We work with a small number of companies we genuinely believe in.
Grill Media grew out of a decade building Industry Dive — a B2B digital media company founded in 2012 that grew to reach nearly 14 million business professionals across more than 30 industries before its acquisition by Informa in 2022.
The name is a quiet callback. The company was almost called Industry Grill. That name didn't make it, but the instinct behind it did: dig seriously into something before you have anything useful to say about it.
Building a company together for over a decade teaches you things that don't show up in a job title. We've both had to think hard about every part of what makes a media business work — the economics of attention, the mechanics of audience development, the tension between editorial integrity and commercial sustainability. That full-picture experience is what we bring to the companies we work with.
Sean is a co-founder and the former CEO of Industry Dive, where he led the company from its bootstrapped beginnings to its position as a leader in vertical business media. An operator at heart, he has spent over two decades navigating the intersection of media, technology, and business strategy. Sean now serves as an advisor and board member to digital media companies, focusing on sustainable growth and operational clarity.
Ryan is a co-founder and the former Chief Revenue Officer of Industry Dive. During his ten-year tenure, he focused on building scalable revenue models and high-performing commercial teams within the B2B space. With deep experience in product-market fit and go-to-market strategy, Ryan now provides strategic counsel and board-level oversight to founders and executive teams in the media industry.
If you're wondering whether there's a conversation worth having, there probably is.