How It Works

When the user first logs in, they have the option to pick one of 15 regional languages. Upon selecting a language, the user’s home feed fills with trending posts from a wide variety of topics such as news, tabloid gossip, sports, fashion, good-morning messages, and more. The user is then free to share these posts on ShareChat or other social media platforms like Whatsapp. 

The platform also encourages users to create content of their own and share it with their followers. It has an ‘open tagging’ feature that allows users to create tags and post relevant content under those user-generated tags. The most engaging and trending tags are visible in the ‘explore’ section of the platform. 

Like other social media platforms, ShareChat also allows users to interact with one another via private messages. Those with similar interests can also join groups to discuss their opinions and ideas about said topics. 

ShareChat also offers the option of public chat rooms where users can jump in and start conversing with complete strangers, a common interest perk that new Indian internet users find fascinating. To serve this behavior, the app also has a feature called ‘Shake-N-Chat’ that helps connect two strangers with similar interests over personal chat. 

Business Model & Pricing

Sharechat is a  user-generated content network, where users can both share content, as well as create it themselves. This makes it an attractive platform for newfound content creators who are looking to expand their viewer base, especially after the TikTok ban across India in 2020. 

Content creators earn money through the app by generating unique content which in turn increases their followers as well as chances of landing paid promotions from well-known brands. The company does not earn money by charging users, instead its major source of revenue is advertisements followed by sponsored campaigns. 

Traction

ShareChat reported an operational revenue of $1.26 in 2020. The company’s EBITDA also improved from -2167% in 2019 to 1759.77% in 2020.

In 2021, ShareChat entered the unicorn club after raising $502M in a Series E funding round. The company last raised $266M in a Series F funding round after which its total valuation increased to $3.7B.

The company is reported to have over 180 million monthly active users and its app has been downloaded more than 100 million times.

Founder(s) & Team

Ankush Sachdeva: CEOand Co-Founder at ShareChat. Ankush, an IIT graduate previously interned at Microsoft, a leading vendor of computer software and hardware, mobile and gaming systems, and cloud services.

Bhanu Pratap Singh: CTO and Co-Founder at ShareChat. Bhanu, an IITian previously worked as a Software Development Intern at Purplle.com, a beauty and grooming platform.

Farid Ahsan: COO and Co-Founder at ShareChat. Farid, an IIT graduate previously worked as an Analyst at Deutsche Bank, a German multinational investment bank and financial services company.

History & Evolution

In 2012, Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh, and Farid Ahsan met at a Yahoo Hackube hackathon, and since then were trying their luck with tech offerings. After 14 back-to-back failures, Ankush had his eureka moment. 

In 2014, he came across a Facebook post that asked users to share their phone numbers so they could be added to a Whatsapp group dedicated to Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. Seeing 50,000 responses, Ankush sprang into action and made a similar post on Facebook, after which he created multiple groups on Whatsapp. That is when he realized that while the groups were buzzing with hundreds of messages, none of them were in English which meant there was a large non-English speaking audience whose content needs were not being met. Keeping that gap in mind, the idea of ShareChat came into existence.

In 2015, ShareChat, a vernacular content sharing platform with the flavor of a social network was launched. The platform allowed users to discover and share content like videos, jokes, GIFs, audio songs, and humorous images in 4 regional languages – Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, and Marathi. Initially, the platform offered content in English as well but soon removed the option after witnessing low user preference. 

In 2016, ShareChat launched the option for users to generate their own content and added 2 more languages to the platform – Gujarati, and Punjabi. That year the app climbed to the 7th spot in the ‘social’ category on Google Play Store and clocked over 3.5 million downloads with roughly 2 million active users sharing one million content pieces every day.

In 2018 Sharechat launched 3 new features: 'Private Messaging', 'Shake-N-Chat', and 'Open Tagging' to its app. The company also added Bhojpuri, Haryanvi, Assamese to its platform bringing its total sum of languages offered to 14. 

In 2019, ShareChat acquired Clip App, a short video sharing platform, and launched 3 new features to its platform, ‘Create your own stickers’, ‘Repost’ and ‘Post search’. That year it won six awards in the following categories: ‘Best Emerging Brand’,‘Best use of Social Media Marketing campaign’, ‘Best Mobile App in Social Networking’, ‘Best Use of Social Media Campaign’, ‘Best Use of Social Media in Marketing’ and ‘Innovative Launch Campaign of the Year’.

In 2020, ShareChat launched Moj, a short video app within 30 hours of the TikTok ban in India. It also went on an acquiring spree and acquired an online fashion marketplace called Elanic,  hyperlocal information platform Circle Internet, a video production company specializing in digital content known as HPF Films, and meme discovery and sharing platform Memer. That year the company opened ShareChat Labs, a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Palo Alto, as its first establishment outside India. It witnessed a hike in content creation and absorption during the lockdown with over 160 million monthly users, 24 billion Whatsapp shares, and 28 million content creators generating 750 million pieces of content that year.

In 2021 ShareChat entered the unicorn club after raising $502M in a Series E funding round. That year it earmarked $19.1M for ESOP buyback and signed a multi-year licensing deal with T-Series.

In 2022, ShareChat and MX Player announced a strategic merger of their short video apps, Moj and MX TakaTak. The size of the deal is estimated to be $900M and it is a combination of both cash and equity. This merger will allow ShareChat to control both Moj and TakaTak. 

From archive.org 

Market Snapshot

The number of social media users in India stood at 518 million in 2020. While in 2021, the number of internet users in the country were estimated to be 658 million in 2021 which roughly makes up for 47% of the total population.

According to Statista, total revenue in the social networking segment of India is estimated to reach $295M in 2022 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.18%, bringing its total market volume to $434M by 2026.

Additional Learnings

What sets ShareChat apart from its competitors is its no-English option which is a first for social media in India. The platform offers content in regional languages catering to a large audience in small towns and rural areas. This is a major reason why Western tech giants like Twitter are taking notice of the startup. 

In 2022, the company had to take down more than 4 million pieces of content due to 19 requests from law enforcement agencies and 61,88,644 complaints from users. 

Suggested starting points to dive deeper

• How ShareChat’s focus on AI, ML is helping the social networking site grow (Simantika Choudhury, Your Story, Oct ‘21)

• ShareChat creates Clubhouse-like monetised audio platform (Exchange 4 Media, June ‘21)

• ShareChat: The Social Solution For A Multilingual Nation (Komal Mor, Dutch Uncles, June ‘21)

• [Product roadmap] The role tech played in the journey of Bharat-focused social media startup ShareChat (Sindhu Kashyaap, Your Story, April ‘21)

• An introduction to ShareChat: Personalising content for Next Billion Users — ShareChat (Ankur Shrivastava, Sharechat, Jan ‘19)

• ShareChat: India's homegrown rival to WhatsApp (Soutik Biswas, BBC News, Nov ‘18)

• ShareChat: The no-English social media app that Indian politicians are flocking to (Aria Thaker, Scroll.in, Oct ‘18)

• How Sharechat is going from a Good Morning message factory to a content powerhouse (Jayadevan PK, Factor Daily, Aug ‘18)

These briefs are produced by leveraging publicly available data sources and information. If you notice a mistake or see an area for improvement, please let us know through this typeform or via email (team@sandhill.io).

Snapshot

Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Wave is a sports and entertainment company that caters to a new generation of sports fans through media brands, products and experiences. It owns a portfolio of over 30 media brands, along with its own original content and a host of products and services. 

The company is a top sports partner to Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok and Snapchat and seems to dominate these platforms with its vast library of sports content. Recently, the company rebranded from Wave.tv to Wave Sports + Entertainment (WSE). It is incorporated as Bullpen Sports Network Inc.

About Wave: Website, LinkedIn

Business Overview and Products

Wave covers sports that are both mainstream and niche sports. It provides coverage of sports culture, commentary and the general sports community. It owns some of the most popular media brands on social platforms including Benchmob, Slapshot, the Pump and many more. It has also produced several popular original shows such as Body Talk, Phenoms, and Superhuman. 

Along with owning this portfolio of brands both via deals with partners and in-house content production, Wave’s website offers brands to advertise their business with the company through three choices: sponsored programming, branded content, and cross-platform commercials.

The website also offers fans the opportunity to submit their content (such as home videos), with complete details on how the company must credit the submission and the terms of submission themselves.

How It Works

The company seeks to target millennials and Gen-Z audiences online via its content, and has stated that 80% of its viewership is from 13-34 year olds. It distributes its content on mainstream social media where the younger generations mostly spend their time (e.g. TikTok, Instagram and Facebook). This is further corroborated by the company’s statement on its website that through its content, Wave covers highlights, memes, commentary and analysis on all kinds of sports. It also covers off-field culture and stories on sports players.      

In its Advertising section, the company offers three options. The first one is Sponsored Programming – where Wave offers to create brand awareness through its daily content in a cost-effective manner. The second option is Branded Content, where the company offers to do “high impact brand storytelling”. The third option is Cross-Platform Commercial, whereby there would be video ads of 6-15 second length distributed across Wave’s media brands.

For the content submission part, the website offers a detailed form that asks for details of the person submitting the video as well as details of the video submission. The sender may upload the video directly or share a URL link where the company may access the video.   

The extensive growth the company is experiencing has led it to develop strong content deals with leading organizations such as FloSport, Top Rank, and the PFL. The company is currently focusing on producing more original in-house content, with a new angle on sports betting.

Business Model and Pricing

Wave uses a distributed media network model. It utilizes multiple social platforms instead of relying simply on cable or TV. In the words of CEO Ishaan, the company’s business hinges on a traditional advertising model. The viewership generated by the network’s content allows the company to monetize.

