Built a newsletter on startups in SE Asia and grew it to 10k subs – AMA

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Built a newsletter on startups in SE Asia and grew it to 10k subs – AMA

Hey HN! Two years ago, I was working my first startup job as employee #1 at a YC startup. I was 18 and new to the startup scene, so I read everything I could get my hands on to get up to speed. But working at a YC startup in Southeast Asia, I focused a lot on SEA startup news and realized there was no quick or convenient way to stay up-to-date with the latest startup news each day. Articles were tough to understand (or had too little info), news was fragmented across different sites, etc — and I just had no time... So, I left my job and bootstrapped as I started my own newsletter that would make it fun and easy to stay updated with the latest news in SEA startups in just minutes each morning. (Think Morning Brew for Southeast Asian startups). I started publishing once a week to a few coworkers, family and friends. Didn't really know if it would work out. I was 19, didn't have much of a network and worried if anyone thought I was credible enough. A little over a year later, we publish 4x weekly and have grown to 10k subs with nearly a 50% open rate. I stayed consistent, iterated as I went, and minimized spend while focusing on growth. Wrote it myself each day and only brought on my first team member (and started monetizing) recently. There were def a lot of hard days. But I learned that tons of people found it difficult to stay up-to-date with startup news in the region too! We're now read by founders (even several who are unicorn/post-IPO), execs, VCs (even Managing Partners) and startup operators in Southeast Asia — and even outside of the region. If anyone's keen on checking out the newsletter, you can subscribe for free to get the latest news in Southeast Asian startups: www.backscoop.com Have any questions about launching, growing or running a newsletter? AMA :)