Key Takeaways
- Steven Bartlett, host of The Diary of a CEO podcast, projects $60 million in revenue this year from the podcast alone.
- Bartlett’s business earns money from ads, products, subscriptions and events.
- He prioritizes retaining his audience over taking lucrative advertising deals.
In 2017, Steven Bartlett had no college degree and no guests — just a $100 microphone and a diary.
At the time, he was CEO of a marketing agency, and he turned his own diary entries about entrepreneurship into podcast episodes. Those early solo episodes, recorded at 2 a.m. at the end of the week, were the start of a much bigger business.
Bartlett ran Social Chain, which grew into a large global company and made him a millionaire. Social Chain is now valued at $600 million; Bartlett stepped away from the company in 2020 to focus on his podcast and other ventures.
Bartlett eventually shifted the podcast’s focus from his own diary to those of other people. The show expanded into fields like technology and psychology through conversations with his guests.
Today, The Diary of a CEO podcast is on track for $60 million in annual revenue, Bartlett recently told Fortune. The show has more than 20 million subscribers on YouTube and 936 recorded videos at the time of writing.
Bartlett has conducted interviews with executives and industry experts ranging from NYU Stern School of Business professor Scott Galloway to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
Accepting the tradeoffs
As the show has grown, Bartlett has passed up lucrative opportunities because they would have given him less control over the business. One deal would have taken the podcast off of YouTube and required 12 ads per episode, with Bartlett having little say over the advertising.
“One of the central reasons why I turned down such an offer is because that is four times more ads than I have to put in now,” Bartlett told Fortune.
Bartlett calls companies that pursue exclusive podcast rights “fragmentation vultures” because their deals can cost creators revenue or weaken their connection with listeners. He views protecting his relationship with listeners as more important than a big payday.
The show’s growth has helped build a business with several streams of income. Bartlett said the show’s projected $60 million in revenue this year comes from brand partnerships, products, subscriptions, memberships and events. Separately, he also runs an investment fund.
“It’s a wide range of things and again, this goes to the point of diversification,” he said.
Building a business
Bartlett’s ambitions extend beyond his own show. His holding company, Steven.com, brings together the podcast and his other creator businesses while helping fellow creators turn their audiences into media brands, products and new ventures.
He projects about $90 million in revenue for the broader media business this year, with $60 million coming from The Diary of a CEO. Next year, he expects the holding company to generate about $160 million.
Other podcast hosts are also building sizable businesses around their shows. In August, Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper’s media company, Unwell, secured an investment that valued it at $500 million.
Bartlett’s growing audience hasn’t changed how he sees his role. He said he isn’t a journalist, but rather someone following his own curiosity. No matter who his guest is, he lets his interests guide the conversation.
“If you’re not anchored to your own curiosity, you’re going to be a plastic bag in the wind,” he said.
Key Takeaways
- Steven Bartlett, host of The Diary of a CEO podcast, projects $60 million in revenue this year from the podcast alone.
- Bartlett’s business earns money from ads, products, subscriptions and events.
- He prioritizes retaining his audience over taking lucrative advertising deals.
In 2017, Steven Bartlett had no college degree and no guests — just a $100 microphone and a diary.
At the time, he was CEO of a marketing agency, and he turned his own diary entries about entrepreneurship into podcast episodes. Those early solo episodes, recorded at 2 a.m. at the end of the week, were the start of a much bigger business.
Bartlett ran Social Chain, which grew into a large global company and made him a millionaire. Social Chain is now valued at $600 million; Bartlett stepped away from the company in 2020 to focus on his podcast and other ventures.