Alex Mulcahy of Grid: "There is a Mystique About Print."

When Alex Mulcahy started his mini-magazine empire in the early 1990s, he didn't have any experience in magazines or journalism. He just had ambition, and the ability to talk his way into something. He convinced the music shop where he worked to allow him to create a magazine.

The first year in business, he earned $390. He had a friend doing layout for free (until Alex took that over himself). He roped in as many people as he could find who would work inexpensively or for clips.

"Get people to believe in you," he said yesterday in class.

That mag grew into a publication that served small chains of independent music shops. In 2004, he and his company, Red Flag Media, launched an extreme music monthly newstand magazine, Decibel. The mag has a national distribution and high quality content.

In September 2008, Alex launched Grid magazine, largely as a labor of love. There was a movement happening that he believes in, and a market for that information. He decided to create a free print magazine because online, he feared only those already interested in the movement would find the content.

"The magazine can reach almost anyone," he said. "You just need to be somewhere where the magazine is and be bored."

Plus, print is cool, he said. It's cooler than a blog. "There is a mystique about print," he stated. And even being online has a footprint - the Internet uses resources.

His company recently created a national newstand mucic magazine called Cowbell.

Here are some other things that stood out to me:

- When he launched his mags, he had no investors.
- His small staff produces all three of the magazines, and everyone works really hard to make the company succeed. In addition to their magazines, the company also markets their creative services - design, production, branding, etc.
- He wanted Grid to be free so that it was more accessible to a larger audience. "It seemed at odds to only sell to the affluent Whole Foods shopper who already gets sustainability," he said.
- Readers do love the magazine and many would pay for subscriptions. He wants to tap into that in some way but he's not sure how to just yet.
- They've done one paid workshop that relates to the mission of Grid. They may do more. They don't make tons of money but the workshops follow the mission of the magazine (and company).

- He believes that if you sell editorial coverage (i.e. covers or reviews), you will not be taken seriously and you'll go out of business.
- He would not accept advertising from companies that are not in line with the mission of his magazines.
- Maintaining that integrity limits the amount of money that can be generated, to an extent. "How big do you want to be?" Alex asked. "Do you want to be huge or do you want to be a tastemaker?"
- Around 71 percent of Grid's readers are women. And the audience served is highly educated.
- He wants to double the circulation of Grid (it is currently publishing around 25,000 copies per issue). And he wants to pay his staff more.
- He dreams of launching a baseball magazine featuring the controversial Sabermetrics system of statistical analysis.

- "Be prepared to lose money," he said of anyone interested in launching a magazine.

What stood out for you?