Founder stories
$100K ARRen 6 months
2 jalons
Current revenue
Substack $45M ARR March 2025 (up from $37M in 2024). $100M Series C at $1.1B valuation in 2025.
Newsletter Platform Co-Founder Gets First Publisher, $100K+ Revenue Day One
Fondateur
Hamish McKenzie
Co-Fondateurs•Technique•USA
Engagement
Temps pleinExpérience
ExpérimentéProduit
Platform enabling writers to start and run subscription newsletters.
Type
SaaSSecteur
Création de contenuModèle
Frais de marketplaceStratégie marketing
Comment Hamish a acquis ses clients
Canal de croissance
Bouche-à-Oreille
Également utilisé
Communautés
Tech Stack
Outils utilisés pour construire Substack
Ruby on RailsStripeSendGridAWS
L'histoire complète
TL;DR
Substack found the perfect first customer in Bill Bishop, who generated $100K+ in revenue on his first day going paid.
When Substack launched in July 2017, co-founder Hamish McKenzie and his team needed one perfect publisher to demonstrate their model.
The Perfect First Customer
Their first customer was Bill Bishop, who had been writing a newsletter about China for 5 years for free. His friend Ben Thompson (Stratechery founder) encouraged him to go paid.
The Launch
Bill was the ideal demonstrator - he had built up a following. When he launched his paid newsletter Sinocism on Substack in October 2017, he immediately got six-figures of revenue on day one.
The Validation
This success convinced the founders to go deeper and take a big swing at building Substack into a full platform. The company quickly added a third co-founder, Jairaj Sethi, as CTO.
- First publisher: Bill Bishop (Sinocism)
- Day one revenue: $100K+
- Platform launch: July 2017
- Business model: 10% of creator revenue
Points clés à retenir
1
Find the perfect first customer who can demonstrate your vision
2
Existing audience + monetization platform = immediate revenue potential
3
Day one success ($100K+) can validate entire business model
4
Strategic first customer creates powerful case study for future growth
Publié à l'origine surThought Economics
Inspiré par le parcours de Hamish ? Générez une idée de business dans le secteur Création de contenu grâce à l'AI et aux données de vrais fondateurs.
Parcours des jalons
Hamish a atteint 2 jalons sur le chemin vers $100K ARR
Premier Client
3 months
October 2017
16% plus rapide
vs moy. 4 months+3 months jusqu'au prochain jalon
$100K ARR
$100,000
6 months
January 2018
84% plus rapide
vs moy. 3 years6 months
Durée totale du parcours
2
Jalons atteints
Le parcours de Hamish vers $100K ARRPremium
Le chemin, les décisions et le contexte derrière cette étape clé
Débloquez le parcours complet de Hamish
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Frequently asked questions
How much does Substack make?
Substack reports $45M ARR as of March 2025. Substack $45M ARR March 2025 (up from $37M in 2024). $100M Series C at $1.1B valuation in 2025. Source: Sacra.
How long did it take Substack to reach $100k arr?
Hamish McKenzie took 6 months to reach $100k arr with Substack.
Was Hamish McKenzie a solo founder?
No. Hamish McKenzie built Substack with co-founders.
What marketing channel did Substack use to grow?
Substack grew primarily through Bouche-à-Oreille.
What industry is Substack in?
Substack operates in Création de contenu.
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