RockWater Roundup

RockWater analysis to make you a better investor and operator. Today we discuss Highmount Capital’s $100M+ investment into Dude Perfect, the company’s growth plans, how to model out their planned LBE business, and how we estimate Highmount’s ROI.

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Dude Perfect raised $100M for global biz expansion.

The deal is getting lots of buzz, but our team’s math signals challenges ahead.

Let’s break it down…

🤝DEAL DETAILS

• $100 – 300M growth capital investment
• Led by Highmount Capital (fund overview below)
• Unclear if 100% invested upfront OR draw down of commitment over time
• No previous capital raised

💰USE OF FUNDS

• “Expand what we can create for families to actually use in their own homes”
• Hire mgmt team to expand biz
• More live experiences incl int’l tour, consumer products
• Grow content formats, frequency, channels, global localization e.g. animation, TV, movies, streaming
• Extend brand beyond 5 founders by building talent network
• New HQ in Frisco, TX as prod facility and “family-friendly entertainment destination”:
  • Retail store, podcasts / gaming / fan UGC spaces, trick shot tower, DP museum, mini golf, restaurants
  • Original plans for 3-story, 30 acre facility est to cost $100M+, 2 yrs to build

👀COMPANY OVERVIEW: Dude Perfect

• Digital-native comedy and sports media brand
• Faith-based mission: “We’re about giving back, spreading joy and glorifying Jesus Christ” 
• Other YouTube franchises: “Stereotypes,” “Overtime”, “Bucket List” 
• Media brand also incl books, mobile games, board games and toys, and merch / retail / food and beverage partnerships
• Half of YT audience is int’l
• 25 current team members 

🚀PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

• 60M YouTube Followers, 17B views
• Est 2024 revenue: $50M per DP
• Est 2023 and 2022 revenue: $25M and $20M per WSJ 
• Consumer product partnerships incl Nerf toy line, Columbia Sportswear
• Partnered with A Parent Media co to launch a streaming service
• ESPN “30 for 30” doc premiering at Dallas Int’l film festival
• TV series on CMT in 2016, later aired on Nickelodeon
• Alternate broadcasts for Amazon’s Thursday Night Football
• DP branded smoothie at Smoothie King
• 4 live nationwide tours as of 2023

📝ORIGIN STORY

• Founded 2009 by 5 friends at Texas A&M
• Cofounders = twins Coby and Cory Cotton, Tyler Toney, Cody Jones, Garrett Hilbert
• Started as YouTube channel featuring trick shot videos

💡INVESTOR OVERVIEW: Highmount Capital

• Growth stage and middle mkt PE fund for tech, media, healthcare
• Founded in 2023 by Jason Illian and David Hawkins
• 4 total team members on website + 1 advisor
• 3 team members have faith-based ties per bios
• 2 team members previously worked at Koch Industries
• No other investments listed on website other than DP

🤔What else I find interesting…

I really like and support the trend of increased investment into YouTubers and digital-native media brands. 

But as I wrote about in my 2024 State of Creator x Media M&A and fundraising reports (here and here), investment has to match the market and opportunity size. 

To ensure good ROI, and to set good precedent for future investment into our space.

This Dude Perfect bet is exciting, but seems overly optimistic based on our team’s prelim math… 

🤔How we’re modeling potential investor ROI…

The ROI analysis for a $100M investment is important for creator economy investors and operators to understand.

Here’s some context…

I’ve seen ROI analysis for a $100M direct investment into a family-based entertainment destination in Frisco, TX – shout-out to my colleague Michael Booth’s analysis, shared below.

But I’m also curious to Highmount Capital’s angle in being a large minority owner of all of Dude Perfect over a medium-term hold period.

So here’s my math to break it down…

Dude Perfect estimates 2024 revenue of $50M.

And Highmount invested $100M. 

Assume Highmount targets a 40% ownership stake (which is high, but I’ll explain why below).

That implies a $250M total valuation, and a forward revenue multiple of 5x. 

(that’s a high media multiple, particularly for a forward number. But if I assumed a 30% ownership stake, that implies a $333M valuation and a 6.7x forward multiple! I’m trying to keep this number within the upper bounds of market reality, and it already feels stretched…).

Then assume Highmount targets a 25% IRR over a 5 year hold period, which equates to a 3x gross return on invested capital (IRR targets for growth PE is 20 to 30%+).

That means Dude Perfect needs to get to a $750M valuation.

Assuming no multiple expansion, a 5x forward revenue multiple implies a future revenue hurdle of $150M (750 / 5 = 150). That’s a 3x revenue increase from 2024E…a big jump!

At 40% ownership of $750M, that implies $300M total value of ownership stake, or a tripling of Highmount’s investment in 5 years. Of note, a tripling of revenue is aggressive growth across all monetization channels, from ticketed events and advertising to consumer products and licensing.

Lots of work to do for the DP team and their newly hired mgmt!

Further, that IRR target assumes there’s some type of liquidity event at the end of 5 years i.e. there’s a buyer of the Dude Perfect biz at $750M. Today in 2024, I can’t think of a buyer with strong strategic synergy that has the funds to do that type and size of deal.

Maybe possible in the future though….

💡Two other interesting angles on Highmount’s potential LPs…

Dude Perfect has a faith-based mission: “We’re about giving back, spreading joy and glorifying Jesus Christ”.

Three members of Highmount’s leadership, including their two founders, have faith-based affiliations per their website bios.

Makes me wonder who the LPs are in Highmount – could be parties who have faith-based investment mandates, where financial ROI may not be the only metric for success.

Think church pension funds, religious groups, HNIs, and family offices.

Of note, I’m not personally aware of much PR or press coverage of faith-based organizations investing in the creator economy. This could signal a new trend worth paying attention to, or simply that more press coverage is needed. 

I mean, one could say that religion is the OG of the creator-based economy…but that’s for a separate blog post. 

And speaking of LPs, it’s also worth noting that Highmount’s CEO and COO are both former Koch Industries (“KI”) execs. KI is the 2nd largest private company in the US (after Cargill) and is estimated to do over $125B in annual revenue and employ over 120,000 global employees. KI CEO Charles Koch and his political network are also major donors to Republican and libertarian causes.

KI is based in Wichita Kansas, and Highmount’s website lists offices in both Wichita and NYC. Makes me think that KI or affiliated parties could be a meaningful LP in the new Highmount fund, and thus have a meaningful influence on Highmount’s future investments.

Again, I can’t confirm any of this, as I’m just speculating.

Overall, I look forward to tracking the growth of Dude Perfect, the new Highmount fund, and its future creator x media investments.

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I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do financial and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. From M&A and fundraising to consumer research and go-to-market planning. 

DM me on LinkedIn or email me chris @ wearerockwater dot com

Now some more analysis from Mike Booth on our team…

ROI Analysis of Dude Perfect’s $100M Raise

By Mike Booth

Am I getting punked? 🤔

Dude Perfect raised $100M from PE, which I love — big investors coming into the Creator Economy is great for business. The kicker – Dude Perfect is spending the $100M to build out their rendition of Disneyworld in metro Dallas. Its essentially an amusement equipped with sports courses, F&B, and some retail concepts all packaged into one. What?!

The economics for this plan are never going to pencil.

1. $100M is way too much to spend for build out and construction.

2. Theme parks aren’t high margin businesses. For reference Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (owner of Cedar Point) operates at 6% net income margin and Six Flags operates at 3% net income margin.

3. Dallas isn’t the right market. It’s not even the top tourism destination within the Texas (shout out San Antonio). To justify a $100M build out Dude Perfect will need a very high amount of traffic (think Las Vegas, Orlando, New York, Atlanta, etc.).

Say the average Dude Perfect attendee spends $100 and the net margin on each attendee is 5%. Simply put, every attendee = $5 profit. Dude Perfect would need 20M attendees to recoup a $100M initial investment (let alone budget for renovations, new attractions, etc.)

Los Angeles MSA’s population + annual tourists combine to 70M per year.

Six Flags Magic Mountain (metro LA) has 3.5M visitors per year. 3.5/70 = 5% capture rates.

Let’s stipulate for the sake of argument that Dude Perfect’s entertainment venue instantly becomes just as popular as Six Flags (it won’t).

Dallas MSA’s population + annual tourism combines for 35M. Say Dude Perfect pulls off a 5% capture rate of their addressable market (a major feat). That comes out to 1.75M guests per year.

At a $100M build out cost, $10 profit per guest, no reinvestment into facilities, and 1.75M guests per year –> it will take six years for Dude Perfect to recoup their initial investment.

That’s way too long of a payback for a location based entertainment attraction.

Quick-growing private companies like Topgolf average 2 years for payback

Whereas bigger amusement parks like Six Flags average 3 years for payback.

Net / Net – there are so many exciting things that Dude Perfect could do to grow its brand — expanding their content suite, launching CPG brands, or creating upstream film / TV properties.

I’m left perplexed by their decision of apeing into theme parks. What am I missing?

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Mike is a Director at RockWater Industries. We do financial and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. From M&A and fundraising to consumer research and go-to-market planning.

DM Mike on LinkedIn or email him mike @ wearerockwater dot com

What We’re Reading

3 articles + RockWater analysis to make you a better investor and operator.

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For Gen Z, TikTok is More Than Entertainment. It’s a Search Engine.
Mashable, 7.31.2022

The RockWater Take by Chris Erwin

Gen Z’s search behavior is different than that of Millennials. They want bite-sized “vibe checks” w/ no fluff.

As in, no extended personal stories of chefs before a blog-based food recipe.

And short videos of restaurant views, ambiance, and food in under 10 seconds.

I feel that.

Historically, my lifestyle search + purchase flows consisted of…

🥘 Yelp + Eater for restaurants, reservations via OpenTable or Resy.

👩‍🍳 Google search for recipes, then saved in my Paprika 3 app.

✈️ Tripadvisor for travel, then booked via Expedia Group (RIP Hipmunk).

🛒 Wirecutter for tech + gear, or just go direct to my fave brands like Burton Snowboards or Patagonia

But after playing around with the TikTok search and Collections folders this AM, and finding some rad San Diego restaurants with ocean views in less than 30 sec of searching, I’m sold on this new search flow.

Excited to put this to use for my upcoming 2 week southeast US road trip at the end of August 😉 “Things to do in Asheville / Charleston”, here I come TikTok.

Which also makes me excited for new purchase and commerce flows TikTok will experiment with…table reservations, flight bookings, food ingredient delivery, and more!

…also has implications for the new recommendation algos being put in place by FB / IG, but that’s a separate post 😉

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Amazon Plans Alternative Telecast of TNF With ‘Dude Perfect’
Front Office Sports, 8.1.2022

The RockWater Take by Alex Zirin

As alternative telecasts have permeated NFL broadcasts over the last few seasons (ESPN’s Monday Night Football Manningcast, ViacomCBS’ NFL on Nickelodeon broadcast, etc.), Amazon has taken a firm step into the creator economy with their latest edition, TNF with Dude Perfect.

Dude Perfect, known for their viral sports-themed YouTube channel, will host alternate broadcasts for a still-to-be announced amount of Thursday Night Football games this season.

Interestingly, this is not Dude Perfect’s first foray into professional sports promotion. This spring, the team produced a controversial video at Augusta National’s Amen Corner for the 2022 Masters Tournament with the goal of engaging a new group of fans.

Regardless of how ‘sacred’ a sporting venue or event is deemed by its most faithful, the reach of successful creators, coupled with engagement metrics that mainstay sports could only dream of, presents an opportunity to attract younger fans that can’t be ignored.

By coupling their $1B investment in Thursday Night Football rights with the ethos of portfolio-co Twitch, Amazon is betting that Dude Perfect will unlock a new tranche of fans that were previously uninterested in NFL broadcasts. For those more interested in traditional football coverage, Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit will still narrate the main broadcast.

However, fans of Dude Perfect will have the opportunity to watch some of the world’s most popular creators doing what they do best, “mastering the impossible”. The simulcast will feature their usual fanfare, performing dunks, stunts, and tricks from their HQ in Texas.

