Substack says it could be profitable — but it still isn’t

Substack inactive isn’t profitable contempt attracting large names successful the autarkic writer world, whose newsletters and blogs rake successful a monolithic integer subscriber basal for the platform. Hamish McKenzie, 1 of Substack’s founders, told The New York Times that it could take to beryllium profitable but is focusing alternatively connected “investing successful and continuing to turn the business.”

According to the Times, X proprietor Elon Musk offered to get Substack during a telephone telephone with its CEO, Chris Best, successful April 2023. Musk adjacent reportedly suggested making Best “chief enforcement of the combined company,” but Best turned down the offer.

Substack has repeated the enactment that it could take profitability if it wanted for years. Best said connected Nilay Patel’s Decoder successful 2020 that the institution could go profitable “quickly” if its expenses didn’t grow. But its “focus has ever been connected being precise comfortably default alive” — that is, increasing and gathering investments. He besides said, “...unless you tin rise money, the institution is going to end.”

The Times details respective caller moves the institution has made to turn its concern and enactment up funds. Those see raising wealth from its writers (something Axios reports it precocious did again), starting its ain Twitter competitor, Notes, and betting connected governmental content, which has done good connected the platform. The Times writes that Mehdi Hasan’s Substack-hosted governmental outlet Zeteo is ranked 5th connected the authorities leaderboard, “generating astir $3.9 million” annually.

Most recently, the institution was reported to person been reaching retired to creators and influencers to grow beyond quality writers and go a mode to enactment creators generally.