Independent media isn’t a theory anymore. It’s a business model. And two of its most successful operators sat down at Media Summit | SF 2025 to break down how it actually works.

Emily Sundberg, the writer behind Feed Me, and Eric Newcomer, the founder of Newcomer, joined Nayeema Raza (Smart Girl, Dumb Questions) for one of the most honest conversations on modern media you’ll hear this year.

Both Emily and Eric have built profitable, bootstrapped media businesses with real revenue, real communities, and real cultural influence. In this conversation, they talk openly about money, subscription growth, community building, hiring, legal risks, events, brand deals, and the grind required to keep it all going.

They get into the parts of the business that most people never say out loud.

What You’ll Learn:

1. How they built multi-million-dollar media businesses without raising a dime

Eric reveals Newcomer will pass $3M revenue this year with seven-figure profits. Emily walks through her path to building a low-seven-figure operation with a small team, an office, and a fast-growing brand.

2. Why starting a newsletter in 2025 is very different from 2020

Both explain how Substack’s culture and ecosystem have changed, why today’s reader expectations are higher, and what it now takes to grow from zero.

3. How they knew their newsletters were working

From Marc Andreessen paying to read Feed Me to Silicon Valley legends DM-ing Newcomer, they share the real signals that told them to double down.

4. The business model behind modern creator-media companies

Subscriptions. Events. Ads. Community. Merch. Legal infrastructure. They talk through what actually drives revenue and what people underestimate.

5. The new rules of independence

How to stay close to an industry without becoming captured by it. What their readers expect. And why being “inside but independent” is now a competitive advantage.

6. The pressure to keep going — and how they scale the work

Eric talks about the brutal “year two” dip and why building a team matters. Emily shares why writing about New York is her secret weapon.

7. Why community is the new moat

Emily’s comment sections and IRL parties. Eric’s Cerebral Valley events. Both explain why readers care more about connecting with each other than anything else.

8. How legal, risk, and protection work when you leave a newsroom

They share what they miss from legacy media, what they’ve had to build themselves, and what every new creator should know before publishing something risky.

This episode is a rare look inside the real operations of two profitable, fast-growing, creator-built media companies. It’s sharp, honest, human, and genuinely useful whether you’re building something yourself or just curious how the new media world actually works.

Watch the full episode on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you listen!

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