Podcast — Raphaël Bloch, The Big Whale: Leaving His Newsroom to Launch His Own Media Outlet (2/6)

Margaux Vulliet: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the podcast from Médianes, which interviews media founders so they can share their experiences with you. I’m Margaux Vulliet, a journalist at Médianes, and you’re listening to Chemins. They announced the launch of their media outlet in a video posted on Twitter on April 8. Raphaël Bloch, Grégory Raymond, and Dimitri Granger founded the weekly newsletter *The Big Whale*, which aims to become the go-to source for Web 3, Bitcoin, NFTs, cryptocurrency, and more. These are terms that many people still don’t fully understand, and yet more and more media outlets are picking them up. The three co-founders are betting on a model that combines free and paid content through in-depth articles and analysis. But above all, they left their previous newsrooms to launch their own media outlet. Raphaël Bloch was a journalist at L’Express, and Grégory Raymond worked at Capital.fr. So how do you go from being a journalist to becoming your own editor-in-chief? How do you run a media outlet when you don’t necessarily have a background as a business leader? How do you take the plunge? We’re discussing this with Raphaël Bloch. Hello, Raphaël. 

Raphaël Bloch: Hello, Margaux!

Margaux Vulliet: You’re one of the three co-founders of The Big Whale. Before we begin, could you explain to our listeners what Web 3 is? It’s the main topic of your newsletter.

Raphaël Bloch: Web 3.0 is, in a way, the third stage of the Internet rocket. When the Internet was created in the 1990s, it was ultimately a fairly simple protocol: you could exchange information, which allowed people to communicate with one another. Then came what’s known as Web 2.0—the 2010s era of social media—when we went beyond just communicating to sharing videos and photos; that’s the mobile Internet. And then there’s Web 3.0—the Internet built on what are known as cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies, which enable the more direct exchange of value. We started with information; then we were able to share videos and photos through more complex channels on social media; and today, we’re able to exchange value in the form of cryptocurrencies.

“It is believed that the traditional media—which do their job very well—have failed to grasp just how profoundly this issue would disrupt our economies and our lives.”

Margaux Vulliet: You were a journalist at Les Echos for three years and at L’Express for two years. Why did you decide to launch this media outlet? Was it because you weren’t satisfied with the way the media covered these topics?

Raphaël Bloch: There were quite a few things that prompted me—along with Grégory and Dimitri—to take the plunge. On the one hand, it’s actually a fairly simple observation: we’re facing a revolution—that of Web 3. Today, we believe that traditional media—which does its job very well—has failed to grasp just how profoundly this topic is going to disrupt our economies, our lives, and the political system, and that it’s going to completely reshape society as a whole. So we decided we had to take matters into our own hands. Grégory and I have both been journalists for several years now, and we’ve been covering everything related to crypto since 2016 and 2017. We’ve managed to cover these topics—whether at *Capital*, *Les Echos*, or *L’Express*—but we feel we need to do more. We told ourselves, “We have to take the plunge,” and then, of course, there’s a personal aspiration—the three of us have had different career paths. Dimitri, for his part, doesn’t come directly from journalism; he’s worked in communications and marketing and has founded several companies. We told ourselves, “We now have this experience in the media; we feel capable of creating our own media outlet, and so the three of us, by joining forces, will succeed in creating the Web 3 media outlet.”

Margaux Vulliet: Did you know each other well before you got started?

Raphaël Bloch: So, I know Grégory because we’re both journalists covering crypto-related topics—we’ve known each other for six years now—and Dimitri was perhaps the first person in France to create a website about crypto. He was passionate about the subject, and back then he wrote to us; we started exchanging messages, met in person, and stayed in touch. Then, a few months ago, we met up for a drink and said to ourselves: we’re coming out of two years of lockdown. The crypto market is booming; today, people around us have bought crypto, companies are getting involved, and now even governments are—look at El Salvador. So it’s time to dive in, and that’s why the three of us decided to embark on this exciting adventure together!

Margaux Vulliet: So, speaking of that drink, what was said? What ideas took shape?

