The hottest Revenue Models Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

Circle S-1 Breakdown

Tanay’s Newsletter • 170 implied HN points • 10 Jun 25
🔮 Crypto Stablecoins Revenue Models Market Trends
  1. Stablecoins, like USDC and USDT, are now important for payments, moving large amounts of money much like traditional banking systems. USDC alone has handled over $25 trillion since it started.
  2. Circle, which runs USDC, makes most of its money by investing the dollars that back USDC in U.S. Treasuries. This means if interest rates drop a lot, their profits could take a big hit.
  3. Coinbase plays a huge role in Circle's success by helping to distribute USDC. They share the profits from USDC, so a lot of Circle's earnings are paid to Coinbase as part of their agreement.

How Eric Newcomer scaled his startups newsletter into a $2 million business

Simon Owens's Media Newsletter • 499 implied HN points • 06 Dec 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Startups Tech Media Revenue Models
  1. Eric Newcomer started a newsletter focused on startups and venture capital, which has become very successful. He went from traditional journalism to creating his own business.
  2. His newsletter is projected to earn $2 million a year, mostly from events he hosts. This shows that live events can be great for generating income.
  3. Working closely with a wealthy audience helped him grow his business. Being focused on a specific, affluent group made his newsletter more appealing and profitable.

Has TikTok improved its revenue share for creators?

Simon Owens's Media Newsletter • 199 implied HN points • 01 Nov 24
💼 Business Media Social media Content creation Revenue Models Digital marketing
  1. TikTok has raised its revenue share for creators, allowing them to earn more money for their popular videos. This is a big improvement compared to past payment models where payouts were very low.
  2. Many creators and entrepreneurs are finding success by selling products related to their content, showing that building a brand can lead to financial opportunities beyond just ad revenue.
  3. Platforms like Google Discover are helping publishers counteract declines in traffic from traditional search, showing the changing landscape of content distribution and discovery.

How Much Revenue Does AI Startup Sierra Need? $225M

Alex's Personal Blog • 65 implied HN points • 29 Oct 24
💼 Business Startups Venture Capital Tech Trends Market Analysis Revenue Models
  1. AI startups like Sierra are trying to improve customer service, which can be cheaper than hiring lots of workers. That's smart because AI can save money in the long run.
  2. The valuation of Sierra seems very high compared to its current revenue. This might mean they are setting themselves up for a tough future if they don't meet those big expectations.
  3. There's a sense that some investors are overestimating startups based on past successes, hoping they will grow quickly without enough proof. This approach can be risky for everyone involved.
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CIAM Market Size

ciamweekly • 62 implied HN points • 27 Jan 25
💼 Business Market Size Financial Analysis SaaS Cybersecurity Revenue Models
  1. The CIAM market is growing fast, with estimates ranging from $12.5B in 2024 to $43.6B in 2034. This shows a big interest in managing customer identities.
  2. CIAM is different from IAM, focusing on customers instead of employees. This market is not as big as data storage or CRM but has its own importance.
  3. Companies in this market can earn a lot, but revenue is unevenly spread. Some big firms like Auth0 and Ping pull in significant revenue, while smaller startups are also emerging.

From Zero to More Than 300 Paid Subscribers and Other Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Substack

Kristina God's Online Writing Club • 339 implied HN points • 14 Feb 23
💼 Business Marketing Entrepreneurship Content creation Revenue Models Subscription services
  1. You can turn 5-10% of your free readers into paying subscribers. This means that if you have a loyal audience, many might support you financially.
  2. Substack is a user-friendly platform for starting a newsletter and building a community. It's designed to help creators easily make money from their writing.
  3. Substack is growing because it offers useful features like chat and private publishing. These tools help writers connect better with their audience.

Elon Musk's big plans for Twitter

Jon’s Newsletter • 79 implied HN points • 30 Oct 22
💼 Business Social media Subscriptions Revenue Models Market Trends Digital Advertising
  1. Elon Musk wants to make Twitter more like subscription services such as LinkedIn and YouTube. He sees a future where Twitter earns up to $10 billion from subscriptions by 2028.
  2. Currently, Twitter relies heavily on advertising for its income, but Musk is looking to change that. He plans to reduce the ad revenue percentage from over 90% to around 45%.
  3. If Musk's plans succeed, Twitter might go public again. Some experts think this could happen as soon as 2026, and the company's value could rise significantly.

LabKey

Axial • 7 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
💼 Business Startups Data Management Software Development Revenue Models Partnerships
  1. LabKey provides data management solutions tailored to researchers, clinicians, and biotech companies.
  2. LabKey's evolution from a project at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to a successful software company is inspiring for startups.
  3. LabKey's strategic shift to a tiered subscription service model helped in sustaining revenue and investing in new product development.

User/Subscriber Economics: Value Dynamics

Musings on Markets • 0 implied HN points • 05 Jul 17
💼 Business Economics Valuation Revenue Models Business strategy
  1. Valuing users or subscribers involves dealing with uncertainty, and this uncertainty can come from either poor information or unpredictable market changes. It's important to acknowledge these uncertainties when assessing a business's value.
  2. Companies that grow by increasing sales to existing users typically create more value than those focusing only on adding new users. This is because it's cheaper to sell more to people who already use the service.
  3. For a business to succeed in attracting new users, it needs to balance high user value with low costs of acquiring those users. The best companies find ways to create strong networks and leverage data to enhance user experiences.

Product Management Skills - Articulating impact risk

Joseph Gefroh • 0 implied HN points • 18 Feb 24
💼 Business Product Management Risk management Revenue Models
  1. As a product manager, it's crucial to articulate and understand the impact risks associated with your work. This helps in prioritizing and addressing potential negative effects.
  2. Understanding how your company makes money is vital as a product manager. Connecting your work to the company's bottom line increases your impact and value.
  3. Knowing what is important to your company and where your team's efforts fit in is essential. Aligning your work with company priorities and goals helps mitigate impact risks and drive meaningful outcomes.

5 surprising indie businesses that somehow make good money

The Tech Bubble • 0 implied HN points • 18 Apr 24
💼 Business Revenue Models
  1. Indie businesses can generate decent revenue by simplifying and targeting specific niches, rather than chasing after complex ideas.
  2. There is a demand for tools that streamline processes, like creating short social media content or converting HTML into PDFs, saving users time and effort.
  3. Selling access to specialized databases can also be profitable in the B2B space, as compiling and organizing data can be time-consuming for businesses.

Growth (Part 2): Scaling up Growth

Musings on Markets • 0 implied HN points • 26 Oct 11
💼 Business Growth Strategies Market Competition Revenue Models
  1. As companies grow, keeping a high growth rate gets harder because they need to make bigger sales every year. It’s like trying to lift heavier weights as you get stronger.
  2. Successful companies like Apple and Google also see their growth slow down over time, showing that high growth isn't easy to maintain. Those companies are exceptions, not the rule.
  3. Analysts sometimes overestimate growth rates by not realizing how much harder it gets to grow larger companies. It's useful to think in terms of actual dollar amounts rather than just percentages to see the real challenges ahead.