The campaign caption identifies Chris, Hamish and Jairaj in 2019. Do not imply this was photographed during the 2023 raise.
Wefunder-reported community-round total
Platform-reported total associated with the 2023 community campaign; includes a Reg CF offering.
This is the platform-reported community-round total, not an amount attributed entirely to Reg CF. The final allocation across exemptions was not verified. Published investor counts also vary slightly.
Lead with the core community
The launch invited writers to invest from $100, with non-writers welcome if room remained.
Founder takeaway: Make participation priorities and the entry point explicit.
Use a credible community lead
Substack's campaign named Bill Bishop, its first writer, as the community-round lead.
Founder takeaway: Choose a representative who understands the user community.
Explain the economics
The pitch explained the publisher revenue share and how the company earns money when publishers earn money.
Founder takeaway: Show how the business model connects to the mission.
Keep risk in the invitation
The founders' announcement explicitly said investors could lose their entire investment and identified the initial testing-the-waters stage.
Founder takeaway: Distinguish enthusiasm, reservations and a completed investment.
Takeaways are editorial interpretations of the published record, not findings that one tactic caused the result. This historical example is not an investment recommendation or evidence of investor returns.