The hottest Business Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

The biggest creators are no longer in the merch business

Simon Owens's Media Newsletter • 648 implied HN points • 08 Jan 25
💼 Business Media Creators Ecommerce Streaming Content Strategy
  1. Top creators are moving away from selling low-quality merch and focusing on high-quality products that can compete with retail brands. This shift is about attracting a broader market beyond just their fans.
  2. Apple News has a huge user base and is likely the biggest source of traffic for traditional news outlets after Google. It highlights the importance of being present on major platforms to drive audience engagement.
  3. The current sports streaming landscape is complicated, with fans needing multiple subscriptions to access all games. A more straightforward solution could improve viewer experience and access to content.

Meet more of the Clipboard Sales team

Creating Value from Nothing • 53 implied HN points • 26 Nov 25
💼 Business Sales Management Teamwork Culture Growth
  1. The Clipboard team values real connections, giving employees a lot of freedom and support to build relationships with clients. Strong leadership is present in the field, not just behind a desk.
  2. Employees at Clipboard experience fast growth and ownership in their roles, allowing them to take on responsibilities quickly. This makes their work exciting and fulfilling, creating strong team bonds.
  3. There’s a positive company culture focused on learning and impact, where feedback is welcomed. This environment helps employees tackle bigger challenges and feel proud of the difference they make in people's lives.

💥Here's Adam!?💥

PETITION • 235 implied HN points • 07 Feb 24
💼 Business Bankruptcy Healthcare Finance Legal Restructuring
  1. The WeWork debtors are in conflict with landlords over unpaid rent, leading to a heated legal battle.
  2. Cano Health Inc. and its affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware due to financial struggles and bad acquisitions.
  3. The restructuring support agreement for Cano Health aims to deleverage the company's balance sheet through a sale process and a proposed $150 million DIP financing.

Long Term

Venture Prose • 479 implied HN points • 04 Jun 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Venture Capital Ethics Company Building
  1. Success often requires effort, dedication, and patience over immediate gratification.
  2. In the world of entrepreneurship and investing, it's important to have a long-term perspective and not get caught up in instant success narratives.
  3. Building meaningful companies requires ethics, rhythm, and alignment, along with cultivating long-term relationships with founders.

How Nominators on Medium Evaluate Stories for Boost (With Killer Insider Interview)

Kristina God's Online Writing Club • 479 implied HN points • 19 Aug 23
💼 Business Publishing Marketing Content creation Digital Strategy Media
  1. Medium's Boost Program helps writers get more views and earnings by promoting their stories to a wider audience.
  2. There are over 60 Boost Nominators on Medium who help select great stories to get a Boost.
  3. Nominators look for unique and insightful stories, not just those from popular writers, so having a small following doesn't stop you from being noticed.
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TBM 332: The Last Strategy Framework You'll Ever Need

The Beautiful Mess • 674 implied HN points • 09 Jan 25
💼 Business Strategy Management Innovation Consulting Operations
  1. Strategy frameworks help teams figure out what questions to ask and how to answer them. They provide tools to organize and visualize ideas for better clarity.
  2. Different strategy frameworks focus on various aspects of a business. Some are good for visual thinkers, while others suit goal-oriented people or those who prefer simpler approaches.
  3. Understanding and applying strategy is challenging because it's about real-life situations. Successful strategy involves collaboration, adaptability, and accepting uncertainty rather than relying on perfect plans.

Day One Referral Program: Invite your friends to read Day One and Win Prizes

Day One • 279 implied HN points • 13 Jan 24
💼 Business Marketing Promotion Networking Referral Program Entrepreneurship
  1. Participate in the Day One Referral Program by inviting friends to subscribe and read Day One for special benefits and access.
  2. Share your referral link to earn rewards like discount coupons for courses and even a one-on-one consulting call.
  3. Focus on genuine sharing and personal experience when promoting the program to get the best results.

What's Better: AI-enabled services or AI-SaaS?

Enterprise AI Trends • 211 implied HN points • 01 Aug 25
💼 Business Finance Investing Entrepreneurship Technology Startups
  1. AI-enabled services are all around us, with businesses using AI to automate many tasks. Companies should design their operations to fully leverage AI for better efficiency.
  2. OffDeal shows that there can be more profit in AI-enabled services compared to just selling software. They moved away from SaaS to offer full services and have seen great success because of it.
  3. Starting an AI-enabled service requires careful planning and execution. It's important to find ways to automate efficiently, but as AI becomes more common, the advantage may fade.

