This week, Jake and I sat down with Michael Gursha—co-founder of Rookie Road and CEO of Point Curve—to talk about what it means to own content in a world that’s being overtaken by AI.

Mike’s team has quietly built a network of 13 media brands across niche verticals, powered by custom-built infrastructure and original content. In this episode, we unpack how Rookie Road scaled from a football explainer to a sports encyclopedia, why Mike thinks original content will become even more valuable in the GenAI era, and how his team is monetizing everything from ad revenue to commerce to potential tech licensing.

Whether you’re a content creator, a media operator, or just curious about the future of publishing, this episode is for you.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 — Intro00:45 — How Rookie Road started at Michigan03:43 — Early traction and what made it work06:14 — Growth through replication and SEO08:26 — The mechanics of viral web traffic11:18 — How Point Curve is evolving in the AI era15:19 — Why original content still matters24:45 — The shift from Rookie Road to Point Curve29:54 — Building 13 digital brands from scratch31:01 — Monetization: ads, affiliate, commerce, licensing34:43 — The potential to license their CMS and infrastructure38:22 — Checklist for launching a new content brand41:33 — Where the biggest growth opportunity lies44:31 — Outro + Recap with Jake and Tyler