According to executives, Wave crafts deals with sports organizations to gain access to content from promotions (e.g. from the World’s Strongest Man). This content is used to power its own media brands across social media. Whatever advertising revenue is generated, Wave shares it with its content partners.    

Traction

According to CEO Ishaan, Wave first became profitable in the latter half of 2019. In 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began, the sports industry took a massive hit just like many other business sectors and several events were canceled. In spite of the situation, Wave managed to raise funding worth $32M in July and in fact reported that it had expanded its viewership and doubled its monthly revenue since March 2020.   

According to a July 2020 article, the company was using content from 65 sports leagues and organizations for 18 of its media brands across social media at that point in time. These included both mainstream and niche-sports organizations. As a result, almost 80% of Wave’s viewership was generated from videos on unconventional sports. Moreover, the company’s network grew from 5 shows to 14 shows in 2020 alone.

According to the website, in its short operating history the company has one of the largest audiences among sports networks. It has amassed over 100 million global followers and over 100 billion views to date. It has over 6 billion monthly video views and a global reach of 500 million. The company partners with +100 sports leagues, creators and IP providers. More metrics have been shared by Wave, including the company being #1 on Snapchat, #1 on TikTok, #4 on Facebook and #4 on Instagram.  

Founder(s)

Brian Verne: Co-founder and CEO at Wave. Prior to Wave, Brain has served as the CEO of Phenom, a startup based out of San Francisco.  

Ishaan Sutaria: Co-founder and CEO at Wave. Prior to Wave, Ishaan worked as an Analytics Lead at Rocket Fuel.  

History and Evolution

Founded in 2017, Wave started its journey from a strong presence on Instagram and later expanded to Facebook, TikTok, and Snapchat. The company soon managed to outrun leading digital media companies such as Viacom, Netflix, the New York Times and others within the first 18 months of operations. Regarding its explosive success, Founder Ishaan had stated in 2019, “What's made us so successful is our ability to create programming that Gen Z and Millennial sports fans love”.  

In March 2020, the pandemic led to cancellation of major sports events and forced the company to change gears. It began focusing on non-mainstream sports and videos of athletes and fans off the field. This helped the company increase its viewership and double its monthly revenue since the pandemic first began.

In July 2020, Wave closed a funding round worth $32M and announced its intentions to use the funds for expanding its content to more people and increasing its workforce. In particular, the company wanted to focus more on both mainstream and niche-sports. It also planned on expanding to more content formats, including audio and longer-form video. According to the CEO Ishaan, this funding round valued the company at between $50M to $100M. 

In December 2021, the company announced its rebranding from Wave.tv to Wave Sports + Entertainment. While the name of the enterprise itself has been changed, Wave stated that “Wave.tv” will continue to operate as a media brand within its own portfolio. The company also announced plans to intensify its focus on talent-driven original programming as well as sports-betting. To support these plans, it also established a new headquarters in Santa Monica which will serve as a native studio to produce its own programming. Moreover, the company has freshly made deals with popular figures in the sports industry, such as Lucy Rohden and Nick Henkel. 

Some of the unique tactics Wave uses to spur its success with fans include adding unconventional and quirky sports moments to the content it broadcasts. These are often captured away from the field and Wave gives them precedence over game highlights, which means the company broadcasts material not covered by most sports media brands. The company also gives fans a chance to submit home videos that may be featured on Wave’s channels, and solicites fan opinions via polls and comment sections. Moreover, it maintains focus on Gen Z and millennials. 

According to Gregory Tedesco from Zeno Group, with these tactics Wave humanizes its content and speaks to how average sports fans like to share content online. Furthermore, instead of simply sharing sports information as quickly as possible to its audience, Wave takes the unique approach of forming deals with media personalities that mix humor and opinion with information, to keep the audience engaged.

Additional Learnings

• In 2020, the company signed a licensing deal with IMG, which gave Wave the rights to publish highlights from IMG’s organized sporting events across its own portfolio.

• In July 2020, the company reported that it was focusing on growing its portfolio with unconventional sports-related deals. 16 out of 26 deals that Wave signed, and 29 out of the total partnerships the company had, were based on such sports as Karate or bare-knuckle fighting. 

• In 2021, Wave partnered with Atmosphere, a global leader in streaming TV for businesses. With Atmosphere’s 25M monthly viewers, this significantly increased Wave’s distribution and reach.

• In 2022, the company was listed among the top 50 best small companies to work for in Los Angeles.

• In a recent interview, Wave executive VP Mack Sovereign talks about the KPIs used by the company to measure the engagement of its fans. Instead of just using passive metrics such as likes and views, the company uses active metrics like comment rate, clickthrough rate, as well as the number of times the content is shared.

Market Snapshot

• Prior to the coronavirus pandemic disrupting the sports industry, the global value of the industry was estimated to be $471B in 2018, which was a 45% jump since 2011. Forecasts had predicted an upward trajectory for the industry before the disruption. Moreover, the global value of sports media rights in 2020 was estimated to be around $50B. 

• With Wave’s strategy, it mainly competes with sports media brands such as Overtime and ESPN’s house of highlights. All of these target Millennials and Gen Z sports fans via short-form video content.

• The coronavirus pandemic made several sports media brands shift their focus in 2020. For example, according to an executive from a marketing ad agency in 2020, “Even ESPN is posting on Instagram about slap-fighting”. 

• Wave is ramping up focus on sports betting. CEO Brain Verne commented on how states are increasingly legalizing betting across North America. This means sports betting is set to have an explosive growth in the global entertainment industry in the upcoming years.

Suggested Next Reads

• WAVE.tv: The Sports Media Company for Today's Fan (Shorty Awards)

• Wave Sports + Entertainment’s Mack Sovereign talks shift to more original content and deals with creators (Awful Announcing, December ‘21)

• Sports Media Startup Wave.tv Pulls in New Funding as It Targets Expansion (Wall Street Journal, July ‘20)

• This is ‘SportsCenter’ for Gen Z: A two-year-old upstart named Wave (Fast Company, November ‘19)

These briefs are produced by leveraging publicly available data sources and information. If you notice a mistake or see an area for improvement, please let us know through this typeform or via email (team@sandhill.io).

Snapshot 

Founded in 2016, Jellysmack partners with video creators and media brands to grow their audience and maximize their earnings across a host of social platforms. Since many content creators do not have the resources to master multiple social media platforms on their own, Jellysmack manages it for them. Time, money, and technology are utilized to grow and monetize social channels for content creators.

Headquartered in New York City, Jellysmack also has offices in London, Paris and Corte. In 2021, it reached unicorn status after a Series C funding round. Although the amount of the investment was not disclosed, it is known that the company now stands a valuation over $1B. 

About Jellysmack: Website, LinkedIn

Business Overview and Products

Jellysmack has 2 major businesses. The company owns and operates a host of social channels with in-house content production. It owns some of the major social media channels.

Additionally, the company partners with content creators and brands to help them grow their audiences. It has different programs in place for different audience categories, including:

1. Creator Program: for content creators 

2. Brand Partnerships: for brands trying to grow their customer base 

3. Media Company Partnerships: for media companies looking to attract more fans across diverse platforms 

Other than partnering with these, Jellysmack also offers what it calls catalog licensing. Under this, it offers content creators the opportunity to license their Youtube back-catalogs of upto 5 years, in exchange for a lump-sum payment. 

How It Works

Jellysmack owns a host of social media channels that it has built and scaled itself. The company started off from 5 main channels that provide video content to subscribers including Oh My Goal!, Gamology, Genius Club, Beauty Studio and Riddle Me This. Since its inception, many new channels have been added such as House of Bounce, Crowned Ladies, Binge Society, and Beauty Wow.

Under the creator program, Jellysmack optimizes and distributes existing content of creators on different social channels for them, working on creating authentic and engaged communities for brands. A tech-driven process is used to tailor a creator’s video according to each new social platform. Throughout the process, creators maintain full control of their content and are not required to do any extra work, while reaping full benefits of diversification.

Under brand partnerships, customized performance marketing aided by technology is offered to a brand. Jellysmack utilizes its scaled communities, creator partners and knowledge of community engagement to distribute the brand’s messages across different social channels. Moreover, the most powerful assets of brands are leveraged to grow communities for them.

Under media company partnerships, there are 2 ways through which Jellysmack attracts more fans towards a media company. These include content licensing and social media management. According to the website, via content licensing, Jellysmack licenses a company’s original content for sharing through its own original social channels. Under social media management, it takes control of the client’s social channels to manage the company’s own content. 

The catalog licensing avenue allows content creators to sell a license to their past videos on Youtube while keeping the videos on their own channel and also continuing to own them. Jellysmack uses AI technology to choose the videos it wants licensed and makes cash offers for those that qualify. This is beneficial to content creators as they get a generous amount of cash upfront while also staying fully independent. 

Business Model and Pricing

Jellysmack does not charge content creators. Instead, it makes money through a revenue-sharing model using income generated from social media platforms. To be specific, when a creator signs a contract with Jellysmack, they are not charged a fee for it. Instead, when Jellysmack manages their content on social platforms, it makes a percentage of the revenue from in-stream advertising. 

The exact revenue split has not been disclosed. However, according to Jellysmack’s website, the model takes into account the technology, data, and financial and human investment Jellysmack makes into managing its partners' content. To give a rough idea of what this revenue may be like, CEO Michael Philippe commented in an interview back in 2019 that some creators in the creator program were making “six figures per month on Facebook.” 

