Myriam Karsch from Five Monkeys: From Publishing Director to Publisher

In the German media industry, there is a lot of restructuring but few new startups. Even rarer are female managers who take the leap to become publishers. Myriam Karsch is one of them. Within just a few years, she and Florian Boitin have built a corporate group out of a small licensing business. Both the pace and the strategy behind it are remarkable. Through the acquisition of Weka Media, Five Monkeys Media GmbH — which started with five employees and two publications—has grown in just two years into a publishing group with about 100 employees and 18 brands. Today, the Five Monkeys Group’s business includes tech products, cell phone reviews, and photography.

It All Started With a Men’s Magazine

When the publishing house Hubert Burda Media decided in 2019 not to renew the licensing agreement for the “Playboy” brand, former publishing director Myriam Karsch and editor-in-chief Boitin didn’t hesitate. They acquired the license and founded Kouneli Media GmbH. The title served as the foundation for what has since become a medium-sized publishing company. With the founding of Five Monkeys Media, the circle of shareholders also grew: Andreas Laube, Florian Schuster, and Wolfgang Heinen are now part of Five Monkeys Media. Together with Kouneli Media and Kouneli Sports, it is a 40-percent subsidiary of Kouneli Holding.

As they built the company, one thing was always clear to Karsch and Boitin: In the long run, they didn’t want to remain limited to a pure licensing business. “Our goal was not to make ourselves dependent on licenses, but to use them to make money first,” says Karsch. The acquisition of Weka Media Publishing took Five Monkeys to a whole new level. “Compared to the acquisition of Fotocommunity, the deal meant a fivefold increase in staff, investment, and revenue,” says Karsch, looking back.

From a Mainstream Title to the Special-Interest Segment

It may seem surprising at first that the editor-in-chief of the German edition of *Playboy*, of all people, is investing her money in tech and photography brands. For Karsch, however, there’s no contradiction here. What matters, she says, isn’t the genre, but the strength of a brand and its community. “Journalistically well-crafted products remain attractive, especially in the special-interest segment,” she says.

That’s why they did a thorough analysis before making the purchase. How many subscribers are there? How large is the fan base? How active is the community? And what growth opportunities does the brand still have? For months, the team analyzed revenue streams, structures, brands, and the organization. Only then did a clear picture emerge of what the new company should look like in the future.

In many areas, little remained the same after the acquisition. Early this year, Five Monkeys restructured its management and corporate structure. Today, the business rests on two pillars: the former Weka Media Publishing operates as Five Monkeys Tech, and the former Fotocommunity as Five Monkeys Imaging. Above them all stands Five Monkeys Media GmbH.

Today, a Renowned Tech Testing Lab is Part of the Publishing Company

The Connect Test Lab plays a special role within the new group. While even high-reach media brands now want to monetize product testing, Five Monkeys focuses on technical depth. The lab houses technology worth millions. Added to this is a database of test results built up over the years. Karsch sees this as a competitive advantage over platforms where product testing is primarily a commercial business model. “Our readers trust our tests because they meet scientific standards.” For them, credibility is more important than sheer size: “It is the cornerstone of independent journalism. Reach is secondary.”

The integration also included a restructuring. Departments such as IT, Sales, and Consumer Revenues were consolidated and transformed into group-wide service units. This resulted in the elimination of nine positions. “That was an important step toward keeping the publishing house profitable in the long term,” says Karsch. The editorial departments, on the other hand, were spared from cutbacks and mergers. They continue to operate largely autonomously. For Karsch, this is crucial to ensuring that the individual brands retain their identities.

Now it’s Time to Clear the Backlog of Reforms

But the strategy isn’t just about building on existing strengths. In some areas, Five Monkeys first needs to make up for lost ground. That’s why the relaunch of “connect.de” is high on Karsch’s agenda. The platform is being technically rebuilt and modernized. The Fotocommunity project was a similarly major undertaking. In the past, users had criticized, among other things, outdated features, a lack of interaction, and a pricing model that was difficult to understand. Five Monkeys now wants to once again focus more strongly on fulfilling the promise embedded in the name: community. The approximately 500,000 active members should be able to connect with one another more easily. At the same time, the subscription model has been revised.

Subscriptions play a central role in Karsch’s strategy. Five Monkeys relies heavily on recurring revenue in both digital and print formats. Karsch believes the notion that printed magazines can no longer attract new customers has been disproved. Even relatively simple promotional campaigns for “Connect” and “DigitalPhoto” have recently resulted in numerous new subscriptions.

Her model thus focuses on something that is easily overlooked in the media business, which is dominated by the pursuit of reach: A manageable but clearly defined target audience can be extremely attractive from a business perspective—if it trusts a brand, is willing to pay for content, and remains appealing to advertisers. “Especially in niche markets, print can continue to be an important component of the business model,” says the publisher.

Greater Visibility for Women in Leadership Roles

And what does this big leap mean for Karsch herself? With the growth of Five Monkeys, she’s gained one thing above all else: even more work. Which she apparently doesn’t mind at all. “I just get bored easily. That’s why I look for new challenges every two years,” says Karsch, who also serves as spokesperson for Five Monkeys’ executive board. “I think it’s important for women in leadership positions to be visible.” That’s why, in her role as a board member of MVFP-Bayern, she launched the new “Women in Media” initiative. “We want to bring female decision-makers together to exchange ideas, and that’s why we’re advocating for a stronger presence.”