Amazon wants to create an “opportunity for families to watch together”, but I’m not sure that’s what this activation will accomplish. As sports media broadcasters look to engage new fanbases, a segmented approach which addresses each audience group on an individual basis does more to divide an audience than it does to unify them. I’m certain that more total fans will tune into Amazon’s various broadcasts than they would have otherwise, but I’m bearish on the fact that they’ll watch together. More likely, each fan will simply tune into the broadcast tailored for their fandom, and ignore the rest.

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The End of Social Media and the Rise of Recommendation Media
Every, 7.30.2022

The RockWater Take by Mike Booth:

Recommendation media is overtaking social media. The Winners: platforms & micro creators. The Losers: mega creators.

Social media (Instagram, Snap, et al) rely on social graphs to distribute content, whereas recommendation media (TikTok and YouTube) rely on interest graphs to feed an all-knowing algorithm which then distributes content.

In social media, building followership creates exponential growth, because each new follower acts as a distribution node to audiences that a creator’s content previously wasn’t reaching.

At maturity this dynamic creates a small group of mega winners who effectively capture a platform’s programming power.

Once that programming power is captured, it is tremendously difficult for micro creators to scale their reach.

Conversely, in recommendation media followers are much less valuable to scale a creator’s content distribution.

Recommendation media algorithms are constantly optimizing to farm the most engaging content, meaning every view is a battle between creators for quality.

This levels the distribution playing field between mega and micro creators.

It also gives programming power back to platforms (after it was taken by mega creators in social media).

When platforms control the algorithm, they control content virality.

I like Michael Mignano’s quote here:

“In recommendation media, it’s ultimately up to the platform to decide what type of content gets recommended, not the social graph of the person producing the content. In contrast to social media, recommendation media is not a competition based on popularity; instead, it is a competition based on the absolute best content. Through this lens, it’s no wonder why Kylie Jenner opposes this change; her more than 360 million followers are simply worth less in a version of media dominated by algorithms and not followers.”

Some things it makes me think about:

• How will this change affect influencer marketing? More campaigns done at the platform level for sponsored trends VS product placement on a mega creator posts?
• How will platforms exert their newfound programming power long term? They could start building their own in-house content that super serves their algorithm. Think Netflix originals, but for TikTok.

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If these insights are relevant to projects you are thinking through, ping us here. We’re always excited to riff through ideas!

RockWater Roundup

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We help you buy, sell, and invest better.

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Hi readers,

Back on the east coast after a great time in LA last week. Also, the nor’easter came and went, and I’m thankful for this edit.

Now on to today’s M&A deal breakdown…

The Podcast Consultant bought Rise25 in August, its second deal of 2026 after Sundial Media in June. Terms undisclosed, which is standard for the smaller end of the market.

So I called the buyer.

Karl Hughes, owner of The Podcast Consultant, walked me through how he actually paid for the deal, which changed from his first deal a few years back. His 2023 purchase of TPC was 75% SBA loan, with a personal guarantee and his other company pledged as collateral. On Sundial and Rise25 he used no bank financing…the most recent Rise25 deal was 30% cash at close, 30% deferred a year, and 40% seller note over five years.

And he guaranteed none of it personally. A material deal term improvement as Hughes scales his M&A rollup.

The key takeaway for me is that financing in our industry is still being established at both ends of the spectrum.

Creator tech raises on standard venture terms. Creator x social marketing agencies are increasingly well understood by private equity and peer strategic buyers. But YouTube channels, social publishers, podcast shops…a lot of buyer and financier education is still needed, and underwriting structures are not yet standardized. For example, I’m seeing proposals of seller paper on deals for below $1M of EBITDA, and then up to $100M in revenue.

Below I compare Hughes’ two capital stacks side by side, how he positions a seller note to founders before diligence even starts, and who is bidding at each end of this market.

Lastly, check out our upcoming NYC holiday party.

We’re RockWater. We do M&A and strategy advisory for creator economy and social / audio agencies. From buy / sell-side M&A and fundraising, to market research and go-to-market planning.

DM us on LinkedIn or email our founder at chris@wearerockwater.com

RockWater Roundup

Join our community of builders and investors, and sign up here for the most widely-read newsletter on M&A and strategy insights for the creator economy and social agencies.

We help you buy, sell, and invest better.

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Hi readers,

Patrick Whitesell’s WTSL just made a strategic investment in Unwell at a $500M valuation. This is the first outside capital Alex Cooper and Matt Kaplan have taken since starting the business in 2023. The check size, ownership stake, and other deal details were all undisclosed.

What caught my attention was what Cooper said after the deal announcement, and in regards to the growth plan.

She told TheWrap she’s looking to acquire creative agencies. She told CNBC the agency arm will “rival financially the podcast business” by the end of 2027. So the plan is to grow through M&A, across both its media and brand partnership businesses.

That’s new for this category. 

Personality-led media co’s have historically built their audience and revenue capabilities rather than bought buying them. Acquisitions happen, but as smaller bolt-ons while the company continues to scale up. Making M&A the core growth engine, and executing the inorganic playbook at scale, would set a new precedent for creator-led businesses.

Below: I walk through why this growth strategy isn’t yet widespread in our industry, what we found when we sized the network and what may or may not be included in this deal, why the SiriusXM ad sales rights are probably the most valuable thing within the Unwell umbrella, and what the trademark record says about how Cooper got her IP back from Barstool.

Also: we’re hiring an M&A Coordinator.

We’re RockWater. We do M&A and strategy advisory for creator economy and social / audio agencies. From buy / sell-side M&A and fundraising, to market research and go-to-market planning.

DM us on LinkedIn or email our founder at chris@wearerockwater.com

RockWater Roundup

Join our community of builders and investors, and sign up here for the most widely-read newsletter on M&A and strategy insights for the creator economy and digital agencies.

We help you build and invest better.

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Today we discuss Puck’s acquisition of Air Mail, a digital media and newsletter company covering culture, travel, fashion, politics, and lifestyle. We analyze deal details, strategic rationale, journalist-led media brands and how they’re financed, balancing talent empowerment AND parent co performance, and news media disruption.

Let’s break it down…

–SELLER: Air Mail–

Overview 

• Digital media and newsletter company covering culture, travel, fashion, politics, and lifestyle
• Known for premium editorial tone, high-quality photography, investigative journalism, and satirical commentary
• Targets high-income professionals, creatives, and international readers
• HQ’d in NY with contributors and editorial staff across US and Europe
• Founded in 2019 by Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley
• Raised ~$32M from Standard Investments, TPG, dmg ventures, and RedBird Capital Partners
• 80+ associated members on LinkedIn

Founding Story

• Before Air Mail, Graydon Carter served as Editor-in-Chief of Vanity Fair and Alessandra Stanley as New York Times’s Moscow and Rome bureau chief
• After leaving Vanity Fair, Carter believed traditional magazines had become “too slow, too corporate, too disconnected from affluent, globally minded readers.”
• Carter then raised funds to launch Air Mail as a digital weekend magazine delivered via email
• The first issue was published on July 2019 featuring international reporting, crime stories, arts coverage, travel, fashion, and political satire

Company Highlights

• Known contributors include Ashley Baker, Michael Hainey, and William D. Cohan
• Estimated 500K total subscribers
• Estimated $15M+ in annual revenue (March 2023)
• E-commerce is ~15-20% of total revenue
• In 2023, launched Italian and French editions
• Air Mail’s Morning Meeting podcast: Weekly show covering news, culture, and notable stories with 260+ episodes, ranks in the Top 1% of podcasts

Business Lines / Service Offerings

• Overview…
• Digital media and newsletter publisher with revenue from subscriptions, luxury advertising, affiliate deals, e-commerce (Air Supply), events, and travel partnerships
• Air Mail Digital Newsletter…
• Weekly email magazine with premium editorial voice
• Air Mail Travel…
• Curated city guides, boutique hotel recommendations, and travel concierge partnerships
• Podcasts & Audio…
• Morning Meeting podcast: weekly news and culture discussion hosted by Graydon Carter and Ashley Baker
• Events & Member Experiences…
• Invite-only salons, book launches, and gatherings in NYC, London, and Paris to deepen loyalty and brand community

Capital Markets History

• Oct ‘25 Acquired by Puck 
• Dec ‘21 Raised $17M in Series B funding from TPG, Standard Investments, and Redbird Capital Partners
• Jan ‘19 Raised $15M in Series A funding from TPG and dmg ventures

–BUYER: Puck–

Overview

• Subscription-based digital media company covering the power dynamics of Wall Street, Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Washington, fashion, and culture
• Serves executives and high profile audiences seeking “news behind the news”
• Puck’s model positions journalists as the face of distinct newsletter “franchises,” with readers drawn to the personalities over the parent brand
• Founded in 2021 by Jon Kelly, alongside co-founders John Thornton, Julia Ioffe, and Peter Hamby
• In Jan 2024, Sarah Personette announced as CEO, took over role from Kelly
• HQ’d in NY, with contributors and editorial staff in LA, DC, London
• Raised ~$20M from British Business Investments, J Rothschild Capital Management, Forty North Media, Standard Investments, and TPG
• 70+ associated members on LinkedIn

Founding Story

• Founded in April 2021 by former Vanity Fair and Hollywood Reporter editor Jon Kelly, a former mentee of Air Mail founder Graydon Carter
• Founders believed traditional media undervalued star journalists, so built model where writers are treated as equity partners and creators
• Business launched in September 2021 with four founding journalists and its first verticals: Wall Street, Hollywood, Washington, and Silicon Valley

Company Highlights

• By November 2022, Puck had nearly 200k+ email subscribers, with 20k+ paid
• Puck’s average newsletter open rate is ~70%, significantly higher than typical industry newsletter open rates of ~30%
• Unique ownership model: writers receive equity stakes + bonuses based on new paid subscribers and subscriber retention

Business Lines / Service Offerings

• Paid Digital Subscriptions & Newsletters…
• Core revenue driver, includes verticals like “What I’m Hearing…” (Hollywood) and “Dry Powder” (finance)
• Podcasts & Shows…
• Flagships include The Powers That Be and The Town — news, media, dealmaking, and politics discussions led by Puck journalists
• Sponsorship & Branded Content…
• Brand partnerships across sectors like financial services, entertainment, and luxury goods.
• Examples include cultural programming (e.g., the Tom Wolfe Literary Prize), live event series, and native newsletter placements

Capital Markets History

• Oct ‘25 Acquired Air Mail for $16M for cash & stock
• Apr ‘24 Acquired Artelligence, a newsletter publishing company, from Substack 
• Aug ‘23 Raised $13M in Series B funding from British Business Investments and J Rothschild Capital Management
• Mar ‘21 Raised $7M in Series A funding from Forty North Media, Standard Investments, and TPG

–DEAL DETAILS–

Overview

• Announced October 30, 2025
• Estimated transaction value: $16M incl mix of cash and stock
• Represents a loss for investors, who get back ~50 cents on the dollar, since $32M was initially raised.

