Investor Due Diligence Report
by Paul Allen
Contrarian business analysis and systems thinking. By Paul Allen, CPO at Cognitive Code and former Google analyst. Expertise in AI, leverage, and scaling.
2K
~0%
Subscriber count is a platform estimate
Pricing
$5/mo
$50/yr annual option
$883
~200 est. paid subs
$442/mo – $1K/mo(±50%)
Previously Daily
9.2 posts/week
93/100
Very Consistent (~1.0d avg)
| Newsletter | Subscribers | Weekly Growth | Price | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenny's Newsletter | 1.2M | N/A | $20/mo | substack |
| The Pragmatic Engineer | 1.1M | N/A | $15/mo | substack |
| The Strategic Networker | 507K | N/A | $15/mo | substack |
| Scott's Newsletter | 259K | N/A | $12/mo | substack |
| Month | Subscribers | Est. Revenue | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2026 | 5K | $2,208.33 | — |
| Mar 2026 | 3K | $1,325 | -40.0% |
| Apr 2026 | 3K | $1,325 | ~0% |
| May 2026 | 2K | $883.33 | -33.3% |
| Jun 2026 | 2K | $883.33 | ~0% |
Platform Dependency
Uses ghost platform
Publishing Consistency
Regular publishing schedule
Key Person
Single-author publication — key-person dependency
Revenue Model
Active paid subscription tier
Subscriber threshold
2K subscribers — above the 2K category median for first paid tier
Has paid tier
Active paid subscription offering
Peer monetization
100% of 675 similar-size peers in Business have paid tiers
Pricing position
$5/mo vs $7/mo category median (1480 newsletters)
| Date | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | $5 | $50 |
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.
| a16z |
| 248K |
| +0.7% |
| Free |
| substack |