Building Substack: Becoming a network for writers

Executive overview

Substack is shifting from a writing tool to a discovery network that creates genuine value for both writers and readers. The key insight is that direct reader-writer relationships, powered by paid subscriptions rather than ads, unlock fundamentally better user experiences.

The recommendations feature—letting writers choose whose work to promote to their audience—has become Substack's highest-impact growth driver. It works because it puts writers in control and builds on existing trust relationships. The broader strategy is to help writers own their audience, own their work, and own their monetization.

The writer economy transformation

Writers are experiencing a true golden era for the first time. Historically, the internet has had a broken economic model—publishers needed millions of views, ads, and attention games. Now, Substack shows writers can make a living (even fortunes) with far fewer people paying directly for quality work. The next phase: making it simpler to onboard, letting writers use Substack as a home base for any audience (from Instagram, YouTube, Twitter), and expanding beyond text to video, podcasts, and community.

Product structure aligned to problems, not surfaces

Instead of organizing teams by product surface (app, dashboard, podcasts), Substack organizes around customer problems and timeless missions: a writer team, a reader team, and a growth team. This structure proved resilient because it focuses on solving problems that never end, rather than features that become obsolete.

Working with a founder who has strong product instincts

Being head of product when the founder is deeply opinionated requires three things: treating your role as facilitator, not decision-maker; building trust through repeated execution; and catching up to the founder's long-term vision rather than pushing your own. Sachin's first months at Substack were spent ensuring Chris's vision was clear to the team and the team's work was visible to Chris.

The recommendations feature: Why it almost didn't ship

The original discovery instinct was obvious: algorithmic recommendations based on reading behavior, like Facebook's "People You May Know." But that breaks Substack's core principle—readers wouldn't control their experience, and writers wouldn't control what they're promoting to their audience. The alternative: ask writers who they recommend. Chris was skeptical it would work (too many steps, too much friction). It worked far faster than expected, creating a virality loop where recommended writers get alerted and can see which readers were sent to them.

Impact: Recommendations have driven millions of new subscriptions across tens of thousands of writers. More than one in three new subscriptions now come from the Substack network, and roughly one in ten paid subscriptions.

Building with writers: A playbook for responsible shipping

Instead of simply rolling out features to everyone, Substack runs small pilots with writers first (like the Product Lab). This isn't just good practice—it changes what ships. The recommendation feature looked different after feedback from early adopters.

Differences between Facebook and Substack product strategy

At Facebook, the job is managing infinite tradeoffs in a tiny rectangle. Prioritization often means "doing this kills that feature forever." At Substack, the main constraint is time—sequencing and order of operations matter more because getting the foundation right now unlocks possibilities later. There are also different types of second-order effects: Facebook's are mechanical and permanent; Substack's can be undone or adjusted.

The role of principle in prioritization

Substack starts from first principles: people should control their destiny on the internet. This means:

• Writers own what they recommend, not algorithms
• Readers own their experience, not Substack
• Writers own their audience and can export subscribers anytime
• Writers are encouraged to take breaks, charge what feels right, and experiment

This principle-first approach leads to less obvious features (curation over algorithmic recommendations) that often outperform expected outcomes.

Handling press and staying focused

About 90% of media chatter about Substack is a distraction. The key is parsing signal from noise. Maintain focus on execution; press cycles don't determine strategy.

The future: Two-sided growth

For writers: Simplify onboarding, position Substack as a home base for audiences from other platforms, expand beyond writing (podcasts, video), and invest in community tools like guest posts and built-in discussion spaces.

For readers: Build an alternative to algorithmic feeds where readers have control. The goal isn't "new social media"—it's an alternative way to spend your most valuable time, with better content and real communities.

Advice for starting on Substack

1. Just start. Go to Substack.com and begin. Don't overthink the stakes or expect immediate growth.
2. Give it 9 months to a year of consistent weekly publishing before you decide if it's worth monetizing or scaling.
3. Don't assume you're too late. The internet is still being built; there's a new opportunity every cycle.
4. Once you hit ~1,000 paying subscribers at ~$10/month, you can make a living (the 1,000 True Fans model).
5. Readers are more forgiving than you think. They're there to support you, not judge you. Take breaks, charge fairly, and don't try to be everywhere.

The interview round: Favorite Substacks and influences

Books on architecture and urban planning: Christopher Alexander's The Timeless Way of Building parallels the internet's structural problems. When the people building spaces are different from the people living in them, incentives break down—a pattern Substack is trying to fix.

Recommended Substacks:

• The Martyr Made Podcast (Daryl Cooper): Deep, narrative-driven storytelling on complex topics
• Colin Malloy (The Decemberists): Behind-the-scenes music and tour content
• The House of Strauss (Ethan Strauss): Basketball writer writing freely on diverse interests

Hiring and staying in touch

Substack is actively hiring for a senior data role focused on product and growth analytics. Reach out: sachin@substackinc.com or @SachinManga on Twitter.