The problem.
ETFs were exploding in Australia, but coverage was thin and tangled inside generalist finance media. New funds launched without scrutiny. Existing screeners were clunky, paywalled, or aimed at institutions.
Retail investors needed a clear, independent home. Issuers needed an audience that already cared. Both could be served by the same product, if it was built right.
The approach.
Build the audience first, then the marketplace. Editorial was the front door, credible, fast, opinionated. The product layer was the moat, a screener and dataset designed for the way real investors actually compare ETFs.
- Daily editorial coverage of launches, flows, and the structural debates inside the category.
- A fund screener with the filters investors actually wanted (fees, structure, tracking error, holdings overlap).
- Commercial model layered on top, display advertising, sponsored content with clear labelling, and direct partnerships with issuers.
- Newsletter that became the place issuers wanted to be in front of.
The outcome.
A standalone profitable business in a category most generalist media missed. A reader base who came back daily. A commercial relationship with the major issuers in the Australian ETF market.
A small team punching well above its weight, and a brand that journalists, issuers, and retail investors actually trusted.
What I learned.
Vertical media is a product business with editorial as the user-acquisition channel. Treat the screener like a SaaS feature, the newsletter like a CRM, and the editorial like the marketing department for both. Pick the niche narrow enough that you can be the best in it.