Strategic Rationale

• Expands Puck’s coverage into lifestyle and culture, adding to its existing strengths in politics, business, and entertainment
• Brings Air Mail’s high-income, global subscribers into Puck’s growing paid membership base
• Combines two subscription-first media brands that prioritize loyal, high-value audiences over mass traffic
• Creates new opportunities for cross-promotion, bundled subscriptions, and premium advertiser partnerships
• With TPG as a major investor in both companies, the deal consolidates its portfolio of newsletter-first media assets, positioning Air Mail as a bolt on to Puck
• “Air Mail was always envisioned as the weekend edition to a digital daily news engine, and in Puck we have the perfect alignment,” said Graydon Carter

Post-Deal Operations

• Julia Vitale becomes editor-in-chief of Air Mail
• Graydon Carter, founder of Air Mail to step back as editor and transition to consultant role
• Air Mail stays independent in voice but becomes Puck’s “weekend edition.”
• Bundled subscriptions + shared login infrastructure to come in 2026
• Joint podcasts, travel guides, and editorial collaborations in development
• Sales, marketing, and membership ops to consolidate under Puck
• Editorial teams remain separate but aligned on strategy
• Air Mail migrates onto Puck’s subscription and analytics platform

–WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING–

• Journalist-led media brands are turning independence into sustainable subscription and ad-supported media businesses.
• Puck and Air Mail were both started by former magazine editors who left to build paid newsletters for loyal, upscale audiences.
• The Free Press, which recently sold for $150M to Paramount, followed a similar path (our deal analysis). Founder Bari Weiss left the New York Times in 2020 citing workplace hostility and lack of ideological diversity, and then launched TFP the same year. 
• And then just last week, the launch of Scalable Pod was announced, which followed the departure of Kaya Yurieff from The Information and Jasmine Enberg from EMARKETER. Both Kaya and Jasmine built large personal brand awareness and followings by leveraging their employer’s platforms, and then realized they could build a modern news media brand that they had owned (and did so via a JV with Whalar Group / The Lighthouse). 
• This is all part of a larger shake-up in traditional news media; see analysis at bottom for a more detailed analysis and POV here by our team. There’s also other helpful context here from Natalie Jarvey’s Like & Subscribe newsletter, which is one of a few newsletters under parent co Ankler Media. 
• This all raises a question about how these modern news publications are financing their media newco’s…

• What is market precedent for financing a modern, journalist-led, news media co launch?
• Here are some capital markets questions our team is asking based on the Air Mail / Puck deal…
• What are the pros / cons of self-funding? Does it make sense to raise money? If so, at what point in the lifecycle of the newco launch? Can only mass-appeal journalists with big personal brands raise funding? Who are the types of investors funding these businesses?
• Thanks to the trend of decreasing resource and cost requirements for getting a newco off the ground, there are many tools for creators and journalists that make it easy to build a D2C media business. 
• For example, Substack is a turnkey newsletter platform that takes 10% of subscription revenue, and manages all the infrastructure including payments, email templates and delivery, and analytics.
• There are also incubators and accelerators for news media creators and journalists building their own D2C brands, including those by newsletter platforms Substack and Beehiiv, amongst others, which offer seed capital, product guidance, and distribution boosts in exchange for equity or revenue share.
• This is such a win for the journalist and news media creator class.  
• But when the aspirations for a modern news media outfit are a bit more grandiose, we’re seeing significant money flow into the space, as well as key strategic partnerships to accelerate growth.
• Let’s dive into a few examples… 

• Highlights of capital markets activity for journalist-led media brands.
• While not an exhaustive list, a few deals stand out…
• Bari Weiss and The Free Press – raised $15M in Series A funding in Sep 2024 and $1-5M seed funding in 2022, two years after launch. Main seed investors were angels including Marc Andreesen, David Sacks, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and others. Rumors were $15M of revenue, unprofitable, sold for $150M to Paramount (our deal analysis).
• Air Mail – raised $17M in Series B funding in Dec 2021 and $15M in Series A funding in Jan 2019, the founding year. Main investors were TPG (private equity), Standard Investments (diversified industrials / family office), dmg ventures (vc fund), and Redbird Capital Partners (private equity).
• Puck – raised $13M in Series B funding in Aug 2023 and $7M in Series A funding in Mar 2021, the founding year. Main investors were British Business Investments (private investments), J Rothschild Capital Management (family office), Forty North Media (ad agency), Standard Investments and TPG.
• Ankler Media – in 2022 raised $1.5M seed from Y Combinator and Dick Parsons’ Imagination Capital, Goodwater Capital, Pioneer Fund, FilKor Capital, and individual investors. Focused on paid subscriptions, got a $20M valuation. Founded by former The Hollywood Reporter editor Janice Min and Hollywood reporting veteran Richard Rushfield. 
• Scalable Pod – Launched in 2025, did 50-50 joint venture with Whalar’s Group’s The Lighthouse, which is providing capital (unknown amount, perhaps covering salaries and startup costs) and operational support including podcast studio space, production, branding and marketing, and advertiser sales. Cofounders maintain editorial control. Also joined Beehiiv accelerator, gets suite of resource to grow newsletter in exchange for commitment to Beehiiv platform. 
• Tucker Carlson & Megn Kelly – hired Red Seat Ventures to support content production, ad sales, and other admin / ops in building and running D2C media businesses after departing from Fox (but have now returned, read our deal analysis). Due to their national celebrity profiles and previous financial success, perhaps they self-funded launch. TBD if there were any minimum guarantees from RSV, or perhaps there were advertiser pre-sales.
• So what are my takeaways from all of this?…

• Modern news media companies are attracting investment from a diverse set of investors.
• Investor types are broad, ranging from angels and VC to family offices and private equity.
• Funding sequencing follows that of typical startups, where there’s a seed round to support launch, then larger growth rounds via Series A and B that follow over the next two to three years. 
• Subscription models by high-profile personalities or creative execs (e.g. print media editors or TV broadcasters) with an existing audience install base / national recognition, professional ops, and a track record of recurring reader revenues, are attracting the most funding.
• Large national celebrities, who have significant financial resources, still seek professional services to scale up. 
• The investment thesis may not always be about financial ROI. Investors and wealthy individuals have a longstanding track record of investing in media, where the end goal is cultural and political influence (some similar investment themes in our deal analysis of Highmount investing in Dude Perfect). In this deal specifically, Air Mail raised about $32M and is getting back $16M in cash and stock, so they’re returning about 50 cents on the dollar. Not a great outcome…
• Overall, these are just a few datapoints, so I don’t want to extrapolate any definitive financing models from a limited data set. But, I do believe these reference points do signal in broad strokes how these modern news media co’s are being built and financed.

• Puck’s biz model incents writers to grow audiences = aligns with creator economy DIY values.
• Puck ties writer pay to subscriber growth and retention, and gives their writers equity and incentives for audience expansion.
• This is a savvy move. Writers are the company’s most valuable asset, and could walk out the door if not properly motivated. Just see the journalist defection list throughout today’s newsletter!
• But, going it alone is hard. Just ask the long tail of the creator economy where most are not even earning a living wage. Therefore, Puck is striving to find the balance of both making journalists feel that they have ownership and independence in what they’re building, but also feel like they’re part of something bigger, and with professional support and community to achieve great success than if they were to do it alone.
• I like this quote from Sarah Personette, Puck CEO, from a Digiday podcast earlier this year: “You almost have sub-brands under Puck that are franchises anchored by core talent versus in probably that first two years, it was a newsletter anchored by core talent.”
• New business models that empower and retain high-profile talent within a larger corporate organization, is something that many companies within the creator space are working to figure out. A similar dynamic is playing out amongst talent representation firms, like management companies and agencies, and particularly those repping digital-native talent. 
• Over the past 5 to 10 years, the most successful influencer managers departed the big name firms (or refused to even join) and instead bootstrapped and built their own successful representation companies. Many generated outsized revenues and realized successful exits, leading to personal wealth faster than could have been realized if they went and worked for a traditional rep firm. Our RockWater team is grateful to have advised on some of these deals, like Dan Levitt’s Long Haul Management selling to Wasserman (our deal analysis), Chas Lacaillade’s Bottle Rocket Management selling to Night (our deal analysis), and Click Management selling to Gamesquare for $8.5M plus earnout (our deal analysis).
• And today, the competition to retain star talent managers is FIERCE. As a result, there are new modern talent firms being built that strike to find the balance of (1) motivating up-and-coming talent reps to join a larger talent company platform, and maintain the ability to earn the majority of upside in what they build, (2) while concurrently driving parent co performance and building enterprise value for owners. These newcos are redefining the modern talent rep business model  (NOTE: one of them is our client, is growing very quickly and is highly profitable, and now seeks a larger strategic partner to support larger growth ambitions. DM me if you want to learn more!)
• Alright, that’s enough writing for today’s newsletter. We’ll close with some former analysis that provides some more context for today’s break down…

• Traditional news media is broken. New digital-native journalists are on the rise, creating a major opportunity in the modern media landscape.
• NOTE: We wrote about this in our analysis of Paramount buying The Free Press, and also in our analysis of Entertainment360 buying OManagement, a boutique news and personality talent management firm (our deal analysis). The breakdown is very relevant to today’s deal, so copying here for reference..
• “More and more journalists are leaving TV networks, publishers, and newspapers to build their own D2C media businesses. They’re starting their own newsletters on Substack, YouTube channels, TikTok feeds, and podcasts. In turn, they’re becoming their own brands as traditional media fragments.
• There are many examples here – Ben Smith left BuzzFeed News and co-founded Semafor, a global digital news platform; Matt Yglesias left Vox to start “Slow Boring” newsletter; Casey Newton left the Verge to start “Platformer” newsletter; Taylor Lorenz left the Washington Post to launch independent tech / culture reporting on Substack and TikTok…the list goes on. This is becoming big business, and traditional media is starting to re-think their news and talent business models – specifically, the departure of top political and news personalities from Fox (e.g. Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly), was one of the key drivers behind the landmark Fox’s acquisition of Red Seat Ventures in Jan 2025 (our deal analysis). 
• During COVID, John Krasinski’s Some Good News on YouTube showed how news fans seek alternative news media formats to traditional news fare. Today, we’re increasingly seeing audiences, across all ages and not just youths, migrate to modern social and podcast-native alternative news formats. I think of All In Podcast, where 4 “besties” from Silicon Valley cover a range of topics from finance to politics to luxury lifestyle (and recently launched a premium Tequila brand), to YouTuber Tim Pool’s livestreaming news media network, and on-the-ground real-time war coverage on TikTok in Ukraine.
• Our takeaway from all this is that there’s a massive opportunity in the evolving news media ecosystem. From building modern news networks (further building on top of early social news networks like The Young Turks and NowThis), to those companies building support services for these new digital and D2C journalists, like ad sales and talent management.
• Case in point, we’re hearing a lot more from talent rep insiders that they’re focusing on signing fast-growing talent news personalities. Some of these firms have already built meaningful news talent divisions (keeping them anonymous per their request). We’re therefore not surprised by this OManagement deal, and we expect to start seeing a lot more activity in this space. Personally, I’d love to see a modern news media and talent rep outfit represent personalities on both sides of the political aisle here in the US – I haven’t seen anyone crack that code yet, but there’d be fun innovation in content formats, would set a great new precedent for productive political discourse and talent collaborations, and would probably generate great business ROI 😉”
• UPDATE as of 9.11.25 – With Fox buying RSV in January, and assuming Paramount closes on the acquisition of The Free Press, makes me wonder when other traditional news media businesses are going to start making creator-based investments to power their modern news media strategies. The RSV deal was a different flavor (D2C and agency services for various of conservative-leaning talent), and the Free Press Deal is an acquisition of a media company (incl their writer and contributor network) coupled with a large employment deal for a top talent in Bari Weiss. 
• Which of these is the best strategy? I lean towards the RSV model – a scalable agency services platform to add many more talent and media channels, with lower revenue concentration and talent flight risk, and not as reliant on a singular 3rd party platform like the TFP has with Substack. 
• Further, what might the next flavor of a modern news media deal look like?
• These are questions we should all be asking.

I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for creator economy and social / audio agencies. From buy / sell-side M&A and fundraising, to consumer research and go-to-market planning.

DM me on LinkedIn or email me chris @ wearerockwater dot com

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Join our community of builders and investors, and sign up here for the most widely-read newsletter on M&A and strategy insights for the creator economy and digital agencies.

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Today we discuss the eight-figure investment into Steven.com at a $425M valuation. We analyze deal details, strategic rationale, investment size, founder controversy, UK social and creator capital flows, and RockWater’s editorial values.

