Sometimes, we might seem like fangirls/boys (“fanpeople”?), but maybe that’s OK when the object is Rafat Ali, who got the Verts going and has twice proven he can build a media business and brand, this time with travel intelligence media company Skift. So, we’re going to bullet point this interview with Folio, because it reads like a recipe for media success, especially for vertical media companies. To wit:

• Build a culture to attract great people, even as a small B2B media company.
• Focusing on profitability is good. Sustainability is good. Don’t overspend or over-expand.
• A mix of revenue — subscriptions, advertising, conferences, data services, et al. — spells success. Traffic does not need to be the thing.

Quote of the invu: “If you just read my Tweets, you probably think I’m a douchebag.”

• Subscriptions provide the most stable revenue. Be happy if you can make it the majority.
• Free content is a great funnel (and for Skift, a part of the brand), meaning the place to attract people who become loyal and pay for stuff.
• When expanding, go for adjacent areas. (For travel, that includes dining and wellness.) Do it at low cost. To start, a newsletter is just fine.
• Events are a manifestation of the brand, when everything — editorial, marketing, sales, research, culture, branded content — comes together. There’s a big value in face-to-face, to show the real-life impact of what you and the team are doing.
• Give back, if you can. Skift Foundation offers Skift resources to people who need it, such as Puerto Ricans after the devastating hurricane there.
• To be a great manager, grow up in India. Rafat doesn’t say that, exactly. But he makes the point that there you learn to deal with complexity and chaos.
• Paid Content was “an accidental company.” I used to call him (and a couple others I know) an Accidental Entrepreneur — and now he says it.

Now that Skift is a truly going (cash-flow positive) concern, we can see it’s no accident: from the initial research that found a market opportunity to applying the smarts Rafat gleaned as both a media business reporter and entrepreneur. (Maybe that’s the lesson: Report for years on the industry in which you want to launch a business, then do it.)