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 billed the brand a 10% fee — until it was wound down into beehiiv
02The numbers
$25K/moStatedmonthly rev at 2023 sale
2023-09
The $2M+ is lifetime payouts to writers (GMV) — not Swapstack's own revenue. TheyGotAcquired
about $300K/yr run-rate when beehiiv bought it (2023).
🔒
You have the verdict. Members get the work behind it.
- The CENTS scorecard — where it's strong, where it's soft
- The founder's key move, and the counter-move
- How it could die — the evidence, and how sure we are
- The case against our own call
- A 🚀 launchpad prompt — the case, as a plan for your business
We rate our own confidence — and argue against ourselves. Nobody else in this category does.
Sources always public on all 560 cases · cancel anytime · 14-day refund
See a full teardown, free → ImportYetiSourcesSources last checked 25 August 2026
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. Corrected 13 July 2026: the card said Swapstack was acquired, and left its money-flow in the present tense. The platform no longer exists. beehiiv wound it down after the 2023 purchase and moved its users onto the beehiiv Ad Network — the founder's own words. A reader should not have to infer that from the word 'acquired'. We never score you.