Building Substack: Reinventing Culture through Subscriptions
a16z Podcast
Deep Dive
Why did Substack choose email as its core technology despite its age?
Email was chosen because it allows creators to have a direct connection with their audience without needing an app or being mediated by social algorithms. It’s a simple, accessible technology that works universally, making it ideal for early growth and audience engagement.
What was the initial success story of Substack in its first year?
Substack launched in October 2017 with its first customer, who made $100,000 on the first day. This early success provided momentum, even though it took three years to find another customer of similar caliber. The platform eventually grew to host creators making millions of dollars.
How did Chris Best’s experience at Kik influence the creation of Substack?
At Kik, Chris Best learned the importance of building systems that people spend their lives in and the impact of social technology. This experience shaped his belief in creating a platform like Substack, where creators could own their audience connection and monetize their work directly.
What is Substack’s vision for the future of media in the AI era?
Substack sees AI as a tool to enhance creative leverage, enabling creators to produce high-quality content more efficiently. The platform is expanding into multimedia, including podcasts and video, while maintaining its core mission of empowering creators to own their audience relationships and monetize their work.
How has Substack evolved its technology platform since its inception?
Substack started with email as its core technology but has since expanded to include an app, machine learning recommendations, and AI tools for video editing and transcription. The focus remains on making it easy for creators to publish and monetize their work while maintaining a direct connection with their audience.
What role does the Substack app play in the platform’s strategy?
The Substack app serves as a central destination for readers to access content from their favorite creators. It enhances the user experience by enabling multimedia content like podcasts and video, while also helping creators expand their reach and monetization opportunities.
How does Substack differentiate itself from traditional media platforms?
Substack allows creators to own their audience relationships, maintain creative freedom, and monetize their work directly. Unlike traditional media, it avoids algorithmic mediation and gives creators full control over their content and business model.
What is Substack’s approach to integrating AI into its platform?
Substack is leveraging AI to enhance creative tools, such as video editing and transcription, while maintaining a focus on human-driven content. The platform is also exploring AI’s potential to improve recommendations and operational efficiency, ensuring creators can produce high-quality work more easily.
What impact has Substack had on creators’ lives and careers?
Substack has transformed creators’ lives by enabling them to monetize their work directly and achieve financial independence. For example, one creator initially struggled to set up her Substack but eventually made over a million dollars annually, allowing her husband to quit his job and spend more time with their family.
How does Substack view the future of content creation in a world of abundant content?
Substack believes that in a world of abundant content, the real challenge is allocating scarce attention. The platform focuses on helping creators produce valuable, trusted content that resonates with audiences, emphasizing the importance of human connection and curation over algorithmic distribution.
- Difficulty of allocating scarce attention in a world of abundant content
- Rise of Substack as a significant platform