Raphaël Bloch: I think the most important thing to remember is that, in the end, all three of us shared the same desire. Each of us had a sense that we had something to do, namely, both a topic like Web 3—which has become unavoidable—and, at the same time, our desire to create a media outlet where we could cover these topics the way we want to, using the innovations we want to test within a media context. The media outlet is only two months old, but we’ve launched lifetime subscriptions that are doing very well. We’ve already made it possible for our subscribers to pay with cryptocurrencies, so people can pay in cryptocurrency or in euros. We’ve launched a Discord server. We’re moving very quickly, and on top of that, we have the freedom—because there are just the three of us, along with a few partners—to steer the media outlet in the direction we want and to co-create it with our subscribers, which is fundamental to us.

“From the moment we left our newsrooms for three weeks, we created an entirely new media outlet from scratch.”

Margaux Vulliet: You told me that the media outlet was launched in three weeks. What happened between the time you left your newsroom and the launch of The Big Whale on April 8?

Raphaël Bloch: We left our newsrooms in March, and indeed, from the moment we left our newsrooms for three weeks—and I think those three weeks will remain etched in our memories forever—we built a media outlet from scratch. So we’re continuing to develop it, but what we wanted was to get a website up and running fairly quickly. Today, we have a website, a free newsletter on Wednesday mornings, and a paid one on Thursday mornings. We wanted to launch this offering because, for us, it was essential to get started quickly. Already, we’re starting to come up with lots of ideas to strengthen our editorial content and potentially build bridges with other countries. We want to have a presence not only in France but in several European countries, and to put our readers at the heart of the project. Whether that’s through Discord, in-person meetups, live feedback, or interactions with subscribers. So over the course of those three weeks, we laid the groundwork, telling ourselves, “We have this name, we know what we want to do, and we’re going to launch very quickly.” Every week, we produce news stories and release exclusives. We even had the President, Emmanuel Macron, on the show after just two weeks; we’ve also done some other great interviews with international figures, and at the same time, we’re continuing to evolve the media platform. We’re exploring technologies and thinking about what we could potentially develop using NFTs and blockchain. We know this can be a way to challenge the media business model, so we’re keeping an eye on everything. We’re incredibly passionate, we work hard, and we’re having a blast.

Margaux Vulliet: And what made you move so quickly? Because media outlets usually take months to get off the ground—to lay the groundwork, establish an editorial line, and figure out a business model. What made it possible for you to move so quickly in just three weeks?

Raphaël Bloch: There are two things. The first—and this is essential, and I really want to emphasize it—is the team. I’m 33 years old, and I’ve been working as a journalist for seven or eight years now. I’ve met some extraordinary people in the various newsrooms where I’ve worked, but I have to admit that with Dimitri and Greg, I’ve found two real gems who, each in their own field, are well-known, incredibly hardworking, and very intelligent. And so, thanks to this chemistry we’ve managed to build with the team, we’re actually able to make decisions and take action pretty quickly. Because in reality, there are a lot of projects that don’t necessarily move forward very quickly when people aren’t fully aligned. And actually, what’s great here is that all three of us know exactly what we want to do: we really want to create the leading European media outlet on all topics related to Web 3. It’s very simple. But the thing is, we’re convinced of what we want to do. We have a roadmap, and what we’ve been doing from the very beginning is simply following it. 

"How can we involve all our subscribers in the project as much as possible?" 

Margaux Vulliet: What exactly is in this roadmap?

Raphaël Bloch: So, what we actually did right from the start was the launch in April. And right now, what we’re doing is simply raising funds so we can move quickly. So we’ve had quite a few inquiries from investors; we’re currently evaluating who we want to work with, and we’re going to raise funds, which will allow us to hire. It’s all connected: by hiring, we’ll be able to bring on someone in Geneva, someone in Brussels, and someone else in London, which will allow us to have this kind of decentralized editorial team—not just in Paris, but in the countries that matter most in Europe when it comes to crypto. We’re also working on how to involve all our subscribers in the project as much as possible. And that involves some pretty in-depth thinking about what we could do with NFTs and blockchain. We haven’t finalized everything yet; we’re thinking about it a lot. It’s obviously one of the topics we’re working on, and we hope to be able to share more in the coming weeks. Here’s where we stand: we’ve launched our media presence, we’re starting to establish the brand, we’ve surpassed 10,000 subscribers—both free and paid combined—and now we’re in the phase where we’re going to start expanding internationally. We’re also seriously considering launching in English—obviously, we’ll keep French because we’re thinking specifically of all French-speaking regions, particularly Africa—but there’s also a lot to explore in English, and that’s one of the many areas we’re focusing on.

