You might not know Fred Mwangaguhunga by name, but you've definitely read his work. As the founder and CEO of MediaTakeOut aka MTONews, the media mogul has maintained a quiet empire for over a decade now. The entrepreneur's success hasn't come without relentless hard work, bulletproof business acumen and a superior understanding of his audience.
Back in 2013, The New York Times wrote that Mwangaguhunga’s “business philosophy is to give his audience what it craves: unvarnished tidbits on celebrities of interest to minorities who are passed over by more mainstream gossip outlets like People and Us." He says this principle still stands today, helping him to remain not only relevant but also on top at a time when so many other websites have attempted to emulate his success.
Most of the site's headlines are conversation starters, something you might say to a friend. This informal approach has helped the site catapult to success. There's a reason the site is one of the most popular and successful Black entertainment websites on the internet. Mwangaguhunga has said in the past that he admires "what he calls the consistency and straightforward nature of the online Drudge Report, so he has kept the style of his site bare-bones but predictable and accessible, like the Drudge site."
Today, MediaTakeOut is still going strong, so we wanted to find out how Mwangaguhunga has remained on top.