New Media

In today's episode, Matt and Kolby break down Alex Hormozi's three big content bets, his CAA signing and reality-show push, and Jessi Jean's $297 "Yap on Camera Challenge" that reportedly made $1.2M in a single day — pulling out what's working, what's being left on the table, and what every media founder should take notes on.

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:25 The $1.2M Launch in 72 Minutes
07:34 Why Cohorts Are a Superior Business Model
11:54 Inside the Hybrid Cohort Format
17:15 Public Homework as a Viral Engine
17:57 Do You Even Need a Community?
20:22 Don't Sleep on Instagram
24:43 How Jessie Could Scale to $1M/Month
32:44 Hormozi's Content Bets: Show, Don't Tell
36:14 Bet #2: Netflix-Level Production ("Scale or Fail")
41:00 Bet #3: Live and Interactive Content
43:24 Replicating It Without a Big Budget
46:30 Legacy Media: CAA, Netflix, and Radio
50:07 Distribution Is King

📌 Resources:
Jessi Jean — Yap On Camera Challenge
Alex Hormozi — "Scale or Fail" 
Starter Story (acquired by HubSpot)

Enjoying the show? Leave a 5-star review on Apple or Spotify, then email matt@growletter.co or kolby@growletter.co with a screenshot and a question — we'll answer it on the show.

This episode is brought to you by Circle — the all-in-one platform to run your community, courses, and memberships in one place. Try it free 👉 https://circle.so/eclipse

In today's episode Matt and Kolby break down Forbes' 2026 Top Creators list, the surprising revival of luxury print media, and Kit's biggest product launch ever—pulling out what's working, what's being left on the table, and what every media founder should take notes on.

Timestamps:
00:00 Forbes Top Creators 2026
01:14 The $1B Milestone & MrBeast's $300M
02:10 Breaking Down the Top 10
05:44 YouTube-to-Hollywood Crossover
06:41 Mark Rober's Subscription Box Playbook
09:42 Cody Sanchez & the Creator Capital Allocator
11:42 Hot Takes: Who Forbes Missed
14:36 Streamers & the Entrepreneurship Score Debate
17:35 Is Print Back? The Mountain Gazette Story
22:41 Why Print Is the Next Vinyl: Firecrown & Colossus
28:05 Building Fandom With Physical Products
30:38 New Media Summit 2027 in Austin
31:25 Kit's Craft + Commerce Launch: SMS & Subscriber Signals
37:29 Beehiiv's July Launch & the "Everything App" Trap
43:02 Circle's Focused Launch & Wrap-Up
Resources:
Forbes List
Mountain Gazette
Firecrown Media
Colossus
New Media Summit

In this episode, Matt McGarry, Ryan Carr, and Kolby Hatch analyze the recent beehiiv summer release, discussing new features like community, podcast integrations, and ad networks, and sharing insights on how to effectively leverage these tools for business growth.

In today's episode Matt and Kolby break down historic media disruptions—from cable TV's ESPN and CNN to Joe Rogan's $250M Spotify deal—pulling out what's working, what's being left on the table, and who actually has a real thesis on AI today, from The Rundown's $10M+ newsletter to HubSpot's media buying spree.

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro: AI Anxiety and Plateauing Founders
03:59 The Framework: How Founders Should Respond to AI
05:14 Is This an AI Bubble? Cable TV's ESPN and CNN Bet
08:35 Web 1.0: Huffington Post's $315M Exit and Motley Fool's Billion-Dollar Run
09:32 Viral Video Era: BuzzFeed's Rise, Barstool's $551M Sale
12:23 Mobile Wave: Industry Dive's $525M Exit
14:12 Axios's Smart Brevity and $525M Sale
17:27 The Athletic's $500M Sale, Joe Rogan's $250M Deal, and Mr. Beast
19:54 The Common Thread: Every Disruptor Needs a Thesis
22:40 Who Has a Real AI Thesis Today?
24:59 The Rundown AI's $10M+ Newsletter and Its PE Deal
29:31 HubSpot's Strategy of Buying Up Media Companies
34:55 Local News, AI-Generated Content, and 6AM City
46:06 Breaking Points, Ground News, and the Rise of Trusted Filters
53:03 Owning a New Category: Latent Space's AI Engineer Events
59:13 Every's Bundled AI Tools and Software-Funded Media

📌 Resources: 
The Rundown AI
Every
Ground News
Latent Space

Enjoying the show? 
Leave a 5-star review on Apple or Spotify, then email matt@growletter.co or kolby@growletter.co with a screenshot and a question — we'll answer it on the show.

This episode is brought to you by Circle — the all-in-one platform to run your community, courses, and memberships in one place. Try it free 👉 https://circle.so/eclipse

Chandler Bolt (SelfPublishing.com) joins Matt to break down how one niche book generated $7M in 12 months, why "the riches are in the niches," how to turn tactics into ownable frameworks, and the value ladder that grew SelfPublishing.com past $80M.

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:25 Can a Niche Expert Really Write a Book?
03:59 Why a Book Is the Ultimate Lever
06:36 "I'm Not a Good Writer" — Write Like You Talk
09:06 Is My Idea Too Niche? Strategies vs Tactics
11:05 How "Published" Made $7M in 12 Months
13:37 Turning Tactics Into Frameworks
17:19 Does a Book Have To Be 250 Pages?
19:55 Selling Books Without a Huge Audience
24:13 Book Royalties Explained (20–70%)
25:47 Amazon Discovery + Vertical SEO
28:19 How To Use AI To Write a Book
33:37 Will a Book Cannibalize My Course?
38:09 One-to-One vs One-to-Many: Packaging Expertise
42:12 Are Courses Dying? The Services Pivot
48:03 Where To Find Chandler

📌 Resources:
SelfPublishing.com
Book a call with the team
Sign and Thrive by Bill Soroka

🔗 Connect with Chandler Bolt:
Linkedin
Website
YouTube