Traction

Jellysmack’s success stems from the own successful scaling of its original content channels as well as the use of its proprietary AI technology. As the founders were content creators themselves, it is no mystery as to how they knew exactly what angles to try with their company and creator partners. In the exact words of CEO Michael Philippe, “Our success has been driven by our focus on engagement and interactions between fans within the same community, and our plan is to build on that secret sauce of data and creativity to launch new communities covering many more passions in the coming months.” 

According to a source, Jellysmack is able to generate $25M to $300M in incremental views per month for each creator. The creator programme currently manages 500+ influential content creators and the total video content that Jellysmack manages yields about 10B global monthly views. According to Tubular Labs, it also has a cross-platform reach of about 125M unique American users (nearly 45%). This makes Jellysmack currently the largest digital-first company in the US and Tubular Labs ranks it as the 6th largest media property by view counts.

Jellysmack’s website currently boasts the following stats:

• 6B+ Monthly story views

• 10B+ Monthly video views

• 125M+ Monthly unique US viewers

• 500+ Creator partners

• No.1 US Digital-first social audience

Founder(s)

Swann Maizil: Co-founder. Prior to Jellysmack, Swann was the Founder and editor-in-chief of The Sport Dealer. He received his Masters degree from Universite Paris Dauphine.

Michael Philippe: Co-founder. Prior to Jellysmack, he co-founded LeKiosk, a European digital newsstand, with Robin in 2008. He received his Masters degree from ESCP.

Robin Sabban: Co-founder. Prior to Jellysmack, he co-founded Playlistnow.fm and LeKiosk. He received his Masters degree from Universite Paris Dauphine.

History and Evolution

Entrepreneurs Michael and Robin had originally co-founded LeKiosk, a European digital newsstand,  in 2008. This experience led them to realize the growing importance of social media platforms as a source of entertainment. While LeKiosk continued its operations in Paris, they decided to create a new company focused on this particular idea.

In 2016, Michael and Robin created The Keli Network, a media company that distributes video content via social channels. This company was eventually rebranded as Jellysmack; the name inspired from a group of jellyfish called “smack.” The rebranding came after a $14M funding round, coupled with appointment of some top executives from Mashable Studios and Red Bull North America. A new production studio also opened in Los Angeles for the creation of new channels and series.

Jellysmack has since grown at a massive pace. Its success can be attributed largely to a combination of a customer-centric approach and the company’s proprietary technology. It attracts viewership by focusing on popular demand and building channels around it. Simultaneously it wields its machine learning technology called the Agile Method. This helps identify trends and optimize videos while scaling distribution of the content to different social platforms. The company also focuses on being community driven, as seen via its LinkedIn page. For example, on National Superhero Day, they celebrated “Jellysmackers” who were parents.  

In May 2021, the company announced its plans to expand internationally after securing a Series C funding round that earned it a unicorn status. With social media stars on the rise, Jellysmack wants to reach creators in different countries and has set aside $750M for this expansion into overseas markets. The company will also invest further in its proprietary technology and establish new revenue streams. By november 2021, Jellysmack already started building teams in Latin America, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and Europe and had signed about 100 international creators.

Additional Learnings

• Jellysmack has a specific criteria for choosing which content creators it wants to partner with. And before creators can officially join the platform, Jellysmack runs tests on the videos to ensure it fits the requirements.

• In November 2021, Jellysmack announced its introduction of the Creator Program in the UK in a bid to expand globally and add more popular creators to its already burgeoning portfolio. At that point in time, Jellysmack already had 18 creators from the UK, but planned on solidifying its presence in the UK market.

• In January 2022, Jellysmack announced a Marquee Program – a partnership where the company collaborates with celebrities to co-produce content. It bears the entire cost of producing the content, but splits the advertising revenue with the celebrities they hire.

• In February 2022, Jellysmack announced its expansion into the Indian market, having taken onboard several Indian content creators such as Kanak’s Kitchen and Triggered Insan. The company is aiming to get at least 100 content creators onboard by 2023.

Market Snapshot

In a survey in July 2021, it was revealed that 86% of the youth in the US wished to become a social media content creator in some capacity. The logic is simple – making money off of doing what one loves and becoming popular in the process. The same source also reveals that there are roughly 50 million people working as content creators but only 0.1% can successfully make an earning out of it. 

Moreover, media consumption habits are rapidly evolving towards social media. As stated by co-founder Michael in an interview, any video content that is distributed via social media channels and is viewable via mobile phones, will quickly beat out traditional media companies. He also rightly points out that as consumers are shifting to social media channels for both entertainment and news, there is vast opportunity in the market for companies like Jellysmack to make an impact. 

Suggested Next Reads

• For Ambitious Social Media Creators, Jellysmack Powers Fast Growth (Variety, July ‘21)

• How Jellysmack has discreetly become a global​ leader in the Creator Economy (Linkedin, May ‘21)

• Michael Philippe - Co-Founder, Keli Network & JellySmack (Natfluence, May ‘17)

These briefs are produced by leveraging publicly available data sources and information. If you notice a mistake or see an area for improvement, please let us know through this typeform or via email (team@sandhill.io).

Snapshot

Moonbug is a global kids entertainment company that creates and distributes educational and age-appropriate content for children. It aims to encourage healthy values such as compassion, empathy, and resilience, while teaching fundamental life skills. As stated on its website, Moonbug’s mission is simple: to create shows that both children and parents love. It owns and creates digital IP brands and characters, which generate billions of views.

Moonbug currently operates with employees based in London, Camden and LA along with partners, agents and representatives in other locations.

It has a subsidiary named El Bebe Productions Limited. In November 2021, Moonbug entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by The Media Company, recently formed and run by entertainment executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs. According to a source, the deal has been closed at $3B.

About Moonbug: Website, LinkedIn

Business Overview and Products

Launched in 2018, Moonbug has quickly grown through acquisitions and its “360-degree” goal, which aims to reach children all over the world. The content available on its platform caters to children aged 8 and younger.  

Currently, Moonbug owns 18 individual IPs (i.e., intellectual properties), and offers over 550 hours of creative content in about 26 languages. It distributes on over 100 platforms worldwide including Amazon, Netflix, YouTube and many more. It is also producing original series for Netflix, Amazon and others. All of these metrics make Moonbug one of the biggest creators of kids’ content. 

Its brand partnerships include Mattel Inc., Nickelodeon, Procter & Gamble and LEGO. The Moonbug Consumer Products segment is a global business with teams in London, LA and Seoul. It is responsible for creating the company’s content in the form of physical and digital products. These are then made available across hardlines, softlines, FMCG and publishing.

How It Works

Moonbug’s digital platform produces and publishes video and audio content every month to teach children compassion, empathy and resilience. The content is particularly built keeping child development in mind. A Life Skills Chart is used, which is an indicator of psychosocial skills a child needs to become a well-functioning part of society. All of Moonbugs educational choices are based around this in-house Life Skills chart. In the words of Ditte Lucas, Head of Brand at Moonbug, “We don’t just look at the ABCs and the 123s; we break our educational offerings down into cognitive, emotional, and physical skills by age level”. Moonbug even differentiates between the content created for infants and that created for toddlers, because it is based on children’s developing skills year by year.

However, the focus on child psychology isn’t the only card that Moonbug uses. The platform is also unique in its approach of blending educational psychology with data insights, which helps it succeed in a way that videos based only on theory, or only on data, lack. Moonbug utilizes deep data insights mined by its tools to create its content. These insights are carefully woven into every story the company creates. For example, Moonbug learned from Tubular data that yellow buses are particularly popular with children. So in one of its cartoons, the company made a data-informed decision to create a bus character called Buster in the color yellow.

Another unique approach taken by Moonbug deserves being highlighted. In its bid to make its content accessible, many of Moonbug’s shows are presented in ASL (American Sign Language). One such show is “My Magic Ambulance”. This ASL component allows the shows to be viewed by children with disabilities, a factor which is usually not taken into account very commonly.  

Business Model and Pricing

The Moonbug model is based on acquiring, scaling and finally distributing content for kids across various platforms. It does this by first acquiring IPs that seem to have a global appeal or potential, then growing those brands through its insightful tools to produce even better quality content. Then it distributes this content through its vast network of streaming platforms. That isn’t all - Moonbug also licenses this content, creates its own original productions, and establishes brand partnerships.

It follows a “360-degree” strategy, where it licenses everything from content, toys to merchandising and more. As explained by Moonbug EMEA Head Nicholas Eglau, “With regards to associations and the content licensing system, the company takes a strategic, agnostic approach and syndicates its content through numerous channels, OTT platforms, and on-demand services.” 

Currently, the company does not disclose any information regarding how it prices its licensing agreements or brand partnerships. 

Traction

• Moonbug’s revenues grew by 71.1% in 2020 to £39.6M (around $53.8M) - £29.3M of revenue came from YouTube channels, £5.5M from originals and brand productions, and £4.8M from licensing and merch. 

• According to a source, the acquisition of Cocomelon and Blippi in 2020 caused Moon Bug's monthly subscribers to grow to 235M globally, with average monthly views amounting to 7B on Youtube alone. This content continues to be viewed across +230 territories.

• In August 2021, Moonbug landed a distribution, publishing and licensing deal with Universal Music Group.

• According to an article, Moonbug generated about $100M in EBITDA in 2021. This figure is expected to double by 2022. 

• According to founder Rene Rechtman, Moonbug has been branching into the music business and has continued to scale up its merchandise-licensing business. The next opportunity it plans to tap into is video games. 

Founder(s)

René Rechtman: CEO and Co-Founder. René has successfully been part of the media, entertainment and tech start up environment since 1998. Recently, Rene was an investor and president at Maker Studios that was acquired by Disney. 

