Substack, a nearly 2-year-old San Francisco–based startup that builds tools to make it easier for writers to publish—and make money from—subscription newsletters, believes it can stand out in a crowded field by keeping it simple.
Substack handles most of the production and business tasks small and solo publishers face such as subscriber signups, synching with a payment processor and webpage design. The idea is to let writers focus on writing, says co-founder Chris Best. That service comes with a cost, though: Substack generally charges more than some of its rivals.