“You absolutely have to test, test, and test some more. We’re going to mess up; there are some things we won’t get right. That’s normal, and the most important thing is what we learn from those failures.”

Margaux Vulliet: Would you say that the first week of the launch was also a way for you to test what worked and what didn't? Did you get any feedback from readers?

Raphaël Bloch: Yes, absolutely. And actually, there’s one thing we promised ourselves when we got started: first and foremost, to try—that’s really essential. And we experienced that firsthand with Greg. In France, we’re so afraid of failure. I mean, failure is so frowned upon that we’re afraid to try, so we told ourselves, “We absolutely have to test, test, and test again.” We’re going to mess up; there are some things we won’t succeed at. That’s normal, and the most important thing is what we learn from our failures. That’s the first point. The second point is that we obviously listen to our community every day, so whatever they like, we develop it. As for what they like less, we work with them to figure out how to improve it, and if they still don’t like it, well, we drop it. But that’s essential because, once again, without its subscribers, The Big Whale is nothing. So it’s really essential—both that we’re willing to experiment and that we’re not afraid of failure. For the past two months, we’ve had nothing but successes, but failures are bound to happen.

Margaux Vulliet: Haven't you had a failure yet?

Raphaël Bloch: No, but that’s precisely because we have both the enthusiasm of youth—we’re in our thirties, and Dimitri is in his forties—and the experience that comes with our diverse backgrounds. I’m thinking especially of Dimitri, who brings a lot to the table in that regard. Of course we’ll run into difficulties, but we’re realistic enough now to take it on. We know it’s a marathon, not a 100-meter dash, so we keep our heads up, look at the obstacles, and try to avoid them as much as possible. We’ve just gotten started, so all the challenges lie ahead of us. But what’s great is that we have a fantastic team and we know where we want to go.

Margaux Vulliet: I was just about to ask you that—was there a major challenge right at the start?

Raphaël Bloch: No, but again, we launched less than two months ago, and actually, this is also something quite extraordinary—it’s part of all the intuitions we had that have proven true in practice. We have—and we really want to give them a shout-out—some truly extraordinary people among our subscribers because there’s such a wide range of backgrounds, and we made a conscious decision to rely on them as well. When we once ran into an issue with the newsletter sending settings, within an hour a subscriber stepped in to help and fixed the problem for us. That’s part of the best practices we wanted to implement from the very beginning—practices that fundamentally, truly fundamentally, change the nature of our project. There are founders—that’s the project we launched—but our goal is that, ultimately, The Big Whale will also belong to its subscribers, belong to everyone.

"Subscribers need to have a say."

Margaux Vulliet: You even mention “founding subscribers.”

Raphaël Bloch: Exactly, and that’s something people really liked and that we really wanted to emphasize. This platform belongs to its subscribers. We manage it and keep it alive, but in fact, it’s also part of the philosophy of the entire crypto and blockchain ecosystem—it’s about decentralization and the public good, which is very important. And we believe that The Big Whale will become an indispensable part of the crypto ecosystem, a kind of public good. Subscribers need to have a say—that’s what we’ve started doing with Discord. We listen closely to what they have to say, and we fully intend to stick to that approach.

Margaux Vulliet: Does the format of your newsletters naturally follow from the topics you cover?