John Robson: COO and Co-Founder. John is an experienced commercial executive, with strong local and global digital and entertainment relationships. He has worked in senior roles in sales, marketing and business development across the entertainment and digital environment.

History and Evolution

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in London, Moonbug was originally created under the name of Project ABC Holdings. The company has rapidly grown both organically and via acquisitions. It acquired Little Baby Bum in 2018, followed by My Magic Pet Morphle and Supa Strikas in 2019. In 2020, the company further acquired ARPO in February, followed by CocoMelon and Blippi in July. Most recently, in February 2022, Moonbug acquired Little Angel. 

Over time, Moonbug has built a global family audience through its shows such as “CoComelon,” “Blippi” and “Little Baby Bum” among others. According to the founders, they built the company on strong values with a focus on digital platforms. In its short history, Moonbug has also managed to rapidly expand across the Indian, Chinese and French markets in the span of a few years.

After 3 years of successful operations, founder and CEO Rene Rechtman was gearing to launch an IPO for Moonbug when he received a lucrative acquisition offer that was difficult to refuse. In November 2021, Moonbug accepted an acquisition deal worth $3B in cash and stock, by Disney executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer. Moonbug would become part of their new media company. According to the agreement, Moonbug founders René and John, the existing management team and shareholders will all retain equity stakes in the media company. After the acquisition, this media company plans to expand Moonbug’s portfolio of titles and further extend its franchises across digital platforms and key licensing and merchandising channels. 

Additional Learnings

• Moonbug recorded an operating loss of £1.4M for 2021. It had £6.8M of costs relating to a legal dispute – a copyright infringement lawsuit that the company filed against a Chinese rival to its Cocomelon YouTube channel in September.

• The 2020 acquisition of CocoMelon, YouTube’s third-largest channel in terms of subscribers, by Moonbug has played a major role in its extraordinary financial results.

• In May 2020, Tubular Labs named Moonbug one of the leading digital kids’ entertainment companies in the world based on the total number of minutes watched worldwide.

• In March 2021, Moonbug Entertainment announced major expansion across China by bringing CoComelon to China’s leading streaming platforms IQIYI and ByteDance. 

• A source reveals that Moonbug’s representatives often engage with people across its social media handles, allowing it to collect invaluable feedback which the company also incorporates into its content.

Market Snapshot

There is no dearth of content creators for children in the global market. In recent years, several mergers and acquisitions similar to that of Moonbug have taken place, such as the acquisition of kidtech platform SuperAwesome by Epic. This is a testament to the rising popularity of content creation for children on major platforms such as Youtube, with these avenues becoming hotspots for investors. As a result, the creation and consolidation of mega-production houses like Moonbug is on the rise, as detailed by this source.

However, Moonbug remains a leading name in the industry. According to Moonbug EMEA Head Nicholas Eglau, the unique selling point for Moonbug is that it provides content offering created to be a natural part of a child’s upbringing. The content focuses on healthy values and allows kids to learn essential life skills. This success of Moonbug can be seen by the fact that in January 2020, Moonbug was named the 3rd largest kid’s entertainment media organization “in terms of minutes watched”, as per a source. Furthermore, 3 Youtube channels owned by Moonbug (Little Baby Bum, Blippi and CocoMelon) alone generated 2.37B views in November 2021. 

Going forward, officials at Moonbug have a strong interest in the Asian market. They have learned that Asian parents tend to focus more on hard skills such as math and reading. However, with the circumstances surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, parents are looking for more educational content to keep their children busy while at home, which also contributes to Moonbug’s success. 

Suggested Next Reads

• How Moonbug uses data and insights to launch new kids’ shows (Tubular, March ‘20)

• How children’s media network Moonbug delivers developmentally appropriate, accessible content to all children, all over the world (Forbes, November ‘20) 

• The Wild Rise of Moonbug—YouTube’s Magic Money Machine (Wired, November ‘21)

• Inside the $3 Billion Deal for Kids’ Content Player Moonbug, Owner of CoComelon (Variety, December ‘21)

These briefs are produced by leveraging publicly available data sources and information. If you notice a mistake or see an area for improvement, please let us know through this typeform or via email (team@sandhill.io).

Snapshot

Founded in 2013, New York-headquartered Bustle Digital Group is a leading global media company. It has a portfolio of 13 distinct digital and experiential brands that are shaping culture. It is the largest premium publisher that is not just aimed at young women but also a platform for young women. It mainly provides content in news and entertainment, lifestyle, fashion, and beauty categories. 

To date, the company has raised $80M in venture capital funding from the likes of Axel Springer, Saban Capital Group, and General Catalyst, and has been valued at just over $200M. Its last $30M funding round in 2018 was led by venture-capital firm Avenir Growth Capital with participation from Simon Ventures, German publishing giant Axel Springer and the company’s previous investors.  

The company has grown tremendously with its 9 acquisitions, Bustle, Elite Daily, Input, Inverse, Mic, Nylon, Romper, W and The Zoe Report, and Some Sports Studio. It is seeking an IPO of at least $600M which will enable them to buy ed-tech companies to support its business as well as bring several more brands on board.

On the Web: Website, Linkedin

Business Overview & Products

Bustle Digital Group currently has 13 brands that provide diverse content to a wide range of consumers.

• Bustle: premier digital destination for young women featuring news and politics alongside articles about beauty, celebrities and fashion trends.

• Elite Daily: news platform for and by millennials, the leading source for news and entertainment for the connected generation.

• Fatherly: leading digital lifestyle brand that provides news, expert advice, product recommendations, and other resources for fathers. 

• Gawker: news and gossip website which features categories like media, technology, celebrities, news, and politics. 

• Input: new kind of technology and culture publication that delivers staples such as device reviews and quick-hit news about tech and software companies.

• Inverse: tech- and science-focused website for a millennial audience. 

• Mic: editorial site with increased coverage of the intersection of politics, culture, social justice, and social media. 

• Nylon: beauty, fashion, and entertainment site that is the go-to source for the young, style, and culture obsessed. 

• Romper: media brand for millennial women featuring personal stories, life hacks, expert advice, celebrity news and interviews, recipes, etc. 

• Scary Mommy: media and entertainment brand for moms in the country, providing content on parenting, motherhood, current events, and pop culture.

• The Dad: media and entertainment brand for dads featuring memes, videos, jokes, news, and stories. 

• The Zoe Report: fashion and lifestyle destination to help women build, experiment, and cultivate their lookyearsLinkedInBeforehe’s, covering everything from runway fashion and beauty trends to lifestyle ideas, styling tips, and trends guides.

• W: premier fashion and culture publication for sophisticated readers with its inventive photography, bold design, and conversation-starting features.

The US-based company expanded to the United Kingdom in 2018 and after experiencing a successful transition in 2 years’ time is now planning to further globalize its efforts in other countries. 

How It Works

Bustle Digital Group is a media conglomerate with 13 media brands under its umbrella. With a cumulative readership of over 100 million, the brands generate revenue through different models including affiliate marketing and advertisements. Insights are generated by the Bustle Digital Group’s Insights team who helps the associated brands tell stories that matter to their audience.

Business Model & Pricing

Bustle Digital Media’s business model is focused on revenue from advertising, leveraging its large stable of brands. Branded content makes up 70% of the revenue generated across its multiple brands. The company also earns money from affiliate commerce, by publishing articles with multiple brand links and taking a cut of the sales it sends to those retail giants.  

Traction

In 2021, According to the Wall Street Journal, Bustle Digital Group was on pace to generate more than $150M in revenue by the year’s end. In the first half of 2021, it saw a 50% revenue growth rate compared to the same period last year. The company has also seen a constant increase in customer retention rate for the last 3 years, rising from 63% to 67% to 72%.

The company with its 84 million monthly readers and 122 million social fans is aiming for an IPO of at least $600M including debt. For this purpose, it hired investment bank Farvahar Partners to identify an attractive deal with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

Founder(s) & Team

Bryan Goldberg (LinkedIn): Founder and CEO at Bustle Digital Group. Prior to founding BDG, Bryan worked as a Consultant at Deloitte Consulting and as a Summer Analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston. He also founded Bleacher Report, one of the world's premier sports media companies.

History & Evolution

In 2007, Bryan founded Bleacher Report, a sports news website with three of his middle school friends, David Finocchio, Alexander Freund, and David Nemetz. In 2012, the site was acquired for $200M by Turner Broadcasting System.

In 2013, Bryan left Bleacher Report to found Bustle, a women’s interest website. He believed that women in their 20s had nothing to read on the internet and that is what he wanted to change with Bustle. Prior to the launch, he interviewed hundreds of women about what they believed was missing from traditional publications like Glamour and Cosmopolitan. Bustle was launched with $6.5M funding from Seed and Series A rounds. The launch enraged women in the media industry because the founder claimed to change the face of feminism with his website, but his tone-deaf statement made it clear he was only in it for the money. Despite all the backlash, the website received good reviews from its actual target market, young women. 

In 2014, the website had grown tremendously and had 20 million monthly readers. Its monthly unique visitors surpassed 10 million, placing it ahead of rival websites such as Refinery29, Rookie and xoJane. That same year it also raised $15.5M  in a round of financing led by General Catalyst Partners.

In 2015, Bryan launched Romper, which would produce content for millennial mothers. It had also grown to have an editorial staff of 46 people and was on target to bring in $10M revenue to turn profitable.

In 2016, the website had grown to 50 million monthly readers and had over 70 full-time editors and 250 contract contributors. That year the website raised a funding of $11.5M in a Series D funding round which was then used to launch a redesign. In 2017, Bryan acquired Elite Daily, a millennial-focused site from the Daily Mail and it was then rebranded as Bustle Digital Group.

