Steven Bartlett Lands 8-Figure Deal to Build the “Disney of the Creator Economy”

Podcaster and entrepreneur Steven Bartlett has closed an eight-figure investment round in his bid to build “the Disney of the creator economy.”

The funding round, which was secured at a $425 million valuation, was led by renowned investors Slow Ventures and Apeiron Investment Group.

The funding will accelerate Bartlett’s mission to empower creator media companies and creator ventures to scale globally and develop world-class creator IP and creator commerce eco-systems.

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Steven Bartlett’s Steven is Positioning for The Next Creator Wave

Steven Bartlett founded the social media marketing company Social Chain in 2014. He started the Diary of a CEO (DOAC) podcast in 2017, which has gained more than 13 million YouTube subscribers and 70 million monthly views and downloads. Since 2021, Bartlett has appeared as an investor on the BBC One series Dragons’ Den. 

After securing funding, Bartlett will maintain majority ownership of over 90% in Steven.com. The company houses his various creator media assets and ventures, such as media division FlightStory, which produces video podcasts featuring notable individuals like Trevor Noah, Davina McCall, and Paul C. Brunson.

Bartlett said, “My ultimate goal is to build the Disney of the creator economy – and the strategic partners this funding round has brought on board has enabled me to take a significant step in that direction. For the last century, companies like Disney have demonstrated the power of a single piece of intellectual property. Walt Disney himself showed how a character like Mickey Mouse could be used to build a global empire through films, theme parks, merchandise, and more.”

The new funding will fuel international expansion and further development of creator-first tools and ventures. This funding is believed to be Europe’s largest ever for a creator holding company and will accelerate the scaling of creator media, ventures, and technology infrastructure. Bartlett’s model prioritizes creator control, with him retaining over 90% ownership of the company.

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Megan Lightcap, Partner at Slow Ventures, said, “At Slow Ventures, we’ve long believed that creators are the next great entrepreneurs – and Steven Bartlett is a prime example.”

Christian Angermayer from Apeiron Investment Group said, “The creator is the modern franchise, and AI is the critical catalyst that makes this transition possible, enabling individuals to operate with the production capabilities and scale that once required entire institutions.”

The Giant Strides of Steven Bartlett and DOAC

Bartlett has also already demonstrated the use of proprietary tools to stunning effect himself. DOAC, which he created and presents through FlightStory, is now the world’s second-biggest interview podcast. It has more than 13 million YouTube subscribers and 70 million monthly views/downloads. 

The podcast had achieved more than one billion streams across all platforms by late 2024 and last month (Oct 2025) it surpassed one billion views on YouTube alone. It also remains the No1 Podcast in the UK and Europe. It is currently adding 600K new YouTube subscribers each month, making it the fastest-growing show in the world with a 500% compound annual growth rate.

Previous guests include Michelle Obama, MrBeast, Matthew McConaughey, Louis Tomlinson, Simon Cowell, Boris Johnson and, most recently, former Liverpool FC manager Jurgen Klopp.

Additionally, ‘We Need To Talk with Paul C Brunson’, another show built under Bartlett’s media company, has been a mainstay at the top of the podcast charts since it launched in 2024. This success makes it the UK’s fastest-growing new show. ‘Begin Again’ with Davina McCall – which debuted in 2024 – has seen similar success also becoming an ever-present in the UK podcast charts.

Bartlett is renowned as a visionary entrepreneur and one of the most influential voices in modern business and media and the youngest-ever Dragon on BBC’s Dragons’ Den (Shark Tank’s equivalent).

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He has invested in more than 40 companies, including SpaceX, Whoop, Lovable, Replit, MrBeast, Cadence, Groq, and PerfectTed. This month (October 2025) PerfectTed also became Dragon’s Den’s most successful ever investment with the company now being valued at more than $190m less than three years since the founders appeared on the long-running TV series.

Some of Steven.Com’s latest notable investors include Slow Ventures’ Philipp Freise (KKR),  Christian Angermayer of Apeiron Investment Group, Second Sight Ventures. Others are Tom Profumo from Active Partners, Magnus Grimeland of Antler, Gary Vaynerchuk, Kevin Rose the founder of Digg, Will Ahmed the Founder of Whoop, Bryan Johnson, Alex Hormozi, Codie Sanchez and more.