What 'Institutional Ready' Means for Emerging VC Funds (X-Post)

Law of VC • 268 implied HN points • 25 Jun 25
💼 Business Venture Capital Investment Strategies Fund management Financial regulation Market Trends
  1. Emerging VC funds need to show they are 'institutional ready' to attract capital. This means they must have solid operational practices like audits and compliance in place.
  2. The venture capital landscape is changing, with large funds dominating the capital flow. Many emerging managers are now developing structured approaches to compete effectively.
  3. To succeed, emerging funds should build a strong foundation early on. Having a clean data room and understanding institutional requirements can set them apart in a crowded market.

Michigan Ecosystem Builders List

Midwest Humble • 35 implied HN points • 30 Dec 25
💼 Business Startups Entrepreneurship Community Building Events Economic Development Innovation
  1. Community building is about people and partnerships, not just physical spaces. Events and hubs make that work visible and create momentum.
  2. A wide network of local leaders, meetups, accelerators, and coworking spaces across Michigan are actively supporting founders, creatives, and tech communities. They provide mentoring, programming, and connection points that keep the ecosystem growing.
  3. The region needs a more cohesive strategy to align hundreds of organizations and amplify their work so companies have reasons to scale and stay. Better coordination will help momentum lift the whole ecosystem.

Urban Paradise Lost?: The History of Seoul's Only Planned City

S(ubstack)-Bahn • 301 implied HN points • 10 Jun 25
💼 Business Urban planning Real Estate Housing Market Transportation Government Policy
  1. Wirye New Town is a planned city in Seoul that looks great on the outside, with tall buildings and parks, but residents are unhappy due to missing public transport. They have protested and even sued the government over these transportation issues.
  2. Housing prices in Wirye spiked quickly, but now many homeowners feel anxious as prices have dropped significantly. The reliance on real estate for wealth in South Korea adds to their stress during this market instability.
  3. The city’s complex administrative setup creates confusion for residents, as the differing regulations lead to issues with services and community life. This mixed governance makes it hard for residents to get the help they need.

Letters to a Young Investor: Reid Hoffman on Signals and Mirages

The Generalist • 1941 implied HN points • 16 Jan 24
💼 Business Investing Technology Venture Capital AI Startups
  1. Investors need to differentiate between signals and mirages in venture capital to find potential winners.
  2. The process of identifying successful investments involves filtering out flawed ideas and making bets on plausible opportunities.
  3. Successful investments are like oases in the technology landscape that investors strategically seek out.

Forget "GPT-Wrappers": The Future of AI Startups is Last-Mile Delivery

Entry Level Investing • 84 implied HN points • 05 Nov 25
💼 Business AI Startups Customer Experience
  1. Startups should focus on delivering AI solutions tailored to specific customer needs rather than just competing with big models. It's about making the technology usable for people.
  2. Being really in tune with customer problems is key. Companies that understand their users deeply can create more valuable and successful products than those that just offer standard solutions.
  3. Vertical-focused startups in areas like legal and healthcare will find huge success by providing precise answers, while 'good enough' solutions will dominate less critical fields. Focus on the last mile to make a real difference.

Unlocking the Time Management Puzzle

QUALITY BOSS • 59 implied HN points • 17 Jun 24
💼 Business Leadership Productivity Time management Strategy Coaching
  1. Time blocking can be challenging because admin tasks often take over the blocks. It's important to set separate times for these tasks to protect your focused work.
  2. Interruptions can break your flow, so setting 'do not disturb' periods or specific times to check messages can help. Communicating the importance of your focused time to your team is crucial.
  3. Procrastination can still happen even with a schedule. Breaking tasks into smaller steps or tackling the hardest tasks first can make projects feel more manageable.