In 2018, Bustle Digital Group acquired Gawker, the media gossip blog in a bankruptcy auction. That same year it acquired The Zoe Report, an online style platform as well as Flavor pill, an online publisher and experiential brand focused on events. It also purchased Mic, a millennial-focused digital news site. It announced its plans to expand internationally to the UK, with its first office outside the US opening in London.

In 2019, Bustle Digital Group acquired Nylon Magazine, an alternative fashion, and music publication, followed by The Outline, a tech and culture site, and Inverse, a science and technology publication.

In 2020, the company acquired W Magazine, an American fashion magazine that features stories about style under the joint venture. However, due to the pandemic, Goldberg had to lay off employees and shut down The Outline, a news site for millennials. 

The business recovered quickly from the initial pandemic-driven advertising slow down. In 2021 the company had 13 brands that cater to all kinds of consumers, 84 million monthly readers, 500 employees, multiple revenue streams, a valuation of over $200M, and $80M raised in venture capital funding. It is also aiming for an IPO of $600M and acquired Some Spider Studios, the media company home to parenting brands Fatherly, Scary Mommy, and The Dad.

Additional Learnings

Bustle Digital Group’s competitive advantage is the shoppable options it has set within its editorial content. To execute this, editors specifically select articles on Bustle.com that include a special mention of products or are complementary to them. Later, shopping carousels of featured products are inserted in those articles. When a reader clicks on the product, all the information related to it is listed on the sidebar, like price, size, color, etc and they can then proceed to add it to the cart. 

Market Snapshot

According to the Media Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2030: COVID-19 Impact and Recovery report, the global media market was valued at $1,713B in 2020 at a CAGR of 3.8% since 2015. Moreover, the market is estimated to reach $2,670.7B in 2025 at a rate of 9.3%.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the global entertainment and media industry experienced a significant -3.8% drop in its year-on-year revenue in 2020, which was the most significant decrease in revenue to date.

Next Suggested Reads

• The Q + A With Bustle Digital Group (Steven Wolfe Pereira, Forbes, Feb ‘19)

• Bustle Digital Group Unionizes With Writers Guild of America East (Dave McNary, Variety, Nov ‘20)

• We shouldn’t have to go on so many first dates’: How Bustle Group is wooing advertisers (Kayleigh Barber, Digiday, Feb ‘21)

• ‘Do not go into media if you do not have very thick skin’: Founder of Bustle and Bleacher Report explains how he built 2 companies worth hundreds of millions by age 33 (Alyson Shontell, Business Insider, Feb ‘17)

• When Experience Counts: How Bustle Digital Group Is Future-Proofing Its Business (Caysey Welton, Folio Mag, July 20)

• Bustle Digital hires bank to explore deal to go public -source (Joshua Franklin, Reuters, Jan ‘21)

These briefs are produced by leveraging publicly available data sources and information. If you notice a mistake or see an area for improvement, please let us know through this typeform or via email (team@sandhill.io).

Snapshot

Founded in 2012, California-headquartered Tastemade is a global media company that aims to connect people through content. It produces original video content on food, home, and travel on all major digital, mobile, and streaming television platforms. 

Over the years the company has formed profitable partnerships with some of the world’s best brands such as Airbnb, Amazon, Apple, Coca Cola, Disney, Hyundai, Walmart, Subway, Samsung, Target, Nestle, PepsiCo, Uber, Nike, Starbucks, CBS, Home Depot, Wendy’s, AT&T, American Express, Zillow and more. It has also won numerous awards in categories like Outstanding Personality/Host, Top in Media, Social Good, Best Branded Content Series and Best Brand from Fast Company, James Beard Foundation, and Digiday. 

The company has been growing tremendously ever since its launch in 2012. It has raised $115.3M in funding by notable investors like Redpoint, Goldman Sachs, The Raine Group, Raine Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Scripps Networks Interactive, Liberty Media, and more. Its last funding round was in 2018, where it raised $35M in a Series E funding round. In 2018, PrivCo estimated the post-money valuation of Tastemade in the range of $100M to $500M, and in the second half of 2020, the company started churning profits.

On the Web: Website, Linkedin, Youtube, Instagram

Business Overview & Products

Tastemade currently provides video content and original programming in the following categories:

• Food

• Travel

• Home & Design

• Experiences

The Food categories include original shows, short videos showing aesthetically pleasing recipes, online culinary classes, and hacks to make cooking easier. 

The Travel category includes entertaining programs where Tastemakers take viewers on global adventures exploring different types of cuisine and culture.

The Home & Design category includes home transformations, DIY projects, Design & Trends, Plants & Gardening, Cleaning & Organisation, and Artisan Profiles. 

Tastemade’s recently acquired venture, Tastemade, is a marketplace and ticketing platform that helps create, sell and manage unique experiences; participate in Livestream cooking classes, IRL popup events, culinary tours, brand activations, and more.

The company’s global footprints are spread across Europe, Asia, South America, and North America. 

How It Works

A wide variety of programming is offered through Tastemade that attracts millions of users to explore different culinary options. It includes videos demonstrating how to make a variety of foods. It also features online culinary classes with topics including party hosting, gluten-free foods, condiments, cocktail crafting, jam, pies, homemade pasta, Italian, Mexican and much more. The draw of Tastemade is not limited to the videos demonstrating the preparation of various foods, but also programs where Tastemakers take viewers on global adventures.

Tastemade calls its Tastemakers “influential trendsetters.” These chefs are trained professionals, home chefs, adventure seekers and world travelers. They provide stories, cultural and culinary education, local flavors and hidden gems throughout the world.

Tastemade content is offered in over a dozen languages across networks and devices including YouTube, AOL, Yahoo!, Roku and the Tastemade App. The Tastemade App allows consumers to create bite-sized episodes of the places and dishes they love in HD quality. They can easily do this from their iPhone or iPod touch and the videos can be shared globally across social media platforms. 

The company produces videos in its studio. Recipes are pitched in the company’s weekly brainstorm or its daily programming-and-production team meeting, with producers discussing ideas in a similar way from a traditional TV writers’ room. Recipe developers closely check the data of previous videos to analyze for how long users watch videos and how often they swipe up on Snapchat for more information. Recipe developers and food stylists then work together to discuss how dishes should taste and look like, based on which, required ingredients are prepared in a soundproof prep kitchen. Once the filming is done, the raw footage is sent to a post-production suite where around 2 dozen editors edit videos from around the world. After editing, the video is sent to the color-correcting studio for final touches.

Business Model & Pricing

Tastememade earns revenue by selling advertisements on multiple platforms. Initially, it started with just a Youtube channel, where it would earn money from ads. It has now expanded the channels it distributes on to include Snapchat Discover and its own apps like Facet-Video Travel Inspiration, Tastemade-Video City, Get Prepd and more.

The company also earns revenue from sponsorships, ranging from one-off videos it will create for a brand to entire shows it hosts on its channels, such as the three seasons of the ‘Local Flight’ series it produced with Grey Goose, visiting cocktail bars around the world.

Tastemade charges customers a $2.99 for a monthly subscription to its app and $19.99 for an annual subscription. 

Traction

While the company does not publicly disclose its revenue, it revealed how it made a profit in the second half of 2020.  The company now has over 300 million monthly viewers on all major digital, mobile and streaming television platforms which amount to 700 million minutes watched every month. It has viewers in more than 200 countries with monthly views that exceed 2 billion. It has also spread its streaming network to 40 countries and plans to rope in more before the end of the year.

Founder(s) & Team

Larry Fitzgibbon (LinkedIn): Co-Founder and CEO at Tastemade. Larry previously worked as Executive Vice President of Media and Operations at Demand Media and as VP of Business Development at Citysearch. 

Steven Kydd (LinkedIn): Co-Founder at Tastemade. Steven previously served as an advisor at Bluefin Labs and as Executive Vice President of Studios at Demand Media. He has also worked at Yahoo! As Vice President of Business Development and Strategy. 

Joe Perez (LinkedIn): Co-Founder and Board Member at Tastemade. Joe previously co-founded Day-J, a health and wellness platform. He also worked as Executive Vice President of Product and Community at Demand Media and co-founded Livestrong.com, a platform that offers diet, nutrition and fitness tips. 

History & Evolution

• Three members of Demand Media’s founding team, Larry Fitzgibbon, Joe Perez, and Steven Kydd quit their jobs and went on a quest to start their own media business. They started brainstorming for startup ideas while aiming to use the media experience they gained working at Demand Media and combine it with their love for food.

• In 2012, they launched Tastemade, a Youtube-centric programming network that showcased both their own content as well as other video-makers’. It followed a similar format to Youtube networks Machinima and Big Frame. The company also opened a 7,000 square feet production studio in Santa Monica that featured a kitchen set to shoot cooking videos.

• In 2013, the company had 200,000 subscribers on Youtube and its shows had 18 million views. Its affiliated channels collectively had 4 million subscribers and their shows were being viewed 50 million times a month. It also raised a $10M funding in Series B round after previously securing $5.3M in a Series A round. Finally, the company launched an iPhone App to provide more content to its consumers. 

• In 2014, Tastemade raised $25M in a Series C funding round. It also won 2 James Beard Awards in the New Media Category for its program ‘Thirsty For…..’ and documentary ‘The Perennial Plate.’ It also produced 18 new shows featuring different content for its consumers. 

• In 2015, Tastetmade was launched on Apple TV to provide hundreds of episodes of its premium original programming to millions of Apple TV users. Snapchat also added a Discover Channel for the company that year. The company also raised $40M in a Series D funding round. That same year Fast Company named it one of the World’s Top Most Innovative Companies. 

