Biggest lesson learned scaling Thrillist

Summary

MarTech Podcast – "Biggest lesson learned scaling Thrillist" (May 27, 2026)
Host: Benjamin Shapiro
Guest: Adam Rich (CEO of Known for, founder of Thrillist)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the key lessons Adam Rich learned as he scaled the media brand Thrillist to 300 million monthly users. Through candid discussion, Rich emphasizes the primacy of consistency and quality over chasing fleeting trends or solely focusing on brand buzz. The conversation explores how operational rigor, sustained execution, and tapping into cultural moments built Thrillist’s enduring brand equity in the digital content space.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Core Lesson from Thrillist’s Growth

• Consistency and Quality as Growth Drivers

  • Adam Rich asserts that success was “really just about consistency and quality.” He describes the intense executional effort to deliver valuable content daily, which became Thrillist’s foundation across 21 cities.
  • Quote:

    “That thing of showing up every day with something good, something we could recommend, was really, really hard… But it was what allowed us to grow and to earn the trust of as many people as we did.” (Adam Rich, 03:00)

• Operationalizing Content Creation

  • Building systems and teams to produce relevant, high-quality newsletters at scale was a significant achievement, according to Rich.

2. The Enduring Value of Brand Trust

• Reinforcing Brand Associations

  • Rich highlights that building brand recall isn’t about clever messaging alone—it requires repetition without deviation.
  • Quote:

    “It’s only if you reinforce [your brand] 100 times in a row with zero variation or confusion that your average kind of distracted, overwhelmed consumer starts to have an association with it, much less any kind of real trust or affinity.” (Adam Rich, 05:23)

• Trust Built ‘Brick by Brick’

  • The enduring recognition of the Thrillist name is attributed to unrelenting reliability as opposed to momentary relevance.

3. Role of Cultural Trends and ‘Zeitgeist’

• Leveraging Timing and Cultural Movements
  • Rich notes Thrillist’s heyday aligned with emerging cultural phenomena—craft beer, barbecue crazes, culinary exploration—acting as tailwinds for growth. Yet, he’s clear these would have been meaningless without operational excellence.
  • Quote:

    “…It really felt like it was aligned with the Zeitgeist around then of… all kinds of cities really kind of exploring their, like, culinary traditions and, you know, the craft beer thing happening and barbecue exploding…” (Adam Rich, 04:17)

4. The Transition from Thrillist to ‘Known for’

• Adam’s Departure and Legacy
  • Rich departed Thrillist in 2018, expressing pride in its ongoing relevance despite moving on to new ventures.
  • Brief Note:

    “I left in 2018, and I assume it became bad right after that.” (Adam Rich, 04:04) (jokingly)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• The Heart of Media Brand-Building:

  “You could count on us, and we're going to show up with quality and we are going to, you know, have some relevance and some timeliness. So that when you get that email, there’s a reason why I'm getting it today.” (Adam Rich, 03:35)

• On the Power of Consistent Branding:

  “You can have your brand want to represent all kinds of things, but it’s only if you reinforce it 100 times in a row with zero variation or confusion… that your average kind of distracted, overwhelmed consumer starts to have an association with it…” (Adam Rich, 05:23)

• Embracing Operational Discipline:

  “Operationalizing a team around doing that in 21 different cities was the undertaking of my career.” (Adam Rich, 03:20)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:15] — Introduction of Adam Rich & Episode Theme (LinkedIn authority shift in B2B)
• [02:54] — Biggest lesson scaling Thrillist (consistency and quality)
• [03:56] — Discussion of Thrillist’s timeline, Adam’s departure, and brand legacy
• [04:17] — Thrillist’s alignment with cultural trends & the media landscape
• [05:23] — Deep dive into consistency vs. brand flash, and the nuts and bolts of audience trust

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Episode Takeaways

• Operational consistency and content quality are fundamental to long-term digital brand growth.
• Building authentic, repetitive touchpoints for users leads to deep brand trust and recall.
• Tapping into cultural trends helps, but it can’t compensate for lack of execution.
• Thrillist’s sustained presence exemplifies how deliberate operational excellence and consistent value delivery can outlast even major market shifts.

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For more on Adam Rich:

• LinkedIn (link in show notes)
• Website: getknown4.com

Listen to the full episode on MarTech Podcast for more career stories and actionable growth insights.

Transcript

[Podcast Host / Announcer]

The Martech Podcast is a proud member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. Looking to launch or scale your podcast, I Hear Everything delivers podcast production, growth and monetization solutions that transform your words into profit. Ready to give your brand a voice? Then visit iheareverything.com.

[Adam Rich]

From advertising to software as a service to data across all of our programs and clients, we've seen a 55 to 65% open rate. Getting brands authentically integrated into content performs better than TV advertising.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

Typical lifespan of an article is about

[Adam Rich]

24 to 36 hours. We're reaching out to the right person with the right message and a clear call to action. Then it's just a matter of timing.

