
Founding Journey
Investor Due Diligence Report
by Michael Houck
Join 80,000+ founders getting tactical advice to build, grow, and raise capital for their startup from an a16z-backed founder
80K
~0%
Subscriber count is a platform estimate
0.2
0.00%
(comments + likes) / subscribers
Weekly
1.4 posts/week
72/100
Consistent (~5.2d avg)
| Newsletter | Subscribers | Weekly Growth | Price | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The System Design Newsletter | 235K | +0.4% | $17.5/mo | substack |
| The Shortcut | 149K | N/A | $5/mo | substack |
| Software Design: Tidy First? | 123K | N/A | $25/mo | substack |
| The T-Shaped Dev | 30K | N/A | $5/mo | substack |
Platform Dependency
Uses beehiiv platform
Publishing Consistency
Regular publishing schedule
Key Person
Single-author publication — key-person dependency
Audience Concentration
Hit-driven — top post engagement 3x+ above average
Subscriber threshold
80K subscribers — above the 2K category median for first paid tier
Has paid tier
No paid subscription tier yet
Peer monetization
100% of 27 similar-size peers in Technology have paid tiers
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.
| Component | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement Rate | 45/100 | 30% |
| Publishing Consistency | 39/100 | 10% |
| Contraptions |
| 24K |
| N/A |
| $7/mo |
| substack |
Revenue Model
Pre-monetization — no paid subscription tier