Steven Bartlett has spent nine years turning The Diary of a CEO into a serious media business. Now, reportedly, he wants to apply the same playbook to a much larger group of creators.
Through his holding company Steven.com, Bartlett is joining Authentic Brands Group to build OBSN, a venture that could invest up to $400 million in creator businesses over the coming years. Business Insider reports that the project will combine capital, operational infrastructure, expertise, and a media platform covering creator-economy news, analysis, and live experiences.
Creators Are Being Treated More Like Founders
The important detail is not simply the size of the proposed investment. It is the attempt to build a single partner around the creator rather than another isolated service.
Under the reported arrangement, Bartlett’s side will run the media platform and bring experience from creator-led media. Authentic will handle brand-building, products, licensing, strategic partnerships, and global distribution. Its portfolio includes more than 50 brands and cultural figures, including Reebok, Sports Illustrated, Shaquille O’Neal, and Elvis Presley.
Bartlett described the problem as one of fragmented partners with misaligned interests. His proposed answer is an integrated operation that can help a creator move from audience ownership into products, licensing, experiences, and international distribution.
That reflects a broader change in how successful creators are being valued. A creator with a loyal audience is no longer just a media placement or sponsorship opportunity. They can be a founder, an intellectual-property owner, and a distribution channel at the same time.
The Creator Business Is Getting More Infrastructure
OBSN is not Bartlett’s first attempt to expand beyond his own show. His FlightStory company already signs and develops talent, helps creators distribute clips across social platforms, operates a speakers division, and is exploring a paid membership model. Business Insider identifies podcast host Maggie Sellers Reum as an early investment test case, with Bartlett’s company putting in seven figures.
The model is ambitious because it connects several businesses that creators usually assemble separately. But that integration also raises the question of control. A partner that supplies funding, distribution, product development, licensing, and brand strategy may create more leverage for a creator, while also becoming deeply embedded in how that creator’s identity is commercialized.
The next phase of the creator economy may therefore be less about finding another sponsor and more about choosing who gets to help build the company behind the audience. For creators, the strategic decision will be whether an integrated partner creates meaningful scale or simply packages more parts of their business under one roof.