Publication platform beehiiv lately celebrated its four-year anniversary by launching a collection of recent options, together with an AI web site builder, in addition to help for podcasts and promoting digital merchandise.
In different phrases, beehiiv is about greater than newsletters now. Co-founder and CEO Tyler Denk (who writes a preferred startup publication of his personal) spoke to TechCrunch about why the corporate has been increasing, explaining that it was largely in response to buyer demand, significantly since beehiiv provided very primary weblog templates from the beginning.
“All of our users were like, ‘Hey, this is great, I like using your email stuff, [but] my blog looks like everyone else’s. It’s terrible. It’s not customizable. I want to sell courses. I want to collect leads. I want more flexibility on my website,’” Denk recalled. “So that led us to acquiring TypeDream — they were a YC company to address that need, as people wanted better websites. Then, you know, you give an inch, they ask for a mile.”
This does imply beehiiv is turning into extra aggressive with different creator platforms, even those that weren’t essentially centered on newsletters. Certainly, Denk predicted that we’ll see extra of “this feature creep of consolidation across the creator stack and content stack.”
That doesn’t, nonetheless, imply that Denk thinks the alternatives for brand new newsletters have dried up.
“Quality content will always rise to the top,” he stated, and there could be much more alternative because the social media panorama turns into extra fragmented.
Learn a transcript of our dialog, edited for size and readability, beneath.
Techcrunch occasion
San Francisco
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October 13-15, 2026
You’ve repeated this quote that beehiv is “arming the rebels of digital content.” What do you imply by that?
I obtained the inspiration from the president of Shopify [about] arming the rebels of digital commerce — I feel that’s what he stated.
The promise of the creator financial system is taking energy from establishments, giving it to people, and permitting them to succeed. Going again via who really had the technique of distribution and energy beforehand, and now this new distributed, unbiased media world, the place lots of people go to their favourite podcasters or content material creators for data, the place it was the large TV and radio applications.
And [there’s a] democratization of data, but in addition the flexibility for folks to succeed on the web by creating content material is consistently evolving. I feel the developments are beginning to speed up a bit extra. The newest election 12 months confirmed lots about what really moved the needle for votes and all the pieces else. You’re seeing this huge wave.
This 12 months, we’ve seen tons of those journalists, whether or not it’s from The Washington Publish or different conventional retailers, the place these folks have constructed up these private manufacturers, they’ve their beat, they know their viewers rather well, and so they really now have the instruments and capabilities to go unbiased. I feel that’s inspiring and enjoyable and fascinating, and ideally, we could be a part of the toolkit to assist empower them.
Though one of many fascinating issues about beehiiv is that you just’re working with these particular person creators, however you’re additionally working with bigger publications like TechCrunch, and also you’ve obtained much more legacy publications on the platforms as nicely. What’s it like attempting to construct a platform that serves these totally different wants?
It’s a fantastic query, and it’s really why we led with this tagline throughout our occasion: the working system of the content material financial system. As a result of I don’t wish to be painted into simply the creator financial system. And we do serve TechCrunch and Time and Newsweek and all of those giant publishers, and we serve them extraordinarily nicely, simply as we serve the lengthy tail of content material creators rather well.
There needs to be some commonality in that, and it’s simply [that] content material is what makes their enterprise run, and that we predict we will actually be the working system and assist them reach doing that. My thesis from manner again once I was at Morning Brew, and I used to be the second worker, I constructed all of their inside infrastructure and helped them scale. And after we have been constructing Morning Brew, we had 3 million readers at a time, and all of those unbiased journalists and writers and smaller retailers got here to us being like, “We want the same toolkit that you have.” All the way in which right down to somebody who’s writing [for] 10 folks, their greatest pals and their mother and like that.
The preliminary thesis for beehiv was: Can we construct enterprise stage software program like we constructed at Morning Brew, that any of those giant publishers would need … however make it reasonably priced for the lengthy tail of everybody to have entry to that? In order that’s how we discovered ourselves on this bizarre spot of true enterprise-level software program, the place my brother launched a UFC publication final week with 5 folks [reading] it, and there he’s utilizing the identical toolkit that Time is utilizing, and TechCrunch.
