Turning Boring News into a $75 Million Media Success Story
Written on
Chapter 1: The Birth of an Idea
In 2014, Alex Lieberman, then a senior at the University of Michigan, was giving mock interview practice to juniors eager to land prestigious jobs on Wall Street. During this time, he noticed a common trend.
Many students were preparing for their interviews by poring over the Wall Street Journal, largely because their parents suggested it. They diligently read every article, cover to cover.
Alex found this perplexing.
"I was amazed. Hundreds, if not thousands, of ambitious students were investing significant time to kickstart their careers in business, yet they were consuming content that failed to genuinely engage them with the business landscape."
Motivated by this realization, Alex decided to take a different route.
The Innovative Approach
He launched a newsletter in 2014 called The Market Corner. Despite its rather mundane title, Alex focused on a unique approach: transforming dull news into engaging content.
Market Corner was centered around vital business updates but presented them in a conversational manner, offering a refreshing change from the typical blandness of standard business reporting.
The newsletter quickly gained traction, starting with just 45 subscribers and swiftly expanding to over a thousand. Shortly thereafter, fellow student Austin Reif joined him as a co-founder.
In no time, they rebranded the newsletter to a name that better reflected its essence: Morning Brew.
With the newsletter's rapid expansion, Alex enlisted volunteer writers and an editor to oversee content creation. However, they implemented another unconventional tactic.
They hired a "voice editor," whose main qualification was a good sense of humor.
This individual was responsible for ensuring the newsletter maintained a friendly and witty tone, akin to chatting with a clever friend. As a result, Morning Brew became infused with memes, puns, and amusing headlines.
This strategy paid off handsomely.
This distinctive hiring choice provided the content with a flair absent in conventional business news, propelling Morning Brew to remarkable heights.
By the time Alex graduated, the subscriber count had soared to over 10,000. Within a year, he left his comfortable position at Morgan Stanley to devote himself entirely to Morning Brew.
Unconventional Growth Strategy
This innovative approach — to craft engaging and conversational content — fueled their extraordinary growth. And it was a hit.
Readers embraced it, seeking an alternative to the same old news outlets. They were eager for something refreshing, and Morning Brew delivered it with flair.
These weren’t just casual readers; they were highly engaged individuals who became loyal followers.
As a result, advertising spots in Morning Brew's newsletters became prime real estate.
These weren’t just simple ads; they were personalized invitations into the readers' lives. They commanded premium rates, much higher than typical display ads found in traditional news articles.
This transformation allowed Morning Brew to evolve from a mere newsletter into a prominent media entity. By 2020, the company was generating an impressive $20 million in revenue and was profitable.
The $75 Million Acquisition
Morning Brew's innovative email newsletter model began to attract attention within the media landscape.
Others sought to capitalize on this new method of news delivery, eager to take part in the email revolution.
Eventually, Morning Brew was acquired by Insider Inc. for a staggering $75 million.
Yes, you read that right — $75 million. Quite an impressive payout!
Take a moment to reflect on the journey of Morning Brew. What began as a simple side project for Alex and Austin during their college years had transformed into a $75 million media giant.
In just five years, they disrupted the media industry, and their journey was far from over.
All of this success stemmed from Alex's unconventional strategy. He took business news — often perceived as tedious — and made it captivating. He transformed it into content that people actually wanted to read.
Keep it straightforward, everyone!