Podcast production company Goalhanger has launched an investment and partnerships arm to back creator-led media businesses.
Goalhanger Ventures has made an equity investment to support the next stage of growth at Invisible Media and signed a commercial partnership with Backyard Cricket, both creator-led brands primarily based on Youtube.
Goalhanger co-founder Jack Davenport said: “Goalhanger Ventures is about giving exceptional creator-led businesses the infrastructure to grow without losing what made them special in the first place.
“Invisible Media and Backyard Cricket are very different propositions, but they both have that rare combination of editorial clarity, audience trust and genuine momentum.
“Our role is to help them scale thoughtfully, commercially and creatively, while protecting the independence, personality and quality that their communities already respond to.”
Invisible Media produces The Invisible Hand, video storytelling focused on economics, business, geopolitics and culture, which has 267,000 subscribers on Youtube.
The business is also developing new specialist formats such as The Invisible Game, looking at the hidden economics behind everyday life and business decisions.
Invisible Media founder Charlie Tymon said:“Goalhanger has built a strong track record of bringing together audiences around intelligent, accessible conversation across politics, history and entertainment.
“With The Invisible Hand, we’ve already shown that younger UK audiences are engaging at scale with content about macroeconomics, business and geopolitics, proving there is a real appetite for serious ideas when they are delivered with clarity, energy and purpose.
“Through this investment, we’ll be able to draw on Goalhanger’s expertise in building, scaling and monetising industry-leading IP as we grow a brilliantly aligned, Youtube-first business with huge potential.”
Goalhanger said it will provide funding and strategic support to help Backyard Cricket, which also has 267,000 Youtube subscribers, “grow across production, longer-form video, commercial partnerships, sponsorship and merchandise, with both sides sharing in the commercial upside”.
It said this would give Backyard Cricket founders, brothers James and Mark Wood, more time to focus on developing and appearing in content.
Backyard Cricket executive producer Navid Behroozi said: “James and Mark have already done the hardest part: they have earned a huge amount of attention by making cricket feel fun, personal and culturally relevant online. Our job now is to help turn that momentum into a more sustainable business around the content.
“By giving them more production support and helping open up new commercial opportunities, we can let them spend more time doing what their audience comes for – creating brilliant cricket entertainment.”
Earlier this year Goalhanger launched The Accelerator, which provides investment, training, mentorship and help from its leadership for selected creators to help them move into longer-form IP and sustainable careers.
Goalhanger, which produces podcasts like The Rest Is Politics and The Rest Is Football, took on its own outside investment for the first time in January, with US-based media and sports investment firm The Chernin Group becoming a minority investor with a seat on the board.
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