Is Forbes Worth $800 Million? - [Making Media, EP.29]

Today’s episode is a little different. Rather than bring a guest on, we’re going to break down how Forbes works. As former investors now operating in the media space, a few brands particularly intrigue us. Forbes is near the top of that list, not least because its current owners are trying to sell it for $800 million. It has been around for over 100 years, is often referenced in pop culture, and is quickly building out a suite of consumer products. It might also be the antithesis of our own business, Colossus, in its strategy and approach, making it all the more interesting to explore and draw out lessons. We hope you enjoy this deep dive into Forbes. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Scribe. Scribe is the presenting sponsor of this episode of Making Media and the magic behind the Colossus transcripts. One of the best decisions we made at Colossus was transcribing all of our audio into a searchable transcript library. We had been using another provider up until the summer of 2022 but we were constantly having issues with accuracy if our audio was just the slightest bit impaired. Whether it's training sessions, internal Q&As, or for media purposes, the value of transcripts is huge. And we are not alone. Scribe is the transcription service that powers all of S&P Global - like CapIQ - and the client list includes our friends at Tegus. Go to joincolossus.com/scribe to unlock 150 minutes of free transcription and test their capabilities. ----- Making Media is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Making Media, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @ReustleMatt | @domcooke | @MakingMediaPod | @JoinColossus  Show Notes (00:03:18) - (First question) - Forbes’ European reach, a household name in UK (00:04:46) - Fun facts that stood out for Matt and Dom when researching Forbes  (00:10:46) - How Forbes is creating so much content  (00:15:36) - Various interesting factors involved in the consumer business  (00:19:02) - The level of independence when it comes to analysis of affiliate links and recommendations by Forbes (00:21:21) - An example of scaling a business too quickly; the immediate takeaway from the business (00:23:18) - Dilution of the brand and its quality (00:29:58) - Forbes' failed acquisition deals since put up for sale (00:32:30) - The lessons learned from researching the business (00:33:50) - The business’ brand power amongst its target audience (00:35:41) - "Forbes list" influence on popular culture  (00:37:27) - Reality versus propaganda  (00:38:38) - Closing thoughts