Let’s break it down…

–TARGET: Steven.com–

Overview

• Creator holding company built to scale creator media, ventures, and technology
• Incorporates FlightStory (media production), FlightCast (podcast hosting tech), and FlightFund ($100M investment fund)
• 100+ FT employees with operations across London, Manchester, NY, LA
• Founded by Steven Bartlett in 2025

Founding Story

• Steven.com founder Steven Bartlett founded Social Chain in 2014 as a teenager; then in 2016 raised $2M in funding from entrepreneur George Kofler, and over time Social Chain ended up merging with other business interests owned by Kofler, before eventually being spun out and sold to Brave Bison for £7.7M
• Launched The Diary of a CEO in 2017 with a $100 microphone to share insights on business and personal growth
• Pivoted to video-first format in 2019 after recognizing YouTube’s potential
• Established Flight Group in 2022 as a creator-focused holding company, later expanding to include FlightStory (media & brand marketing), FlightFund (venture investing), and Flightcast (creator-tech platform)
• Introduced Flight Story Studio in 2024, partnering with podcast veterans Georgie Holt and Christiana Brenton to scale premium creator-led productions.
• The 2025 funding round for Steven.com further consolidated these ventures under one umbrella and positioned the business for global expansion across media, tech, and venture verticals

Company Highlights

• The Diary of a CEO is the 2nd largest podcast on YouTube
• Has 12M+ YouTube subs, adds 600k+ subscribers each month
• 70M monthly views / downloads across all platforms (YT, IG, FB)
• 2M+ followers on LinkedIn
• Reps 250+ talent and creator clients through FlightStory

Business Lines / Service Offerings

• Overview…
• Flight Group  is a creator-focused holding company with three core business units that all together build, scale, and monetize creator-led brands.
• (1) FlightStory Studio…
• Media company that acquires, scales, and builds commercial infrastructure around creator media IP
• Roster includes Trevor Noah, Davina McCall, Paul C. Brunson, Dr. Tara Swart, Africa Brooke, The Diary of a CEO
• End-to-end podcast process: production, audience growth, distribution, omni-channel optimization
• 50% of revenue from advertising and brand partnerships (LinkedIn, Oracle, Shopify), 50% from book deals, events, and products
• (2) Flightcast…
• Video-first podcast hosting platform launched October 2025
• Co-founded with Roxcodes, former MrBeast engineer
• Unified distribution: upload once, publish everywhere across YouTube, Spotify, Apple
• AI-driven analytics and automated clip generation
• (3) FlightFund…
• $100M investment fund investing in disruptive founders
• Invested in 40+ companies including SpaceX, Whoop, Groq, MrBeast, PerfectTed, ZOE, Huel
• Focus on blockchain, biotech, health, commerce, technology, space

Capital Markets History

• Oct ‘25 Raised eight-figure investment from Slow Ventures and Apeiron Investment Group at $425M valuation

–INVESTORS: Slow Ventures & Aperion Investment Group–

Slow Ventures Overview

• Early-stage venture capital firm founded in San Francisco (2011) by ex-Facebook execs​
• Known for backing breakthrough consumer, creator economy, SaaS, fintech, crypto, and wellness tech companies
• Portfolio includes Airbnb, Twitter, Slack, Ro (Roman), Allbirds, Postmates, Pillpack, Airtable​
• 540+ investments, 134 exits

Slow Ventures Creator Fund Overview

• Launched in April 2025 as a $64M fund dedicated to investing in creator-led HoldCos
• Writes $1-3M checks to acquire minority stakes in scalable creator businesses 
• Built within Slow Ventures, the fund aims to back creators who are evolving into founders and building multi-asset companies (e.g. content, commerce, IP)
• Instead of a standard VC equity structure, Slow takes 10% of all company earnings for up to 30 years, which aligns incentives for long-term and sustainable creator ownership
• Portfolio: invested in 6+ creator founded businesses, including Jonathan Katz-Moses (woodworks) and Marina Mogilko (linguistics)

Slow Ventures Creator Fund Investment Criteria

• Backs creators who lead with entrepreneurial mindset – not just talent but founder / CEO mentality​
• Community quality: Prioritizes creators with niche, engaged verticals (e.g. woodworking, automotive)
• Seeks creators building brands with potential to expand into products, IP and tech
• Offers follow-on capital for creators who reach growth milestones and aggressively experiment with new business models
• Invests in driven creators who balance ethical growth and authenticity along with a long-term business outlook
• Fund returns are linked to transparent earnings performances, enabling strong partnerships

Capital Markets History

• Apr 2019, established Fund IV at $55M, marking expansion into both consumer and SaaS verticals
• Apr 2022, launched Fund V ($195M) and Opportunity Fund II ($130M) to scale investments in fintech, crypto, and emerging creator-tech
• Feb 2025, formed Creator Fund I ($64.3M) to back creator-led holding companies through minority stakes and revenue-linked models
• Across all vehicles, Slow manages over $400M AUM with 540+ investments and 134 exits, including Airbnb, Slack, Ro, Allbirds, Postmates, and Pillpack
• Slow maintains an overall strategic focus on creator-economy ventures, early consumer platforms, and scalable digital IP ecosystems

Apeiron Investment Group Overview

• Family office / private firm of serial entrepreneur Christian Angermayer
• Angermayer is a German entrepreneur and investor known for his investments and founding Atai Life Sciences and Crypto Finance Group
• Focus: Biotech (psychedelics), Fintech/Crypto, DeepTech (AI, space), Life Sciences, future tech, experiences, media, real estate, natural resources, sport
• Founded in Malta with offices in NY, London, Berlin, Abu Dhabi​
• Manages ~$7B (2025)

Company Highlights

• Key exits include Springlane, Juvenescence, Zenhomes, Bionomics Limited, IntelGenx Technologies​
• High-profile led rounds: Invyted ($25M PE, influencer/brand platform), Blackrock Neurotech (brain-computer interfaces), Beckley Psytech (mental health, DMT treatments)​

Investment Criteria

• Seeks companies with disruptive technologies or business models
• Focuses on founder quality, team, and ability to execute bold, innovative visions​
• Lead investor in life sciences, psychedelics, biotech, fintech, and deeptech where market impact can be transformative​

Capital Markets History

• NA

–DEAL DETAILS–

Overview

• Announced October 26, 2025
• Eight-figure strategic investment into Steven.com
• $425M valuation

Strategic Rationale

• Accelerate mission to build world-class creator media & venture ecosystem
• Support three core Flight divisions: FlightStory Studio (Creator Media), FlightFund (Creator Ventures), and Flightcast (Creator Technology)
• Together they form the infrastructure to scale and commercialize creator-led IP across content, commerce, and tech.
• Continued expansion of FlightStory talent roster (250+ creators)
• Grow Flightcast platform to capture podcast hosting market share
• Offers investors exposure to one of Europe’s fastest-growing creator-led holding companies and network of established and up-and-coming creators 
• From Steven Bartlett: “By bringing together creator IP, capital and our infrastructure, Steven.com is positioning itself to lead in the next era of the creator economy. My ultimate ambition is to build the Disney of the creator economy – and the strategic partners this funding round has brought on board has enabled me to take a big step in that direction”
• From Megan Lightcap, investor at Slow Ventures: “His curiosity, authenticity, and relentless pursuit of growth have made him one of the most influential voices in modern entrepreneurship and personal development. Through Diary of a CEO, his Behind the Diary channel, and constant speaking engagements and live events, he’s cultivated a deeply loyal community committed to building a happier, more expansive and successful life by applying lessons from the world’s most accomplished figures.”

Post-Deal Operations

• Steven Bartlett maintains 90%+ ownership and majority control
• Steven.com operates as a US-incorporated parent company with HQs between London and LA, reflecting its growth ambitions in North America
• FlightFund continues deployment across 40+ portfolio companies

–WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING–

• We estimate the total investment to be $10-15M. 
• Here’s how we got there (reminder, no deal details were shared, so this is speculation)…
• Steven says he kept 90% of the company post deal, and that the implied valuation was $425M.
• Observers may think that implies an investment of $42.5M for 10% of the Flight Group, but we doubt that’s the case here.
• Instead, Bartlett likely had already given out a few points of equity to advisors, early investors, and / or team members.
• Also, we know that Slow raised a Creator Fund of $64M, and they’ve given public guidance that they’re writing $1-3M initial checks in exchange for roughly 10% equity / earnings, into a planned 20 to 30 initial investments. 
• This aligns with typical venture fund dynamics, since the capital dedicated to initial investments is typically after reserving for management fees over the next 5 to 10 yrs, and also for follow-on investments in case an “Opportunity Fund” (dedicated for follow-ons) isn’t raised.
• For Slow specifically, they may have flexed up a bit from their typical check size since there’s strategic value in the deal – Bartlett has a very large and fast-growing audience, and  has a strong network of creators through his various business lines. With Slow’s launch of their new dedicated creator fund, the fund likely sees much value in more brand awareness of their fund via the deal, including getting in front of Bartlett’s creator network. 
• So maybe the Slow check was in the $3-5M range, and then Aperion wrote a check of around the same size, or a bit larger…this gets to the reported “eight-figure” range reported in the trades, and how we get to our $10-15M estimate.
• Further, based on the *high* valuation of $425M, Slow and Apeiron may not get 10% of Flight Group, but there may be strong structural protections like liquidation preference, anti dilution ratchets, warrants, PIK interest, and participating preferred. Investors are savvy and know how to protect their $$ – it’s a good reminder for all of you builders to focus on these other critical deal terms when evaluating an investment into your biz.  
• Also, reminder that I don’t know any financial performance data of Flight Group, nor do I know any specific terms of the deal other than what’s reported in the trades. I therefore can’t assess valuation multiples and how they compare to market precedent. The above is based on gut instinct from being in this industry for 20+ years. Take with a grain of salt.
• NOTE: thank you to Scott Van den Berg of Hotstart VC, who gave me smart POV on how to think about this potential funding round based on his professional investing experience.

• Individual creators are evolving into full-scale media and business empires.
• The creator economy is projected to surpass $528B by 2030, with more than 200M active creators globally.
• Steven.com’s $425M valuation reflects a growing class of creator-founded companies scaling beyond content by combining media, tech, and new ventures all under one roof, and raising institutional capital to drive outsized growth. 
• Examples of other creator-specific investments include…
• Good Good Golf raising $45M from Creator Sports Capital to expand its content, retail, and live experience businesses (our deal analysis).
• Dude Perfect raising $100M+ from Highmount Capital to build its first Texas theme park and expand its global live-tour franchise (our deal analysis). 
• Epic Gardening raising $17.5M from TCG to expand their media footprint and grow through M&A (our deal analysis of their recent acquisitions)
• MrBeast’s planned IPO at a $5B valuation. This is a holdco that includes businesses ranging from content creation (YouTube channel, “Beast Games” on Amazon Prime”), a CPG division (Feastables, Lunchly), software and tech (Viewstats), investing (Backbone, Juice Funds), philanthropy, and more. Again, this is another interesting model to inspire where Bartlett can take his Flight Group business – start with a large media funnel, and with the power of distribution (which is increasingly the main value driver and differentiator in a world where product is getting commoditized via AI and low startup costs)…use that to launch a variety of different businesses all under one roof.

• Steven Bartlett is a bit of a controversial figure, particularly in the UK.
• I posted about this deal on LinkedIn this past Monday. I quickly got a bunch of DMs about it, primarily from execs based in the UK. 
• I learned there’s a history of claims of Bartlett misrepresenting his success. This includes his role in building Social Chain to a 9-figure valuation and eventual IPO. You can go down the rabbit hole here.  
• I don’t like focusing on the negative, and in success, “haters will always hate”. It’s clear that Bartlett has achieved success in his career, and he’s great at building an online audience and PR machine.
• But, in the spirit of transparency, these claims are worth highlighting, and I can see why some people are turned off.
• Nevertheless, there’s a path to good ROI for investors on this deal based on macro creator economy tailwinds, Barlett’s massive media machine, and the future growth plan of Flight Group. We’ll track how it nets out.  
• This makes me want to discuss some inner workings of RockWater…

