# Substack

Standing (still-up). Founded 2017-07-01.
Site: [substack.com](https://substack.com)

Chris Best, Jairaj Patwardhan, Hamish McKenzie, 2017. Still the default paid email.

## Why it lasted
- It made 'email plus a paywall plus a profile' a one-click job.
- The network of writers is the moat. Readers wander writer-to-writer.

## Near deaths
- The moderation / Nazi / trust-and-safety wars. Writers threatened to leave. Some did. The big names mostly stayed.
- Beehiiv and Ghost court the ones who want out.

## What would finish it
- A platform that has the audience already (YouTube, X) adding a better paid newsletter, plus a reputational spiral that makes 'Substack writer' a slur in the rooms that pay.

[Catalog](https://stillupsince.com/) · [Suggest](https://stillupsince.com/submit)