• In 2016, Tastemade partnered with Facebook to produce and air 100 Facebook Lives shows every month. It also launched ;Tiny Kitchens’ which instantly became a cult favorite. The company also announced the production of 7 original projects, 3 of which would exclusively roll out only on Snapchat.

• In 2017, Tastemade was getting 2 billion monthly views on its videos when it decided to expand into the world of travel and home categories. It launched two new channels called Tastemade Home and Tastemade Travel. 

• In 2018, Tastemade published its first cookbook called ‘Good Food Book’ which featured 50 recipes for gatherings and get-togethers. That same year it raised $35M in a Series E funding round. Moreover, the company also struck a partnership with Disney to Disney Eats.  

• In 2019, Tastemade signed a nonexclusive licensing deal with Hulu. According to the contract, 24 Tastemade shows would roll out on Hulu till the end of 2019 and would feature episodes from good, travel and lifestyle categories.  

• In 2020, Tastemade acquired ChefsFeed, a content platform for professional cooks to share recipes and restaurant views. This gave the company access to their 40 million viewers and network of more than 6,000 chefs. That same year, Mitsui invested in Tastemade Japan. The company also announced partnerships with both Walmart as well as Heineken.

• In 2021, Tastemade made waves in the international community by launching its app in different countries in their native languages. It first launched the Portuguese version of its streaming network in Brazil. Then its Spanish-language channel debuted in Latin American markets. Recently it launched an English-language network in India, its first Asian market. Additional rollouts are coming in Sweden and The Netherlands. Moreover, the firm is in the process of making a couple of dozen original shows globally, double of what it produced last year. More than half the new productions are for international audiences. 

From archive.org

Additional Learnings

Tastemade’s one-stop platform is what differentiates it from its competitors as the company not only provides creators a built-in potential customer base but also offers additional income opportunities including show offers and brand deals.  Tastemade has successfully combined numerous categories of creator economy company into one by adding subscription and event sales to the mix. 

Market Snapshot

• According to The Media Global Market Report 2020-30, the global media market was valued at $1713B in 2020, having increased at a CAGR of 3.8% since 2015. By 2025 the market is expected to grow to $2670.7B at a CAGR of 9.3%. 

Suggested Next Reads

• 'Struggle Meals' was a pandemic hit. Now it's going global (Ryan Faughnder, LA Times, March ‘21)

• Tastemade finds success in food-crazed Japan, especially on Twitter (Sahil Patel, Digiday, Feb ‘17)

• Tastemade Still Has ‘Tiny Kitchen,’ but There’s Nothing Tiny About Its TV Ambitions (Scott Porch, Deicider, July ‘20)

• How food become cool (Larry Fitzgibbon, CEO, Tastemade; Helen Rosner, editor at large, Eater) (Recode Media Podcast, July ‘17)

• Here's how they make those food videos on your Facebook feed (Drew Harwell, LA Times, Aug ‘16)

Snapshot

Mythical Games is a game technology studio that aims to bring players, creators, brands and game developers together through personalized experiences and content. It is focused on building player-owned economies with top game developers and publishers in addition to its own portfolio of games. For this, it leverages blockchain technology and playable NFTs (Non-fungible Tokens) that enable players to become stakeholders and owners in new play-to-earn game economies.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Mythical has raised a total of $260M in funding over 5 rounds. In November 2021, Mythical raised its latest funding from a Series C round. In September 2018, Mythical acquired Arcuity. 

About Mythical Games: Website, LinkedIn

Business Overview & Products

The company mainly offers a decentralized gaming application called the Mythical Platform. This uses blockchain technology to produce games where any assets developed or acquired by players are owned by them. Mythical is also working on an Economic Engine, which is intended to help players create NFT Marketplaces that are in compliance with regulatory requirements. This engine will enable them to comply with anti-money laundering laws and other legal frameworks.

Mythical has launched its first game into beta testing in 2021, called the Blankos Block Party. It is an open-world multiplayer game and a platform where players can create games with NFTs. The game has a marketplace where players can buy and sell their characters, which can be customized or decorated with various digital goods earned in the game. To generate initial interest in the game, Mythical Games announced collaborations with Burberry, DeadMau5, Quiccs, and El Grand Chamaco in 2021.

How It Works

The team at Mythical is led by gaming industry veterans. These veterans are specialists in building games around player-owned economies, and have been involved in the development of major franchises such as the well-known Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero, DJ Hero, Marvel Strike Force and Skylanders.

The decentralized gaming application is used by the company to build games on blockchain that allow players to have ownership of their digital assets in the game. These games serve as integrated secondary markets which can be used to develop new, in-game economies by players based on their digital ownership of the assets. The interesting aspect of this business is that it provides players a way for selling their digital assets to other players for real money, in safe and secure transactions on the Mythical Marketplace. 

The Economic Engine is responsible for helping players create compliant NFT marketplaces. NFTs use the blockchain, a secure and transparent digital ledger, to authenticate unique digital items. Adding NFTs to a game also means that a company has to create a digital wallet for players to securely hold their digital property. Meanwhile, the blockchain platform often has to be modified to reduce transaction costs, speed up transactions, and use less energy than the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

Business Model & Pricing

The company is both a game developer and created the Mythical Platform to enable others to develop blockchain games that use NFT assets and a play-to-earn model. Players are able to sell the assets they produce in-game, and are also allowed to sell any digital assets they earn while playing.

The way video game companies make money has drastically changed. The game “Blankos Block Party” is a multiplayer online game where players can interact with a virtual world through customizable avatars and compete in games. Mythical is planning to add digital assets such as DLCs or in-game items – within its game, and the company has created a whole in-game economy built on blockchain, called the dGoods standard. This concept allows players to own the digital assets in the game. 

To dive deeper into the technological aspects, the Mythical Platform is constructed upon an “EVM-compatible sidechain” that uses an environmentally friendly and sustainable model. To mint NFTs, it is not required for players to mine.

Traction

Mythical Games has somewhat been a pioneer of the “play-to-earn” concepts. It is now known as a top player in the gaming technology world. The unique design and quality of gameplay that it offers has managed to attract mainstream players to its platform.

Recently, Mythical secured $150M in funding and it plans on using it to launch its Blankos Block Party along with its platform to create games with NFTs. It also plans on expanding its team and operations, and hiring new game developers. In the near future, Mythical will add new game content and collaborations to Blankos and will take it to new platforms. Eventually, Mythical plans on bringing new games onto its platform; developers will leverage its Mythical engine and Marketplace to bring playable NFTs into their games and create their own player-owned economies. It is now also planning to expand to the Metaverse.

Founder(s) & Team

John Linden: Co-founder and CEO of Mythical Games. Linden is a video game developer and entrepreneur based out of Los Angeles. Prior to Mythical Games, John served as the President of Seismic Games. 

Jamie Jackson: Co-founder and CCO of Mythical Games. Jamie Jackson is a Games industry veteran of 20 years.Prior to Mythical Games, he founded Slingshot Cartel LLP, and FreeStyleGames LTD. He has also served as Studio Head at Activision Blizzard.

Rudy Koch: Co-founder and SVP of Business Development. He has over 10 years of game development experience, and is responsible for shipping some of the most prolific games in the industry.

History and Evolution

The way video games traditionally made money has changed, following the “Free-to-Play” revolution. Players would just make a one-time purchase of the game they wanted to play and video game companies made money off those purchases. But as games got more complex and internet-dependent, video game companies started introducing Downloadable Content (DLCs) and in-game purchases. This allows players to buy extra content on top of the game such as, characters, levels, costumes, etc. and lets the company reap greater profits. This resulted in free-to-play games at the base level along with in-game purchases. 

Then came Mythical Games in 2018. And based in Los Angeles, Mythical Games is building a next-generation game technology studio and currently pioneering the “playable NFTs” concept. The company is currently developing several games for PC, mobile, and consoles. These will be developed on its blockchain, and will let players own “pieces” of the game.

So far in its short operating history, Mythical Games has achieved the following milestones:

• June 4, 2018: Raised a $1M seed round.

• November 15, 2018: Raised a $15M Series A round.

• November 4, 2019: Raised a $19M Series A round.

• November 6, 2019: Announced integration of Microsoft Azure blockchain tokens with dGoods standard.

• October 27, 2020: Brought digital scarcity to gaming

• June 9, 2021: Raised a $75M Series B round for Blankos Block Party game and playable NFTs.

• June 14, 2021: Launched early access for Blankos Block Party.

• June 15, 2021: Burberry announced a partnership with Mythical Games.

  

Additional Learnings

• In the Blankos open beta, at present there exist more than 60,000 NFTs for more than 300,000 registered players. However, there are fewer than 5,000 Blankos in circulation which are designed by artists.

• Mythical Games was one of Forbes Disruptive Technology Companies to Watch in 2019 and a Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas in 2021.

• In January 2022, Mythical Games announced its acquisition of Polystream, which is a cloud-streaming platform. This is in line with Mythical Games's plans to start building in the Metaverse.

Market Snapshot

• In traditional video games, players pay real money for in-game items that cannot be easily sold to other players. Billions of dollars have been spent on in-game assets (more than $50B per year) across the video game industry that are useless if players lose interest in the game or don’t need the digital item to play anymore.

• As highlighted in a TechCrunch article, in the founding year of Mythical Games the market sentiment was very positive regarding the booming gaming business. This stemmed from the success of Epic Games, Twitch, Discord and others in the space that had successful funding rounds one after the other. Some of the highlights of the time include:

  • Epic Games raised $1.25B from the success of its game, Fortnite. By that point, Fortnite had earned an astonishing $1B from in-game virtual purchases alone.