Raphaël Bloch: That’s also part of our thinking. As journalists, Greg and I find this particularly interesting: for the past 20 years or so, the pace of news has been constantly accelerating—meaning that today, people are literally bombarded with information. They’re bombarded through the radio, television, and websites. And speaking of the Web—Web 2.0, which refers to the mobile Internet—it means that now, with my smartphone in my pocket, I receive alerts almost every minute about this or that piece of news. Then there are social media platforms. Now it’s nonstop. What we decided is that, in this context—and given all the time and expertise we have—because Grégory and I spend our days investigating and working on Web 3 topics— What we’re going to do is offer our subscribers the essentials of what they need to know about these topics—meaning that when it comes to Web 3 and crypto, new information is coming out all the time, but not all of it requires readers’ attention. So we’ll be providing a service—and our subscribers tell us that what they value is that we do all the investigative work and curate the best information. Basically, our weekly newsletter—which is free—is for people who are new to the subject and want to dip their toes into the ocean of crypto. And then the paid newsletter really lets you dive in with us, go very deep into the ocean of crypto, and explore the technical aspects of the subject. Whether it’s the free or paid versions, we give readers the essentials tailored to their level of overall understanding of the topics. And that changes everything because it means that in just twenty minutes a week, you get the essentials. And another part of our approach is that, in addition to the weekly newsletter, we use a variety of other platforms. There’s social media. Grégory and I are very active there; we have a large community, especially on Twitter, and we’re also active on LinkedIn and Instagram. That’s exactly where we’ll break down and explain news stories that don’t require in-depth articles, investigations, or interviews in the newsletter. So that’s really how we segment our entire news coverage. And then we’re already thinking about a daily newsletter format—one that would potentially shed light on a particularly important story of the day—while the weekly edition would focus on in-depth analysis, investigations, and interviews. But again, it’s just like what I was saying earlier. We spend a lot of time thinking about, “How can we best inform our subscribers?” That’s really what drives us. We’re looking for the best formats, so for now we’ve decided to go with the weekly newsletter. But things will evolve as we go along.

Margaux Vulliet: As you mentioned earlier, Grégory and you started out as journalists—how did you approach the idea of becoming entrepreneurs, of becoming your own editors-in-chief?

Raphaël Bloch: Honestly, it’s super exciting, and I think it’s going to resonate with a lot of people. Greg is a great journalist. He started working at the HuffPost when he was pretty young, and he quickly moved into a leadership role at Capital. He was in charge of the “21 Millions” crypto newsletter, so he was already somewhat used to it. Obviously, he wasn’t managing everything else, but he was already pretty much his own boss. As for me, personally, my background is a bit different. I went to business school, among other things, though that’s not what sparked my interest in entrepreneurship. But I’ve always been interested in economic and financial topics. I became a business journalist. It’s also a personality trait—I like to get things done. I have no problem with authority. I’ve had great bosses at previous newsrooms, but I also like to get things done—and ultimately, whether for Greg or for me, what completely changed our perspective was realizing that we were onto something real—Web 3—and that we absolutely had to go for it. Then came the lockdown and the crisis, which, over the course of two years, pushed us to ask ourselves the real, big questions: “Okay, we’re having a blast at work, but what do we fundamentally want to do?” ” Well, working completely independently on our own stories—because we didn’t necessarily have that freedom in the newsrooms we were in—is exactly what we’ve managed to achieve. And that’s really the key point. Dimitri has that experience, so by combining our experience as journalists and our entrepreneurial drive with Dimitri’s business and entrepreneurial expertise, it’s worked out really well—and today, it’s a real game-changer!

"I fundamentally believe that a good journalist is an entrepreneur."

Margaux Vulliet: This point often comes up in our conversations Médianeswith media founders: the importance of the initial support network and diverse skill sets. Conversely, as a journalist, are there advantages—and disadvantages—to being a media entrepreneur?

Raphaël Bloch: At the risk of offending some people, I fundamentally believe that a good journalist is an entrepreneur. Let me explain: regardless of our medium—whether it’s radio, TV, or print—we’re all small-scale entrepreneurs in the sense that we manage our own stories, we have to seek out sources from all over, and we reflect this in our day-to-day work; ultimately, we’re entrepreneurs without even realizing it. That’s what Greg and I realized, because it was our first experience. Because in reality, when you have the drive we currently have with such an appealing project, it just happens on its own. And I do agree with you that the team is also key—and in that regard, we have Dimitri’s reassuring presence and experience; he’ll be handling the entire marketing, strategy, and finance side of things, which is fundamental and indispensable for media outlets. I think the big mistake we make all too often is not paying attention to the media business model, and that’s something we continue to challenge because we want to build a company that will be highly profitable—in the sense that it will give us the means to do what we want to do.

Margaux Vulliet: So, what exactly is your business model?