It makes it harder on the product advertising aspect of issues, PR is harder, how we discuss our customers is troublesome, as a result of they’re cohorted, however I nonetheless consider all of them need the identical factor. In the end, it’s a seamless expertise to create content material, but in addition [to] develop quicker and earn more money. And if we will do these three issues and play properly with the opposite instruments of their tech stack, it’s normally the successful components.
You talked about your latest launch occasion, the place my takeaway was that beehiiv is not only a publication firm anymore — most notably, you now have this AI web site builder. Was that all the time the route you needed to go in, or did that come later?
So no, I’d say a lot of the roadmap really simply comes from suggestions from our customers. I feel our superpower is, we take heed to our customers higher than anybody else does, and we really act on it in a short time.
In the event you requested me 4 years in the past, [I’d say] we’re the very best publication platform that has this advert community that may democratize entry to premium promoting, type of like what YouTube did for video. However we will try this for e-mail, and which means manufacturers like Nike and Netflix with the ability to sponsor all of those totally different newsletters, and these newsletters accessing manufacturers they in any other case by no means would have had. And I feel that’s actually thrilling, and that’s a giant imaginative and prescient in itself, and it’s nonetheless a part of the imaginative and prescient.
We rolled out from day one a really primary web site builder — I wouldn’t even name it a web site builder, it’s like a weblog template that you just had by default. All of our customers have been like, “Hey, this is great, I like using your email stuff, [but] my blog looks like everyone else’s. It’s terrible. It’s not customizable. I want to sell courses. I want to collect leads. I want more flexibility on my website.” In order that led us to buying TypeDream — they have been a YC firm to deal with that want, as folks needed higher web sites. Then, you recognize, you give an inch, they ask for a mile. We construct this new web site builder, and we launched it in July, and folks [say], “That’s amazing, now I’m actually using you guys for my website, but there’s things I had on WordPress or Wix that I could do that I now can’t do, like booking time, selling digital products, courses, embeds, all that type of stuff.”
We launch one thing to deal with a necessity, and that opens up a broader market. And I feel our superpower exterior of listening to customers is de facto simply product velocity and engineering. If we predict we will serve these customers higher than anybody else, [it’s] simply the pure march to the subsequent factor that may serve them.
One facet of this development is that any platform that’s has some type of creator instrument — in case you’re centered on one space, whether or not that’s subscriptions or newsletters or no matter, you inevitably begin including issues and, I wouldn’t have considered beehiiv being aggressive with Patreon a pair years in the past, but it surely appears like each creator platform in the end turns into aggressive with all of the others, since you’re attempting to do all these various things.
I’ve been saying it lately: I feel there’s going to be big consolidation within the creator area. I don’t know if that’s via corporations going out of enterprise, or M&A or merging, or what, however we’ve already seen among the conventional creator financial system platforms increase. Perhaps they have been link-in-bio, after which they launch a web site builder, or perhaps they have been programs and neighborhood, however then they launch a publication or an e-mail platform.
I do suppose you’re going to see this characteristic creep of consolidation throughout the creator stack and content material stack. My wager is, e-mail may be very troublesome to do. There’s tons of infrastructure, it’s very difficult at scale. I feel it’s one of many extra aggressive wedges, as a result of it’s the technique of communication. And I’m making the wager that we will go into web site, link-in-bio, programs, neighborhood higher than they might go the opposite manner.
Clearly, you consider you’ve gotten the very best product. However is there one thing else on the core that you just suppose makes beehiiv totally different from these different platforms?
It’s more durable to quantify, but it surely’s the product high quality and excellence. There’s a number of platforms, even exterior the creator financial system, that I take advantage of on a day-to-day foundation, which aren’t the best software program. One factor I’ve been saying lots lately is, I would like beehiiv to be probably the most pleasant product that anybody makes use of on a day-to-day foundation, and I feel now we have a possibility to make it simply an fulfilling expertise.
[Also,] a lot of the creator companies are take charge companies, and we don’t take a minimize of income, whether or not it’s paid subscriptions, digital merchandise, appointments, gross sales. That’s simply our ethos: We don’t consider [that] by connecting Stripe and doing that as a intermediary, that we ought to be taking a ten% price.
