Founder stories
$100K ARRв 6 months
2 этапов
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
Основатель
Hamish McKenzie
Сооснователи•Технический•USA
Занятость
Полная занятостьОпыт
ОпытныйПродукт
Platform enabling writers to start and run subscription newsletters.
Тип
SaaSОтрасль
Создание контентаМодель
Комиссия маркетплейсаМаркетинговая стратегия
Как Hamish привлекал клиентов
Канал роста
Сарафанное радио
Также использовал
Сообщества
Tech Stack
Инструменты, использованные для создания Substack
Ruby on RailsStripeSendGridAWS
Полная история
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
Ключевые выводы
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
Изначально опубликовано наThought Economics
Вдохновились путём Hamish? Сгенерируйте бизнес-идею в сфере Создание контента с помощью AI и реальных данных от основателей.
Путь через milestone
Hamish достиг 2 milestone на пути к $100K ARR
Первый клиент
3 months
October 2017
На 16% быстрее
vs среднее 4 months+3 months до следующего milestone
$100K ARR
$100,000
6 months
January 2018
На 84% быстрее
vs среднее 3 years6 months
Общее время пути
2
Достигнутые milestone
Путь Hamish к $100K ARRПремиум
История, решения и контекст, стоящие за этим milestone
Откройте полный путь Hamish
Смотрите полный разбор: стратегия запуска, методы валидации, стартовые затраты, экспертный анализ, replication playbook и другие практические инсайты.
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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 Сарафанное радио.
What industry is Substack in?
Substack operates in Создание контента.
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