Raphaël Bloch: I’d like to follow up on what you said earlier, which is very true: we actually have a free newsletter for subscribers who want to explore the topic; but really, our strength lies in the paid newsletter, and our bet is that many free subscribers will stick with us and upgrade to the paid version. We guide them through this process step by step. We’ve already seen this happen in just two months—free subscribers upgrading to paid. What’s interesting is that we’re well-established; people know exactly what we offer them. That’s really the key to our business model: people subscribe to The Big Whale—whether for free or for a fee—and they know exactly why they’re here. They’ll find the best content on everything related to Web 3 and crypto. And based on that principle, when you build that trust with subscribers, people see the value and realize it’s worth paying for quality content. That allows us to remain independent and cover all topics with peace of mind. We cover crypto because there’s a lot of money involved, so quite a few companies are tempted to seek out influencers left and right to sell their products. We, on the other hand, are journalists first and foremost, and we really focus on investigative reporting—and our subscribers are willing to pay for that information. Then, once we have this community of subscribers who are here for the added value we provide, we’re able to create other services. So we’re thinking about events. That’s something we’re really interested in, and potentially other products as well. But again, we’re still very new, so there are things in the works—we can’t talk about them yet, but they’ll be coming pretty soon.

“There was a huge stake at play with Web 3, regarding the need for free and independent media coverage of these topics.” 

Margaux Vulliet: You’re talking about community and not at all about audience. I get the impression that you’ve also built your community because you’re already experts in this field. Often, when you’re trying to gain your first followers, you start with Circle 1—friends—then Circle 2… It seems like you skipped straight to Circle 3: friends of friends of friends who knew almost nothing about crypto.

Raphaël Bloch: Yes, that’s exactly right. Of course, Greg and I have a history with this topic. We’ve been working on crypto-related topics since 2016 or 2017, and now on what’s known as Web 3, so we have tremendous credibility in this area. All that work—sourcing, building networks. It’s clear that we have a vast network within the French ecosystem, and even a bit of a European one now. But ultimately, it’s all about the community. We’re in constant contact with our subscribers, so obviously we can’t respond to every one of them within two minutes. But really, our goal—for example—is the whole process of creating and launching our Discord. There’s the information we share, there’s all the feedback we provide, and there’s the time we spend debriefing after an interview or an investigation. I just spent two weeks in Argentina, and in the coming days we’ll be organizing a debrief on Discord with our annual subscribers to answer their questions—because they have plenty. So there’s obviously that aspect. We know full well that this takes time and that it’s thanks to the community that we’ll be able to keep going. From the very beginning, we made our ambitions clear by saying, “Here’s the thing: we want to build a media outlet that carries weight,” and people understood what we wanted to do—which is why, as we’re seeing now, some people are leaving our project. Actually, they’re not just friends of friends—they’re people we’ve met through work, people we continue to run into. They’re also friends of friends. But it’s true that, in fact, everyone has clearly understood that there’s a huge stake at play with Web 3, with the need for a free and independent media outlet covering these topics. In fact, the message is so clear that people say to themselves, “Yeah, actually, this resonates with me. It’s a topic that interests me, so I’m going to join them.” When they test us out, they can see that we’re accessible, that we answer their questions, and that we put them at the center of everything we do.

Margaux Vulliet: And is it a long-term goal to reach out to people who aren't at all familiar with Web 3 and all these topics?

Raphaël Bloch: Yes, the goal is for us all to take steps toward one another. We’re convinced that in ten years, the concept of Web 3 will have become as commonplace as that of the Web and Web 2, so of course we’ll try to be accessible to everyone. That’s why, from the very beginning, we planned to offer both a free and a paid newsletter. Now, we also hope that people will be curious about it. A lot of people are trying to understand it. It’s also a huge issue, and we’re very sensitive to this question. In Europe, we keep talking about GAFAM and data control, saying to ourselves, “Oh man, they’re American or Chinese, and we in Europe don’t have anyone.” But this also stems from a lack of awareness and information. We know full well that in ten years there will be Web 3 giants. So our idea isn’t to create these Web 3 giants ourselves, but rather—in the best sense of the word—to educate and raise awareness among the French and European populations so they become aware of what’s happening, and so that everyone gets on board so Europe can also join this revolution. The risk is that we’ll miss the boat and that in ten years, we’ll say to ourselves: “Once again, the new giants are American or Chinese.”

Margaux Vulliet: What if, in ten years, Web 3 doesn’t take off? Because it’s quite a gamble to base your editorial strategy entirely on this major topic.

