On Monday, HubSpot Media, the in-house media division of the enterprise software firm HubSpot, acquired the creator-led entrepreneurship publication Starter Story, Jonathan Hunt, vice president of media and content at HubSpot, confirmed to ADWEEK. Hunt did not disclose the terms of the deal.
Starter Story, which was founded in 2017 by software engineer Pat Walls, has evolved into a video-first media brand with more than 800,000 YouTube subscribers, a 275,000-person newsletter, and a total audience of roughly 1.6 million across platforms. It is profitable and generates a “seven-figure” revenue, according to founder Patrick Walls.
The business is run by a team of three full-time staff: Walls, his sister and chief operating officer Sam, and producer Gus Tiffer. Under the deal, all three will join HubSpot Media, which includes brands such as The Hustle, My First Million, and Mindstream.
The deal is the latest sign of the surging interest from media companies in popular YouTube channels.
Publishers including Vox Media and ESPN have signed deals with prominent YouTube creators in recent months, while media startups, like Dynamo and NewPress, increasingly use the platform, rather than a traditional website, as their base of operations. The trend comes as interest in video products, including podcasts and short-form video, continue to grab larger swaths of consumer attention.
A demand-generation media engine
The acquisition is part of HubSpot’s broader bet that media can drive customers to its core software business.
HubSpot Media currently drives more than 50 million monthly engagements and tens of thousands of leads per month, according to Hunt. Over the past year, YouTube-driven lead generation has grown 68% year over year, while newsletter-driven leads have increased 53%.
With the addition of Starter Story, HubSpot’s YouTube network will reach a combined 2.9 million subscribers, larger than the YouTube footprint of Morning Brew and more than double that of Salesforce, per Hunt.
