Muaaz S.的动态

Buzzfeed just sold "Hot Ones" for a whopping $83 MILLION. Sean Evans (the host) and Chris Schonberger, alongside investors like Soros Fund Management and Mythical Entertainment, acquired First We Feast from BuzzFeed for a whopping $82.5 million—an all-cash deal. What does this mean? 1?? Creator-Led Businesses: This deal underscores the growing trend of creators taking control of their media empires. Sean Evans built the property from the ground up, and decided it was time to own it outright. 2?? Buzz-feed made out like bandits: It's hard to track down exactly how much cash they put into the original property, but the ROI on this investment is something that only the most finance-y of bros could aspire for. 3?? Cash-Ready Confidence: The all-cash nature of the deal is VERY interesting. Tells you just how valuable the property is. This acquisition is yet another example of why original content continues to grow its share in digital media. The future of entertainment is creator-driven, and GOOD content is good for business.

After months of financial woes, Buzzfeed's $82.5 million relief comes from selling a YouTube native show. 1?? The Buyer: A consortium of investors led by an affiliate of Soros Fund Management. Includes Sean Evans, the charismatic host of Hot Ones, and Chris Schonberger, the founder of First We Feast. Mythical Entertainment, the media company founded by YouTube legends Rhett and Link, is also part of the investment team. 2?? The Impact: BuzzFeed is leveraging the deal to tackle its financial challenges. The company will pay down $88.8 million of its nearly $124 million debt. This move significantly reduces its debt burden and leaves BuzzFeed with more cash than debt on its books. 3?? What It Means: This sale brings much-needed financial stability to BuzzFeed, enabling the company to focus on future growth. Hot Ones continues to build on its legacy with support from its original creators and exciting new investors.

I recently ran into an editor from TechCrunch who gave me a priceless tip for founders pitching funding stories: Raising a round may be a good news hook, but it's not the story. The story is the founder. For me, a successful funding story doesn't just share the news of a raise, but explains why the company exists. When I'm working with founders to prepare for pitching, we look at all of the key moments in their life that led them here. We make their work personal. If you're a founder working with media, perhaps take time to reflect on why you wake up every day and do this work -- and make sure this comes across in your messaging. I want to know what world you're trying to create, and why I should support you in creating it. #PR #VC #FounderAdvice

From aggressive Sharks to defensive posts A lot happened after last week's pitch by Gaurav and Raj of BeastLife The pitch got everyone talking, but I feel the Sharks raised some valid concerns Firstly, there’s nothing wrong with managing multiple ventures. Gaurav defended his position well, and honestly, that’s just the nature of a creator-led brand. If investors see it as a problem, they should also acknowledge that his audience was the reason the brand got its initial push. That said, the Sharks were also right to some extent, but some came across as overly aggressive - almost behaving too much like VCs The cap table issue raised by the Sharks is valid The disproportionate equity split, especially with a major chunk held by Varun, a partner who isn’t actively involved in the business and the low equity in Raj’s hands, is definitely a challenge for investors ** What’s important to ask? ** Do they even need funding at this stage? Looking at their current growth, this question remains unanswered. ** The real WINNER ** Sony! With all the TRP, discussions, and eyeballs, the channel probably walked away with the biggest ROI. ?? PS: About Gaurav’s post on the lack of a traffic uptick, I feel it’s largely due to audience overlap. The online viewers already know the brand, which could explain the limited impact #sharktank #beastlife #investors #funding

Schulte represented Soros Fund Management in a consortium’s $82.5 million acquisition of BuzzFeed’s First We Feast, the production company behind the popular interview show “Hot Ones”. This transaction will allow First We Feast to become an independent multi-platform media company. First We Feast will continue to produce “Hot Ones” episodes without major changes, using the investment from the sale to develop new content franchises and explore future collaborations with other creators. The Schulte team was led by the M&A and Securities Group headed by partner Mike Flynn, special counsel Lauren Troeller and associate Mitchell DaSilva. They were assisted by partners Ted Keyes (Environmental; Insurance), Alexander Kim (Intellectual Property), Ian L. Levin (Employment and Employee Benefits), Joseph Reich (Tax), Greg Ruback (Finance) and Julian Wise (Real Estate), along with special counsel Adam Gartner (Employment and Employee Benefits) and John Doherty (M&A) and associates Steven M. Appel (Intellectual Property), Julia Cummings (M&A), Joseph D'Arco (M&A), Lance Kodish (Real Estate), Sarah Reichek (M&A)? and Hannah Hollingsworth (Tax). #SchulteLaw

