Barstool's CEO took revenue from $5M to $250M without betting on one platform
Erika Ayers Badan diversified Barstool into commerce, licensing, PPV and live events, rode live video and podcasts, and left after revenue topped $250M.
What was changed
In an interview with Fortune Executive Exchange published February 1, 2024, outgoing Barstool Sports CEO Erika Ayers Badan described the company she joined as CEO in 2016: a ragtag operation with a handful of employees scattered across the US, fledgling social channels, about four advertising sponsors — mostly beer brands or Boston-local — no P&L, and revenue she puts at $2–5 million (self-reported in the interview). What it had was a rabid fan base with a direct, friction-free line to its creators.
Her strategy was platform-agnostic diversification. She arrived just as Twitter bought Periscope and Facebook launched live video, letting Barstool personalities go live to audiences that crashed the sites; the company then caught the podcast wave, with several shows hitting No. 1 on Apple and Spotify. Rather than copy rivals' dependence on one platform like Verizon's Go90 or costly content infrastructure, she built commerce, advertising, licensing, pay-per-view and live events businesses. When COVID hit, Barstool pivoted hard to merchandise and doubled in size.
The advertiser mix matured from alcohol to fast food to consumer packaged goods, capped by the car-company partnership she targeted with Chevrolet in 2021. The audience followed each generation to its preferred venue: originally a millennial Instagram page, Barstool reached a Gen Z-heavy TikTok audience of 35.4 million followers while boomers flocked to the blog. Badan's own caveat: the alchemy of leadership, timing and community is not replicable.
Why it worked
Revenue streams spanned commerce, advertising, licensing, pay-per-view and live events — no single point of failure.
Creators with a direct audience relationship were the engine; the platforms were rented, not owned.
Early moves on live video and podcasts captured attention waves while rivals over-invested in infrastructure.
The COVID merchandise pivot doubled the company while linear-media competitors stood still.
What can be applied
Own the audience, rent the platform: distribute and monetize everywhere, so neither an algorithm shift nor a pandemic can strand the business.
Aftermath
Badan stepped down as CEO in January 2024 after roughly eight years, leaving revenue above $250 million against the $25 million five-year target she set in 2016 — a target she says was hit in two years. She maintains no one will be able to recreate what Barstool built.