Unwell: How Alex Cooper Turned a Podcast Into a $500M Media Company

Alex Cooper's Unwell started in 2023 as a podcast network built around Call Her Daddy. It now sells drinks, ads and video series and was valued at a reported $500 million in 2026. Here is the model, the setbacks and the lessons.

Alex Cooper Unwell is the company the Call Her Daddy host built so that her audience would feed more than one show. Co-founded in 2023 with Matt Kaplan, her husband, it has added a drinks line, an ad agency and reality-style video series, and Tubefilter reported in August 2026 that it reached a $500 million valuation after an investment from WTSL.

The story is useful for any founder whose first asset is an audience: how to turn attention into several revenue lines, and what breaks when the business depends on talent that can walk away.

Timeline: from podcast host to company founder

When Milestone
2023 Unwell Network launches with Alix Earle and Madeline Argy
2024 SiriusXM deal adds ad sales for the whole roster
February 2025 Earle’s Hot Mess leaves the network
2025 Unwell Hydration launches; Creative Agency opens
2026 Winter and Summer Games series; WTSL investment

How the Unwell network started

Unwell began as a podcast network that borrowed Cooper’s reach to launch other people’s shows. SiriusXM’s 2024 release says Cooper set up a parent company called Trending with a subsidiary, Unwell Audio Network, alongside Kaplan.

The first signings were creators who already had large followings. Tubefilter reported in September 2023 that within two months of launch, Earle’s new show Hot Mess and Call Her Daddy held the top two spots on Spotify’s podcast chart, and that TikToker Madeline Argy was the other launch partner. By June 2025, Forbes counted seven shows on the network besides Call Her Daddy.

The Unwell business model

Unwell makes money in four ways, and each one reuses the same young, largely female audience. A business model, in plain terms, is the list of things a company sells and who pays for them.

  • Podcasts and ads. Under the 2024 agreement, SiriusXM sells the advertising on every Unwell show, audio and video alike, on an exclusive basis, so the network earns from shows it produces without running its own ad sales team.
  • Beverages. Forbes reported that Unwell Hydration launched in 2025, reached Target, Meijer and Sprouts, and signed as an official partner of the National Women’s Soccer League. The brand site now calls the drinks company a subsidiary of the network and lists energy and protein drinks alongside hydration.
  • Agency work. The Unwell Creative Agency, announced in October 2025, sells campaigns that reach Gen Z through sponsored content, events and podcasts. Tubefilter reported that Google signed a multi-year agreement as its first major client.
  • Video and talent programs. Unwell Winter Games was scheduled to premiere on YouTube in April 2026, and Unwell Summer Games was set for September, Tubefilter reported. Unwell University signs college creators, whose median reach Tubefilter put at about 31,000 followers.

Cooper explained the agency pitch to the Wall Street Journal, as quoted by Tubefilter: “Gen Z has grown up scrolling their feeds, but the reality is, they’re just being bombarded by sometimes tone-deaf brands.”

Funding and valuation

The outside investment reported so far came in 2026. Tubefilter reported that WTSL, led by Patrick Whitesell, made a strategic investment that valued Unwell at $500 million, without disclosing how much it put in. Cooper said in a statement quoted by Tubefilter that the company was “poised to accelerate our media platform’s growth through acquisitions and investments.”

A valuation is what one round of investors agreed the business was worth on paper, so it can rise or fall at the next deal. It is not revenue, and it does not tell you what Cooper or Kaplan personally own. For founders, the practical effect is that the money gives Unwell the means to buy shows rather than only build them.

What went wrong, as reported

Reported problems fall into two groups, talent retention and workplace complaints, and Cooper has rejected the latter, calling the claims a “smear campaign,” according to Maxim. Maxim’s July 2026 write-up of Forbes’ podcast earnings list referred to public allegations of a toxic workplace inside Unwell and did not say who made them.

Talent loss is the documented problem. In February 2025, Tubefilter reported, citing Variety, that Unwell renounced its rights to Earle’s Hot Mess, freeing her and the podcast to leave. Tubefilter also cited a 2026 Bloomberg report describing high turnover and a “sputtering slate of shows.” Industry coverage of Forbes’ 2026 podcaster list made a similar point: creator-led networks have struggled to produce hits beyond their flagship programs, though they can become valuable long-term assets.

What went right

Call Her Daddy stayed at the center, and the company sold the audience in formats that do not depend on any one signing. The SiriusXM deal turned Call Her Daddy’s leverage into ad coverage for the whole roster. The beverage line put the Unwell name on retail shelves, and the agency turned Cooper’s knowledge of her audience into a service brands pay for directly. Forbes also noted that she was producing a Hulu reality series, Overboard For Love.

Lessons from Alex Cooper Unwell for founders

  1. Use the flagship to negotiate for the whole portfolio. Bundling network ad rights into the SiriusXM deal gave smaller shows a sales team on day one.
  2. Own the contracts, not just the relationships. When a launch partner leaves, what the company keeps depends on who holds the rights; Unwell gave up Hot Mess entirely.
  3. Diversify into products the audience already uses. Drinks and campaigns earn money even in months when no new show breaks out.
  4. Plan for the key-person risk. Tubefilter noted that creator media firms tend to lose talent once their stars outgrow the brand. A company built around one host needs other reasons to exist.
  5. Treat a valuation as a tool, not a score. The WTSL round funds acquisitions; it does not settle whether the network can grow beyond its founder.

Other creator companies are working through the same questions; our look at the Dude Perfect investment covers a sports-comedy group that also took outside money to grow beyond its channel. In October 2026, Unwell announced its newest class of Unwell University creators.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns Unwell?

Cooper and Kaplan, who are married and run the business together, are its founders, according to SiriusXM and Tubefilter. WTSL, the firm led by Patrick Whitesell, made a strategic investment in 2026. Ownership percentages have not been disclosed.

What is Unwell worth?

The WTSL deal valued it at $500 million, per an August 2026 Tubefilter report. That is a private-round valuation, not audited revenue or profit.

What does Unwell sell?

Podcasts and video series, advertising through SiriusXM, branded work through the Unwell Creative Agency, and Unwell beverages, which its site says now include energy, protein and hydration drinks.

Where can you buy Unwell Hydration?

Forbes reported in 2025 that it was stocked at Target, Meijer and Sprouts. Check the brand site for current retailers.

Sources

This article is general information for founders and is not accounting, legal or investment advice. Net worth figures are estimates published by the outlets named, on the dates shown. They are not disclosed by the people profiled, they move with markets and private valuations, and different publications reach different numbers. Found Founders is not affiliated with anyone profiled here.