  • Discord, a chat application for gamers, raised a $50M financing at a $1.65B valuation

  • Dapper Labs, best known for the blockchain-based game CryptoKitties, raised a VC round financing of $15M.

  • In total, VCs had invested $1.8B in gaming startups that year, per PitchBook.

• In a 2021 article, the rising popularity of NFTs is highlighted. Dapper Labs has now seen sales and resales of those NFTs top $780M. In March, an NFT digital collage by the artist Beeple sold at Christie’s for $69.3M. NFT sales hit $1.2B in the first quarter, $1.3B in the second quarter, and a whopping $10.7B in the third quarter as games such as Axie Infinity took off.

Suggested Next Reads 

• Mythical Games wants to conquer the world of free-to-play with blockchain (Decrypt, November ‘19)

• Mythical Games raises $75M to build an NFT game engine (Techcrunch, June ’21)

• Andreessen-Backed Mythical Games Buys Game Streaming Startup to Build in the Metaverse (Decrypt, January ‘22)

These briefs are produced by leveraging publicly available data sources and information. If you notice a mistake or see an area for improvement, please let us know through this typeform or via email (team@sandhill.io).

Snapshot

Founded in 2018, Karnataka-headquartered Mobile Premier League (MPL) is India’s leading eSports and online gaming platform. Through its app, it offers over 70 online games and allows users to participate in live tournaments and win cash. 

MPL has been growing at a stellar rate ever since the coronavirus pandemic, as entertainment starved consumers move towards online gaming. In 2021, it became India’s second gaming unicorn after raising $150M in a Series E funding round led by Legatum Capital. It is now valued at $2.3B with more than 800 employees operating in 3 countries including India, Indonesia, and the US with 5 million daily winnings and a registered user base of 85 million. 

The startup is supported by investors including Sequoia Capital, SIG, MDI, Moore Strategic Ventures, Composite Capital, Times Internet, Go-Ventures, and Base Partners. It has also received the ‘Best Emerging Gaming Company Award’ at GATO Award 2019 and the ‘Best Fantasy Sports Operator’ award at the Indian Gaming Awards 2019.

About Mobile Premier League: Website, Linkedin

Business Overview & Products

Mobile Premier League Offers 60+ games in the following categories:

• Fantasy

• Card skill

• Sports game

• Arcade games

• Casual games

• Brain games

• Puzzle games

• MPL esports

The company operates across the US, India, and Indonesia with plans to expand to South Korea and Japan. 

How It Works

MPL provides a platform for game publishers to connect players through its app. The platform does not develop its own games, instead, game developers publish their games on MPL under a revenue-sharing agreement. This allows them to monetize their games through cash tournaments and contests. 

The app is free to join and allows users to either play free practice versions of games or participate in tournaments and matches where they can earn cash prizes. To enter tournaments, MPL provides $5 in bonus cash so that users can start playing immediately. 

Entry fees differ from tournament to tournament but range between 25 cents to $6 mostly. The highest cash prize a player can win in a tournament is $40, while the highest pool prize is $1.250 which is then divided between multiple winners. Upon winning a tournament or contest, users can seamlessly transfer the earnings via bank transfer, or through UPI or PayTM. Upon referring the platform to a friend, the user receives a referral bonus. 

The users can play skill-based games and win cash prizes in three different game formats: 

Tournaments:

During a tournament on MPL, users are supposed to submit their highest score in order to rank high on the leaderboard. For the final leaderboard calculation, only the highest score of each user is considered. However, users are allowed to play a game multiple times in a tournament.  

1-vs-1 battles:

There are some games on the platform that can only be played in 1 vs 1 mode that too against real players. According to the format of this match, whichever player finishes the game first or scores higher, wins the cash prize.

Fantasy Sports:

SuperTeam fantasy sports, a consumer favorite, allows players to create virtual teams and join contests for upcoming live matches. Users are awarded points based on the real-life performance of the players they have selected. Ultimately cash prizes are awarded to users whose selected players perform well in the live match.

Business Model & Pricing

MPL has a business-to-consumer (B2C) model where it offers over 60 skill-based multiplayer games to its consumers with the option of participating in tournaments and matches and winning cash prizes. The platform does not develop in-house games, instead, it gives freelancer developers a chance to publish their games on MPL under revenue-sharing agreements. In 2020 the company announced INR 10 crore ($1.3M) in revenue for 10 game developers on its platform in just one year.

MPL has multiple revenue streams including the entry fees it charges ranging between $0.60 to $6 from players whenever they participate in any game. There is also a hosting fee amounting to 20% of the total money raised by the participating players in tournaments. During the IPL T20 season, MPL also earned money by selling one-time purchase tickets of fantasy sports for $1.3. Once the ticket was purchased, users could play fantasy sports for free for all matches. Moreover, just like other apps, MPL also earns revenue through advertisements and in-app purchases.

Traction

In 2020, MPL’s reported revenue of $2.5M was a significant increase from 2019’s revenue of $500k. Its annual revenue run rate for 2021 was reported at $1.5 to $2B. In 2021, the company became India’s second gaming unicorn after raising $150M in a Series E funding round and is now valued at $2.3B. MPL’s Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) was reported to have been at $1B in February 2021.

2020 proved to be an exciting year for the company as MPL Sports apparel and accessories became the official kit sponsor and merchandise partner of the National men’s and women’s teams. With this move, MPL dethroned Nike and then went on to become the presenting sponsor for the hit reality tv show, Bigg Boss, thus elevating its popularity and exposure among the Indian audience. 

The platform offers more than 60 games in India and over 30 in Indonesia, working with more than 30 game developers and studios to date. MPL was reported to have over 85 million global active users out of which 10 million were paid users. The company’s user base in Indonesia has reached 5 million and they aim to increase their user count to 300,000 in the US where they recently launched operations in 2021. 

According to their website, the company has:

• Over 60 games on its platform

• 250 million winnings daily

• A user base of more than 90 million

Founder(s)

Shubh Malhotra: Co-founder of MPL. Shubh founded numerous companies before launching MPL with Sai Srinivas. Right after graduation, he co-founded Capillary Technologies, a technology service provider, and then CREO Tech, a leading IT consulting and Solution Company. Later CREO was acquired by Hike, and he served as their Head of Engineering until MPL was founded. 

Sai Srinivas Kiran G: CEO and Co-founder of MPL. Sai Srinivas, an IITian, started his career journey with Zynga, a gaming firm where he served as an Associate Product Manager. Working for a gaming firm is what encouraged him to ultimately launch his own esports platform, MPL. Srinivas also co-founded Base9, a company that organizes and promotes live events in India, as well as CREO Tech, a leading IT consulting and Solution Company. 

History & Evolution

• In 2018, Srinivas and Malhotra discovered a gap in the gaming industry after noticing there was no mobile platform to connect game developers to users. Hence they came up with the idea of paid entry gaming contests to resolve this problem. To test this idea, they organized game nights on their apartment’s rooftop where each player was given a device loaded with games, and after every half an hour competition their scores were displayed on a blackboard. As time passed, the number of participants grew and the duo decided to introduce an INR 5 entry fee and a winner-takes-all prize. 

• The session soon gained massive popularity and as a result, the two founders decided to launch MPL, a gaming platform where users compete for cash prizes. Within three months, the app hit 600,000 daily active users.

• In 2019, the company’s app had 25 million downloads, making it the fastest-growing app in India. That year it expanded its operations to Indonesia and acquired Crevise, a product engineering consultancy firm.

• MPL also became a broadcast partner for the popular cricket competition, Indian Premier League, and signed cricket star Virat Kohli as their brand ambassador. The startup was also recognized as the ‘Best Fantasy Sports Operator’ by the India Gaming Awards.

• In 2020, due to the pandemic, MPL witnessed a great hike in its performance as users rushed towards entertainment platforms during the lockdown. Between March and the end of June, it tripled both its users and revenue. MPL Sports also replaced Nike as the official kit sponsor of the Indian Cricket Team. 

• In 2021, it acquired Gaming Monk, an eSports gaming platform, and became India’s second gaming unicorn after raising $150M in a Series E funding round. It is now valued at $2.3B and has expanded its operations to the US.

Additional Learnings

• In 2021, MPL was criminalized in Karnataka after the enactment of the state legislation which prohibits money wagering and betting in online fantasy gaming apps like MPL, Paytm First Games, and RummyCircle, etc. The company has filed a petition against this ban and is currently awaiting a decision as Karnataka High Court has reserved its judgment after concluding all the hearings from petitioners.

• The company has partnered with The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) to create a mobile version of an Olympic-style shooting game. The aim to is encourage esports in India through this non-violent shooting game which will adhere to the rules set by International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) and hopefully groom prospective champions.

Market Snapshot

• In 2021, India is currently the 4th largest online gaming market worldwide with 400 gaming startups at present accelerating its growth. 

• Mobile game downloads in India increased to 2.9 billion in July-September 2020 as the online gaming sector witnessed tremendous growth worldwide during the pandemic. People used gaming as a form of both entertainment and escapism and as a result, the industry raked $1.8B revenue in India alone in 2021. This number is expected to grow to $3.84B in the next 5 years at a compound annual growth rate of 21%. 

• In 2020, over 100 million users which amounts to 14% of all smartphone users in India joined fantasy gaming platforms. The fantasy sports industry witnessed a 3x increase in its revenue to $340.5M in 2020 and with its current rapid traction is expected to be worth US$ 3.7 billion by 2024.

