Rich Routman, president of sports media company Minute, revealed how the firm evolved from using an internal publishing platform to licensing it as a standalone product to external media companies. What began as a tool to streamline Minute’s own content operations has grown into a significant revenue stream, now contributing to a nine-figure technology business.

The shift reflects a broader trend among creator-led organizations: transforming proprietary workflows into marketable software solutions. By productizing its publishing stack, Minute not only monetized years of internal development but also provided other media brands with a ready-made system for managing digital content at scale.

Routman emphasized that the platform’s success stems from its deep integration with real-world editorial needs—built by publishers, for publishers. This creator-first approach ensured the technology solved actual pain points in content scheduling, distribution, and analytics, making it attractive to outside partners seeking efficiency without sacrificing quality.

For independent creators and small media teams, Minute’s model offers a blueprint: invest in tools that solve your own production challenges, then consider whether those tools could serve others. The move from internal utility to licensed product represents a powerful path to diversifying income beyond ad revenue or sponsorships.

As more creators build sophisticated back-end systems to support their work, opportunities to spin out those technologies as SaaS offerings are growing. Minute’s journey illustrates how owning and refining your stack can lead not just to better content, but to a scalable business asset with wide market appeal.