The Cooperatist Manifesto that inspired Mondragon

The Novelleist • 879 implied HN points • 14 Oct 24
💼 Business Economics Labor Entrepreneurship Social justice
  1. José María Arizmendiarrieta believed workers should own their companies, promoting equality and fairness in the workplace. He thought that if workers shared in profits, it would create a better community for everyone.
  2. He emphasized the importance of education, encouraging workers to become skilled and capable of managing their own businesses. This led to the creation of cooperatives where everyone could participate and benefit.
  3. Arizmendiarrieta's model showed that creating jobs and opportunities for workers was essential for a prosperous society. He taught that by working together and sharing resources, communities could thrive without relying solely on government intervention.

📰 Techcrunch

First 1000 • 452 implied HN points • 19 Oct 23
💼 Business Media Startup Tech industry Acquisition Entrepreneurship
  1. TechCrunch's journey started with a personal blog and grew into a media giant through credibility and breaking big tech news stories.
  2. TechCrunch rode the wave of the Web 2.0 era, evolving from a research tool into a significant news outlet.
  3. The pivotal moment for TechCrunch was breaking the accurate story of Google acquiring YouTube, leading to a surge in subscribers and solidifying its position in the tech media industry.

Capital Cycles and AI

Mule’s Musings • 629 implied HN points • 13 Jan 25
💼 Business Capital Markets Investment strategy Economic Cycles Technological Innovation Market Trends
  1. Everything goes in cycles, including money. When investors see high returns, they jump in, but eventually, too much investment leads to lower returns.
  2. The current boom in AI feels different because it lacks a strong feedback loop that typically drives rapid investment increases. We're not yet seeing the big jumps in value that signal a bubble.
  3. Power and data centers are crucial for AI's growth, but they have slow response times. This means there might be overbuilding, which could lead to shortages and demand outstripping supply in the future.

52 Tiny Venture Lessons

The Generalist • 860 implied HN points • 31 Oct 24
💼 Business Investing Venture Capital Entrepreneurship Market Trends Startup Culture
  1. Look for unique people when investing. Different or strange backgrounds often lead to surprising success, so don’t just focus on traditional markers like good grades.
  2. Create your own investing strategy. Trying to copy what others do won't work for you, so find a method that fits your own strengths and experiences.
  3. Help without overstepping. It’s important to support startups when they ask, but don't check in too often or interfere unnecessarily.

Introducing PricingSaaS MCP

Good Better Best • 2 implied HN points • 26 Feb 26
💼 Business SaaS Pricing Product AI Market research
  1. Connect PricingSaaS MCP to your LLM (Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini) to query PricingSaaS data directly; setup takes about two minutes.
  2. Use it for pricing, packaging, and product research to see what other companies have done and get tailored feedback for launches, credit models, or price changes.
  3. Monitor competitor pricing and get market summaries — pull recent pricing changes, request additions for missing competitors, and produce instant benchmarks consultants can use with clients.

Where the crops go

Topsoil • 471 implied HN points • 31 May 23
💼 Business Agriculture Markets Demand Consumption Industry
  1. Farmers need to consider demand when deciding what crops to grow.
  2. Proximity to markets can influence a farm's choice of crops to grow.
  3. Various stakeholders, including farmers, cooperatives, commodity groups, and the government, work together to grow demand for agricultural products.

Know Your Business (KYB): The next frontier of knowing everything about your customers

Fintech Fundamentals • 471 implied HN points • 08 Aug 23
💼 Business Regulations Trends Ecosystem Opportunities
  1. KYB is an extension of KYC processes, focusing on verifying identity and assessing risk of business customers.
  2. Regulatory landscape around KYB has evolved over time, with laws requiring more scrutiny on business relationships.
  3. Major trends in KYB include the growth of fraud and cyber risks, increasing number of small businesses, and the demand for consumer-like digital experiences by SMBs.

The 3 Marketing Metrics To Rule Them All [Part 3]

Category Pirates • 471 implied HN points • 10 Apr 23
💼 Business Marketing Investment Business Growth Market cap Category Design
  1. Driving market capitalization for a growth company involves getting people to understand category potential.
  2. Marketing grounded in Category Design helps create economic conditions for a company to win by creating new market categories.
  3. Investors bet on a company's future potential, not just past performance, which relies heavily on understanding and driving the size and growth of its category.