We transfer rapidly, not simply out of necessity, however we predict our customers have a number of wants, and we will serve them faster and higher. I feel that shines via in what we’re constructing.
As you evolve and increase into these different areas, are you continue to dedicated to that concept of that you just’re not going to be taking a minimize of any of those income streams? Or may you think about some situations the place perhaps the core product has SaaS pricing, however there’s totally different product strains and enterprise fashions?
Our objective is to not cost a take charge on something, solely the subscription price.
In your submit, you talked about this concept that, particularly earlier this 12 months, you needed to place a number of power into growing model consciousness. I stay in New York, so I’ve seen a number of the beehiiv advertisements on the subway. How profitable do you’re feeling like these advertisements have been?
That point, particularly, was positively probably the most progress we’ve ever seen — actually going all-in on model and attempting to make a press release.
And I feel the product at present is 10x what it was again then. We’re actually prepared for the mainstream, to have the ability to serve a a lot wider cohort of customers. I’d anticipate extra of that in Q1 [of next year.] I feel we’re going to go a lot more durable into advertising and progress.
I imply, the job’s by no means carried out on the product aspect. There’s all the time issues we will enhance. However I feel the product’s in a fantastic place the place we will help and convert customers and proceed to ship our promise to them. Now we’d like everybody in New York and everybody who has the ambition to construct one thing on their very own, round their content material, to know precisely who we’re as an organization.
Philosophically, I feel we’re getting in a really totally different route than Substack, however due to after we launched, we’re all the time in comparison with them. And [with their] first mover benefit, they positively have extra of the model title. We have to make up some floor there.
Regardless that beehiiv has grow to be extra seen this 12 months, it does really feel like Substack has actually carried out this wonderful job of constructing their title virtually synonymous with the concept of: You’re going to start out a publication round your private model, and it’s going to be newsletter-centric, that’s a Substack. Is that one thing that worries you? Would you like extra of that mindshare?
Yeah, for positive. We positively need the highest of thoughts, and we positively need the mindshare there. [But] like I stated, we’re getting in two very totally different instructions. I feel they’re attempting to construct a social feed to compete with X and Threads and Instagram and Bluesky and all of that. We’re simply instruments and infrastructure.
The analogy I all the time use is Amazon versus Shopify. You go to Amazon, there’s thousands and thousands of third-party sellers, however you don’t actually know who they’re. The third-party sellers don’t get the info. The patron goes via the Amazon app, the Amazon web site, [their order] exhibits up in an Amazon field. It’s very Substack — going via their app, they take management over the reader expertise, you’re giving up a number of management and information.
We’re very a lot the Shopify — instruments and infrastructure within the background to assist help these content material companies. We’re not having folks launch beehiivs. We’re merely simply the instruments and infrastructure to assist them succeed. And I feel that that’s interesting to a big portion of customers. There’s some who simply don’t care and simply need a running a blog platform and perhaps Substack’s the higher match for them, however I feel we will each coexist and succeed right here.
I additionally wish to discuss extra about the way you’ve seen the media enterprise evolve and the way you think about it would evolve. Such as you stated, it’s this actually thrilling second as a result of anybody who’s had a point of success may conceivably go direct and begin their very own factor and produce a few of their viewers with them. It additionally appears like this can be a time the place individuals are doing that as a result of the variety of conventional alternatives — there aren’t as a lot of them as there was.
Positively, it’s an fascinating market and predicament. I feel the plus aspect is, we’ve seen on our platform, there are such a lot of profitable, quote-unquote, “no name,” small creators which might be simply being born — that cowl a subject, whether or not it’s EVs or crypto or AI, which have really constructed a really profitable enterprise.
And in addition what we’re seeing from the Morning Brew and theSkimm days is that the equation for publication was: How do you develop as quick as you presumably can, get one million subscribers, promote huge sponsorships. [Whereas now] now we have a farming publication that has 2,500 subscribers and makes $15,000 a month. So there’s a number of energy in area of interest content material, and that’s as a result of there are instruments that you are able to do paid subscriptions straight, so that you’re not counting on Google AdSense, there’s the neighborhood play, there’s digital merchandise, there’s programs, there’s occasions.