Raphaël Bloch: In 2022, Web 3 might seem like a somewhat niche concept, but in five or ten years, it will be completely mainstream. You just have to look at what tech media outlets managed to achieve in the ’90s and 2000s, when they first got started. Some went through tougher times, but TechCrunch got its start back then. It’s a very well-known media outlet in the United States; they specialized in tech, and it became one of the biggest American media outlets. They organized events and things like that. The crisis hit them a bit hard. We’re thinking on that scale. And then there’s something important that we made clear from the start: today, Web 3.0 affects certain sectors of society—we’re thinking of finance—but tomorrow it will touch politics and society as a whole. And it will become as commonplace as digital technology. Today, digital technology is everywhere. Well, the Internet of Value—Web 3—will, by osmosis, permeate every sector. We’re already seeing this, with companies in just about every field taking an interest in it. Our playing field is going to be enormous, and we’re already thinking about working on verticals related to gaming in particular, or finance, for example. Things like that, because there will be plenty to explore in each sector.

“We mustn’t lose sight of the fact that this is a traditional business. We’re dealing with a subject that’s a bit unique—one that’s defined by its very nature: information.”

Margaux Vulliet: As you mentioned earlier, you also attended business school before turning to journalism. Do you start a media outlet the same way you start any other business?

Raphaël Bloch: Ah, that’s an excellent question! Since I haven’t started any other companies, I can’t say for sure whether it’s the same or completely different. What’s certain is that the press in the broad sense—the concept of the media—is something unique. We’re both journalists, so we know what it’s like to deal with news. In fact, what’s pretty incredible is that it falls under both the private and public spheres; there’s the public interest in the news. We play a role because we inform people. And at the same time, there is indeed a private dimension because media groups are, after all, private companies. We’re not civil servants, so these are companies that could go out of business—they’re funded by private capital and investors. So ultimately, we’re constantly walking a fine line between the private and public spheres, which inevitably makes it unique. We spend a lot of time talking about this, especially in France. Most major media outlets are owned by billionaires. So yes, when we set out as we did to create our own media outlet, it’s both an entrepreneurial venture—and in that regard, nothing changes. Our goal is to grow, to gain subscribers—that famous community—and to be financially sustainable. For us, that’s going to be “relatively simple” because we’re already seeing great results. We need to keep going, but we’re definitely on the right track. At the same time, we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that this is a traditional business. We’re dealing with a subject that’s a bit unique—and always will be, which is a good thing—namely, news. News isn’t just another commodity either; we have to constantly strike that balance. We believe we’ve found it. It’s a wonderful daily challenge.

Margaux Vulliet: Weren’t you afraid at first to think to yourselves, “We’re getting into an industry where the first thing that comes to mind is: the media industry is completely saturated”? 

Raphaël Bloch: Yes, of course—I was almost going to say, “All the better.” Personally, I’m always delighted to see that plenty of media outlets are launching, even though many others are disappearing. So sure, that’s a shame, but it also means there are still just as many people—young and not-so-young—who want to innovate and create media outlets. So that’s wonderful. That’s perhaps what makes our project unique: we’re the first in France to really take on this crazy media venture—Web 3—with a rock-solid team of journalists who are recognized experts in these fields. And it’s true that, as you mentioned earlier, there’s a bit of a gamble involved. But we’re convinced it’s a winning bet. We tried to be the first to get started, we have a great team, we have a vision, and that’s what we tell ourselves almost every day. The only thing that can stop us from succeeding is ourselves, because everything else is working out just fine. If we execute the plan as we’ve laid it out, and if we keep working the way we are, The Big Whale will become a major media outlet on a European—or even global—scale in the coming years. That’s what we hope for, and we’re convinced that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

"We've looked quite a bit at the United States, but we're also looking everywhere else, especially in Asia, where they're doing some equally interesting things."

Margaux Vulliet: You said “the first media outlet of its kind in France”—did you draw inspiration from similar models covering similar topics abroad?

