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June 13, 2024 • 59min
He Got Fired By His DAD… So He Built a $60M/yr Empire
My First Million
In this episode, Sam Parr interviews Craig Fuller, the founder of FreightWaves - a successful data and media business in the freight/logistics industry. However, the focus of the discussion is on Fuller's "side project" - a media company called FireCrown that has acquired dozens of niche magazine titles, turning them into a rapidly growing, highly profitable business.
He Got Fired By His DAD… So He Built a $60M/yr Empire
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Key Takeaways
- Craig Fuller has built a media and real estate empire by acquiring struggling niche magazine titles and leveraging their loyal audiences to create new revenue streams and products.
- His strategy involves buying magazines for low multiples, improving their profitability through cost-cutting and audience monetization, then using the cash flow to fund new acquisitions and ventures.
- Rather than being deterred by risk, Fuller takes a portfolio approach, using bank debt and his own capital to fund multiple "shots on goal" - some of which may fail, but the successes can create outsized returns.
- Fuller's background in the trucking industry and getting fired from family businesses gave him the resilience and asymmetric mindset to pursue unconventional opportunities others may have overlooked.
- Building a media business with a passionate, niche audience allows for content-to-commerce strategies that can be highly profitable, even for legacy print magazines.
Introduction
In this episode, Sam Parr interviews Craig Fuller, the founder of FreightWaves - a successful data and media business in the freight/logistics industry. However, the focus of the discussion is on Fuller's "side project" - a media company called FireCrown that has acquired dozens of niche magazine titles, turning them into a rapidly growing, highly profitable business.
What makes Fuller's story so fascinating is that he has taken an unconventional approach to building a media empire, defying the conventional wisdom that print magazines are a dying industry. By acquiring undervalued titles, improving their profitability, and then leveraging the loyal audiences to sell additional products and services, Fuller has created a unique media-meets-private equity model that is generating impressive results.
Topics Discussed
Trucking Roots & Getting Fired (3:36)
Fuller comes from a family deeply rooted in the trucking industry - his father and uncle both built large, competing trucking companies. However, this family dynamic was not without its challenges, as Fuller was fired from his father's company in 2005 and his brother's company in 2014.
These experiences taught Fuller to be resilient in the face of adversity and to think differently about building businesses. After getting fired, he started a payments company that was eventually sold, giving him the capital and experience to launch FreightWaves.
Acquiring FLYING Magazine (9:08)
The key turning point was when Fuller read an article about how magazines were becoming "trophy assets" for wealthy individuals. This inspired him to reach out and acquire FLYING magazine, a long-running aviation publication, for $3.5 million.
Initially skeptical about the print magazine business model, Fuller fell in love with the loyal audience and community that FLYING represented. This led him to pursue a strategy of acquiring more niche magazine titles, which he saw as undervalued assets with passionate readerships.
Improving Profitability of Magazine Acquisitions (16:02)
When Fuller acquired FLYING, it was losing $7 per subscriber per year. By raising subscription prices, cutting costs, and focusing the editorial team, Fuller was able to turn the magazine profitable within a year, generating $7 million in revenue.
The key insight was that the magazine's audience was highly engaged and willing to pay more for quality content and experiences. Fuller realized the true value was in the audience itself, not just the magazine product.
Expanding into Real Estate (20:31)
Flush with cash from the magazine acquisitions, Fuller decided to leverage the aviation audience by purchasing 1,500 acres of land to develop an aviation-focused real estate community.
The plan is to build an airport, hangars, and luxury homes targeted at the FLYING magazine readership - essentially creating a "country club for pilots." Fuller was able to pre-sell $28 million worth of real estate reservations before even breaking ground.
Funding Growth Through Leverage (22:55)
Rather than relying solely on his own capital, Fuller has been willing to take on bank debt to fund acquisitions and new ventures. He sees this as a way to create asymmetric upside, where the downside risk is limited but the potential upside is significant.
Fuller's background of getting fired from family businesses has given him the resilience to take on more risk, as he knows he can "get it back" if a venture fails. This contrasts with Sam Parr's more conservative approach of preserving liquidity.
Building a Portfolio of Niche Media Brands (34:21)
Beyond FLYING, Fuller has acquired over 50 other niche magazine titles, spanning categories like boating, model trains, and astronomy. The strategy is to build a diversified portfolio of passionate audiences that can be monetized through both media and commerce plays.
Fuller sees value in the long-standing history and community loyalty of these legacy magazine brands, which he believes have been undervalued by the broader media industry. By investing in the content and user experience, he is able to turn them into profitable businesses.
The Content-to-Commerce Playbook (37:20)
The core of Fuller's strategy is to use the media properties to acquire customers profitably, then leverage those audiences to sell additional products and services. This could include things like aircraft financing, e-commerce stores, or real estate developments.
The key is identifying enthusiast audiences that are willing to spend money on products and services related to their passions. By owning the media touchpoints, Fuller can gather valuable data and intent signals to optimize these commerce offerings.
Lessons from William Randolph Hearst (47:03)
Sam Parr draws parallels between Fuller's model and the media empire built by William Randolph Hearst in the early 20th century. Like Hearst, Fuller is acquiring niche media properties and leveraging them to build a diversified, family-owned business.
The Hearst example shows how a media-centric, content-to-commerce approach can create a durable, multi-generational enterprise - something Fuller aspires to with his FireCrown portfolio.
The Thrill of the Chase (51:32)
When asked about his motivations, Fuller says it's not primarily about wealth or power, but rather the intellectual stimulation and "thrill of the chase" in solving new challenges and learning about different industries.
He also acknowledges the role that having "enemies" or doubters has played in fueling his drive and ambition - using that as motivation to prove naysayers wrong.
Conclusion
Craig Fuller's story represents a fascinating case study in building a modern media and commerce empire by taking an unconventional approach to acquiring and revitalizing niche magazine brands.
Rather than being deterred by the conventional wisdom that print media is dying, Fuller has leveraged the loyal audiences and communities of these legacy titles to create a diversified portfolio of profitable businesses. His willingness to take on risk, use leverage strategically, and constantly seek new challenges has allowed him to build something truly unique.
For media entrepreneurs, content creators, and anyone looking to build a business around a passionate audience, Fuller's model provides a compelling playbook to study and learn from. His story shows that with the right mindset, creativity, and execution, even "dying" industries can be transformed into thriving, multi-faceted enterprises.