E12: Levels of Content, Investing in Creators, & MGK’s Nail Polish | Alex Lieberman, Morning Brew

Erik sits down with Alex Lieberman, co-founder of Morning Brew @MorningBrew, and host of Founder's Journal and 60 Second Startup. Riverside.fm is a presenting sponsor of Media Empires. Go to https://creators.riverside.fm/MediaEmpires + use code MEDIAEMPIRES for 20% off individual plans. We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com. - SPONSOR: Head to Beehiiv, the newsletter platform built for growth, to power your own. Connect with premium brands, scale your audience, and deliver a beautiful UX that stands out in an inbox.  🐝to https://Beehiiv.com and use code "EMPIRES" for 20% off your first three months. - RECOMMENDED PODCAST: Founding a business is just the tip of the iceberg; the real complexity comes with scaling it. On 1 to 1000, hosts Jack Altman and Erik Torenberg dig deep into the inevitable twists and turns operators encounter along the journey of turning an idea into a business. Hear all about the tactical challenges of scaling from the people that built up the world’s leading companies like Stripe, Ramp, and Lattice. Our first episode with Eric Glyman of Ramp is out now: https://link.chtbl.com/1to1000 RECOMMENDED PODCAST: Run the Numbers is a weekly podcast about financial metrics and business models, designed for ambitious people operating tech startups. It's a collection of things host CJ Gustafson (CFO at Partstech and writer of Mostly Metrics) has learned and thought about in the trenches as a tech CFO. Subscribe to listen on the platform of your choice: https://link.chtbl.com/runthenumbers Media Empires is part of the Turpentine podcast network. To learn more: www.turpentine.co In this interview, Erik and Alex discuss the different levels of content, investing in creators, and much more. Learn how Alex thinks about working with creators' businesses, choosing platforms, and formats for niche creators. TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (02:46) Positioning Morning Brew (07:13) Where does the business come from? (08:42) Levels of Content (14:05) Working with creators’ businesses (18:50) Investing in Creators (21:52) Pairing creators with COO’s (27:00) The Atomic for creators (28:20) Would Erik need a management arm if he ever started an Atomic for creators? (31:56) The four categories of creator businesses (37:26) Commerce vs software for creators (40:31) Youtube for B2B Creators (42:28) John Coogan's long term game (43:15) How Alex thinks about picking platforms and durability of the business (45:39) Formats for niche creators like watch or cigar creators (49:09) Alex's advice for Erik on podcast networks (48:43) How Alex is thinking about his experience as a creator (50:58) The future of Morning Brew's content (52:05) Alex's closing thoughts on why you should be a creator LINKS: Morning Brew's Website: https://www.morningbrew.com/daily SOCIALS: Alex's Twitter: https://twitter.com/businessbarista Morning Brew's Twitter: https://twitter.com/morningbrew Erik's Twitter: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Music Credit: BNUEVM75G9VD4ZY6