Swapstack
👤 Jake Singer & Jake Schonberger (Both ran newsletters themselves and felt the sponsor-hunt pain; ex-Amazon PM + ex-Facebook VC scout, met via On Deck.)🌐 sitetheflywheel.substack.com𝕏
Two writers who couldn't find sponsors for their own newsletters built the matchmaker — and sold it to beehiiv.
Will it work? · our read
Absorbable niche. The pricing flip pulled writers in fast; $2M reached publishers. But a thin cut on small ads and platforms going native made it absorbable — beehiiv bought the function.
01How the money moves
Writer lists newsletter free
→
Brand books a sponsor slot
→
Swapstack bills brand +10% fee
02The numbers
$25K
monthly rev at sale
founder
$2M+
paid to writers · GMV
founder
2,500+
newsletters onboard
TGA
The $2M+ is lifetime payouts to writers (GMV) — not Swapstack's own revenue. TheyGotAcquired
about $300K/yr run-rate when beehiiv bought it (2023).
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(demo: preview the full teardown)Sourcesupdated · daily
TheyGotAcquired: Swapstack acquired by beehiiv ($25K/mo, 2023)OpenSourceCEO: beehiiv + Swapstack acquisition mechanics ($2M = publisher earnings, not revenue)No Code MBA: Swapstack MVP-to-acquisition ($20K/mo, $2M paid to writers)Newsletter Crew: interview with co-founder Jake SingerThe Flywheel: Jake Singer on building Swapstack
Revenue ($25K/mo, about $300K/yr) is founder-stated across interviews (Newsletter Crew, TheyGotAcquired, No Code MBA), not audited. The $2M+ is lifetime payouts to writers (GMV), NOT Swapstack's own revenue — OpenSourceCEO states this explicitly. Acquisition price undisclosed (reported 6-figure). Founder-count and pricing model (0% writers / 10% brands) confirmed across multiple first-party sources. We never score you.