• A founder’s note on our RockWater editorial values.
• The editorial brand that me and our RockWater team have worked to cultivate over the past decade, is one of overall positivity on the creator space. 
• Why? Because I was an early builder in this industry, I love the community, I know that it is the way of the future, and being a part of this industry has transformed my career and overall life much for the better (you can read more about my story on my LinkedIn about page). 
• This positivity is coupled with data-based financial and market analysis that goes deeper than other trades – we can do this because of our unique creator co builder x Wall street backgrounds. 
• Therefore, we strive to provide transparency to dealmaking in the new and fast-growing creator ecosystem via our weekly newsletter, LinkedIn posts, and social videos. It’s key to understand how and why capital is flowing, to what types of companies, and what are the companies’ underlying fundamentals…because it’s a special moment when money changes hands in a business deal, leading to an exchange of ownership and control. These moments define precedent for, and inspire how, future companies are built, and how and why future business deals get done.
• Therefore, we believe that our analysis is critical to ensuring more good deals get done. And because irrational exuberance and hype cycles are bad for everyone…just see the result in the industry downturn from 2022 to 2024.
• As a result, this sometimes requires us to raise provocative questions and challenge reported assumptions. When we take this approach, we strive to find the right balance in editorial tone. We also note when we’re speculating, since the challenge in private company analysis is a lack of deal and data transparency (though transparency is improving as we discussed in our analysis of public co Gamesquare buying Click Management). 
• We don’t want to be a company that writes “take-down” pieces. That’s not productive to the industry, and I’m well aware of where our bread is buttered aka what biases we have due to our business model – we’re an M&A advisor and we make $$ when companies hire us for strategic advisory. To point out the obvious, we’re not an independent trade publication nor journalist team;  though many “independents” have their own biases from sponsorship sales, incentives to get interviews with top execs, etc. Biases exist everywhere. 
• That all being said, we know that in order to build trust with our readers, and in turn out prospective and existing clients, we must have integrity in how we analyze and discuss companies and industry dealmaking. 
• So put all of the above together, and that is a fine line to walk! 
• We haven’t perfected it. Unexpected friction happens. 
• But what’s exciting to our RockWater team, and which aligns with overall creator economy trends, is that our editorial and media is part of a new model emerging in news and business coverage. 
• You can see this everywhere; just see our deal analysis on Paramount buying The Free Press. And just yesterday, in Kaya and Jasmine launching Scalable Pod, after leaving The Information, and EMARKETER, repsectively (I’m so pumped for them, such a smart move).
• More specifically as it relates to RockWater’s content, I believe that an advisory firm in the trenches on dealmaking, which includes daily CEO buyer / seller / investor calls, gives us an unmatched POV on the industry, which you readers (aka builders in our industry) should have some access to. The more practical learnings we can share (while respecting client and partner confidence), the better we can all build and make $$ together, and in turn, delight the modern media consumer that we’re all building for. 
• I believe our team does a darn good job here. I hope you feel the same!
• I genuinely enjoy building and figuring out this new M&A advisory x content x events model, and am extremely grateful that all of you are along for the ride 😉
• Ok, back to industry analysis…

• Rise in Euro creator and social M&A.  
• There’s an increasing amount of creator and social M&A within Europe. We’ve been covering this in our analysis of M&A deals, including…
• Italian-based SAAS aggregator Bending Spoons buying Vimeo for $1.38B (our deal analysis)
• Audioboom buying Adelicious for £10M (our deal analysis)
• Dot Digital buying Social Snowball for $25M (our deal analysis)
• WeAreEra buying New Kith (our deal analysis)
• Brave Bison buying The Fifth for £7.6M (our deal analysis)
• Whalar buys Business of Creativity for $20M (our deal analysis)
• SAMY Alliance buying Content Lab plus its parent co $310M buyout by Bridgepoint Group (our deal analysis)
• Electrify Video buying Veritasium (our deal analysis) and raising $85M for M&A and growth
• I also think of other Euro-based movers and shakers we haven’t yet written about, like KOMI Group, Billion Dollar Boy, Spin Brands, LunarX, Wild Vision, among many others. I look forward to writing more about their growth and any planned deal activity over the next couple years. 
• SIDE NOTE: As RockWater has ramped up its global client work over the past few years, I’ve enjoyed developing more Euro-based relationships, from Spain and France to Germany and Armenia. And as it relates to the UK, I’ve always felt that people from the US and the UK have a unique and immediate camaraderie. Perhaps this builds from the longstanding alliance between our countries for multiple centuries. To this end, one of my earliest int’l memories was when some random English bloke randomly walked up and introduced himself to me during my 1st week of my Spain study abroad program. We became fast friends and still talk regularly, now going on for 20+ years. Funny enough, he was actually an ad agency founder, and sold his biz years ago. Perhaps he was a subconscious catalyst in my founding of RockWater. Cheers Tim Slee 👋
• BTW…we hope to plan a London-based networking event in the spring. Stay tuned.

• Is there an existing template of UK to US expansion when building a diversified creator services ecosystem?
• This deal also makes me think of Whalar Group, which since 2016 has been building a company to power the modern creator ecosystem. 
• From Whalar’s mission statement a couple years ago…
• “At Whalar Group, we believe the future belongs to Creators: those who do the hard work of dreaming loud, then wrestling those dreams into the real world. Passionate, diverse, modern storytellers who create vibrant culture and value-driven communities. Brave entrepreneurs who demand a new creative playground and a new economy, the Creator Economy. Eight years ago Whalar Group was born to help liberate these creative voices, to take their thinking to the world. We’re proud to be a truly unique Creator ecosystem, where entrepreneurship, technology and creativity meld to create limitless possibilities.”
• Whalar was first incorporated in the UK, like Steven.com. Then, the company moved its business HQ to the US *I think* a couple years ago before they took on larger investment. 
• And now, Steven.com will be incorporating in the US with this recent investment and planned expansion.
• My bet is that these moves to the US are because the US creator business ecosystem is significantly larger than that of Europe. 
• Further, more and larger investors are based in the US, and many US investors prefer to have their portfolio companies based in their backyard for a variety of reasons; proximity between investors and co leadership, US business culture, access to a large exec and team hiring pool, US legal precedent and case law, access to strategic partners, etc.
• And on top of that, Whalar just raised at a $400M valuation back in May from other prominent US investors (Marc Benioff founder of Saleforce, Shopify, and Hollywood producer Neal Mortiz), and this week Steven.com just raised from a prominent US investor at a $425M valuation. 
• Yes, there are definitely parallels between the spirit, business goals, and service offerings of Flight Group and Whalar.
• …and that’s totally fine. The creator economy is a fast-growing industry with incredible headroom to grow into. Reminder that current estimates for global market size are around $300B, and it feels like we’re just getting started. 
• Some key differences are that Steven.com has built out a massive owned & operated media funnel through The Diary of a CEO podcast and overall social footprint, as well as through the creator and IP incubator FlightStory. 
• In contrast, Whalar’s tentpole asset is its large global influencer marketing agency, which now includes other business units like talent management (our deal analysis when they bought UK-based Sixteenth), an operating system for creator businesses (Foam), a venture studio, a video game studio, and most recently, a coworking plus production space in LA and Brooklyn (The Lighthouse, and I’ll be at the grand opening in Brooklyn next Wed Nov 5). 
• Overall, a couple different approaches towards a similar end game. And of course, even more models will emerge for how to create a diversified creator services ecosystem.
• Looking forward to seeing how this all shakes out, and what we can learn from the various business models.
• Alright, that’s enough writing for today’s newsletter… 

I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for creator economy and digital agencies. From buy / sell-side M&A and fundraising, to consumer research and go-to-market planning.

DM me on LinkedIn or email me chris@wearerockwater.com

RockWater Roundup

Join our community of builders and investors, and sign up here for the most widely-read newsletter on M&A and strategy insights for the creator economy and digital agencies.

We help you build and invest better.

————

Today we discuss Night’s acquisition of Experiential Supply Co., an experiential productions and attractions company for brands, studios, and agencies. We analyze deal details, strategic rationale, the multi $100B+ experiential market, and the shift toward creator-led IRL events.

Let’s break it down…

–SELLER: Experiential Supply Co–

Overview

• Experiential production and attraction company for brands, studios, and agencies
• Specializes in custom, from-scratch concepts and productions to create high impact moments
• Founded by Jasen Smith in 2017
• 16 associated members via LI
• Based in Los Angeles

Founding Story

• Founded Experiential Supply Co. in 2017, positioning company as innovative experiential production firm creating custom concepts versus off-the-shelf programs​
• Built early reputation with Warner Bros., Disney, and Universal on high-profile film marketing activations​
• Created Yeti Village for Warner Bros. “Small Foot” (2018) and Derry Canal Days Festival for “It: Chapter 2” (2019) in Hollywood​
• In 2020, expanded into creator activation from Executed Birds of Prey activation with stars Margot Robbie and Ewan McGregor​
• Covid shutdown on live events sparked consumer-facing pivot idea​
• Created Haunt O’ Ween drive-thru experience as first consumer-facing project versus traditional studio work-for-hire​
• Successfully transitioned from exclusively studio work to hybrid model including consumer experiences and large-scale public stunts​

Company Highlights

• Works with many of Hollywood’s top studios as well as major Fortune 500 brands including Disney, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures
• Executed 115+ projects for major brands, studios and agencies, ranging from custom animatronics and pop-ups to conventions
• Notable projects include Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (horseback-riding apes in San Francisco) and Jurassic World Rebirth (60-foot Titanosaurus in Manhattan)

Business Lines / Service Offerings

• Experiential Marketing Activations…
• Large-scale branded stunts and destination experiences for film premieres and product launches
• Custom animatronics and interactive installations
• Street-level viral marketing campaigns
• Immersive Brand Experiences…
• Pop-up events and themed environments (It: Chapter 2 Derry Canal Days Festival, Small Foot Yeti Village)
• Drive-thru experiences (Haunt O’ Ween, WonderLAnd holiday light display)
• Event Production & Activations…
• ComicCon activations (Predator Badlands, 25 veiled nuns for The Nun)
• Celebrity-driven brand activations (Birds of Prey with Margot Robbie and Ewan McGregor)

–BUYER: Night–

Overview

• Next-gen representation platform for artists
• Founded 2015 by Reed Duchscher
• Reps 250+ talent and artist clients
• Based in Austin, TX
• 120 employees

Founding Story

• Reed Duchscher began career as NFL sports agent before pivoting to digital talent management
• Started Night Media in 2015 after working with Dude Perfect on brand deals and monetization
• Built reputation managing top digital creators including MrBeast from 2018 to 2024
• Expanded from talent management into venture capital, content production, and podcasting
• In 2022, raised $100M round from The Chernin Group for a Joint Venture CPG fund, and also raised a direct investment from TCG into the Night biz

Company Highlights

• Client roster includes Kai Cenat, Hasan Piker, Kalogeras Sisters, Sam & Colby, Safiya Nygaard, The Costco Guys
• First manager of MrBeast, helped catapult his growth
• Launched Feastables in 2022, est $100M+ 2024 revenue

Business Lines / Service Offerings

• Talent – talent division representing some of the biggest digitally native creators
• Night Advisory – strategic partner to top brands on digital and creator marketing
• The Roost – leading video-first podcast network
• Night Labs – a venture studio pairing top operators and artists e.g. Feastables
• Capital – TCG-backed fund to invest in / acquire profitable creator-led businesses

Capital Markets History

• 2025 bought Experiential Supply Co. 
• 2025 invested $4M in seed funding to Rare Candy, a collectibles marketplace
• 2024 bought Bottle Rocket Management (we advised on sale, our deal analysis)
• 2024 bought The Roost Podcast Network
• 2023 bought talent mgmt co LFM
• 2022 raised $100M from TCG for Night Capital
• 2022 raised an est high 7 to low 8 figures from TCG

–DEAL DETAILS–

Overview

• Announced October 13, 2025
• No terms were disclosed

Strategic Rationale

• Combines Night’s viral digital expertise with Experiential Supply’s live event production capabilities
• Aligns with broader industry trend of creator economy going IRL as audiences crave offline engagement (see below What Else I Find Interesting section for market data)
• Night’s creators increasingly launching IRL experiences e.g. Sam & Colby escape room, Kai Cenat’s Little Basketball Association
• Enables integrated offering: creators can drive digital awareness while activating physical experiences: (1) Creates an integrated offering for brands, studios, and creator partners, where digital talent can amplify campaigns through social reach and leverage live activations to generate new viral content (2) The synergy enables co-beneficial campaigns: creators extend partnerships into IRL experiences that their fans can attend and share, while brands capture both in-person engagement and online momentum.
• “As consumer attention shifts more and more towards digital media, we believe that experiential marketing is one of the few traditional marketing channels that brands can still use to create unique and memorable moments that actually reach consumers,” said Reed Duchscher, Night CEO. 
• “Through the years we’ve been able to achieve really special organic engagements and virality with our experiences and marketing stunts,” said Jasen Smith, Experiential Supply Co. founder. “With Night leading the pace in the creator and digital space we felt there was a silver bullet offering to have this all under one roof that couldn’t be ignored”
• Also from Jasen Smith…“we’re eager and excited to re-imagine how physical experiences show up globally at scale in the digital world. Leveraging the globe’s best creators, and savvy backend digital strategies, we’re going to ensure the worlds and moments we create are unmissable.”

