#406: Reid Hailey on The Business Behind Memes

— Reed Hailey founded Doing Things Media by starting Shithead Steve as a meme account on Instagram while in college, which evolved into a 60-million-follower media conglomerate with 20+ brands and shows.

— The company monetizes through multiple channels: CPM-based advertising, e-commerce products (merch, novelty items like jorts swimsuits), Patreon subscriptions, and brand partnerships integrated organically into content.

— All Gas No Brakes, a flagship original show featuring host Andrew Callahan interviewing subcultures across America, became the #6 Patreon creator on the platform in one year through audience, RV partnership, and exclusive long-form content.

— Intellectual property strategy treats each account or show as its own franchise with distinct revenue paths—Gamers Doing Things uses Twitch tournaments, Middle Class Fancy focuses on brand partnerships, Shithead Steve emphasizes novelty e-commerce.

— The team scaled by recruiting proven creators from the meme space directly (acquiring accounts like Middle Class Fancy and Doggos Doing Things) and hiring operations talent like Todd Anderman from Group 9 Media.

— Key advice: move fast with low-cost tests, use outsourced partners (Alibaba, sublimation companies) to avoid friction, get straight to content without intros, and focus on original creative rather than forcing brands that lack authentic traction.

— Test products quickly using pre-sale models before committing inventory; use existing audience to validate demand before scaling manufacturing, eliminating upfront capital risk.

— Treat audience-owned IP as a portfolio of potential franchises rather than single monetization streams; each account can serve different revenue paths (ads, merch, Patreon, events, brand integrations) depending on audience fit.

— Hire aggressively for operations (sales, finance, project management) once creative product-market fit is proven; delay in hiring operations talent creates bottlenecks that limit founder focus on growth and strategy.