“Hot Smart Rich” podcaster Maggie Sellers Reum didn’t just get a seven-figure investment from “The Diary of a CEO” star Steven Bartlett — she got a valuable piece of advice from him, too.
Sellers Reum said Bartlett helped her deal with her “very dark thoughts” of self-doubt by reminding her that her work is important to helping women feel seen and heard.
She said that Bartlett’s investment through his media company, FlightStory, gave her credibility in the business world, and that his encouragement helped her take risks. That gave her the confidence to approach model and actor Molly Sims at an event and convince her to be on the show.
“I’m like, ‘Molly Sims, I need you on my show. What would it take for you to please come on?’ And she’s like, ‘You coming up to me.’ And then she turned to her publicist, and she’s like, ‘Book time with her,'” Sellers Reum recalled. “Previous to Steven, I don’t know if I would have had the confidence to interrupt her.”
FlightStory has been applying Bartlett’s “The Diary of a CEO” playbook to “Hot Smart Rich,” helping expand Sellers Reum’s visibility and guest network.
Sellers Reum remembers the day Bartlett first reached out to her. She was out and about in New York’s SoHo when she saw a DM from him on her phone. The timing was ideal, as she’d found it challenging to monetize her podcast.
“It just said something like, ‘We’re obsessed with what you’re doing. My CEO absolutely loves you. And we’d love to chat further if you’re interested,'” Sellers Reum said. “And I remember just being like, ‘Is this actually really happening?’ And I don’t play games. I just responded right back, and I was like, ‘I would love to chat.'”
Sellers Reum said the deal took about four months, during which time Bartlett stayed in regular contact.
“He would be speaking onstage in Singapore, and it would be three in the morning, and he would just pop on the Zoom for five minutes to make sure that I knew that he was involved in this and wanted it to happen,” she said. “It was a dream come true.”
Sellers Reum said it sometimes hurts “a little bit” that it “took a male” to lend credibility to her business. On the other hand, she recognized the value of having someone view her show as more than a “fun little passion project.”
One negotiation point during the deal talks was ownership and creative control. Sellers Reum said she didn’t want her show to grow at the expense of the brand. Like the other creators at FlightStory, she retains decision-making authority over guests and brand partnerships, which is reflected in her new title, editor in chief. She remains the majority owner.
“I’m not the female Steven,” she said. “I have my own identity, and that creative decision-making was really important for me to make sure I was going to be able to keep.”
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