Post-Deal Operations

• Experiential Supply Co. continues operating under its brand
• Jasen Smith remains with company leading experiential division
• Integration with Night’s creator roster for branded activations and fan experiences

–WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING–

• The $100B+ market opportunity at the intersection of creators x irl experiences.
• When I first read about this deal, I had a bit of a head scratcher moment. 
• Then our team dug into some market sizing research, and as well as the flurry of activity in creator-driven events. We also reached out to Night’s CEO to get more perspective on their growth angle. 
• The growth opportunity then became much more clear. Here’s some of the data and trends we looked at…

• Market sizing data for the global experiential x creator economies.
• North America experiential marketing industry is valued at $54B in 2025, projected to hit $74B by 2035 (3.2% CAGR), with North America accounting for ~40% of total revenue​.
• Global experiential marketing spend expected at $128B in 2025, with 74% of Fortune 1000 marketers planning increased budgets next year​.
• Further, consumer engagement of creator-related irl experiences is surging: 41% of US social media users attended at least one creator or fan event in the past year, spanning meetups, pop-ups, and branded festivals​.
• Then, as it relates to the creator economy, market sizing estimates are around $191B in 2025, and growing to $528B by 2030, a 23% CAGR.

• Growing trend of creators increasingly building hybrid IRL + digital businesses.
• Some examples… 
• Sam & Colby – “Asylum: Room 1952” escape room drove over 25M YouTube video views, and sold out 8 weeks of bookings within launch quarter​.
• Kai Cenat – “Little Basketball Association (LBA)” drew 5.4M cumulative live views across Twitch and YouTube streams, with 30K+ paid arena attendees.​​
• Dude Perfect – raised $100M from Highmount Capital (our deal analysis) to expand its global live-tour franchise and build a Texas theme park. Related to this expansion is the announcement that Dig World, a construction-themed adventure park featured on Shark Tank, is partnering with Dude Perfect to open a new location at Grapevine Mills mall (based in TX) in early 2026. This marks Dude Perfect’s first official venture into the amusement park space, featuring real construction equipment experiences and trick-shot attractions curated by Dude Perfect

• POV on the economics of experiential events.
• The economics are promising, yet complex. 
• Of note, our team can uniquely speak to this: our director Michael Booth was previously at the VOID, a location-based entertainment company.
• Specifically, events can drive high-margin sponsorship returns, typically in the 10-20% EBITDA range for established tours.
• BUT, events demand steep upfront capital expenditures, logistics, and ongoing marketing overhead. 
• Therefore, the most successful creators vertically integrate via production, merch, and media rights, which helps to offset costs with diversified monetization flywheels.​

• Night now bridges digital virality with real-world engagement, a strong move to capture more of brand marketer share through a modern suite of social agency services.
• Last week we wrote about Journey Further buying Saulderson Media (our deal analysis), which included our POV on how marketing agencies are newly defining the modern social agency services stack.
• In this Experiential Supply deal, Night now gets access to six- and seven-figure studio-level budgets through campaigns like Jurassic World Rebirth and Planet of the Apes. I also think of marketing strategy shifts within Indie Hollywood –> per a Hollywood Reporter article from a couple days ago, “Focus Features and others are seeking to create brand loyalty among a growing demo of moviegoers with unique experiences and curated merchandise.” 
• It positions Night as a hybrid creative-marketing powerhouse connecting creators, brands, and audiences across digital and physical channels.
• It also adds proven experiential execution capabilities to Night’s digital-first focus, allowing the company to deliver integrated campaigns from ideation, to on-site activation and social amplification.
• There are also parallels to Fever’s acquisition of DICE (our deal analysis), where a digital-first entertainment platform acquired a live-event company to own the whole stack (creation, distribution, and data across the experiential ecosystem). Similarly, Night is making moves to own the full creative-marketing stack, spanning content, creators, and experiential execution.
• Night CEO Reed Duchscher, in a direct chat with me about the deal, noted that he believes the “outsized advantage on the brand side” is actually not influencer marketing, which Night already has a strong wedge in. Instead, the “increasing anchor for brand services”, is experiential marketing i.e. that an experiential offering helps modern band agency businesses, like Night Advisory, generate new client relationships and cross-sell various social marketing services like influencer marketing, UGC content, influencer bookings, etc. Further, Reed noted that in talking to various experiential companies, ES and its founder Jasen stood out, and that the ES team had glowing reviews from their blue-chip client base. This made it an easy decision for Reed to pursue the acquisition and bring Jasen onto the Night leadership team.

I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for creator economy and digital agencies. From buy / sell-side M&A and fundraising, to consumer research and go-to-market planning.

DM me on LinkedIn or email me chris@wearerockwater.com

RockWater Roundup

M&A analysis of the creator economy to make you a better operator and investor.

Today we discuss MLB’s investment into Jomboy Media, a baseball and sports-focused digital publisher. We cover deal details, strategic rationale, rise of creator sports deals, 1st league investment into a media co, input from Jomboy CEO, editorial independence, and a potential golden handcuffs scenario.

Let’s break it down…

————

–TARGET: Jomboy Media–

Overview

• A creator-led sports and entertainment media platform
• Specializes in baseball content, digital video, podcasts, and original programming
• Founded in 2017 by Jimmy “Jomboy” O’Brien and Jake Storiale
• CEO is Courtney Hirsch (sister of cofounder Jimmy)
• 86+ associated members on LinkedIn
• HQ’d in New York

Origination Story

• Started as “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast in 2017. Built following through fun, relatable banter and analysis
• Jimmy’s viral “breakdown” videos with lip reading and humorous commentary quickly gained millions of views and brought national attention
• Jomboy gained major spotlight during the 2019 Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, due to in-depth, accessible coverage that connected with both casual and long-time fans
• Expanded lineup to include multiple podcasts, YouTube shows, warehouse-style games, and collabs with networks like YES and Amazon

Company Highlights

• 93+ million social media engagements in 2024
• FY 2024 Revenue: $10M+, up 44% YoY
• 2.1M+ YouTube subs

Business Lines

• Programmatic Revenue: From YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Podcasts
• Sponsorships & Partnerships: Brand deals with T-Mobile, Corona, Mountain Dew, DirecTV, DraftKings, SeatGeek
• Merchandise: Direct-to-consumer apparel (shirts, jerseys, etc) through company website
• Media Rights: Six-figure TV deal with Bally Sports for Warehouse Games content

Content footprint:

• Social Video:
• Viral breakdowns of MLB plays and controversies (notably lip reading, rules analysis, and hot takes)
• “Warehouse Games” original series: high-production, backyard-inspired competitions (e.g., Blitzball, floorball)
• Short-form highlights and recaps designed for social platforms
• Podcasts:
• “Talkin’ Baseball”: Weekly deep dives and banter on league events, player news, and fan culture
• “Talkin’ Yanks”: Yankees-focused analysis, guests, and season storylines.
• Live Events & Collaborations:
• MLB All-Star Game, Home Run Derby, and other event activations – co-produced and distributed alongside MLB digital channels
• YES Network partnership: Exclusive original shows on the YES App

Capital Markets History

• Lead Investors: Connect Ventures LLP (a JV between Hollywood agency CAA and VC firm NEA. Cofounded by Jack Davis, cofounder of Crypt TV which sold to Brat TV)
• May’22: $5M VC (Series A) raise
• Dec’19: $0.3M VC (Seed 2) raise
• Apr’18: $0.05M VC (Seed 1) raise

–BUYER: Major League Baseball–

Overview

• Professional baseball league representing 30 teams across North America
• Baseball Endowment L.P. (BELP): MLB’s investment fund owned collectively by all 30 teams, valued at $1B+
• Each team holds 3.3% ownership stake in BELP
• Founded in 1903 through merger of National League and American League
• Led by Commissioner Rob Manfred

Company Highlights

• FY 2024 Revenue: $12.1B+, up 4.3% YoY
• 71.3M+ attendance in 2024, up 11% over 2022
• Record $2.6B avg MLB team valuation in 2025, up 8% YoY

Business Lines

• Media Rights & Broadcasting: National and local television, radio, and streaming distribution
• National TV Deals: Fox ($550M annually), Turner Sports through 2028, Apple TV+, Roku Channel
• MLB.TV Streaming: $149.99 per season out-of-market package
• Sponsorships & Corporate Partnerships: League-wide and team-specific brand partnerships
• 40+ Official Partners: Including Anheuser-Busch InBev, Mastercard, Chevrolet 
• Helmet Sponsorships: First-ever helmet sponsor (Strauss) beginning 2024 postseason
• International Partnerships: Konami, Japan Airlines, ITO EN
• Digital Media & Technology: MLB Advanced Media and digital platforms
• MLB Network: Emmy Award-winning programming and live game telecasts
• MLB.com Platform: Website and mobile applications for all 30 teams
• Licensing & Merchandise: IP and consumer products
• 200+ Licensees including Topps, Fanatics, New Era, Rawlings
• Team Merchandise: D2C and retail partnerships
• Video Game Licensing: Multi-year deals with publishers including Konami fornami for mobile games

Capital Markets History

• Jun’25: Acquired minority stake in Jomboy Media
• May’25: Acquired minority stake in Athlete Unlimited Softball League
• Apr’22: Follow investor in $1.5B G2 round for Fanatics LLC 
• Aug’21: Follow investor in $325M F2 round for Fanatics LLC 
• Jul’21: Follow investor in $15M B3 round for LeagueApps Inc
• Mar’21: Lead investor in $350M F1 round for Fanatics LLC 

–DEAL DETAILS–

Overview

• Announced June 10, 2025
• MLB acquired minority stake in Jomboy Media
• Investment made through MLB’s BELP

Post-Deal Operations

• Jomboy Media operates as independent entity
• Jimmy O’Brien continues as founder and primary content creator
• Courtney Hirsch remains CEO (appointed March 2025)
• Jomboy has access to MLB and team intellectual property for content and merchandise
• MLB will distribute Jomboy Media content across MLB’s own digital channels, including activations around major events like the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby

Strategic Rationale

• Viewer Demographic Changes: Average MLB TV viewer age dropped 4 years since 2018, but league still seeks solutions to unlock younger audiences
• Digital Transformation: Shift toward creator-led content and authentic voices over traditional media among younger audiences
• Creator Economy Entry: MLB’s first major investment in independent creator-led media company
• Content Distribution: Leverage Jomboy’s 93M+ annual engagements for broader reach and expanded audience

–WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING–

• A new investment precedent for the creator economy; sports leagues investing into creator-led media. I believe MLB’s minority investment in Jomboy Media is the first time a major sports league has taken an ownership stake in a creator-driven media company. Perhaps even any type of media company (though DM me if I’m wrong here).
• While leagues like the NFL and NBA have worked with creators through a variety of brand marketing and promotional campaigns over recent years, like the MLB’s past partnership with Whistle Sports, these leagues haven’t taken meaningful equity ownership in media businesses. Instead, within the sports ecosystem, most direct investments into media have come from athletes and their owned media ventures or investment funds. I think of Kevin Durant (via Boardroom and Thirty Five Ventures) and LeBron James (via SpringHill Company).
• But direct investment into media has not come from a sports team nor league. Until now.
• The MLB / Jomboy deal may signal a new model that could emerge: sports leagues and teams will increasingly take minority ownership in creator companies to gain better audience distribution and marketing, and find new creative ways to engage modern and youth sports fans. Aka a  realization that creator businesses are worthy of institutional investment by major sports leagues and teams, and not just marketing spend.
• Of note, adjacent media investments by leagues do exist, like NBA Equity, the venture arm of the NBA, announcing in 2024 an investment into Greenfly, a short-form content marketing platform. So we’ve known that the leagues have been taking social media, and its impact on its business and partners, more and more seriously, and willing to put real capital to work. Now we know the investment aperture by the leagues and the sports ecosystem, has grown even wider.
• NOTE: In thinking about the intersection of capital, media, talent, and sports, I also think about Ryan Reynolds buying a stake in Wrexham AFC in 2020, and then co-producing a docuseries with his prod co Maximum Effort. A different precedent, but still in the…ballpark…of today’s analysis. You can read more about that deal here in our Ryan Reynold’s “Fast Follower” strategy breakdown.

