In 2012, Scott Purcell started Man of Many with $20,000; 12 years later, his side project had grown into a $4.8 million-a-year media brand

Scott Purcell did not leave a secure banking career to launch Man of Many. He kept the job. Then he went home each evening and started working again. Purcell and his housemate, Frank Arthur, launched the men’s lifestyle website in December 2012. Their early operation ran from a spare bedroom in Sydney. Starter Story lists the initial cost of the venture at around $20,000.

Twelve years later, Man of Many reported a monthly revenue run rate of roughly $400,000. The figure worked out to $4.8 million a year. A modest side project had become a major independent media business.

Scott Purcell Found an Idea Inside a Shared Apartment

Purcell met Arthur through a mutual friend in 2010. Purcell was beginning his career at Westpac Institutional Bank. Arthur worked as an industrial designer.


The pair later moved into an apartment together. Both regularly exchanged interesting products they had found online. Technology was a shared interest. Design was another.

Australian readers had few digital publications bringing those subjects together in an approachable way. The gap gave them an idea.


Arthur came up with the name Man of Many. The domain was still available. Purcell used his basic WordPress knowledge to build the first website. The design was simple. Large product images did most of the visual work.

Man of Many’s official profile says the publication began in a spare bedroom and later grew to reach millions of people every month.

One Short Article a Day Became the First Growth Plan

Early ambitions were remarkably small. Purcell and Arthur planned to publish one interesting product every day. Most posts contained between 50 and 100 words. Neither founder had much knowledge of search optimization.

Consistency mattered more than polish. Readers gradually began returning to see what had been added. One daily post became two. Some days brought three. Companies also started noticing the website. Product announcements began arriving before launches. Access improved as the audience grew.

Purcell still worked in finance during the day. Arthur kept his design job. Evenings were reserved for Man of Many. Dinner usually came first. Work on the website often continued late into the night. Weekends disappeared into the project as well.

The founders maintained the schedule for almost four years.

The Article That Showed Scott Purcell a Bigger Opportunity

A change in format helped unlock wider growth. Man of Many initially published brief posts about individual products. The founders later began creating useful roundups.

One article about the best watches under $1,000 performed especially well in Google Search. New readers poured in. Much of the unexpected traffic came from the United States.

Search soon became a major source of visitors. Purcell found himself thinking about the website while sitting at his banking job. His attention was moving away from finance. The side project had become the work he wanted to do.

By 2016, Man of Many had generated around $50,000. The founders had also saved money from their salaries. They finally decided to resign. Their savings offered about six months to make the business work. Failure would mean returning to regular employment.

Leaving Their Jobs Changed the Speed of Growth

Going full-time gave Purcell and Arthur room to produce more ambitious work. They improved their photography. Video became a larger part of the website. Brand partnerships began moving beyond basic product reviews. Traffic tripled within a year of the decision.

By December 2016, Man of Many was recording more than 500,000 monthly page views. Unique monthly visitors had reached about 250,000. Its combined social following stood at 84,000.

Revenue took longer to build. Digital publishing could attract a large audience without producing a stable business. Purcell’s finance background became useful here. Costs remained controlled. Profits went back into the company.

Man of Many Built More Than One Way to Make Money

Advertising became one source of income. Affiliate commissions added another. An online shop gave readers a direct route to featured products. The company also developed branded editorial campaigns.

Its production operation expanded into video work. Live reader events created another commercial opportunity.

SmartCompany reported that revenue rose from $822,000 in the 2018-19 financial year to $2.6 million in 2020-21. Growth during the measured period reached 212.4%.

The publication remained self-funded. Purcell said the founders used their own money and occasionally relied on credit cards for early expenses. They did not use crowdfunding.

Google Changes Forced Scott Purcell to Adapt Again

Dependence on search also created a serious risk. Google’s Helpful Content Update and later algorithm changes hurt Man of Many’s organic traffic. The company responded by reducing its reliance on a single platform.

Social traffic rose by 40% year over year. Direct traffic increased by 22%. The publication also invested more heavily in its newsletter.

Commercial changes helped as well. A restructuring of the sales team contributed to an 86% jump in third-quarter revenue compared with the previous period.

By 2024, Man of Many said it had more than two million monthly readers. Its social accounts had around 800,000 followers. Revenue was running at approximately $400,000 per month.

The Real Lesson Behind Man of Many’s $4.8 Million Run Rate

Man of Many did not grow from one viral moment. A daily publishing habit built the initial audience. Search brought wider discovery. Revenue diversification made the operation more durable.

Purcell’s $20,000 experiment also benefited from patience. The founders waited four years before leaving their jobs. They gave the idea time to prove itself.

A spare-bedroom blog eventually became an award-winning media company. The path between those points was filled with ordinary evenings and repetitive work.

FAQs

Who is Scott Purcell?

Scott Purcell is the co-founder and director of Man of Many. He previously worked as a senior financial analyst at Westpac Institutional Bank.

When did Scott Purcell start Man of Many?

Purcell and Frank Arthur launched Man of Many in December 2012 as a part-time project.