Raphaël Bloch: Yes, that’s also why it worked so well right from the start. Dimitri, Grégory, and I are passionate, but at the same time, we’re thorough and curious. For years, we’ve been keeping an eye on what’s been happening abroad. We’re extremely interested in various developments, particularly in the United States. What you need to know is that, generally speaking, whatever happens in the United States tends to show up in Europe five years later—whether from a political, media, economic, or societal perspective. When we started working on crypto five or six years ago, we saw a few media outlets launch in the United States. They weren’t necessarily focused on crypto, but there’s one that’s very well-known in the crypto space: The Block. Other media outlets, like Axios, have also launched. We’ve followed their trajectories a bit, and they started out with a fairly simple proposition—one focused specifically on the community. This is particularly true of The Block and The Information. Subscribers can immediately see the added value, and these outlets started out with just a few journalists—now between 100 and 250—and Axios has even more. That’s also what pushed us to go for it; we figured this was bound to happen in Europe, and if we didn’t do it, maybe no one else would—because, in any case, we believe we have the right vision and the right team. We’re not going to copy their model; we’re going to invent our own, but we have to get started because things are going to move very quickly. And there’s an incredible media outlet to be created. That’s why, once we left our newsrooms, we got up and running in three weeks. And now we’re working every day and we never stop. We have ideas, projects; we meet with people; we’re open to everything that’s proposed to us. Obviously, we’ve looked quite a bit at what’s happening in the United States, but we’re also looking all over Asia, where they’re doing interesting things too—even though, when you think about China, it’s much more complicated from a journalistic standpoint. And then, things are happening in Europe, but that’s why we want to focus on Europe first. In Europe, there’s no media coverage of Web 3 or crypto. There’s the Financial Times, which is an excellent daily; in France, there’s Les Echos, which is also a very good daily, but when it comes to all these topics, they still have a long way to go. So we want to embrace this entire subject area, cover it, and very quickly become a go-to source in both French and English. 

Margaux Vulliet: So one of the secrets to breaking into the media is finding a topic that hasn't been covered yet?

Raphaël Bloch: It’s perfectly fine to tackle a topic that’s already been covered. Many journalists have forgotten one thing—whether out of complacency or simply because they’ve lost the habit—but they’ve forgotten that the essence of our profession is really to provide information to our subscribers. If we start every morning by focusing on our subscribers’ needs, it completely changes the way we think. Today, we’re really in a system where media outlets broadcast information, and it’s very, very top-down. You have journalists who write, and then it trickles down, and we try to cast a wide net—so we have a vague idea of our readership, we conduct occasional focus groups, but that’s about it—and we send them information. And the feedback never goes the other way—we get very little input from readers. We told ourselves, “No, actually, we’re going to stay journalists”—I mean, it’s a profession in its own right. There’s a code of ethics. These are things we learned well with Greg in our respective newsrooms. But on the other hand, we’re going to level the playing field; we’re going to be as close as possible to our readers, and we’re not just going to send out signals and see if anything comes back every now and then. We’re constantly listening to feedback from subscribers, and since we’re right in the middle of it all, we have a unique role—that’s fundamental. Of course, there’s the idea of the topic itself; it’s definitely easier when you’re the first to cover a story. But you also have to realize that when you’re the first to jump in, you’re the ones who have to work out the kinks. There’s also the risk of messing up, and those watching you will draw some inspiration from your best work. So there’s a risk, but we told ourselves, “We’re going to do it because we know what we want to do, and we’re convinced we have the right approach.” And actually, I really enjoy mountaineering. We’ve blazed a trail, and we fully intend to reach the summit.

Margaux Vulliet: By the way, you were talking about Discord earlier—you held your first editorial meeting. Can you tell us a little bit about it?

Raphaël Bloch: We’ve actually just launched our Discord server. For those who aren’t familiar with it, it’s a collaborative social network that lets you chat with people, much like Slack or Teams. We have a Discord server and we’re inviting all our subscribers to join, so obviously this is a really great service for our subscribers. Greg and I are very active there, and the people who join the team at The Big Whale will also get to interact with readers on Discord. For now, it’s only open to annual and lifetime subscribers, so this is really something we want to use to pamper our readers. It’s organized into channels; there are plenty of places to chat, each tailored to different topics. There’s a small channel where you can introduce yourself—that’s where people can say, “Oh, okay, great, nice to meet you, that’s awesome.” And then, as you go along, there are discussion channels focused on NFTs, crypto, and decentralized finance. We’ve also included resources and links to documents that allow those who are just starting to explore these topics to learn more. And we’ve also set up a dedicated channel to organize our editorial meetings. When we have more people—and we’ll likely be spread across several countries—we’ll need to work remotely. And indeed, these editorial meetings are open to subscribers. For the first one, it was pretty straightforward—we presented the topics we’re working on, so obviously there’s information we can’t reveal until it’s been verified and published; we don’t discuss that yet. We told them about the interviews we were preparing, things like that. There’s a contract of trust—the idea is that everything we say in the editorial meeting stays in the editorial meeting—and everyone was very respectful of that. We also went over last week’s issue because there were quite a few questions from subscribers.

