42: Morning Brew’s 2nd employee and Beehiiv CEO dives into the BIG business of newsletters, the truth about building in public, and some surprising data on the power of newsletters
Jan 29, 2024
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Tyler Denk, CEO of Beehiiv, discusses building in public, Beehiiv's email ad network vision, and the power of newsletters. They explore email collection, optimized growth tools, and the dynamics between big and small newsletters. The episode delves into a decentralized social network for content creators, emphasizing revenue opportunities and challenges of subscription models.
Building in public accelerates innovation at companies like Morning Brew and Beehiiv.
Self-taught engineering background shapes Tyler Denk's approach to problem-solving and entrepreneurship.
Origins of Beehiiv stemmed from the need for growth tools like referral programs and ad management platforms.
Deep dives
Tyler Dank's Background and Origin of Beehive
Tyler Dank, CEO and founder of Beehive, shares his journey leading up to starting Beehive. He explains his role at Morning Brew, where he joined as an engineer and took on various responsibilities in product, engineering, and growth. Tyler highlights the need for tools that would help them grow their newsletter faster, leading to the development of features like a referral program and an ad management platform. This experience eventually led to the founding of Beehive, with two engineers from Morning Brew becoming his co-founders.
Tyler's Journey as a Self-Taught Engineer
Tyler describes his background in engineering, mentioning his transition from electrical to mechanical engineering during his college years. He speaks about starting a tech startup in university, which required him to teach himself how to code. Tyler shares his self-taught journey and the insecurities he faced as a self-taught engineer, highlighting the contrast between his hands-on, quick-to-market approach and the more by-the-book method of some of his co-founders.
Building a Strong Engineering Team and Tech Infrastructure
Tyler discusses his experience at Morning Brew, where he built a strong engineering team and played a pivotal role in developing various tech infrastructure. He mentions building a content management system and an ad management platform from scratch, which streamlined processes and facilitated growth. Tyler emphasizes the importance of having a talented engineering team and the advantages of building their own systems rather than relying on third-party solutions.
Challenges and Learnings from Tyler's Time at Google
Tyler reflects on his short stint at Google and YouTube Music, where he experienced the contrast between a large, well-established tech company and the fast-paced, scrappy environment he was used to. He explains how the experience at Google allowed him to learn about processes and how large-scale organizations operate. Tyler shares the value of process and alignment in building products and highlights the balance between scalability and agility in a startup environment.
Beehive's Vision and the Future of Email Newsletters
Tyler discusses Beehive's vision and the value it offers to email newsletter creators. He explains how Beehive simplifies the tech stack by integrating all the essential tools needed for successful email newsletters, from content hosting to referral programs and ad management. Tyler highlights the potential of Beehive's ad network, which aims to provide targeted, scalable advertising opportunities for newsletters. He envisions a future where Beehive becomes a go-to advertising channel, attracting marketers who currently underallocate their budgets towards email newsletters.
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This week on Taking Inventory we were joined by Tyler Denk, CEO and Co-founder of Beehiiv, the newsletter platform built for growth. Tyler helped build many of the early growth tools and strategies at Morning Brew and is now making those available to all creators through Beehiiv. He shares his story of starting the company while at Google, the long-term vision to build an email ad network, and how building in public has helped accelerate innovation at the company.
Find Tyler on Twitter @denk_tweets and subscribe to his newsletter Big Desk Energy at https://mail.bigdeskenergy.com/.
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Connect with James and Daniel!
LinkedIn:
James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesborow/
Daniel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieldruger/
Twitter:
James: https://twitter.com/jamesborow
Daniel: https://twitter.com/ddruger
Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.takinginventorypod.com/ and follow Taking Inventory on LinkedIn and Twitter!
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