Suggested Next Reads

• The New Playtime: The Secret To MPL's Massive Mobile Success (Peggy Anne Salz, Forbes, April 9, 2020)

• Mobile Premier League: many have won on the platform, but can the platform win the game? (Disha Sharma, Economic Times India, September 25, 2019)

• AJVC Unfiltered 19: Is Mobile Premier League the Real Deal? (Mazin & Aviral, Founders Unfiltered, November 28, 2021)

• Gaming Apps Block Access in Karnataka as Ban Takes Effect (Reuters, October 6, 2021)

These briefs are produced by leveraging publicly available data sources and information. If you notice a mistake or see an area for improvement, please let us know through this typeform or via email (team@sandhill.io).

Subscribe now

Snapshot

Launched by Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett in 2011, Vox Media is an online mass media publishing conglomerate that manages a portfolio of editorial properties. It is made up of well-known media brands and numerous publications. It also owns a proprietary content management system and its own marketplace for advertising. It creates, publishes, and distributes engaging online content via multiple publications, thereby connecting young adults worldwide through that content. 

Vox Media has raised a total of $307.6M in funding over 9 rounds and has a post-money valuation in the range of about $1B, according to Inc. Headquartered in Washington, it has offices in San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Austin, and London.

About Vox Media: Website, LinkedIn

Business Overview & Products

Vox Media owns a portfolio that features the most relevant and quality editorial properties across the biggest consumer categories, including but not limited to:

1. The Verge: technology, culture, and science news site 

2. Vox: general interest news website that uses explanatory journalism

3. SB Nation: sports blogging network which covers several sports franchises

4. Polygon: gaming website that focuses on people making and playing the games

5. Eater: food and nightlife site that offers reviews and news about the restaurant industry

6. Curbed: real estate, home, and urban design website

Vox also owns several online publications such as The Strategist, New York Magazine, The Cut, and Vulture. It has its own enterprises, including the content management system called Chorus along with others such as Coral and Epic. These also include its own brands such as Vox Creative, Vox Entertainment, Vox Media Studios, and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Finally, it offers premium advertising solutions such as its marketplace for advertising called Concert as well as its podcasts.

How It Works

Vox Media acquires and consolidates brands into its growing portfolio at an impressive pace. Recently it acquired a podcasting newsletter called the Hot Pod in September 2021. A month prior to this, it acquired a well-known drinks publisher called Punch. Multiple other acquisitions were completed in a short period of time including Cafe Studios and podcast creator Criminal Productions. Currently, Vox Media’s portfolio comprises many brands such as The Verge, SB Nation, and Polygon. These editorial brands generate free-for-view content that caters to some of the biggest consumer categories. The Vox Media Podcast Network is one of the largest curations of popular podcasts covering technology, news, pop culture, and more. In addition, Vox Media Studios is a nonfiction production and distribution studio for many Television and streaming partners.

It also offers a premium suite of advertising solutions that aim to improve audience experience and brand results. These include Concert, a powerful publisher-led advertising marketplace that delivers scale, quality, turnkey execution, and responsible data. Other solutions include full-service content, custom responsive digital display, data science and more.

Business Model & Pricing

Vox Media owns a “portfolio of digital properties across many verticals and has not typically relied on reader revenue,” according to Digital Content Next. Instead, it leverages a revenue model across its portfolio that consists of advertising, branded content, and commerce content across print, digital, audio, and video mediums. 

At the time of its launch, Vox Media had largely been free to access. Moreover, without a paywall or subscription product, advertising was its major source of revenue. This changed when it acquired New York Media in 2019, which relied heavily on reader revenue from subscriptions. New York Media uses a metered paywall which allows readers to access a limited amount of content before being prompted to subscribe to access the rest. More recently, the company acquired the popular newsletter Hot Pod, which is set to become the company’s first paid-for product. Vox plans to keep the subscription price for the newsletter at $7 per month and give all paid Hot Pod subscribers a 3-month subscription to New York Magazine.

Traction

In 2019, Vox media’s monthly visitors were about 125 million across its 13 editorial networks. At that point in time, it was gearing to acquire New York Media which would only help accelerate its growth.

Then in 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic forced people around the world to stay in their homes, it drove unprecedented amounts of traffic towards online media companies. That year it witnessed a 40% surge in its website visits. To support this increase, the company turned to its audience and started a reader contribution initiative. This was meant to support Vox’s cross-platform journalism, and readers were given the option to contribute between $7, $18, $50 or $100, either as a monthly or a one-time payment. Moreover, Vox Media also partnered with Google in 2020 to create a local advertising network called Concert Local in an investment of over $1M. This network would pool together a collective ad inventory from many local news publishers, making it easier for big, national advertisers to target local news audiences.

Vox Media’s internal expectations about its growth trajectory are reflected through its goals. Digiday published an article in 2020 highlighting that the Vox Media Podcast Network had been generating over $10M a year in revenue from a roster of more than 200 shows across Vox’s 14 brands, and the company aimed at achieving a minimum of $20M in 2020. By the end of December 2020, Vox Media was aiming for more than $100M in revenue in 2021 through its podcast and video productions. According to the New York Times, its overall revenue at that point was roughly $300M.

From April 2021, as explained by Axios, “Comscore ranks Vox Media as the 33rd-most popular media company among users from the United States. In the future, Vox Media Studios wants to start building out more TV and streaming franchises for brands it acquired via the New York Media merger. It is also looking to expand from producing mostly its own shows to producing more for other companies.”

Moreover, according to its website, today Vox Media can boast the following statistics:

• 112 Million people reached each month on our sites alone

• 2.3 Million magazine readers

• 68 Million social footprint

• 20 Million people monthly podcast downloads

• 220 Million reached monthly on publisher-led Concert marketplace

• 500+ websites powered by Chorus and Clay publishing technology

Founder(s)

Jim Bankoff: Chairman and CEO of Vox Media. Prior to joining SB Nation, Jim served as a Senior Advisor at Providence Equity Partners. As a 25-year veteran of the online industry, he has developed and led dozens of popular websites on the Internet.

Trei Brundrett: COO of Vox Media. Previously, he was the co-founder of the boutique digital strategy firm Handwire. Currently, he also sits on the board of directors for The Texas Tribune.

History and Evolution

Before the creation of Vox Media, a sports blog network by the name of SB Nation had been established in 2005. The network soon became wildly popular and in 2008, executive Jim Bankoff was hired as an advisor for its growth prospects. He was promoted to CEO in 2009 and was interested in SB Nation’s goals to incorporate other niche-oriented sports blogs. By this time, SB Nation had become the fastest-growing sports network among its peers.

In 2011, Bankoff launched a technology-oriented website within the same network as SB Nation, hoping to capture the same demographic. This was meant to be complementary to SB Nation and was named The Verge. Side by side, Bankoff and Brundrett created Vox Media as the parent company for both SB Nation and The Verge in 2011. Brundrett became Vox Media's Vice President of products and technology, and later Chief Product Officer.

After its creation, Vox Media embarked on a fast-paced journey. It rapidly acquired other networks and launched its own websites in quick succession. By 2014, it had made a name for itself as a general interest news service. In 2019, its new division Vox Media Studios had been created and New York Media was also acquired, which was a hefty addition to its portfolio. Today, Vox Media owns several editorial brands, which primarily include The Verge, Vox, SB Nation, Eater, Polygon, and New York. Vox Media's brands are founded upon its advertising marketplace called Concert and its proprietary content management system called Chorus. It now has offices in San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Austin, and London.

In December 2021, Vox Media announced its plans to acquire and merge with Group Nine Media, based out of New York. The deal was made in exchange for stock in the combined company, instead of cash, and is expected to close in the first few months of 2022.

Additional Learnings

• In August 2015, the $200M equity investment made by NBCUniversal in Vox Media valued the company at more than $1B. Comcast, which owns NBC, additionally already owned 14% of Vox through other subsidiaries.

• In January 2018, Vox Media recognised a labor union formed by its editorial staff, called the “Vox Media Union”. 

• Vox Media has been the subject of multiple lawsuits, twice for labor rights violations. It has also been sued over copyright infringement issues. 

• In 2020, Vox Media laid off 6% of its workforce, letting go of about 70 employees.

• According to the CEO, the December 2021 deal to acquire and merge with Group Nine Media would provide financial resources for Vox Media to invest in its own editorial products, as well as the media websites that makeup Group Nine Media.

Market Snapshot

• An article published in April 2021 highlights that podcasts alone represent a significant sector worthy of investment. Estimates for the US alone predict that 1/5th of all ad dollars will be spent on the sector this year, exceeding $1B for the first time. This is supported by the fact that 38% of marketers are planning to boost podcast spending through 2021.

• Publishers like Vox Media are increasingly merging with their biggest rivals. Such a strategy is meant to help these media companies make more money from corporate advertisers and to compete against tech giants such as Facebook and Google.
  In a string of media consolidations, Vice Media recently acquired Refinery29 in 2019, Buzzfeed acquired Complex Networks and the Huffpost, Group Nine Media acquired Popsugar in 2019, and now Vox Media and Group Nine Media are merging.

Suggested Next Reads

• Vox Looks To Ramp Up Its Audio And Video Revenue in 2021 (Inside Radio, December ‘20)

• Scoop: Vox Media Studios targets $100 million in 2021 revenue (Axios, December ‘20)

• Vox.com Asks Readers to Contribute to Journalism (Mediapost, September ‘20)

• Vox Media aims for $20m-plus podcast business in 2020 (Digiday, January ‘20)

• Vox Media has a new pitch for advertisers after buying New York Magazine and affiliated sites (CNBC, December ‘19)