Morning Brew
A newsletter-first media company whose internal tools became the origin of beehiiv.
Morning Brew built a $25 million ad business, with 25 of its 40 staff on partnerships and sales. Its internal CMS, ad inventory system and referral program, built by Tyler Denk, drew hundreds of newsletter owners a week asking how it did it, and were the origin of beehiiv. Lesson: build the tools you need yourself to inherit a roadmap, and lean on credibility and storytelling while your product is immature.
- 1Built tools for Morning BrewCMS, ad inventory system, referral program
- 2Owners asked howHundreds of newsletter owners a week
- 3Turned tools into beehiivBuilt-in roadmap, deep customer understanding
- 4Track record earned trustWon the first thousand publishers
From beehiiv's origin story, Tyler Denk
What was said about Morning Brew
Morning Brew's internal tools gave beehiiv a ready-made roadmap. Tyler Denk built a CMS, an ad inventory system and a referral program for Morning Brew's own use. Hundreds of newsletter owners a week asked how Morning Brew did it, so beehiiv began with a built-in roadmap and deep customer understanding.
Morning Brew made $25 million a year off what the team built internally. It was an ad-driven business with 25 of its 40 staff on partnerships and sales.
Morning Brew's track record bought beehiiv trust while the product was immature. Early beehiiv had a fraction of its competitors' features. The founders had built Morning Brew's growth engine, at a time when everyone wanted to build 'Morning Brew for X'. That expertise earned trust and the first thousand publishers.
Quote: "We didn't have much else to hang our hat on. It worked in the early days and bought us trust."
Tyler Denk on Beating Substack, Shipping Weekly, and the 0% Take Rate Bet
Built a $25 million revenue business on ads, with 25 of its 40 staff on partnerships and sales. Its internal CMS, ad inventory system and referral program were built by Denk, and hundreds of newsletter owners a week asked how it did it.
Morning Brew's internal tools gave beehiiv a ready-made roadmap. Tyler Denk built a CMS, an ad inventory system and a referral program for Morning Brew's own use. Hundreds of newsletter owners a week asked how Morning Brew did it, so beehiiv began with a built-in roadmap and deep customer understanding.
Morning Brew made $25 million a year off what the team built internally. It was an ad-driven business with 25 of its 40 staff on partnerships and sales.
Morning Brew's track record bought beehiiv trust while the product was immature. Early beehiiv had a fraction of its competitors' features. The founders had built Morning Brew's growth engine, at a time when everyone wanted to build 'Morning Brew for X'. That expertise earned trust and the first thousand publishers.
Quote: "We didn't have much else to hang our hat on. It worked in the early days and bought us trust."
This Budgeting App Makes $400K a Month
Has a great brand but no app, and its brand keyword has a lot of search traffic. It is the example of an influencer brand that could grow revenue and reach with an app.
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