I almost ran out of runway
Four lessons from a year of getting punched in the face.
It’s that time of year when I put out two special issues to close things out.
The first is a recap of how I survived, the key lessons I learnt, and the agenda for 2026.
The other is the founder’s report (out tomorrow), where I’ll share a basic P&L with founding members.
But, first, a scoop-y ICYMI, including a funny bit on a Jelawang official seen at the F1 paddock:
The Malaysianist runs on subscriptions. Fuel up with a monthly, annual or founding member plan.
P.S. The founding member tier doesn’t have a ceiling; you can go as high as you want — it’s the ultimate supporter badge that also comes with a special section of its own.
And, yes, you can upgrade subscription tiers at any time.
Mulling a group purchase for family, friends and colleagues? I’ve got you. Group subscriptions come with discounts, too.
When I went full-time on the newsletter this year, there was no beef wellington from a well-wisher.
It was an immediate downsizing from a life I knew and felt comfortable in.
The route I chose was always going to be tough: bootstrapping a media business with no external funding.
And I wasn’t going to cosy up to the media’s favourite monetisation methods: ads, sponsored whatnots, and “black ops” (paid hit jobs or covert lobbying dressed up as reporting).
Given The Malaysianist’s irreverent streak, that meant trying to build a brand on the (apparently rare) values of integrity and independence.
I pick topics because I want to. I write what I think needs to be written. And I’m answerable only to subscribers.
What I learnt, pretty quickly, is that this makes you a starving artist. I bit off more than I could chew.
And from then on, it was one problem after another.
On a good day, a well-meaning person will tell me to quit, go to AKPK (Malaysia’s debt management agency) to restructure the small debt I have just to buy time, get a job, and call it a day.
Still, doing this full-time has been an education no MBA could replicate.
If I ever go back to the workforce, I’ll bring a pretty serious bundle of scars, skills, and lived experience to the table.
So, I’ve got a big announcement by the end of this newsletter.
But first, four things I learnt bootstrapping a media business.