Why Steven Bartlett Thinks HSR Is The Next $1B Creator Brand

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS!!!

I’m honored to share that after a 7-figure strategic investment from Steven Bartlett and Steven.com, Hot Smart Rich is officially joining FlightStory and have taken on our first investor to build the biggest creator-led female-ambition brand, ever! So where do I even begin to do justice to this moment?

How do I look back at the 22-year-old ambitious version of me who was told by her first boss out of college that she would never be successful unless she changed her voice and the way she looked, and tell her that everything she dreamed of would not only work out, but exceed her imagination?

This is not just the story of the last year building this show or the last 3 years creating content and not going viral. It is the story of my life.

And it is the story and shared experience of so many women reading this.

Being underestimated. Being put in a box. Being discounted for things outside your control.

HSR was born the moment I decided I was done letting other people narrate my potential and I would take my power back with the exact thing my boss told me to change, my voice.

I started the Hot Smart Rich podcast with nothing but a mission, three iPhones, two portable mics, and my sister, despite the odds stacked against women in media, including the fact that only 7 percent of business podcasts are hosted by women (still true today!!).

I wanted to create a sense of freedom for women everywhere who were tired of being judged, written off, or told to shrink. A space where ambition was not something to hide, but something to celebrate.

And then you, the HSR Angels showed up. You turned this into a movement. You turned this into a business, an investable business. You made this bigger than anything I could have imagined.

Which is why joining FlightStory with Steven Bartlett at the helm, feels surreal (and so did this teaser video!!). They are truly best in class, builders of culture, architects of global storytelling, and partners who believe as deeply as I do in what HSR can become.

I am grateful. I am in awe. I am inspired. But more than anything, I am motivated. The hard work starts now. Together, we are motivated to build the biggest female ambition brand in the world and create a place we all deserve.

Motivated to create a space for women to explore ownership, money, business, power, and relationships, the real conversations that shape our lives. And motivated to deliver it all with the same group chat energy that made HSR what it is today.

This is only the beginning. It means more access. More episodes. More storytelling. More opportunities for you to be a part of it.

And I am honored you are here at the start of this next chapter.

We’ve been blown away watching the press roll in. You can read the coverage here:

None of this happens without you. The HSR Angels are the engine behind this brand. You believed before anyone else did. You shared the show before we had a studio. You turned this from a podcast into a movement.

Thank you for being here. For listening, sharing, defending, celebrating and for making HSR the kind of community people can’t help but pay attention to.

This next chapter is bigger. Braver. Louder. And it’s just the beginning.

With so much love,

Maggie Sellers Reum

In this exclusive interview with Ian Shepherd, I share more about the ins and outs of the deal, what we are focusing on with the investment and how we plan to get to a $1B creator-led female ambition brand with the HSR angels front and center!