Chris Best is the cofounder and CEO of Substack. Substack makes it simple for a writer to start a paid newsletter. They were in the Winter 2018 batch of YC. https://twitter.com/cjgbest https://substack.com/ Jonathan Gill is the cofounder and CEO of Backtracks. Backtracks is a podcast analytics and hosting platform. You can check them out at Backtracks.fm. https://twitter.com/jgill333 https://backtracks.fm/ The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon. https://twitter.com/craigcannon Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year. Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/ *** Topics 00:00 - Intros 00:25 - Paid vs advertising in podcasting 2:55 - Are advertisers overpaying for podcast ads? 5:35 - What percent of the market will ultimately be paid content? 7:35 - Payment mechanisms 9:10 - Price anchoring 11:50 - Individual creators vs brands 16:45 - Deplatforming 18:15 - Spotify 19:45 - Discovery and growth in newsletters 22:05 - Public and private feeds 24:45 - Apple's role 26:00 - Will education be the driver of paid content? 29:45 - Educational podcasters in China 31:45 - How are their newsletter and podcast customers growing? 35:40 - Jack Ryder asks - In 5 years time, are personal newsletters going to replace social networks like Facebook? 37:35 - Debdut Mukherjee asks - Do podcasts actually work? If so, how do startups calculate the ROI & the CAC? 43:00 - Measurement 44:45 - Best practices for new podcasters and newsletter creators
What if the future of media isn’t controlled by algorithms or legacy institutions—but by independent voices building directly with their audiences? In this episode, Erik Torenberg is joined by Chris Best, cofounder and CEO of Substack, along with a16z general partners Katherine Boyle and Andrew Chen. We trace the origin story of Substack and its cultural impact, including how it reinvented the business model for independent media. We also explore the evolution of blogging, the rebundling of media, and what the future holds as attention becomes the scarcest resource. Timecodes: 0:00 The Future of Media & Substack’s Role 0:48 The 2020 Media Landscape and Free Speech 3:19 Substack’s Founding Philosophy 6:10 The Evolution of Blogging and Business Models 8:27 Building Direct Connections with Audiences 11:41 The Vision and Growth of Substack 17:57 Algorithms, Networks, and Creator Incentives 22:00 High Value Audiences and Advertising 23:48 AI, Content Creation, and the Value of Attention 29:17 Unbundling, Rebundling, and the New Media Economy 33:01 The Future of Media 38:10 Academia, and Long-Form Writing 43:53 Substack’s Ambitions and Recent Fundraising Resources: Find Chris on Substack: https://cb.substack.com/ Find Chris on X: https://x.com/cjgbest Find Andrew Chen on Substack: https://andrewchen.substack.com/ Find Andrew on X: https://x.com/andrewchen Find Katherine on X: https://x.com/KTmBoyle Find Katherine on Substack: https://boyle.substack.com/ Stay Updated: Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16z Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details, please see a16z.com/disclosures.