Beehiiv performs a small half in that, however there’s a rather more established ecosystem of instruments that makes it potential. If you could find your 1,000 true followers, you’ll be able to construct an actual, sustainable enterprise off of that. I don’t know if that was the case 5, 10 years in the past.
You answered this somewhat bit, however let me ask a associated query. As a tech journalist who has, a couple of times, toyed with the concept of beginning one thing by myself, I simply instantly suppose, “God, there are so many tech journalists who’ve started Substacks or other newsletters.” It feels just like the window for that’s closed. Do you are worried that we’re approaching the saturation level — if not essentially all over the place, then at the least in sure sectors?
Saturation has all the time been probably the most fascinating query, as a result of ever since we raised our seed spherical, folks thought we have been [at] peak e-mail again then. Peak e-mail comes each week, apparently.
However I additionally suppose now we have extra podcasts than ever, extra video content material, UGC, and really, professionally carried out, excessive manufacturing video. However nobody ever says [we’re at] peak Netflix, ever. That is a type of issues the place, one, the world’s huge, and I feel that you would be able to carve out a distinct segment in any content material class. Two, I feel probably the most high quality content material will all the time rise to the highest.
So, positive, there’s tons of tech writers, proper? What’s the distinctive perspective and beat and entry and no matter that appears like, and the way is it packaged in a manner that’s distinctive? Sure, it’s positively getting extra crowded, however I feel all the pieces is getting extra crowded. High quality will nonetheless rise to the highest, and I feel that there’s sufficient folks and sufficient enterprise fashions on the planet to have the ability to differentiate.
You talked about this concept of the very best content material rising to the highest. I all the time hope that’s true, however this problem of standing out — due to how the panorama has modified, all of the stuff that’s occurred with Twitter/X, it feels a lot extra fragmented than it was.
Do you see there’s extra alternative in the truth that there may be now Mastodon, YouTube Reels, TikTok, Bluesky? It’s extra fragmented, however that’s additionally extra alternatives and touchpoints to succeed in folks. I feel there’s virtually extra of a menace in being overreliant on outdated Twitter, the place it had such a dominance over the mainstream zeitgeist of what was happening, and by being shadowbanned or restricted, regardless of the algorithm needed to determine to feed or not feed, you’re really somewhat bit extra weak in that scenario.
There’s two sides to each coin, proper? It could possibly be scarier or it could possibly be extra alternative to succeed in totally different audiences.
Intellectually, I feel that having many various platforms with barely diminished energy appears higher for the world, however I additionally notice that I don’t depend on these platforms in the identical manner that, say, a sole proprietor of a publication would depend on them for locating an viewers.
That stated, I additionally needed to ask about this spectrum from Time to TechCrunch to people. One of many success tales individuals are on the lookout for is not only can folks begin one thing to help themselves, however really construct the newsroom of the longer term on these sorts of platforms. Is that one thing you’ve seen on beehiiv?
Yeah, lots. We’ve got a number of publication native corporations which have began — Standing and Oliver Darcy is the newest instance that involves thoughts. He left CNN, launched his personal factor, now has two folks on the group. [Or three, depending on how you’re counting.] I feel they’re going to launch a further vertical.
There’s loads of newsletters who began off as a hobbyist publication that scaled to 50,000, 100,000 subscribers, discovered some income, and expanded past simply one-person groups.
My final query is: Eager about the creator financial system, the media financial system 10 years from now, how is it going to be totally different from at present?
I’m not predicting something loopy, however somebody requested me my predictions for 2026, and I simply suppose all of the developments are simply going to proceed in the identical route. I don’t suppose it’s going to be a step perform change, however I really suppose with AI, the tailwinds are, one, there might be some stage of job displacement sooner or later. And the place do you differentiate your self in case you’re a mid-level PM? If I’m hiring a product supervisor, I’m most likely hiring a product supervisor who has put their ideas out into the web, and I do know precisely who they’re, what they consider, what they worth, and I can really resonate [more] with them than one other faceless PM who’s making use of for the job.
So I feel leaning extra into private model storytelling and this human connection might be extra necessary than ever as AI proliferates. Whether or not that exhibits up in e-mail and internet and podcasts and video, most likely the entire above, I really suppose there’s going to be a bigger significance positioned on placing your voice and your self on the market to essentially differentiate, each within the workforce and broadly.
