Stay ConnectedNew Media is a podcast for founders and creators building independent media businesses. We explore how to grow and monetize audiences without depending on algorithms, advertising, and platforms you don’t control. Each episode shares practical insights on building profitable media and education businesses.
A GrowLetter podcast, hosted by Matt McGarry and Kolby Hatch.
Copyright: © 2023 Newsletter Operator
Jonathan Hunt (VP of HubSpot Media) joins Matt and Kolby to talk about how HubSpot built a 50M-reach owned-media network, the four-part test they run on every acquisition (Hustle, Mindstream, Starter Story, Futurepedia), and why they killed every audio-only podcast on the network.
Timestamps:
📌 Resources:
🔗 Connect with Jonathan:
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Katelyn Bourgoin (founder of Unignorable) joins Matt and Kolby to break down the 6 types of ownable ideas, the 5-question framework she uses to engineer one, why courses are losing value to AI-enabled "brainware" agencies, and a live audit of Matt's ownable idea.
Timestamps:
📌 Resources Mentioned:
🔗 Connect with Katelyn Bourgoin:
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.
Ryan Deiss (DigitalMarketer, Scalable.co) joins Matt to talk about why he killed an eight-figure course business, the 80% sales drop that forced the pivot, why AI is replacing courses faster than anyone wants to admit, and how to actually monetize expertise in a post-course world.
Timestamps:
📌 Resources:
🔗 Connect with Ryan Deiss:
Brian Morrissey (The Rebooting) joins Matt and Kolby to talk about his three-archetype theory of modern media, why most TBPN streaming-show clones will fail, the real strategic value of SMS, and why aging out of LinkedIn is a bigger flex than flying private.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:06 The 3 Media Archetypes: Artists, Suits, Engineers
05:54 Streaming Media and MTS vs TBPN
08:00 Why Webinars Punch Above Their Weight
12:37 The Power of Parasocial Podcast Connections
16:09 Is Streaming A Fad? Neo-Traditional Media
20:18 The Underpants Gnome Problem With Clips
24:03 Is SMS The New Email?
26:45 The Hardest Part Is Having The Audience
29:51 Brian's Writing Process (No Audience In Mind)
34:36 Smart SMS Use Cases (Events, Subtext)
40:00 Building A Strategic Reserve Of Phone Numbers
42:59 Why SMS Crushes For Webinar Registrations
49:47 NoScroll And Anonymous X Accounts
53:22 Aging Out Of LinkedIn Is The Real Flex
54:05 Where To Find Brian
📌 Resources Mentioned:
The Rebooting
People vs Algorithms (podcast)
Monitoring The Situation (MTS)
Breaking Points
🔗 Connect with Brian Morrissey:
LinkedIn
Website & Newsletter
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.
In today's episode, Ethan Brooks (Austin Business Review), Alyssa Dulin (Kit), and Jonathan Barshop (Modern Wisdom) join Matt and Kolby to discuss how to monetize a local newsletter with services instead of ads, what AI is actually doing to email deliverability, and the unconventional growth tactics that move a podcast in 2026.
Timestamps:
📌 Resources Mentioned:
🔗 Connect with Ethan Brooks:
🔗 Connect with Alyssa Dulin:
🔗 Connect with Jonathan Barshop:
Join here: WriteGrowSell.com
Enrollment ENDS May 4th at 11:59 pm EST.
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In today's episode, Neville Medhora (Swipefile, Copywriting Course, ex-AppSumo) joins Matt and Kolby to talk about how good copy delivered AppSumo's first $10,000 day, why his flagship Copywriting Course business is being eaten by AI while Swipefile.com is soaring, Neville's content workflow, and why selling software is dead in 2026.
Timestamps:
📌 Resources Mentioned:
The Gary Halbert Letters — https://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com
Wait But Why (Tim Urban) — https://waitbutwhy.com
🔗 Connect with Neville Medhora:
LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/neville-medhora-654749/
Swipefile — https://swipefile.com
YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSN1tlH1nvAXkv9nnBCmfiQ
🍿 Watch on YouTube
Walker Deibel (Buy Then Build) joins Matt and Kolby to talk about how he wrote a category-defining book, built a newsletter to 300,000 subscribers, and used that list to raise $4 million in four hours. They cover his grassroots book launch strategy, why he believes newsletters are the most impactful asset any entrepreneur can build, and his framework for navigating private capital markets as what he calls the "new family office."
Want to get your first 1,000 newsletter subscribers in 30 days? Go here 👉 https://www.newsletteroperator.com/subscribe
Apply To Work With My Agency 👉 https://www.growletter.com
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
03:53 The Shift from Startups to Acquisitions
05:36 How Buy Then Build Changed Entrepreneurship
08:33 Grassroots Marketing and Book Launch Strategy
12:18 Creating a Movement and Defining a New Category
16:15 Frameworks for Exceptional Content
19:14 Writing the Book and Defining Entrepreneurship
22:29 Monetizing the Book and Building Community
29:14 Why In-Person Events Still Matter
35:43 Transitioning from Acquisition Lab to New Ventures
36:59 The Power of Email Lists in Investing
39:33 Building a Private Market Investing Community
43:15 Creating Value Through Direct Investments
46:35 The Economics of Being a Family Office
48:04 Newsletters as the Most Impactful Business Asset
48:59 Where to Find Walker
📌 Resources Mentioned:
🔗 Connect with Walker Deibel:
LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/walkerdeibel/
Website — https://walkerdeibel.com
Newsletter — https://wealthstack1.com/
Matt and Kolby break down OpenAI's acquisition of TBPN for over $100 million and what it actually means for media. They dig into why the deal was less about audience size and more about an aqua hire of founders John Coogan and Jordi Hayes, how tech companies consistently use media as a PR and storytelling asset, and what lessons indie creators can take from TBPN's 18-month run to a nine-figure exit.
Want to get your first 1,000 newsletter subscribers in 30 days? Go here 👉 https://www.newsletteroperator.com/subscribe
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
05:29 Why the Founders Were the Real Asset
11:03 Editorial Independence Concerns
16:29 The Future of Infotainment in B2B
22:54 Media as a Tech Acquisition Strategy
28:43 Focus on Your Core Thing
📌 Resources Mentioned:
TBPN (Tech Business Programming Network)
🍿 Watch on YouTube
Taylor Cromwell (Creator Diaries) joins Kolby to talk about what it actually takes to go from creator to founder — and what makes a media business acquisition-ready. They break down the Starter Story and Salary Transparent Street deals, how to eliminate key-face risk, why IRL events are the next big creator play, and the surprising business Taylor's mom accidentally built in Italy.
Want to get your first 1,000 newsletter subscribers in 30 days? Go here 👉 https://www.newsletteroperator.com/subscribe
Apply To Work With My Agency 👉 https://www.growletter.com
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:00 Creator Diaries and the Creator-to-Founder Gap
03:44 The Starter Story Acquisition — What Creators Can Learn
05:23 Are Big Companies Still Buying Creator Brands?
07:32 How to Make Your Creator Business Acquisition-Ready
09:45 Key Face Risk — How to Build a Brand Beyond Yourself
13:27 IRL Events and Why Every Creator Should Think About Them
18:21 The Business Models Behind Creator Events
24:12 Scaling Pains — What Creators Avoid (But Shouldn't)
31:47 Taylor's Mom Accidentally Built a Business in Italy
37:21 Where to Find Taylor
📌 Resources Mentioned: Starter Story, Salary Transparent Street, StoryArb
🔗 Connect with Taylor: LinkedIn Creator Diaries
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