Jason Yanowitz & Michael Ippolito: Building a Crypto Media Company - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.73]

This is Eric Golden and my guests today are Jason Yanowitz and Michael Ippolito, the co-founders of Blockworks. While starting Blockworks, Jason and Michael were sharing a single room in NYC to save money. Today, they are leading a profitable Crypto Media company worth $135 Million. In this episode, they take us behind the scenes on their journey. We cover the struggle of the early days, get their views on the crypto ecosystem, and dive into each of the three segments of their business - digital media, events and SaaS. Blockworks is a wonderful example of a thoughtfully built media company. This episode is filled with insightful nuggets about media business models, the tension between companies and creators, betting on niches, and so much more. Please enjoy my conversation with Jason and Michael from Blockworks. 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 OKX. You may have seen OKX on McLaren’s Formula 1 race car or Manchester City’s football kit. But what is OKX? OKX has over 730 spot trading pairs, 280 derivatives markets, and 1000 options markets. It processes 400,000 requests per second with 99.95% uptime. That’s why over 20 million traders and institutions choose OKX when they want to trade. Visit okx.com to learn more. ----- Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, 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: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag  Show Notes (00:02:22) - (First question) - How they hustled to build up their business, Blockworks (00:04:16) - Why embracing the fear of failure is crucial for professional growth (00:06:30) - The bold bet they made on the crypto industry when starting Blockworks (00:07:43) - Their recent raise and transition to venture funding (00:11:34) - How they approach new idea generation for their podcasts (00:18:11) - Why they prefer sponsor partnerships instead of the race-to-the-bottom CPM model (00:20:00) - Individuals, not brands, drive media consumption through personal connections (00:25:51) - Focusing on niche events and content allows them to attract a dedicated audience (00:29:51) - Creating exceptional events that make memorable experiences for attendees (00:32:23) - Implementing a unique ticketing model for their events (00:35:17) - A look into their business model (00:36:50) - Identifying gaps within the crypto industry to address unmet needs (00:40:52) - Navigating the challenges and lessons of building in a bear market (00:45:02) - Who they admire in the crypto media industry (00:46:42) - What they are most excited to see built over the next six months and six years Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices