About Me
3 reasons why I'd love to work at Substack
The world doesn’t need more monoliths like Disney or The NY Times serving everyone. The future of media is about the indie creator who builds an emotional and authentic connection with their audience. I want Noah Smith, not The Economist.
And you, Substack, are the inflection in the media world that’s tilting the power balance from the platform owners and the monoliths to the niche expert. You care deeply about the success of writers and creators, and you walk the talk with your business model. I believe in your model…ads suck for everyone. It creates the wrong incentive system that hurts the quality of everything…I know this because I’ve walked the wrong path with ads before. Substack is creating a corner of the internet that’s cool again. For nerds to be nerds with other nerds.
Substack is at a fascinating crossroads, and that’s what makes it exciting. On one hand, you’ve got Substack the business, welcoming creators of all kinds—podcasters, influencers, YouTubers—people with huge audiences but maybe not a ton of writing experience. On the other hand, there’s Substack the platform, which has always been a home for writers who value craft and independence. This tension between evolving into a more social platform versus staying true to the core of writing is exactly the kind of challenge I love.
There’s a real opportunity here to find the balance between writers and creators, and I’m fascinated by the dynamics at play. The essay on FeedMe nails it—Substack is evolving, and so is what “quality” looks like. Who will be the new Substack-native stars? What is Substack-native content? I want to be part of helping shape that. Substack isn’t just a platform for writers; it’s becoming a place where anyone, regardless of background, can express themselves and find their niche. That’s the kind of platform I want to be building.
Starting a Substack 2 years ago was one of my greatest decisions. I am obsessed with learning, and through reading and writing here, I’ve never learnt more. Both personally and professional. You’ve helped me become a better thinker, communicator, and mentor. I’ve also never, as a writer, had such an engaged, present, and outright cool audience. I’ve met some of the most interesting people by being here. And while making money from writing was never an explicit goal when I started, seeing that first $10 recurring subscription when I went paid was sweeter than any raise or bonus I’ve received. You’ve also pulled me away from the social media rat race which was terrible for my mental health. No more toiling over social clickbait, just the time for good, meaningful work that has been tremendous fun.
12 reasons why I'd be a great fit
(Based on what you're looking for in this new hire)
I use Substack every day, both as a reader (top 5% according to My Substack Summer), and as a writer (a bestseller). I know this product inside and out, and I already speak to both sides routinely. I get the market and Substack’s position in it, and this is a customer who I have so much love and empathy for.
Both at my own startup and now in my current leadership position PM role, the game I’ve played has always been optimizing for the company’s outcome (vs personal). In both cases, that’s been the right choice since both companies have been acquired. To win at that game, I’ve always focused on forming a very deep understanding of the market and customer so I can take the right bets around what the biggest opportunities for development and growth are. I’d play the exact same game at Substack.
Backstage has always been a small team. We have just 2 PMs. So I’ve always had a ton of ownership over the product roadmap. It’s my baby here, and I work to make sure we always have a clear story about where we’re going and how our short, mid, and long-term roadmap will get us there. It’s always in sync with the big picture. It balances flexibility with stability, and it’s always communicated widely across the team.
I do manage another PM and work at the leadership level, but as said, we’re small over here. 80% of my time is as an IC in the weeds of projects. And these projects range in scope, complexity, and level of obvious. From small and detailed tests in our subscription funnel to ambiguous projects like content recommendations or initiatives taking us to new markets. I love this part of the job, where we get to has things out with design and engineering.
I work incredibly close with our executive team, speaking to them daily. I’m very comfortable presenting and communicating at this level, as well as knowing how to say no…and only because I’ve built trust with them. This keeps the team’s product strategy and the overall company strategy in lock-step at all times.
Being on a small team means I have lot of power and leverage. But as Uncle Ben (RIP) says, this comes with a lot of responsibility. One of those responsibility pillars being ownership over product marketing and the go-to-market strategy for everything we ship. I believe PMs need to think about the whole product, and that includes how to drive growth around it.
I have amazing partnerships with my counterpart engineering directors, and together we make sure the team always know how their work ties into real problems and business impact. PMs are only as good as the leverage they can create, and that comes from empowering with the right context.
I’m very comfortable operating at every level of abstraction, and know how and when to work High or work Low. One minute I’m in the Figma files suggesting copy, the next I’m sharing strategy and market context to help the team move autonomously with minimal blockers, and the next I’m shaping the strategy for where we should play in a growth market and how to win there.
I spend plenty of time in Amplitude and Looker both asking questions and making sense of the answers, so I definitely have decent analytical skills. I also have context around what the data means at Substack which is a huge advantage to ramping up and knowing how to find what I’m looking for. I don’t have the best SQL competence to be honest, but I’d learn it enough before starting this job. Hard skills are easy to pickup :)
Communication is the game, and outside of work, I practice that through my Substack where I write both long and short-form posts to over 25,000 founders and PMs. Just last week I had a reader telling me how surprised he was he read my 45 minute company deep dive in one sitting, saying how engaging it was. So hopefully I’m doing something right there.
From my startup experience to being one or two PMs on a small team, I like to think of myself as a full stack PM (minus the engineering skill) with the entrepreneurial zest to make stuff happen. I run all research myself, do mocks and wireframes and get into the details with design and engineering, shape the product marketing, and lead the GTM effort for larger initiatives. I’ve very comfortable with wide aperture, green fields, and being held widely accountable.
I know two key things that matter when building an early team: (1) How badly does this person want to be here, and (2) How much do they care to learn? I hope this application has proved #1. If you peak my Substack, you’ll see that that’s where I learn in public. I do deep research on how companies grow and share my learnings. Improving myself is a huge part of my life. I always want to get better and love critical feedback. If you have any reservations about me as a candidate (like not being a SQL wiz for example), my passion for Substack and willingness to learn will certainly squish that.