"When you integrate subscribers into your media outlet like that, they become a kind of scouting force for your media outlet."

Margaux Vulliet: Just to clarify: was it on video?

Raphaël Bloch: So no, it wasn’t a video—it was an audio recording. We gave a presentation on the topics we’re working on, looked back a bit on the previous edition, answered a few questions from subscribers, and then we did a sort of brainstorming session. We had about thirty people in the channel for the editorial meeting, and what was really interesting was that we discussed several current events. Some people expressed interest in interviews, investigations, or more information on specific topics. We exchanged ideas in real time, just as we would in a normal newsroom. Except that in this case, instead of doing it with colleagues, we did it with subscribers. So some might wonder: why do this? We understood why as soon as we did it—even just once. When you integrate subscribers like this into your media outlet, they become a sort of scouting team for your media. What’s great is that we obviously have plenty of subscribers in France, but also abroad. In this case, we had several from Switzerland. And they were able to give us information and leads about Switzerland, and tomorrow we’ll do the same for Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Spain… And that’s something that’s absolutely amazing because, in this case, we worked with a subscriber in Switzerland who gave us some contacts. When you open up to subscribers—while still maintaining the structure of a media outlet—you unlock and create added value that’s just insane. 

Margaux Vulliet: You were talking about expanding the team, particularly at The Big Whale—is there room for women in these kinds of roles? Because you have three male co-founders. 

Raphaël Bloch: That’s perhaps the issue that’s preoccupied us the most since we got started. There are three of us founders working in a field that, much to our regret, is still far too male-dominated. We have what’s called an advisory board—four people who are highly respected in their fields and who advise us. The idea is to report back to them once a quarter in a completely informal way. And so on this advisory board, we have an exceptional woman, Barbara Mahé, who is very knowledgeable about crypto and also runs her own communications agency. And we’re working with three men who are also exceptional. As for recruiting for the team, we’re starting to meet people, and our top priority is obviously to hire a woman who’s qualified—we’ve already met several. And by the way, on Discord, we’re thrilled because we have many female subscribers. But it’s clear that there’s still a significant lack of women, even though many projects—especially those involving NFTs—have plenty of women involved. We really hope that by helping to make these topics more accessible, we’ll attract as many women as possible. Here’s a little anecdote: I have four younger sisters, and what’s funny is that the two who are close to my age are a bit less interested in these topics, while the two who are younger actually think it’s awesome. It turns out they’re 16 and 19 years old. When I see that, I think to myself that this sector will likely become more female-dominated fairly quickly because there are plenty of young women who are going to dive right in, and we’ll see them in the ecosystem very soon.

Margaux Vulliet: You just got back from Argentina; you spent two weeks there. Did your subscribers fund this trip, or do you not yet have that source of funding?

Raphaël Bloch: I did, in fact, spend two weeks in Argentina. It was a pretty amazing experience, and we’d like to thank all our subscribers because it’s obviously thanks to them—and thus thanks to their subscriptions—that we were able to pay for a plane ticket and accommodations there. Here’s another little story: thanks to a subscriber of The Big Whale, I was able to stay with one of their friends who lives in Buenos Aires. So that saved us the cost of a few nights’ lodging. We need to educate people on this again; our role is to inform people, and when people subscribe, they’re funding media that’s free and independent—and that’s the whole point of The Big Whale. We can travel to the four corners of the world to tell them exactly what’s happening on the ground, whether in Argentina, perhaps tomorrow in Australia, Korea, or the United States. In fact, there’s a lot of talk right now about the Central African Republic—it’s one of the countries we’re keeping a close eye on because, potentially, we now have the means to fund a trip there to see what’s happening on the ground.

Margaux Vulliet: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. Thank you, dear listeners. You can find the other episodes of *Chemins* on all streaming platforms. Above all, take care of yourselves and your media.