Jonah Peretti’s previous career is defined by constant reinvention. As BuzzFeed’s founder and CEO, Peretti has been at the forefront of digital media for nearly 20 years. Once a small startup transformed into a multimedia powerhouse at one point, it navigated the change.
But as the company ages, one question remains. Has Peretti’s unrelenting desire for innovation made him too entrepreneur to lead Buzzfeed to long term stability?
“The good things about this field,” Peretti muse. “Are you doing something? [different] everytime. Not 20 years of one job. It’s been 20 years since I ran a startup, and then I figured out a way to manage the hypersculling business and open up the company. . And now, the explosion of the generated AI. There is always something to keep your work fresh and new. ”
Peretti’s ability to go ahead of the curve was a hallmark of BuzzFeed’s success. A few years ago, BuzzFeed enjoyed almost singular success with his creepy ability to shareable media. (One video segment focused on why Disney Princesses make “a terrible boyfriend” has earned 77 million views over the years.)
Today, BuzzFeed’s focus is on AI. Includes AI quizzes and other AI-generated content. It also puts some of its resources into a product under development called BF Island, a social network that aims to “spread joy and enable playful, creative expression.” So he told Axios last month anyway.
Peretti regularly discusses future ventures with the media, even when they are still in their early stages. When I asked why, he told TechCrunch: “The idea of talking about what you’re working on is to make your products better. When you talk about them, it’s not just your team, but with external people who may want to work with them. When there’s a new computing platform, there’s an explosion of creativity.
This entrepreneur’s drive is fueled by many of BuzzFeed’s most iconic projects. The company pioneered virus quizzes and recliches, then pivoted into more serious journalism with BuzzFeed News. But not all of these shifts paid off. Notably, despite its early success, BuzzFeed News closed in 2023, leaving us with questions about whether the company should stick to one clear vision rather than jumping between them.
It is possible that BuzzFeed shareholders are pondering the same after riding a roller coaster. BuzzFeed unveiled the special purpose vehicle in 2021, and as part of the transaction, it acquired a complex network of media companies with $300 million in cash and stocks. Today, BuzzFeed is still publicly traded, but does not own its business. It sold for around $108 million last year. Recently, BuzzFeed sold another asset from its complex network transactions – the first feast – sold another asset in a full-speed transaction of $82.5 million. (Describes the Peretti in both sales. “They aren’t that high-tech business. They’re more production and more talented.”)
BuzzFeed shares initially trade at $10, trading at $2.20 per share.
This is where tension comes in. Peretti’s constant embrace of reinvention is impressive, but it also means that the company’s strategy feels like a series of experiments rather than a cohesive long-term plan. Experiments are also expensive. Peretti says BF Island is a $10 million gamble this year and is not expected to make any profits this year. He added that BuzzFeed’s “core business” is profitable.
Rather than betting on new ideas one after another, it’s a fair question whether Buzzfeed will be better served by a singular and consistent vision for the future, as the New York Times achieved.
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to know the answer. The media industry has long supported stability, but Peretti is not wrong to believe that the current wave of generative AI is revolutionizing the way people create and share content. Also, Peretti is excited to hear about the possibility, and he hears clearly about the risks.
“The big thing is that BuzzFeed has given us a lot of experience with the new format,” he says. “We got a lot of inbound tourism from people who have ideas and want to work with us.”
You can hear more from our interview with Peretti in the upcoming episodes of StrictlyVC Download. A new episode drops every Tuesday.
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