[Podcast Host / Announcer]

Welcome to the Martech Podcast, a member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. In this podcast, you'll hear the stories of world class marketers that you use technology to drive business results and achieve career success. Here's the host of the Martech Podcast, Benjamin Shapiro

[Benjamin Shapiro]

I'm Benjamin Shapiro and today I'm joined by Adam Rich, the CEO of Known for, which turns professional expertise into consistent executive content using an expert in the Loop editorial system. Adam was also the founder of Thrillist, which he scaled to 300 million monthly users before its acquisition by Vox Media. And today Adam is going to explain why LinkedIn authority in B2B marketing is shifting from brands more to people.

[Shift Paradigm Sponsor Voice]

Today's interview is brought to you by Shift Paradigm. Marketing today is buried in complexity. You've got the tech, you've got the tools, but moving the needle feels harder than ever. And the last thing us marketers need is another consultant pitching digital transformation. Enter Shift Paradigm Shift is an integrated team of experts who help enterprise brands turn complexity into traction. Their work is insight led and strategically grounded, designed not to sell you a service or a piece of tech, but to actually solve real business challenges. What makes them different? Well, they're AI enabled but not AI dependent. They're human first, but plugged into the latest tools and models in the moments those models need to go through to prove themselves. They get techy without losing sight of the real person behind every click. And they don't just hand you a deck, they build the blueprints and stay to develop, deploy and run the engine. Growth isn't one size fits all, so stop settling for strategies that collect dust and start working with a team that actually builds for you. Visit ShiftParadigm.com to see how they can help you connect meaningfully with your audience. That's ShiftParadigm.com let's move on to the Next question.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

What's the biggest lesson you learned scaling Thrillist to 300 million monthly users?

[Adam Rich]

It was really just about consistency and quality. That was the name of the game. Thrillist, for most of its sort of early days, was a newsletter, barely a website. And that thing of showing up every day with something good, something we could recommend, was really, really hard. And it was a tremendous executional undertaking. And operationalizing a team around doing that in 21 different cities was the undertaking of my career. But it was what allowed us to grow and to earn the trust of as many people as we did. And it really was, you know, showing up every day, being consistent. You could count on us, and we're going to show up with quality and we are going to, you know, have some relevance and some timeliness. So that when you get that email, there's a reason why I'm getting it today.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

When did you leave Thrillist? And I don't know if it actually closed, if the domain is still around, but in your mind, when did it wrap up?

[Adam Rich]

I left in 2018, and I assume it became bad right after that. But it's. No, it's still around, and they got some good people working there. You know, it's.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

It.

[Adam Rich]

It really feels like it had kind of a heyday in the end of the aughts, early teens, and, you know, it really felt like it was aligned with the Zeitgeist around then of kind of the explosion of craft and all kinds of cities really kind of exploring their, like, culinary traditions and, you know, the craft beer thing happening and barbecue exploding and burger worship kind of peaking and, you know, all of these things really kind of were tailwinds for us.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

It's funny that your answer was consistency, and when I assumed your response was going to be more about cracking into the Zeitgeist and building the brand. And I think, you know, the most remarkable thing about Thrillist is you left in 2018, so obviously it was downhill from there. But it's still a brand that has that recall. Right when we were introduced and somebody said, oh, this is the founder of Thrillist, I'm like, thrillist, know it, love it. It's still in my memory as a place to go find cool stuff to do. How did you do that?

[Adam Rich]

I mean, look, that was. That's consistency, I'm sorry to say, Benjamin. It's, you know, you can have your brand want to represent all kinds of things, but it's only if you reinforce it 100 times in a row with zero variation or confusion that your average kind of distracted, overwhelmed consumer starts to have an association with it, much less any kind of real trust or affinity. You know, the zeitgeist part was a huge strategic element of creating a breakout brand and, you know, really kind of a sine qua non for existing and succeeding. But that intention wouldn't have meant anything if we weren't able to show up every single day and earn that trust kind of brick by brick.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

All right, Adam, great to have you on the podcast. Thanks for coming on and being my guest. And that wraps up this episode of the Martech podcast. Thanks to Adam Rich, the CEO of Known for, for joining us. If you'd like to get in touch with Adam, you can find a link to his LinkedIn profile in our show notes or on martechpod.com a special thanks

[Shift Paradigm Sponsor Voice]

to Shift Paradigm for sponsoring this podcast. Shift is an integrated team of experts who help enterprise brands bridge the gap between strategy data and customers. Human first, AI enabled and execution led. They build the blueprints, then stay to develop, deploy and run the engine you need. So stop settling for decks that collect dust and start working with a team that actually builds for you. Visit ShiftParadigm.com to see how they can help you connect meaningfully with your audience.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

You can always visit his website, which is getknown4.com and if you haven't subscribed yet and you want a daily stream of marketing and technology knowledge in your podcast feed, hit the subscribe button in your podcast app or on YouTube and we'll be back in your feed next week. All right, that's it for today, but until next time, my advice is to just focus on keeping your customers happy. Foreign

[Podcast Host / Announcer]

thanks for listening to the Martech podcast and I hear everything. Production Looking to launch or scale a podcast like this one for your brand? Then visit iheareverything.com.