Substack's Hamish McKenzie on the Future of Journalism and Media

Substack's Founding Vision

• 💡 The core vision for Substack, founded in 2017 by Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie, was to shift the customer base of media from advertisers to consumers.
• 🎯 This shift aimed to change the incentives and improve the quality of media by directly aligning creators with their audience's interests.
• 🔑 The model was inspired by Ben Thompson's 'Strateery' newsletter, which offered paid content via email, making it easy for any writer to adopt a similar paid subscription model.

The Power of Direct Audience Relationships

• 🚀 Substack empowers creators by enabling them to own their audience relationships, offering more control over their destiny.
• 💬 This direct connection fosters a relationship where readers want to see the world through the creator's eyes and understand complex issues.
• 🔑 Key elements for success include a strong worldview, a distinct voice, and quality of thought.

Beyond Text: Expanding Media Formats

• 📺 Substack is evolving beyond its text-based origins, embracing audio and video content to cater to diverse creator and consumer preferences.
• 📚 The platform is also venturing into book publishing, with novels finding a home on Substack.
• 🌐 Creators can build their own