“Sometimes, there’s a man, well, he’s the man for his time and place. He fits right in there. And that’s the Dude…”  – The Stranger, The Big Lebowski

Today we announced our investment in The Outline, a new digital media company founded by CEO Josh Topolsky.  The company plans to launch publicly later this year, but Josh talks about his vision for The Outline in this WSJ article.

We like to back authentic founders here at NextView… entrepreneurs who have experience and unique perspective on the market they’re trying to transform.  My colleague Tim Devane was the first one on our team to build a relationship with Josh, and Josh certainly fits this mold.  The internet is about 20 years old but most digital media companies simply replicate the model of legacy print media businesses only without the printing press.  Josh penned a widely read manifesto earlier this year that laid out the challenges with this approach and foreshadowed his thinking on the model for The Outline.

We’re excited to be in business with Josh and his founding team, as well as a great group of co-investors with experience in digital media.  And as consumers, we can’t wait to experience The Outline… if you’re interested the waitlist is here.