Hamish McKenzie explains why Substack won't be enabling advertising

Mumbrellacast

New Zealand-hailing Hamish McKenzie co-founded Substack with the goal of helping journalists get paid for writing newsletters. McKenzie worked as a journalist in New Zealand, Hong Kong and the US, and is now based in LA. McKenzie - who has also worked for Tesla, and is the author of ‘Insane Mode’ about the arrival of the battery revolution - joins Mumbrella’s Tim Burrowes to chat about his departure from journalism and eventually creating Substack.

Substack is only 4 years old, but is already being talked about in the same way that journalists were talking about WordPress 15 years ago. Its valuation is already close to a billion Aussie dollars. McKenzie goes deeper on the Substack model, and why the platform doesn’t support advertising, something its founders have “no intention” of bringing in.

He also speaks about Substack Pro, the company’s international ambitions, and what happens if the founders sell out.