Sam Reich, CEO of Dropout (formerly CollegeHumor), sat down with Fast Company to talk about the brand’s journey (video embedded below, podcast version here to the subscription-based niche media company it is today.

On growing Dropout:

Because we’re not in the meta-sport of growing this business, we can be very slow and responsible and reasonable about it.

It’s important to know what game you’re playing. Otherwise you won’t know the rules and you’ll be using the wrong game board.

Be honest—at least with yourself—about what your true goals are for your brand. The best goals are the ones not derived from the covers of business magazines, hustle bro tweets, or scale-worshipping podcasts.

There’s more discussion around this idea in this episode of Seth Godin’s podcast (specifically around the 13:30 mark if you want just the growth talk).

On focus:

We are really 90% focused on growing the platform. And that focus, so far, has paid off.

Or, as the modern philosopher Ron Swanson says: “never half-ass two things, whole-ass one thing.”

But! don’t lose sight of the parts that make up the one thing.

For Dropout, growing the platform means attracting new audience and keeping existing audience happy and subscribing. Those are accomplished in different ways—but can leverage a common core approach.

Know the north star goal. Develop strategies and metrics for the highest leverage inputs for that goal. The C-suite / leadership mostly just wants the north star info, everyone else needs to focus on the core inputs.

On zigging to other’s zag:

This era of hyper-premium content has created a reactionary market where folks are really interested in stuff that feels a little bit more garage band-y and authentic.

A small player can come in and be disruptive because a big player can’t adopt their business model without disrupting their existing business model.

Trying to do what the industry heavyweight(s) does but a bit better is not a viable plan. Finding the gap in their model—the unserved audience—is a winning plan.

Know the game you’re playing. Know the way you want to play it. Know the strengths and weaknesses of the other players. Know your style. Know the loophole.

The podcast version gets into a lot more of the strategy and approach.