Diary Of A CEO Founder Rejected A $100M Deal To Build Podcast Empire FlightStory On His Own Terms

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Steven Bartlett is the founder and host of The Diary of a CEO, an interview-style show with more than 10 million YouTube subscribers and 20 million social media followers. Also known by its acronym DOAC, the show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world. Only Joe Rogan has more listeners when it comes to hosted shows. Launched in 2017 as a hobby to let Bartlett get inside the minds of other CEOs, the podcast has attracted more than 1 billion streams, including 50 million monthly listeners in December alone. Guests have ranged from comedian Trevor Noah and YouTube titan MrBeast to a mix of self-help experts including longevity gurus, nutritionists, and sex therapists. In 2024—thanks to his mix of compelling content and growth hacking—Bartlett says the franchise generated $20 million in revenue from Google AdSense, partnerships with brands like LinkedIn, Oracle, and Shopify, and hawking merch like hoodies and branded journals. He’s out to make even more—and do it as a free agent. While other podcast royalty have signed mega deals with streaming networks (read: Alex Cooper’s $125 million partnership with Sirius XM; Joe Rogan’s $250 million deal with Spotify), Bartlett is building on his own. It’s not for lack of interest. Last October, Bartlett flew from London to New York City to meet with several of the world’s biggest media networks to discuss potential partnerships. Bartlett won’t say who or how much, but Forbes estimates that $100 million contracts were in play. Why turn down frothy deals? For Bartlett, the choice is simple—he believes he can do it better solo. “We looked at what they did in terms of testing, experimentation, innovation, and I felt like I was looking at the past,” says Bartlett. “When I see what happens here, I'm looking at the future.” Bartlett is now scaling his data-heavy strategy with more shows. In 2023, he partnered with podcast industry vets Georgie Holt and Christiana Brenton to launch a studio called Flight Story. Today, they produce five podcasts and are building commercial franchises around each host—spanning book deals, speaking engagements, investment opportunities, and merch. 0:00 Introducing Steven Bartlett 0:57 What is FlightStory? 4:29 Inside The FlightStory Ecosystem 6:13 FlightStory Investments 07:54 Why Bartlett Turned Down Millions 8:42 FlightStory's Success With Intentional Failure 11:24 FlightStory's Biggest Challenge 13:09 Bartlett's Entrepreneurial Journey 17:04 How FlightStory Is Capitalizing On AI 20:58 A Look At FlightStory's Future Read the full story on Forbes: Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1 Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more: https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes: http://forbes.com Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.