• The rise of sports-focused creator economy investments. I think of Dude Perfect’s $100M+ majority acquisition by Highmount Capital (our deal analysis), and Good Good Golf’s $45M funding (our deal analysis). Now with MLB investing into Jomboy, this is the 3rd capital infusion into a creator-focused sports media co within the last 15 months. This deal builds on the broader trend that investors are quickly realizing how critical creator-led media is to build any modern business enterprise that reaches young, digital native consumers…whether a CPG company, a live events company, or a sports franchise.
• It’s also worth highlighting that these creator-led media co’s take sports content far beyond just cut-downs of game highlights. They also offer comedic stunts, educational breakdowns, and viral challenges that appeal to both die-hard fans and casual viewers. They’re transforming how fans experience and interact with sports overall, from broadcast / social co-viewing habits and what stories are told, to the new merch lines and irl experiences being developed.

• Making baseball more accessible to youth and non-baseball fans. MLB’s minority stake in Jomboy Media goes beyond just a financial investment – it’s a strategic alliance that gives Jomboy access to MLB’s official IP, live games, and events. This enables Jomboy to expand its content portfolio and create fresh formats that make baseball more engaging and accessible to a wider range of fans.
• Similar to how Good Good Golf has broadened its audience by creating content that appeals not just to golf enthusiasts, but to casual viewers and adjacent fans, Jomboy is doing the same for the sport of baseball. Like how the lip-reading breakdown YouTube videos are inspired by action on the baseball diamond, but are actually comedic entertainment that resonates with a much broader, non-baseball audience.
• I can personally attest to this after skimming Jomboy’s YT channel a couple days ago for some article research, and then getting sucked down the lip reading videos rabbit hole for at least 30 min of joyful viewing. It’s a brilliant format, even if a bit raunchy.
• And MLB wants more of that.
• Jomboy extends MLB’s reach into social-native communities and younger demos, with proven formats. With digital sports viewership surpassing traditional TV for the first time in 2024, leagues that don’t establish creator distribution channels risk losing entire generational audiences. So MLB is playing critical business model defense with this move – I’m curious to see how the MLB might get more aggressive as they seek to evolve their business during generational media disruption.
• And with the MLB partnership, Jomboy will have player, team, and league access that will allow their content teams to produce new and differentiated sports x media content for the full spectrum of baseball fans, from newbies to diehards, and adjacent entertainment audiences. All amplified by the MLB’s own digital media network.
• A mutual win.

• Recent MLB rule changes are a boon for creator-led media. MLB’s recent rule changes, designed to speed up gameplay and increase action, are making games more appealing to younger fans who expect fast-paced and digestible content. The changes create ideal opportunities for creator-driven coverage that highlights exciting moments, quick reactions, and explainers tailored for social media.  Specifically, there will be more social-native format opportunities for highlight breakdowns, real-time commentary, and educational clips. The result is more content that helps both casual viewers and long time fans understand and enjoy the game, and discover the sport of baseball.
• The takeaway is that there’s a clear synergy between the recent on-field innovation and off-field investment in creator engagement via the new MLB / Jomboy partnership. Overall, expect to see fresh storytelling techniques that drive new fan growth and deepen fan engagement, and which will be both more effective AND cost-efficient than relying on traditional sports broadcasts.

• Notes on editorial independence in the modern creator landscape. With the MLB as new minority owners of Jomboy, it raises the question of editorial independence. It’s the same question that arises during any investment or acquisition of a media co – like when a prominent business person buys a newspaper (e.g. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos buying the Washington Post in 2013), a telecom company buys a Hollywood Studio (e.g. AT&T buying WarnerMedia in 2018), or when a Hollywood studio buys another Hollywood studio (e.g. Discovery buying WarnerMedia in 2022).
• The question that our team raised is if Jomboy’s editorial voice will change post deal, which could alienate existing Jomboy fans and viewers i.e. might Jomboy need to soften some of its raunchy breakdown videos, or strive to take a more neutral or positive tone for any MLB commentary.
• I didn’t do a detailed audit of Jomboy’s content, so I can’t speak to the potential risks there. But my gut instincts point to the following takeaways (1) Jomboy still mountains majority ownership and control post deal (2) trying to change the voice of a creator-led media company is bad business and if that was the goal, the deal never would have happened, and (3) Jomboy benefits so much from increased access to MLB IP and distribution that even some minor “filtering around the edges” of Jomboy content to maintain good MLB rapport will be worth it considering the bigger business opportunity.
• In the creator economy space, we don’t have a ton of precedent here, so I’m curious to see how this shakes out. I think of the Lunar X / Game Theory acquisition in 2022, but that deal speaks more to keyman risk in transitioning a YT channel to a new owner once the host leaves. But a more recent and relevant example that comes to mind is Fox’s acquisition of Red Seat Ventures in early 2025 (our analysis here). RSV owners were very clear to Fox about the need for talent independence of former Fox broadcasters (e.g. Tucker Carlson and Megn Kelly), who are coming back under the Fox umbrella through the deal. But if you’re following the recent news, I’m curious to see how that independence is navigated as the current presidential administration puts pressure on media outlets like Fox about recent sensitive topics.
• Digital media leaders will be setting new playbooks here on how to co-manage media parent co pressures in a creator ecosystem where the talent have significantly more leverage, both through direct audience access and their contractual agreements, than times past. I look forward to learning their strategies.

• I spoke to Courtney Hirsch, the newly promoted CEO of Jomboy. Below are some paraphrased notes from our convo (incl edits for clarity).
• Courtney is excited by the bigger sponsorship opportunity enabled by the MLB partnership. By collaborating with the MLB in an official capacity, Jomboy can provide sponsorship packages that are also league and team-focused, and incorporate official league and team IP and distribution that were unavailable to Jomboy prior to the investment.
• Courtney further noted that creator counterparts often struggle with 1-off brand campaigns, and live campaign by campaign. Instead, Jomboy will now help uplevel the creator sports space by unlocking blue chip brands through more premium long-term campaign opportunities, and in turn more sponsorship revenue. That’s a win for Jomboy, but also the broader creator sports space.
• Courtney was also excited by the larger consumer product merch opportunity. Through the deal, Jomboy will be able to make joint apparel, with official MLB and team marks. For example, the company can make “Talkin’ Yanks” shirts with the official NY Yankees logo, which will help Jomboy merch stand out in the saturated creator and podcast merch space. To get access to official league and team marks, creator co’s typically have to work with large sports licensing orgs like Fanatics and New Era, which can take time, and getting rights access is not guaranteed. Being an early and approved partner gives Jomboy a real advantage VS other sports media peers.

• Golden handcuffs, poison pills, and potential challenges of an MLB tie-in. Some industry observers noted that Jomboy might have had to do this deal due to their illegal use of MLB content, and so a partnership had to be sorted. I don’t know if there were any official copyright or fair use claims outstanding by the MLB against Jomboy, and what pressures may have historically been put on Jomboy by the sports league. But based on some quick research, I found this 2019 article from Techdirt. Yes it’s a bit dated, but does provide helpful context on my point above, and also has a POV that aligns with my own on the matter, in that the MLB should embrace Jomboy VS fight them – which is where we ended up with this partnership! A good article insight is that the MLB was actually claiming Jomboy’s YouTube videos like its lip reading breakdowns, meaning that all adsense revenue went to MLB and NOT the creator media co. I recommend giving the article a full read.
• A question the deal also raises is if the MLB presents a golden handcuffs situation, preventing a future Jomboy majority exit. The concern would be that if MLB were to ever pull its commercial partnership, it would dramatically impact the Jomboy business via a loss of access to key IP, audience, and revenue. So why rock the boat. Though with Jomboy aspirations to be broader than just baseball and sports, that risk could be mitigated, but it’s definitely a legitimate concern. Another concern is that the MLB could refuse to sell its stake, due to the MLB wanting to continue being in business, and perhaps having some influence, over the media co. This could be a poison pill for a new owner who seeks a 100% buyout.
• Though having MLB as a financial and commercial partner, with aligned incentives over a long or infinite term, could be a good thing for a new owner, and the new owner would still enjoy majority control. I also wonder if Jomboy negotiated drag along rights, enabling them to force MLB’s stake sale in the case of a majority buyer. Though I doubt it.
• This then raises the point if MLB is the natural fit to be a future majority owner of Jomboy – maybe, but first let’s see how the partnership goes, how content / audience / revenue grow together, and how editorial independence is navigated. Then perhaps another new precedent will be set for how a sports league can take majority ownership of a media co, VS just an investment.

I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for creator economy and digital agencies. From buy / sell-side M&A and fundraising, to consumer research and go-to-market planning.

DM me on LinkedIn or email me chris@wearerockwater.com

RockWater Roundup

M&A analysis of the creator economy to make you a better operator and investor.

Today we discuss Good Good Golf’s $45M fundraise, including the deal details, company origin story, strategic rationale, planned use of funds, and how the company is pioneering sports x social commerce.

Let’s break it down…

————

–TARGET: Good Good Golf–

Overview

• Nextgen golf media and lifestyle brand
• Blends entertainment, sports, competition, and lifestyle
• “Make golf more accessible, dynamic, and engaging for players and fans of all ages”
• Founded 2020 by Matt Kendrick and 5+ golf personalities including lead voice Garrett Clark 
• Team of 25 on-camera personalities, editors, shooters
• Based in Texas

Origin Story

• 5+ close friends, all good golfers who often played together, started doing challenges and competitions, and posting YouTube videos
• Founders Matt Kendrick, a partner at Scoreboard Ventures, approached the group at a golf tournament, about forming GG
• Was inspired by success of fishing channel called Googan Squad, founded by 5 young anglers that Matt Kendrick helped incubate
• Of note, cofounder Garrett Clark launched first YT channel at 9 yrs old, then a golf channel at 13, dropped out of college to do it full time

Business Lines

• Overall business model spans content, D2C consumer products, retail, and live experiences
• Creates educational and entertaining long-form YouTube videos, and short-form on Instagram, TikTok
• Monetizes content via YouTube ad sense and brand partnerships, and partnership with NBC Sports
• Sells products like polo shirts, swim trunks, putters, other apparel
• Collabs with brands like Yeti, Callaway to create premium golf gear

Content Highlights

• Live Events – Has NBC Sports partnership. Produced 1st event alone, drove 1M+ live viewers. In 2024 expanded partnership for distribution to YouTube, Peacock, and Golf Channel. Events include 2024’s WM Phoenix Open, Feb 2025’s Good Good Desert Knockout, and May 2025’s Good Good Championship, a tournament designed to find “the next great golfer” 
• Professional & Celebrity Activations – Collabs with celebs like Steph Curry and golf pros like Jason Day
• General Educational Content – Videos that teach golf basics and mechanics, help GG reach broad set of golf fans on YouTube  

Company Highlights

• 1.75M subscribers,16%+ TTM subscriber Growth
• 498M lifetime views, 29%+ TTM Views Growth
• Signed golf stars Joel Dahmen, Michael Block, Jon Pak, and Beau Hossler
• Active partnership with NBC Sports and GOLF Channel around tournaments 
• Top-selling products at Dick’s Sporting Goods
• Ownership stake in L.A. Golf Club

Capital Markets History

• March 2025: Raised $45M from Creator Sports Capital and other investors
• Seems to have been incubated under Scoreboard Ventures (where GG cofounder Matt Kendrick is a partner), which specializes in “creating, building and investing in early stage sports, eSports, technology and digital content companies”

–INVESTOR: Creator Sports Capital–

Overview

• Affiliated with Creator Capital, does investment and incubation of startups within the creator economy 
• Launched Creator Sports Capital in 2025 to focus on traditional and emerging areas of sports
• Founded by Benjamin Grubbs (former YouTube) and Brian Kabot

Company Highlights

• Creator Capital has 12 investments and 2 incubated startups
• Exited 2 startups: 1BStories and Electric Monster (our deal writeup) 

Investment Criteria

• CSC is focused on future of commerce, entertainment, and sports assets within the creator economy

Investment History

–DEAL DETAILS–

Overview

• Announced 3.25.25
• Led by Creator Sports Capital
• “Significant participation” from Manhattan West Private Equity, Sunflower Bank, and Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions
• 50+ global investors joined round, many with deep connection to golf (including one of our RockWater clients!)
• Select Manhattan West Private Equity Media Investments:
  • 100Thieves
  • Discord
  • Round Room 

Post Deal Ops

• Not disclosed
  

Strategic Rationale

• “Global expansion across content, retail, and live experiences”
• Develop more scripted and unscripted content with NBC Sports and Omaha Productions
• Hire new sales team to expand distribution to 20,000 US pro shops
• GG felt tapped out in products space due to large cash investment required, will now expand golf merch and equipment ines
• Create content and merch for new global markets like Asia and Australia, which are home to five of GG’s top 10 viewing cities
• In Asia will subtitle and translate audio, and may hire local creators in markets like Korea and Japan
• Wants to become one of top 5 biggest global golf companies

–WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING–

• Good Good Golf is a pioneer in sports x social commerce. Content is created around a specific fandom in golf, which builds audience loyalty and engagement. This is then monetized through advertiser partnerships and product sales. The content serves as GG’s marketing and user acquisition engine. This biz model is attractive because the content spend minimizes need for high marketing costs, enabling a high-margin D2C consumer products business. We’re seeing more of these types of businesses emerge, across a variety of categories from candy and kids toys to gardening and pets. Other case studies include (2) TCG’s investment in Epic Gardening, to fuel expansion into e-commerce and branded products, and (2) our client Little Chonk, which built a passionate community around pet and lifestyle content, and translated that into a fast-growing D2C and media business (events, newsletters, etc). Excited to see the social commerce model expand into various sports verticals…like Tennis!

