His ambition is to build a washington , d. c. -based event thats supposed to rival the annual davos gathering in. Focusing on events β€” and focusing on events in washington , d. c. , where companies will pay a lot of money to reach a relatively. Is semafor a profitable new media company? Β· semafor ceo justin smith says his company hosted close to 100 events in 2025. How many events did semafor host in 2025? Smith , co-founder and ceo of semafor. Is semafor bucking the trend? News is a tough business. The conference is scheduled. Excellent journalism certainly helps. Β· semafor has a geographical advantage compared to davos , as its washington , d. c. , location draws politicians and cabinet officials into its programming, according to smith. So how did semafor , the news startup founded by ben smith and justin smith , figure out how to turn a profit in their third year of business? Join us for a world-class line up of live journalism during davos 2026. But it’s really because the company made two key decisions: β€œ davos is resilient, but it is losing its luster among the c-suite,” smith said. Explore the schedule and request invitations to attend our programming in-person. So how did semafor , the news startup founded by ben smith and justin smith , figure out how to turn a profit in t… Β· how to build a profitable media company in 3 years, with semafor ’s justin smith from channels with peter kafka on podchaser, aired wednesday, 14th january 2026. Β· β€œit is really turning into what will be the closest thing to what davos has accomplished in switzerland,” said justin b. Could semafor build a dc version of davos?