Substack
YC W18San Francisco, US · Founded 2017 · Delaware corporation · 90 employees · 10 known investors
Find your way into Substack
671 people in our graph share verified history with the Substack team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Garry Tanunlockedknows Hamish McKenzie · together at Y Combinator (overlapped)
×7knows the team · via Y Combinator
×2knows the team · via University of Waterloo
knows the team · via Tesla
knows the team · via iAnywhere
Substack is a publishing platform that allows writers to create newsletters, cultivate audiences, and earn revenue through reader subscriptions.
Enterprise SoftwareMarketing TechMarketplacesMarketplaceUnited States of AmericaAmerica / CanadaPartly Remote
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (W18)
Substack was founded in 2017 by Chris Best, Jairaj Sethi, and Hamish McKenzie.
CB
JS
Jairaj SethiinFounder
HM
Hamish McKenzieinFounder/COOHe previously worked as a journalist covering technology and business, including as lead writer for Tesla, and has contributed to publications across New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, the UK, and the US.
Board
AC
Investors · 10
Connetic VenturesCovington · $250K – $500K
FundersClubSan Francisco · $250K – $5M
J17 Capital
Wisdom VenturesLos Gatos
Wonder VenturesLos Angeles · $100K – $1.5M
Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K
Andreessen Horowitzreported · 3 sourcesMenlo Park · $500K – $50Mvia Andrew Chen · led
Bond Capital ManagementreportedSan Francisco · $100K – $25M
Fifty YearsreportedSan Francisco · $250K – $2M
Also in the syndicate · 1
Chernin Group
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements$187.4M disclosed across 4 rounds · 2019–2025
- $100MraisedJul 2025 · 3 sources
Andreessen Horowitz, Chernin Group
Source ↗
▶$3.3MraisedMay 2023 · 1 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(c)
▶$3.3MraisedMay 2023 · 1 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(c)Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Hamish McKenzieDirector
- Christopher BestExecutive Officer, Director
- Andrew ChenDirector
- Offering amount
- $5M
- Amount sold
- $3.3M
- First sale
- May 2023
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06c
▶$65MraisedJun 2021 · 33 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
▶$65MraisedJun 2021 · 33 investors · Other
Rule 506(b)Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Christopher BestExecutive Officer, Director
- Hamish McKenzieDirector
- Andrew ChenDirector
- Offering amount
- $65M
- Amount sold
- $65M
- First sale
- Apr 2021
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2017
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$19.1MraisedJul 2019 · 32 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
▶$19.1MraisedJul 2019 · 32 investors · Other
Rule 506(b)
Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Christopher BestExecutive Officer, Director
- Hamish McKenzieDirector
- Andrew ChenDirector
- Offering amount
- $19.1M
- Amount sold
- $19.1M
- First sale
- Jul 2019
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2017
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Competitors · 1
by search overlap
Companies competing with Substack for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
In the news
Why is Naomi Klein Funding Substack’s Hate Machine?karlbode.com · Jul 2026Frequently asked questions
- What does Substack do?
- Substack is a publishing platform that allows writers to create newsletters, cultivate audiences, and earn revenue through reader subscriptions.
- Who founded Substack?
- Substack was founded by Chris Best, Jairaj Sethi, Hamish McKenzie in 2017.
- Who are Substack's investors?
- Substack's investors include Connetic Ventures, FundersClub, J17 Capital, Wisdom Ventures, Wonder Ventures, Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, Bond Capital Management and 1 more.
- How much funding has Substack raised?
- Substack has disclosed $187.4M raised across 4 rounds.
- Where is Substack headquartered?
- Substack is headquartered in San Francisco, US.