Derek Thompson

Investor Due Diligence Report

by Derek Thompson

substackEconomics

A newsletter about abundance and building a better world.

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Key Metrics

Subscribers

20K

1.4K paid

Low confidence

Weekly Growth

~0%

Subscriber count is a platform estimate

Revenue Analysis

Pricing

$8/mo

$80/yr annual option

Est. Monthly Revenue

$9K

1.4K paid subs

$6K/mo – $12K/mo(±30%)

Quality & Publishing

Audience Quality Score

75Good

0100

Publishing Pace

Previously Weekly

0.7 posts/week

Publishing Consistency

50/100

Variable (~9.9d avg)

Competitive Landscape (Economics)

Newsletter	Subscribers	Weekly Growth	Price	Platform
Paul Krugman	624K	+0.3%	$7/mo	substack
Noahpinion	460K	+0.2%	$10/mo	substack
Kyla’s Newsletter	168K	N/A	$10/mo	substack
Economics Matters by Laurence Kotlikoff	163K	N/A	$15/mo	substack

Revenue Trajectory

Estimated monthly revenue over time

Month	Subscribers	Est. Revenue	Change
Jan 2026	30K	$15,359.4	—
Feb 2026	20K	$10,239.6	-33.3%
Mar 2026	20K	$10,239.6	~0%
Apr 2026	20K	$10,239.6	~0%

Risk Assessment

Key risk factors for due diligence

Low

Platform Dependency

Operates on custom domain (www.derekthompson.org)

Medium

Publishing Consistency

Variable publishing frequency

Medium

Key Person

Single-author publication — key-person dependency

Low

Revenue Model

Active paid subscription tier

Monetization Readiness

Monetization status

Subscriber threshold

20K subscribers — above the 4K category median for first paid tier

Has paid tier

Active paid subscription offering

Peer monetization

43% of 7 similar-size peers in Economics have paid tiers

Pricing position

$8/mo vs $8.5/mo category median (84 newsletters)

Pricing History

Date	Monthly	Annual
Jan 2026	$8	$80

Data Quality

Report Data QualityPartial - Some metrics estimated or missing

Subscriber Confidencelow

Disclaimer: This report is generated automatically based on publicly available data and proprietary estimation models. Estimated subscriber counts are derived from engagement patterns and should be verified through direct disclosure. Revenue estimates are based on known pricing and estimated paid subscriber counts. This report is for informational purposes only and should not be the sole basis for investment decisions.