• The Rise of YouTube Golf. In July, 2024, The Athletic covered how golf stars such as Bryson DeChambeau rack up millions of views on their social channels. From April-June 2024, YouTube reported 4.3B golf video views on the platform, showing strong demand by golf fans and enthusiasts. YouTube’s free unlimited content and golf subcultures makes the platform a strong choice for golf fans looking for a wide array of golf content, from practice tips and how-to videos, to industry news, events coverage, player stories, comedy, and more. This is a richer and more accessible fan experience VS what the typical TV broadcasters offer around the PGA and LIV events coverage…though putting the power of both premium tournament events and social-native content is an exciting vision for how the new and old golf content world can thrive together.   

• Investment coincides with sharp rise in PGA ratings. The PGA tour reported a 15% YoY increase in Nielsen’s traditional ratings in 2025. This was likely driven by the tour working to better serve fans and core audiences, which is predominantly white, male, and middle aged. Good Good Golf bridges the gap between PGA’s traditional audience and younger, digital-native golf fans. The GG teams blends pro level content with challenges and celeb activations, catering to modern viewing preferences that extend beyond tournaments. Younger fans are more engaged with social-first, diverse content across digital platforms, and Good Good’s content allows them to reach both traditional and emerging golf audiences in a way that typical broadcasters, such as LIV and PGA, do not.

• Next up, Tennis? Tennis has a sizable global following, and the fans between golf and tennis have much demo overlap, e.g. high average incomes, age range, and that both seek premium destination experiences around sports events. Further, many of tennis’s top stars have online fanbases that are in the millions, with top stars well above that. Further, the game of tennis can be reimagined and repackaged via challenges and talent collaborations, a la GG style, which will perform well on YouTube, and help make the game more accessible and compelling to younger tennis fans. (I wish our team had more time to research YouTube tennis content, will have to put that on the to-do list!)

• The power of tournaments and talent collabs. The first GG tournament is this May, the Good Good Championship and will focus on “showing off the talents of our audience.” The community activation will drive further engagement from their fan and player community. In February, the Company collaborated with eSports star Nadeshot, creator Zach King, and comedian Andrew Santino. The talent collaborations helped GG reach new audiences, and recruit them to the GG ecosystem. Part of a content theme we’ve often written about, where increasingly, sports fans are more loyal to athletes, VS leagues or teams

• No Highmount on the cap table. The new fund is best known for their $100M+ investment into Dude Perfect (our deal writeup). Based on GG being a sports-focused creator economy bet, and also based in Texas like Dude Perfect, we would have expected Highmount on the cap table. There could be many reasons for this: misalignment on deal terms / structure or company values, didn’t meet investment criteria, or Highmount was simply focused on other investments?

I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for creator economy and digital agencies. From buy / sell-side M&A and fundraising, to consumer research and go-to-market planning.

DM me on LinkedIn or email me chris @ wearerockwater dot com

RockWater Roundup

M&A analysis of the creator economy to make you a better operator and investor.

Today we discuss Fox’s acquisition of Red Seat Ventures, including the deal details, strategic rationale, and why the deal signals strong M&A momentum for creators x podcasting in 2025.

Let’s break it down…

————

NOTE: We know the RSV founding team well, and have worked with them. Therefore, we can’t go into details about estimating financials and deal details, and will focus our analysis on public domain info. 

–TARGET: Red Seat Ventures–

Overview

• Provides production, distribution, branding, sales, and back office services for creators
• Focus on right-leaning political / news, opinion, entertainment, true crime, sports content
• Focus in audio and video podcasts, streaming shows, and other programming
• Helps creators build and grow D2C media businesses and personal brands
• Founded 2015 by brothers Chris Balfe, Kevin Balfe
• 36 associated members on LinkedIn
• Based in NYC

Company Highlights

• 17 creator-led shows
• 200M monthly views in Nov ’24
• Top 10 podcast network in US in audience reach 
• Clients include Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, Piers Morgan, Dr. Phil

Business Lines

• As sales, growth marketing, and consulting services
• Digital media production and distribution
• Live events

O&O Live Events Brand: CrimeCon

• Hosts large-scale conventions around the world for true-crime fans
• Operates crimeHQ, an online true-crime community, $7/mo subscription model
• Operates CrimeCamp, a forensic investigation experience, $2.2k ticket 

Capital Markets History

• Raised $1.1M seed round in 2018 (Pitchbook)

–BUYER: Fox Corp–

Overview

• Traditional media company
• Operates cable, television, and digital media networks

Company Highlights

• Operates 6 top-150 US TV broadcast / cable channels

Business Lines

• News & Information Channels
  • Fox News Channel
  • Fox Business Network
• Sports Channels
  • Fox Sports (FS1 and FS2)
  • Big Ten Network (BTN)
• Digital & Streaming
  • Tubi – FAST platform + Credible, Blockchain Creative Labs, entire Fox Technology org
  • Fox Nation – Subscription based service offering political content, documentaries, and opinion shows

Stock Price

• $51.17  as of 2.12.25
• Up 11.6% MoM
• Up 86% YoY

Financials

(via public filings and stockanalysis.com)

• 2024 FY Revenue of $15.2B
• 2024 Rev growth 4% 
• 2024 EBITDA of $3.5B

Valuation

• Mkt Cap: $23.54B
• C&CE: $3.3B
• Total Debt: $8.1B
• Enterprise Value: $28.66B
• 8.3x 2024 est. EV/EBITDA 

Capital Markets History

• Raised $1.25B debt financing in Oct ‘23
• IPO’d in 2019, relisted when separated from 21st Century Fox

Recent Media M&A History

• 2019: Sold 21st Century Fox assets to Disney:
  • Stake in Hulu
  • FX Networks & National Geographic
  • 20th Century Fox Film and Television Studios
• 2020: Acquired Tubi for $490M, a large FAST platform
• 2021: Acquired Outkick, right-leaning sports and political commentary website

–DEAL DETAILS–

Overview

• No deal details disclosed

Post Deal Ops

• Tubi CEO Paul Cheesbrough to become RSV’s chairman
  
• Balfe bros will operate RSV independently within Fox’s Tubi Media Group 
• Former Fox talent will not be employed by Fox

Strategic Rationale

• Helps Fox reach new fans as linear viewership declines
• Helps Fox activate broadcast talent and linear IP in digital media channels
• Adds pipeline of talent and audio / video portfolio into Fox streaming services like Tubi, Fox Nation, and new planned sports and news-oriented service in 2025
• Expand RSV service offerings for creators while maintaining independence of their individual brands
• Expand RSV into other genres including sports and entertainment 

–WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING–

• A bet on the next generation of media consumers. Fox seeks to attract younger audiences like Gen Z and millennials, whose media consumption is digital and creator-led. Further, older audiences like Gen X and Baby Boomers are increasing their digital and creator watch-time.
• Podcasting M&A is seeing new momentum. The Fox / RSV deal follows 2024’s landmark acquisition of Veritone ONE and Oxford Road by Insignia Capital (our deal analysis). Like creator economy, podcasting is heating up after a down period in dealmaking between summer 2022 through Q3 2024.
• Expect more traditional news M&A. Most traditional news media brands are talking to podcasters and digital creators for either buyout or licensing deals.
• Venu shut-down a catalyst for More Fox digital M&A. With Venu, the 3-way JV sports streamer between Fox / Disney / WBD, now being shut down due to Disney buying a majority stake in Fubo, we expect Fox to find new ways to be aggressive in growing its digital audiences. The RSV acquisition is a strong move here. Further, while RSV focuses on political / news content, it will also be a vehicle to expand sports and sports-adjacent content for Fox, a key focus area for the parent co.
• Fox is smart to let RSV remain independent. RSV will operate independently within Tubi, and removed from Fox News channel. This gives RSV talent the independence they want, but also opens up new ways to collaborate with Fox. A smart way to structure the deal, get it over the goal line, and ensure strong goodwill between RSV and its talent clients post acquisition.
  
• New model for media ownership. Fox is adapting to the new media landscape, where creators want ownership and independence, but need support to scale. In this deal Fox backs creators that drive value back to the company. It also signals how Fox will support the next generation of talent going forward, which will Fox help recruit a broader talent network for continued growth as it aligns with new industry norms. Again, a smart move. 
• Origin story highlights an important career throughline in RSV founders. RSV CEO Chris Balfe has been a media disruptor for media personalities for a long time, dating back to 2003. From Variety, “Chris Balfe worked for years with another Fox News exile, Glenn Beck, helping him with his production company, Mercury Radio Arts, as well as his media outlet, TheBlaze.” Very early in the media disruption lifecycle, the Balfes saw the talent-led opportunity in D2C and digital. They learned and buit the playbook with a prominent talent in the early 2000s, and built an incredible business applying it to the next generation of talent.
• Content-related liability. In 2024 Fox paid a $787M settlement to Domion Voting Systems related to DVS’s defamation lawsuit against Fox. With RSV’s talent-led media brands remaining independent and outside the control of Fox, but RSV being owned by Fox and RSV talent contributing content to Fox’s O&O media network, the deal raises questions about what new and different content-related liability concerns could arise. It’s a new model, and I’m not an expect here, but its worth tracking since we expect to see more similar M&A. This dynamic will be something creator x media execs and dealmakers will have to sort through, and create new operating / governance / contractual systems for as the media landscape evolves.
• Fox’s outperformance via focus. From Variety, “Though smaller than contemporaries such as Disney or NBCUniversal, Fox has thrived in recent years by casting off assets devoted to traditional scripted entertainment programming and focusing more intently on content meant to be watched live, particularly sports, game shows and news programming.” 
• A quote from my analysis of the Soros / Hot Ones acquisition is relevant here.
  From that blog post…“This is part of a growing theme of politically-oriented buyers and investors increasingly leaning into digital media, and specifically the creator economy. Semafor recently reported that Fox is talking to political media acquisition targets like Red Seat Ventures and The Daily Wire, which are digital-native and lean conservative. Fox might also be looking at audio networks like Audioboom and iHeart. This also makes me think of Highmount’s $100M investment into Dude Perfect (our deal analysis). Makes sense.If you want to influence the masses, you need to go where modern audiences are. And modern media channels, particularly social media, podcasts, and influencers x creators, have an outsized impact on reaching consumers and influencing them. From their purchase decisions, to their voting behavior.Brands and marketers have made the move. Newco launchers have made the move.

  And now politically-affiliated parties and investors are starting to pay a lot more attention and put their dollars to work in the creator economy as well. Particularly after the learnings from Trump’s presidential bid win, which is being described as the “first podcast election”.

I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for creator economy and digital agencies. From buy / sell-side M&A and fundraising, to consumer research and go-to-market planning.

DM me on LinkedIn or email me chris @ wearerockwater dot com