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The Daily Upside, a growing portfolio of financial newsletter products, is entering a new phase of its business, according to founder Patrick Trousdale.
As part of the evolution, Trousdale, who founded the newsletter in 2019, is stepping back from day-to-day operations, a shift that began last summer. He plans to stay involved as an advisor and is starting a new, adjacent project in the advisor-media space, though he declined to offer further details.
“I am leaving on great terms,” said Trousdale. “The business has never been stronger and it is in great hands.”
Last year, after a series of personal circumstances sidelined Trousdale over the summer, chief operating officer McKay Murphy steered the company through the best fourth quarter in its history.
Following the strong performance, Trousdale named Murphy as CEO earlier this spring, facilitating his transition away from the operation. Before joining The Daily Upside three years ago, Murphy had worked at a variety of media companies, including most recently Morning Brew and Stitcher.
This year, The Daily Upside is pacing toward $6.5 million in revenue, split between roughly $5.8 million from its newsletter business and about $600,000 from non-newsletter sources, such as events and lead-generation products, according to Trousdale.
The company is projecting revenue growth north of 60% for the year and is aiming to double its business-to-business revenue. It has not raised outside investment, is profitable, and the total staff numbers around 25.
To accelerate the growth, the company has also brought on two new senior hires: Katherine Divney, who will serve as its first chief revenue officer, beginning July 27, and Carmen Starns, who joined as its new head of operations earlier this month.
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Prior to joining The Daily Upside, Divney most recently served as the CRO for the travel, finance, and auto sub-verticals at People Inc. Starns, who joins from 6AM City, was its vice president of revenue operations.
The growth push is primarily centered on the company’s B2B offerings. Its flagship newsletter, The Daily Upside, is aimed at retail investors and reaches an audience of roughly 1 million.
Its B2B arm, the Advisor Upside vertical, caters more specifically to financial advisors.
Its newsletter product, Advisor Upside, has more than 100,000 subscribers and includes two sub-verticals: ETF Upside, which has about 30,000 subscribers, and Retirement Upside, which has about 15,000. In total, the Advisor group now has six full-time editorial staffers.
In the coming months, the company plans to expand even further. This fall, the publisher is launching a CFO-focused publication, after its audience data indicated a high readership among accountants and other financial operators. To build out the vertical, the company plans to repeat its standard procedure: hire a leading journali…