E2: "Not Boring and the Future of Tech Media" | Packy McCormick, Not Boring

Erik Torenberg sits down with Packy McCormick of the newsletter Not Boring and Not Boring Capital. For many, Packy is the epitome of the single creator-led media empire.Riverside.fm is a presenting sponsor of Media Empires. Go to https://creators.riverside.fm/MediaEmpires + use code MEDIAEMPIRES for 20% off individual plans. In this conversation, they discuss: how Packy evolved his content format, why a venture model is the business he wanted to build, and his plans for experimentation with Not Boring. They also analyze the opportunities for successful media businesses that should exist in the world. - 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. - 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. 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: turpentine.co TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (01:00) Sponsor: https://creators.riverside.fm/MediaEmpires (03:07) The story and evolution of Not Boring (07:58) Breaking into venture through media (09:45) What have you chosen not to do with Not Boring? (12:11) ProductHunt for fundraise announcements (16:03) Packy's investing style and how its changed (20:46) How Packy's content has evolved (24:40) Content formats to experiment with in the future (26:29) A museum where you could see what the world is like in 2050 (28:06) Rap Genius for S-1 (30:30) Competing with Crunchbase or PitchBook (31:44) Not Boring in a universe where Packy didn't start a venture fund (34:30) If Packy built a tech media company today, how would he do it? (37:06) Topics in tech media to cover (39:48) Workweek vs Not Boring approach (41:07) Would Packy have taken a Workweek offer instead of starting Not Boring? (42:30) Investing in creators vs startups (45:08) Exploring other content platforms (46:21) The future of tech media (48:26) Is there a book in Not Boring's future? (50:26) Financing good businesses that are not venture-backable (52:31) The full-time fan and the idea of fans investing in media businesses LINKS: Not Boring: https://www.notboring.co/ TWITTER: @eriktorenberg @packym @notboringco