a16z Live

Boss Talk #14: New Media Models with Substack

Episode Summary

What is Substack? How is it changing media? And who or what is a non-fungible writer? That and more with the founders of Substack.

Episode Notes

• What did Substack think about the NYTimes article "Why We’re Freaking Out About Substack" [1:01]
• What is Substack? [4:40]
• The issues with social media content models and how Substack is different [5:54]
• What about the echo chamber? [8:54]
• Turning cultural principles (e.g., freedom of the press) into actual culture [12:00]
• Will Substack replace traditional media? [14:01]
• Would Donald Trump be welcome on Substack? [20:35]
• Why do they pay writers advances? And why is that controversial? [23:33]
• The origins of American journalism aren't what most people think [27:20]
• Non-fungible writers and the Substack model [31:45]
• Ad-supported media predates the internet  [39:21]
• How do I price my Substack? [43:39]
• Substack, political topics, and culture wars: "We knew we were running towards the fire." [45:01]
• How do you prevent algorithms from slanting the platform [51:06]
• Substack's vision for the future of media [55:27]

Boss Talk is the Clubhouse show where a16z cofounder Ben Horowitz and Ali Ghodsi, the Founder/CEO of Databricks, discuss CEO stuff, leadership stuff, management stuff... boss stuff. Live every Tuesday 5-6pm on Clubhouse. 

For more a16z Clubhouse shows, follow the a16z Club on Clubhouse or visit www.a16z.com/clubhouse.