Hardware Podcasts

Politico & Axios: Jim VandeHei

How I Built This · 27 Feb 2023 · 1h 20m

What this episode covers

Jim VandeHei, co-founder of Politico and Axios, explains how he leveraged his background as a political reporter to launch two successful digital media companies. He details the 'smart brevity' content model developed for Axios, the strategic pivot to a subscription-based 'Politico Pro' service, and the eventual acquisition of Axios by Cox Enterprises for over $500 million. VandeHei emphasizes the critical role of luck, co-founders like Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz, and targeting high-value niche audiences to achieve profitability in a difficult media landscape.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Politico, Axios, Cox Enterprises, Axel Springer, Roll Call, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Little Caesars, U.S. Bank
Also
Robert Albritton, John Harris, Mike Allen, Roy Schwartz, C-SPAN

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