20/04/2025
Today we’re on Forbes which is so insane 😵💫😮 but to answer the headline...why did we reject a major deal??? 👇🏾
Last year, we were offered an undisclosed podcasting deal – the kind many of my peers whom I respect in this space have taken. And for good reason. These deals can be life-changing.
But for us, in our specific situation, it just didn’t feel like the right path.
There’s no “right or wrong” here. Everyone’s circumstances are different. This is just what aligned with our values, our audience, and our long-term vision.
🧠 Why we turned it down:
🚩 It would’ve meant *at least* 300% more ads on our show.
And honestly, our listeners have been clear – they want fewer, better ads. We hear that, and we agree.
I believe there are smarter ways to monetise than just piling on more ads. Equity partnerships, long-term integrations and creating your own products, membership options… are more innovative options that keep the listener experience intact.
🚩 I would’ve had less control over where the show appears.
With these deals, you’re often contractually incentivised to focus on certain platforms – and sometimes, that means removing your show from others altogether. For a show that’s always been built on independence and accessibility everywhere, that felt like a step back.
One of the beautiful things about podcasting is that it can appear on all platforms at once - and the viewer gets to decide!
🚩 The numbers you see in the headlines aren't what they seem.
You don’t sign a $100 million deal and get the cash up front. These are usually multi-year deals, spread out over time and tied to performance targets.
To put it in perspective:
- A “$125m deal” might actually be $25m/year for 5 years, and that money may only be paid if you meet certain performance targets.
That difference matters. Especially when you’re thinking about opportunity cost and long-term creative freedom.
For full transparency: we were offered two deals. The most significant was over a 3-year term. The fee remains undisclosed.
✅ When our Chief Revenue Officer, Christiana Brenton, modelled the numbers, she and her team believed we could actually do better on our own - by continuing to do it ourselves at FLIGHTSTORY without flooding the show with ads.
✅ We’ve now got nearly 100 full-time people building our media company, FLIGHTSTORY (which is home to The Diary Of A CEO) led by Georgie Holt. In my view, they’re the best in the business. We’ve built every capability in-house – strategy, data, production, creative, commercials, e-commerce, social media, marketing, newsletters and more – and we believe in betting on ourselves!
Time will tell if we were right 🤷🏽♂️
But betting on myself and my team is a decision I can live with – and truthfully, one I wish I’d made more often when I was starting out in my career.
We’re still learning, still building, and still listening.
Thanks for being on the journey with us.
👊🏾❤️🚀
Dropped the link in the comments to the Forbes documentary that they made about Flight Story!
