Alex M., co-founder and head of content at Founded.com, summarised the project’s first ten months in mid-June on LinkedIn. The media brand he launched together with Steven Bartlett gained one million Instagram followers in that time.
He put his main insight into a single sentence in a post. “In a world where AI has driven the cost of creating content to zero, leaning into quality storytelling has been our edge.” Generative AI has flooded feeds with cheap content, and launching a new media brand under these conditions looks like swimming against the tide.
Founded.com under the Steven.com umbrella
Founded.com is a business media brand for founders, operators and investors. According to BM Magazine, it describes itself as “a culturally fluent business publisher built for the founders of today… trusted by entrepreneurs, operators, and builders around the world”. It covers the technology and startup market in the UK and the US, and presented a full newsroom with around ten journalists and an editor-in-chief in December 2025.
Steven Bartlett, host of The Diary of a CEO podcast, stands behind it. Founded.com falls under his parent company, the US-registered Steven.com, which also houses FlightStory, FlightCast and FlightFund. According to the same report, Steven.com received an eight-figure investment at a valuation of around £320 million, and Bartlett owns more than 90% of it.
One format, fewer posts
The advantage Alex M. talks about does not rest on volume. In his post he wrote, “Rather than chasing trends, we became obsessed with building a consistently high performing original format people would instantly recognise and associate with our brand.” On volume he added, “Whilst others flooded the feed with volume, we posted once a day. Focusing on quality over quantity, telling stories in a way that people genuinely connected with.”
A recognisable and repeatable format is becoming a rare asset. Video is cheap today, while attention and the audience’s trust are expensive. Founded.com is building its brand around one repeated type of story.
A newsletter that Insider bought
The market value of a quickly built media brand is shown by Morning Brew. According to CNBC, it passed four million subscribers, and its founders sold a majority stake to Insider in October 2020, a deal that valued it at $75 million. It stood on one product and an easily recognisable voice. Founded.com follows the same principle at a time when everyone owns the tools to create content.
Sifted and the European context
Europe has its own established equivalent. Sifted addresses founders and investors with daily reporting, thematic newsletters, research and its own events. Sifted Summit takes place in London from 30 September to 1 October 2026.
The difference lies in the origin. Sifted operates as an established professional news platform, while Founded.com grew out of one creator’s personal brand and reach. For the European creator economy, the path from creator to media outlet is relevant. A new media brand today does not have to start from a publishing house, and a creator with an audience and format discipline is enough.
Bartlett does not consider his plans finished. “I'm less than 1% of the way on my journey,” he said, according to BM Magazine. Bartlett himself compared his ambition to Disney’s legacy. “If we do a good job in laying good foundations, I think the business will exist long after I'm gone.”
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