Time to change things up a bit. LinkedIn is a great platform for sharing accomplishments, celebrating wins and announcing new roles. As we like to say at Zucker Investment Group with the world’s worst dad joke: We like to #zig while others zag. So at the risk of not only embarrassing myself with the crappy dad joke, I figure why not share mistakes (learning lessons) from the nearly 50 or so deals we’ve acquired so far over the last 6 years? In an industry where we compliment “taking the leap” of acquiring our own properties and a society where we glorify entrepreneurship, I feel an obligation to share lessons learned as my way of giving back to those who are considering taking the route I’ve chosen. So to everyone who asks to “pick the brain” or who has shown curiosity of the property investor or entrepreneur, I encourage you to follow along as I’ll randomly be posting with the bold headline of “LESSON LEARNED” to start each of these. Since the vulnerability meter is already pretty high on this one, I’ll throw this casual confession in there too: I have screwed something up on virtually every deal we’ve done since starting ZIG. Be on the lookout, it should be a nice and cringeworthy ride - look out for future posts and/or short snippets on podcasts in the near future. Cheers to all of you who are building the plane while you fly it... what's the worst that can happen?!

Balancing creativity with financial management is one of the biggest challenges creators face. When unpredictable income and expenses take over, focus shifts away from what matters most—creating. At MilX, we simplify financial workflows for creators by offering quick payouts, advanced funds, and seamless team payments. Our goal? To keep creators focused on what they do best—producing amazing content. Check out this post by our Co-Founder, Paul Lekhnovsky on how smart financial management leads to better content creation. ?? Read more below! #MilX #YouTube #Creators #FinancialManagement #ContentCreation

Now more than ever, I appreciate the consistent transparency of The Spinoff, and am proud to now be a paying monthly subscriber of a news and content source I truly respect and value. After years of consuming and appreciating Spinoff content for free, I'd rather pay for it moving forward than lose it*. (Note that paying is completely optional, they are not becoming paywalled. I am choosing to become a paying subscriber because I think they are worth it, and appreciate the ability to choose how much I can contribute on a monthly/annual basis.) https://lnkd.in/g3rB38B4

"In a dynamic market, it's crucial to differentiate between those managers with sustainable, repeatable track records and those reliant on past economic conditions." — Colm Walsh, ICG Enterprise Trust PLC, in conversation with Fund Shack host Ross Butler. This episode is kindly supported by our friends at Quest Fund Placement Limited. ?? Watch the full episode ??Search “FUND SHACK” #YouTube | #Spotify | #ApplePodcast | #AmazonMusic | #Audible ?? See links in comments ?? If you enjoy this content: Like and reshare to support independent media ?? SUBSCRIBE to Fund Shack LinkedIn NEWSLETTER ?? https://lnkd.in/gtMqM9eK #PrivateEquity #ICGEnterpriseTrust #AlternativeInvestments #BuyoutInvesting #FundShack #InvestmentTrusts #PublicMarkets #DefensiveGrowth #LPInvesting #AlternativeAssets #PrivateEquityPodcast #RossButler #ColmWalsh #AssetManagement #ICG

“Hot Ones” just sold for $82.5 MILLION in a DELICIOUS moment for the YouTube biz Here’s the story… "First We Feast" makes hit show 'Hot Ones' - brilliantly hosted by Sean Evans - with A+ guests like Will Smith, Tom Holland etc - grew to +4BN views and 14M subs (huge) However - FWF was part of Complex, then Buzzfeed (pre IPO) - Buzzfeed lost 90%+ of it's value, got into debt - they have spent months seeking a buyer And they struggled to find one, until... A group made an offer they couldn’t refuse to - take back control of the brand & vision - keep Evans and (founder) Schonberger in leadership roles - grow into new verticals like Live events What a spicy ride. And here's what we can all learn from this… 1. Focus on audience & entertainment FIRST 2. Make cheap formats that can scale over years 3. ONLY once established, expand into verticals e.g. hot sauces 4. Retain creative & corporate control (as much as possible) But remember: entertainment first, always. And the result? An $82.5 million dollar sale ?? All by thinking like a creator. ???join my newsletter for tips on how to think like a creator & accelerate your business ?? repost if you liked this nugget THINKLIKEACREATOR?? #socialmedia #content #business