‘Find The Right Partner’: How The Peak Became a $3 Million Media Company
When Brett Chang and the other founders of The Peak launched the company, they had a simple but sound idea: make Canadian business news fast and fun.
They had noticed a shift in the market. People were relying less exclusively on traditional institutions like the Wall St. Journal for their business news, and smaller outfits with comprehensive news coverage, easy-to-digest content, and more personality were gobbling up more and more of the subscriber base. Morning Brew, the Hustle, the Skim were growing, but they were American and there wasn’t a Canadian equivalent.
Those publications gave them a roadmap. In fact, “We copied them exactly,” Chang said. “When (Morning Brew) sold early, it kind of reinforced that we were on the right track.”
After just three years, they had built a team that could do it all: content, events, growth. The newsletter reached to 130,000 readers, they had launched a national event series, and their podcast had reached the top of the business podcast in the country with over 100,000 monthly listeners. Their revenue hit $3 million in 2023.
“We got it to a point where it was more than just a job, it was an asset,” Chang said. Earlier this year, Chang was approached by ZoomerMedia, a Canadian corporation that had traditionally been focused on traditional media such as radio, TV, and magazines. But in 2022, it began expanding with acquisitions of new digital properties including the Daily Hive and BlogTO.
Nunzio Presta, the CEO of BuyAndSellABusiness.com, characterized what followed as a “dream exit” for entrepreneurs, but it’s not exactly an exit. Zoomer acquired The Peak for $3.5 million in cash plus a $1.5 million promissory that would be paid out over the next several years. Chang, as well as the entire team at The Peak, would stay on in their existing roles only now they would have the additional resources of a much larger media company to help them accelerate their growth.
When asked whether he anticipated any changes under new management, Chang seemed confident there wouldn’t be. “No impact, business as usual.
Zoomer’s management team had a lot of experience with these kinds of acquisitions, and Chang said they operated professionally and transparently throughout the process. Their values also aligned very well. Chang wanted to keep the team intact and continue to operate the business as they had before. “We didn’t have to fight them on that, they were onboard.” Moreover, Chang and his team were open to an acquisition. “We started this because we wanted to make money,” he said, “and I think we did a good job of building a business that could sell.”
Chang is confident that The Peak will stay The Peak and with Zoomer’s backing they’ll be able to continue to drive their vision for the brand.
When asked whether he had any advice for other entrepreneurs, Chang said “Be patient. Find the right partner.”
Opinions expressed here by contributors are their own.
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