Alex and Adam’s contrarian thesis was simple: pay for great reporting. Instead of chasing clicks, they hired the best beat writers and doubled down on depth that made readers feel like they were in the locker room. Almost no one believed it could work. But we did. We invested early, then watched as they built the subscription funnel—running pricing tests, refining onboarding, shaping new reader habits—and recruiting talent strong enough to anchor new markets. Momentum followed: local sports reporting grew into national coverage, then into global reach. The result wasn’t just an audience. It was a durable product and a brand strong enough to become the sports layer inside the New York Times bundle. The takeaway: when the product respects the fan’s time and intelligence, subscriptions don’t just grow—they compound.