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Rafat Ali started blogging three years ago as a way to land a job. Instead of looking for a job, he ended up running a new media start-up. The blog has grown from a one-person operation to a new media start-up with a strong revenue stream. His three sites: paidContent, Moconews and ContentSutra log about five million visitors a month.

SM: Can you talk about the recent sale of the company? RA: We were in the middle of raising our second round. We decided somewhere, probably mid last year, that we could leverage more money. For all intents and purposes we were still bootstrapped. If we could get a specific amount of money, we could hire another person.

SM: Who are your primary advertisers? What is the source of revenue? RA: Over the years it has broadened quite a bit. The focus quickly expanded to cover all digital media. We follow all the ways content is paid for, whether it is subscription, hybrid models, pay per view, etc.

My first book, Entrepreneur Journeys (Volume One), is available on Amazon.com SM: When did you finally close the investment deal with Alan Patricof? RA: It was in the middle of 2006. I believe it closed in June. SM: How much was the investment? RA: We did not announce the amount, but it was less than $1 million.

SM: You turned down some private investors, what about institutional investors? RA: We started to get interest from companies who wanted to buy us in late 2005. I had a friend who had a friend who helped me sort through it, and we went through the normal gyrations.

SM: How did getting married affect the business? RA: I had to go away for about 40 days because my wife, who is of Indian origin, was from South Africa. The marriage was in South Africa and the reception was going to be in India. The entire ordeal was going to take 40 days.

SM: How many email newsletter subscribers and website visitors did you have at that point? RA: This was in 2003 and it was probably a couple of hundred. At that point I was still hoping to find a job in London as a journalist, but some offers to advertise on my site made me think twice.

SM: The fellowship you received enabled you to attend Indiana University. Were there any requirements tied to that fellowship? RA: Two of us were given a fellowship, and our mandate was to create an intranet for the university’s professors to use.

Rafat Ali is a journalist, pioneering blogger, and entrepreneur. Editor & Publisher has called Rafat “journalism’s poster boy for career independence from news companies”. I am very pleased to share his story of persistence and success.

Photo of Rafat Ali by RexHammock At a time when the newspaper industry is as much in flux as it has ever been, this story may come as an ultimate motivator for some of you. Rafat Ali, born in India, is the creator of paidContent.org and contentNext.com.