Balancing traditional and new media ventures

From: myfirstmillionpod

The speaker, Sahil Bloom, discusses his career trajectory from traditional private equity to building a diverse portfolio in the information economy, highlighting the distinct advantages and challenges of each path. He also offers insights into emerging opportunities within the new media landscape.

From Private Equity to the Information Economy

Sahil began his career working in private equity, a field characterized by demanding schedules, often 80 to 100-hour workweeks, and high-stress environments, particularly during economic downturns [04:42]. Principals (GPs) in well-performing private equity funds can accumulate a net worth exceeding $50 million, primarily through management fees (1.5-2% on large funds) and “carry” (15-25% of profits above a hurdle rate) [03:15]. Despite the financial rewards, the work is described as “grindy” and offering “piss-poor leverage” on time [06:25].

The COVID-19 pandemic provided a “fork in the road moment” for Sahil, giving him time to reflect on his career satisfaction [09:13]. He observed friends in the tech world successfully leveraging platforms like Twitter to generate income [10:43]. This led him to consider building a “little side hustle” through courses or an agency business [10:51]. A key conversation with a friend helped him decide to pursue ventures that provided more energy and felt scalable, rather than continuing down a “safe” but less fulfilling path [11:18].

Current Ventures in the Information Economy

Currently, Sahil is involved in several ventures that demonstrate the potential of the information economy:

• Venture Fund He raised a $10 million venture fund from institutions and GPs at larger funds [07:17].
• Newsletter His newsletter has approximately 125,000 subscribers and generates $3,500-$6,000 per send, with eight to ten sends per month [07:37]. He values newsletter subscribers highly, estimating each is worth $3-4 in sponsor revenue, plus potential future book sales [02:26:46]. He emphasizes the time leverage of writing two newsletters a week [07:50].
• Agency Business Starting in late 2020, he identified an arbitrage opportunity in helping startups grow on Twitter through threads [14:28]. He initially offered strategic advisory services for $5,000 a month to around five clients, often founders of companies he had invested in [15:11]. This evolved into a ghostwriting agency in mid-2021 when clients needed help writing content [17:42]. He leveraged a pool of 400 students from a course on audience building (co-taught with Julian Shapiro) to provide freelance writing talent [18:00]. This agency scaled to nearly six figures in gross monthly revenue with high margins by charging clients for content creation while paying writers less, creating a “price arbitrage” [08:08]. His agency primarily serves tech and “nuts and bolts” founders, not VCs [19:02].

Comparing Traditional vs. New Media Ventures

Sahil compares the private equity path to the information economy path in terms of profit potential and time freedom: “Doing it in PE and like making 50 million dollars in PE from a time adjusted standpoint is a is a pretty grindy way to go do it” [06:21]. It offers high certainty of wealth generation if you’re with a good fund but requires working “your ass off until you’re like 60 years old” [06:42].

In contrast, the information economy, through ventures like newsletters, podcasts, and courses, offers significant “time leverage” [07:06]. For instance, a course launch might generate $300,000 in a week, allowing for a “chill” period of two to three months [06:54]. This greater freedom and time freedom is a key differentiator [06:11].

Insights on Emerging New Media Opportunities

Sahil highlights several opportunities in the new media space:

• LinkedIn Growth Agency

  • Opportunity: LinkedIn currently presents a “massive arbitrage opportunity” for audience growth, unlike the more saturated Twitter [20:20]. Founders and business builders can find significant business and recruiting opportunities on the platform [20:48].
  • Strategy: Convert proven tweets or existing long-form content (e.g., blogs) into LinkedIn carousels using tools like Tweetpic [21:07]. Offer to manage a client’s entire LinkedIn presence, posting 2-3 times a week, with a goal of growing their followers to 50,000 within a year [21:18].
  • Monetization: Charge a success fee or a monthly retainer (e.g., $2,500-$5,000 per month) [22:02]. The time commitment for this service is minimal, potentially as little as one hour per week per client, offering excellent arbitrage [22:10].
  • Validation: One host, Sean, confirmed this strategy works, having grown his LinkedIn followers to 38,000 without personally logging in [22:47]. Sahil notes that around 100,000 followers on LinkedIn is likely the point at which one can “harvest value” and generate significant sales revenue from courses or newsletters, citing Justin Welsh as an example [24:18].

• Newsletter Growth Service

  • Problem: While monetizing newsletters is becoming easier through ad agencies and networks, there’s a significant unmet need for “full suite growth service” [36:40]. Writers want to focus on writing, not managing growth [36:45].
  • Services: This service would manage and optimize landing pages, referral networks, newsletter swaps, paid ads, SEO, and cross-platform promotion [37:23].
  • Monetization: Successful founders and entrepreneurs are willing to pay a high monthly fee (e.g., $10,000 per month) for such a service, as they have capital and value an owned audience [39:10].
  • Model: It’s a service business that can be highly profitable (80%+ margin) if managed by a strong operator, even with a small number of high-paying clients [40:08].

• Mobile Podcast and Video Studio

  • Concept: Acquire a few vans, outfit them with high-quality podcast and video recording equipment (DSLR cameras, dual setups, mics), and decorate them with appealing backgrounds and lighting [00:04].
  • Operation: Station one van in major cities (e.g., LA, NYC) [00:22].
  • Monetization: Rent out the studio for $500 for two-hour podcast recordings or a few hundred dollars for filming Instagram shorts and TikToks [00:26]. Alternatively, offer it as a membership where clients can book the studio on demand [59:11].
  • Advantages: Lower overhead compared to physical studios paying city rent, as the vans can be moved to different parking lots [59:39].

The “Cringe” Factor and Adapting to Change

The discussion touches on the “cringe” aspect of some content strategies that prioritize virality or algorithms over authenticity. While acknowledging that some tactics might feel inauthentic (“sell five percent of my soul to the algorithm” [29:19]), Sahil emphasizes that if it helps people and achieves one’s goals, it can be justified [30:56]. He draws parallels to figures like GaryVee and Tony Robbins, who receive “hate” but whose methods “freaking work and it helps people” [31:13].

Sahil emphasizes the importance of knowing “what game you’re playing” long-term and how to “parlay that shit into” the next level [34:38]. He views being early to a market (like Twitter threads) as a means to build a brand and then extend it into other ventures, such as his newsletter, fund, and book deal [35:59]. He suggests that successful people in the new media space are constantly “figuring out the new way” to be on the cutting edge and build in other areas [36:28].

Long-Term Vision

Sahil expresses a long-term interest in running for public office, potentially as a governor [01:05:49]. He holds a Master’s in Public Policy [01:15:16] and believes that being a “reasonable thinker” with the “ability to change your mind” and “inspire people” are key qualities for effective political leadership [01:06:34]. He identifies as an independent voter, having voted for both Democrats and Republicans, and hopes a third party will emerge before he enters politics, due to his dislike for the current “polar politics” [01:06:45].