Too Good to Be True?: Why B2B's Should Offer a Startup Discount Program

Elena's Growth Scoop • 471 implied HN points • 29 Aug 23
💼 Business B2B Startup Growth Strategy
  1. Offering a startup discount program can convert customers to paid plans, land enterprise contracts, and build your brand.
  2. A startup discount program provides an opportunity for companies to offer their product at a reduced cost to new startups.
  3. The program acts like a reverse trial, allowing young companies to experience a product's benefits before transitioning to regular pricing.

Building a Better World Without Jobs

Workforce Futurist by Andy Spence • 732 implied HN points • 11 Dec 24
💼 Business Economic Change Technology impact Wealth Distribution
  1. The traditional job is changing, and many people are finding new ways to earn money outside of formal employment. Technology is making it easier to work in more flexible and decentralized ways.
  2. We're seeing a shift toward financial security rather than full employment. Concepts like Universal Basic Income are being considered to help people when jobs are less available.
  3. The future of work may involve more projects and contracts with multiple income streams. People will likely collaborate in smaller teams and use technology to support their work.

Future of Jobs Report 2025

Workforce Futurist by Andy Spence • 634 implied HN points • 15 Jan 25
💼 Business Job Creation Skill development Workforce Trends Digital Transformation Labor Market
  1. 170 million new jobs are expected to be created by 2030, but 92 million jobs may be lost. This shows a big change in the job market.
  2. Companies are likely to focus more on skill-based hiring rather than just job experience. This means skills will matter more than degrees.
  3. The way work is done is changing, especially with machines taking on more tasks. Companies need to adapt or risk falling behind.

Enhancing Employee Experience through UX

UX Psychology • 238 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
💼 Business UX Employee Experience User Research Iterative design
  1. It is crucial to integrate UX principles into the employee experience to enhance engagement and productivity in the workplace.
  2. By applying UX methodologies like user research, iterative design, and usability testing, organizations can create environments that prioritize employee needs and well-being.
  3. UX professionals can play key roles in optimizing the employee experience by leading research, advising on best practices, and educating workplace teams on UX skills and mindsets.

What I learned from tracking 443 SaaS pricing pages

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 907 implied HN points • 16 Oct 24
💼 Business SaaS Pricing Marketing Growth Strategy
  1. Many SaaS companies are raising their prices. In 2024, about 42% of them made adjustments, with an average increase of 20%.
  2. Some companies are adding or removing plans to better meet customer needs. Others are being more strategic with their pricing pages to attract larger clients.
  3. Pricing strategies are evolving, with some companies using discounts to gain new customers while others maintain strict pricing models to target premium segments.

Chartbook 340 Against synecdoche! … A plural taxonomy of capitalist globalization

Chartbook • 686 implied HN points • 19 Dec 24
💼 Business Capitalism Globalization Economics Politics Finance
  1. Global capitalism is complex and can't just be understood as one single economy. Different sectors, like finance and agriculture, have their own unique ways of operating.
  2. It's important to recognize the different sectors of capitalism to fully understand how they interact. For example, globalization affects industries like manufacturing and real estate in distinct ways.
  3. By acknowledging that capitalism is made up of many different parts, we can avoid oversimplifying it and appreciate the specific factors at play in each aspect.

Turning on Paid Subscriptions

By Reason Alone • 80 implied HN points • 08 Nov 25
💼 Business Subscriptions Fundraising Content creation Publishing
  1. Paid subscriptions are now available for the newsletter, and it's a way to support the creator if you appreciate their work. You can choose a monthly or annual subscription.
  2. Subscribers will get some benefits, like priority access to events and possibly the ability to provide feedback on drafts. It's a way to show you're really interested in what they do.
  3. The creator is open about using the income to help with other projects and improve the quality and speed of their content, making it more valuable for subscribers.

The VC Corner 📰 #9

The VC Corner • 259 implied HN points • 20 Jan 24
💼 Business Venture Capital Startups Investment Trends Market Analysis AI Governance
  1. 38% of venture capitalists have stopped making deals in 2023. This shows a big change in the investment landscape.
  2. Successful exits for startups can lead to mixed feelings among founders and investors. It's a success, but it can also feel like losing something they built.
  3. There is a push for better governance in the artificial intelligence sector through an AI Governance Alliance. This aims to make AI use safer and more responsible.