Behind the Site

Substack

substack.com

Subscription publishing platform letting writers, podcasters and video creators reach paying audiences via newsletters.

  • Creator economy / media publishing platform
  • active
  • Founded 2017
  • Researched Sep 2026
Confirmed
Age9 yearsDomain registered 2010
Confirmed
Based inSan Francisco, California
Unverified
Employees50-250Wikipedia cites 94 employees as of June 2022; later aggregator counts (1,000+) appear inflated, likely including non-staff creators, so treated as unreliable
Likely
FundingVenture fundedSeed · Series A $15M · Series C $100M
Confirmed
PlatformsWeb, iPhone, Android
Confirmed
Founders3 foundersChris Best, Hamish McKenzie, Jairaj Sethi

The story

Substack was started in 2017 by Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie and Jairaj Sethi, three former Kik Messenger and PandoDaily colleagues, to let independent writers monetize newsletters directly. It grew from an email-first tool into a broader creator platform adding podcasts, video, chat, live-streaming and a social feed called Notes, while fending off a reported Elon Musk acquisition approach in 2023. As of mid-2025 it is a venture-backed unicorn valued at over $1.1 billion, still led by its three co-founders.

Timeline

  1. Founded2017

    Substack founded

    Started by Best, McKenzie and Sethi as a newsletter tool

  2. Funding2018

    Seed round

    Backed by Chernin Group, ZhenFund and angels

  3. Funding2019

    Series A, $15.3M

    Led by Andreessen Horowitz

  4. New platform2019

    Podcast support added

    Creators could monetize podcasts on Substack

  5. MilestoneApr 2023

    Musk acquisition approach rejected

    Elon Musk discussed buying Substack; offer declined

  6. FundingJul 2025

    Series C, $100M

    Round valued Substack at over $1.1 billion

Founders

  • Chris Best

    CEO

    Co-founder of Kik Messenger before starting Substack

  • Hamish McKenzie

    Co-founder

    Former PandoDaily tech reporter, co-founder of Substack

  • Jairaj Sethi

    Co-founder

    Former head of platform and principal developer at Kik Messenger

6 sourcesEvery fact above links back to these.
  1. Substack - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
  2. Substack Raises $100 Million in Funding from the Chernin Group, Andreessen Horowitzhollywoodreporter.com
  3. Substack raises $100M, becoming unicorn with $1.1B valuationaxios.com
  4. Substack | FundersClubfundersclub.com
  5. Who owns Substack? Ownership structure explainedrevenuememo.com
  6. Substack on the App Storeapps.apple.com
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