Substack YC Application

Winter 2018Active

Substack went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2018 batch as a B2B company. Below: what the company does, who founded it, and its application to YC, reconstructed question by question in the real YC form.

YC batch: Winter 2018
Industry: B2BMarketing
Team size: 90
Status: Active
Launched: 2017

Founders

Chris BestFounder/CEO
Jairaj SethiFounder
Hamish McKenzieFounder/COO

What Substack does

Start a newsletter. Build your community. Make money from subscriptions. Publishing is free, with no limits. We only make money when you do.

Substack's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Substack, Winter 2018 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Substack

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

A place for independent writing.

What is your company going to make? Please describe your product and what it does or will do.

We built a platform for independent writers to start newsletters, grow their communities, and monetize through paid subscriptions. It's free to publish without limits, and we only make money when writers make money.

Where do you live now, and where would the company be based after YC?

We live in San Francisco, CA, and the company is based here after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

San Francisco has the talent and community to build and grow a product like Substack, especially one focused on independent publishing and creator economics.

21 more answers in the full application

Founders, Progress, Idea, Equity, Curious, Batch Preference are in the full version. Create a free account to open it in YC Insights, next to every other YC batch.

See full application

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the real Substack YC application?

No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from Substack's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like Substack would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.