What The Hustle does

The Hustle is a digital media publishing company that produces a daily business news email newsletter delivering 5-minute briefs on startups, technology, finance, and unconventional business stories to a subscriber base reported at 2M+ and growing toward 2.5M+. Founded in 2015/2016 by Sam Parr and Shaan Puri, the company has expanded from a single email product into a multi-format content portfolio including two podcasts (The Hustle Daily Show and My First Million), YouTube video content, long-form Sunday investigative reporting (Hustle Originals), and a free founder resource library. In February 2021, The Hustle was acquired by HubSpot, Inc. (NYSE: HUBS) and now operates as a brand within HubSpot Media, with the newsletter positioned as ad-free and reader-supported.

The underlying technology stack is straightforward digital publishing infrastructure: a content management system (hosted on HubSpot's CMS), email delivery, podcast RSS distribution, and YouTube for video. There is no disclosed proprietary technology, no mobile app, no API, and no AI/ML components attributed to The Hustle itself. The company maintains a product-led growth motion — free content drives audience acquisition, which in turn serves HubSpot's broader marketing funnel via referral relationships such as Trends.co.

The business model is freemium reader-supported media: the newsletter is free, the company explicitly states "The Hustle will never show you an ad," and standalone revenue is not publicly disclosed. Revenue mechanics are implied to rely on sponsorship arrangements, events, and indirect monetization through HubSpot's parent-company software funnel rather than direct subscription fees. Customer segments are horizontal and persona-based — innovators, startup founders, and side-hustlers — served across email, web, podcast, and video channels globally, though with a primary concentration in North America.

Name

The Hustle

Legal name

HubSpot, Inc.

Website

https://thehustle.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Hustle is a digital media brand under HubSpot that publishes a free daily 5-minute business news email newsletter to 2M+ subscribers, alongside podcasts, video content, and long-form investigative reporting targeting entrepreneurs and innovators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business News Media

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Data Journalism & News Intelligence Publishers (Indexes, Election/Market Data) (MPAJADAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Short-Form Video for News, Sports & Highlights Platforms (MPACAHAJ)

Keywords

• Business news newsletter
• Digital media publishing
• Podcast content production
• Long-form journalism
• Business content platform

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Newsletter Subscriptions: Free daily newsletter delivering 5-minute business news to subscribers. The company emphasizes 'The Hustle will never show you an ad' positioning, suggesting a reader-supported or sponsorship-based model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Hustle is a digital media publishing platform that produces and distributes unconventional business news and insights through a free daily email newsletter (5-minute briefs), long-form original reporting (Hustle Originals), podcasts (The Hustle Daily Show, My First Million), and video content on YouTube. It operates within HubSpot Media and serves more than 2 million business professionals, founders, and innovators seeking condensed, ad-free business intelligence.

Product overview

The Hustle is a business news media company producing a portfolio of content products including a daily newsletter delivering unconventional business news, Hustle Originals long-form investigative pieces, two podcasts (The Hustle Daily Show and My First Million), video content, and free founder resources/guides. The company operates primarily through email/newsletter distribution with companion digital content across web, video, and podcast platforms. All products are ad-free and designed for business professionals seeking quick, insightful business intelligence.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• My First Million: A podcast and video series where hosts Sam and Shaan Puri explore new business ideas based on trends and opportunities
• The Hustle Daily Show
• Hustle Originals
• Trends.co

Products and services

• The Hustle Daily Newsletter Free daily email newsletter delivering bite-size, unconventional business and tech news in 5-minute reads to 2M+ innovators and professionals.
• Hustle Originals Long-form original reporting and in-depth investigative storytelling featured in The Hustle's Sunday newsletter, covering business trends, economics, and underreported industries.
• The Hustle Daily Show Daily podcast delivering irreverent, offbeat, and informative takes on business and tech news for professionals on the go.
• My First Million Podcast Weekly podcast co-hosted by Sam Parr and Shaan Puri exploring new business ideas based on trends and opportunities in the market.
• The Hustle YouTube Channel Video content on YouTube featuring storytelling and 'little revelations across business and tech,' complementing the written newsletter and podcast formats.
• Founder Resources and Guides Free downloadable resource library for founders, side-hustlers, and builders, including the side hustle ideas database, AI side hustle accelerators, business startup guides, wealth-building guides, and marketing resources.
• How You Hustle A startup feature program allowing founders to submit their businesses for a chance to be featured in The Hustle newsletter, exposing them to a 1.5M reader audience.

Quantifiable outcome

• Delivers news to 2M+ innovators daily

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Trends.cominorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Hustle refers readers to Trends.co for 'exclusive research and to connect with business builders from around the globe.' This appears to be a content partnership or referral relationship with a related HubSpot business resource platform.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Morning Brew: Daily business/newsletter brand targeting young professionals with a 5-minute morning brief. Closest direct competitor to The Hustle, operating a similar freemium email-led media model and serving an overlapping entrepreneur/business-curious audience.
• The Information: Subscription-based tech and business news outlet founded by Jessica Lessin. Comparable in audience (business professionals, founders, operators) but differentiated by paywalled, deeper-dive reporting vs. The Hustle's free, brief-style coverage.
• Stratechery: Ben Thompson's paid newsletter covering tech and business strategy. Comparable target reader (business-minded professionals, founders) and creator-led media model, though operating as a solo-authored, paid subscription versus The Hustle's team-produced free daily.
• Puck News: Subscription newsletter media company covering business, politics, and culture, founded by Jon Kelly. Similar newsletter-first, multi-author media model targeting professional and executive audiences with original reporting.

Broad incumbents

• Axios: National digital media company covering business, tech, and politics with a 'smart brevity' newsletter format echoing The Hustle's 5-minute brief approach. Larger incumbent with broader scope and B2B SaaS offerings (Axios HQ) overlapping with content marketing.
• Business Insider: Major business and tech news publisher now owning Morning Brew. Comparable target audience of business professionals and entrepreneurs, with overlapping coverage of startups, tech, and finance at much larger scale.
• Bloomberg Media: Global business and financial news brand with newsletters, podcasts, and video targeting business professionals. Comparable in audience and business-news vertical, but operates at significantly larger scale and primarily paid subscription.
• CNBC: Major cable and digital business news outlet covering markets, tech, and entrepreneurship. Comparable in target audience (business professionals) and content verticals (startups, tech, finance), but as a much larger legacy broadcaster.

Emerging players

• Substack: Platform enabling independent newsletter creators to publish and monetize. Comparable in newsletter-first media format but operates as a publishing infrastructure provider rather than a single publication, hosting many competitors and adjacent creators to The Hustle.

Others

• HubSpot Media: Parent media portfolio of HubSpot that includes The Hustle, Trends.co, and adjacent SMB-focused content brands. Listed as ecosystem/parent context rather than competitor; other HubSpot Media properties share distribution channels and content resources with The Hustle.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hustle_says
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@TheHustleChannel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-hustle

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Hustle