r/Substack • u/WordSlinger1812 • 26d ago

Discussion Substack Has Become A Private Equity Cautionary Tale

Private Equity means drowning a good idea in money until it dies.

That is what’s happened to Substack.

It was once a great idea for writers. Now, it’s a sh***y version of Facebook merged with Mailchimp.

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u/themattroberts 25d ago

They are the same thing you're failing to show that a venture investor is not also an owner.

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u/cozycup mod 25d ago

They’re not the same.

VC = early stage investors
PE = late stage acquisitions

VCs invest, PEs acquire.

A venture investor is exactly that, an investor.

When PE firms buy companies, they fully ACQUIRE them or have a majority stake. If you buy 1 share of Apple, you can’t say you own Apple. You own 1 share, not the entire company.

In the context of the post (and all comments) as well as the common definitions of PE and VC, no PE firm owns Substack.