Building a Brand From the Ground Up

In today’s episode, I sit down with Dave Portnoy, the American businessman behind Barstool Sports, to talk about building a media company from the ground up. Dave shares how he left a stable sales career, launched Barstool as a free newspaper, and handled nearly every part of the business himself. We discuss hard work, timing, audience loyalty, brand voice, scaling without losing identity, and why criticism can sometimes strengthen a community. Dave also explains how organic ideas, fast reactions, and a willingness to keep experimenting helped Barstool grow from a local publication into a major media brand with a fiercely engaged following. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.