The Hustle Financial Model
Media/Gaming Startup Financials (Free Excel Download)
Daily email newsletter targeting millennial business professionals, monetised through advertising, events, and future products.
professionals from Deloitte
Used by professionals from
About this model
The Hustle is a daily business newsletter with a conversational tone, positioned as “The Wall Street Journal + The Daily Show.” Its audience was predominantly male and 18–34, concentrated in technology, advertising, and business development, and it also operated the Hustle Con conference.
Advertising was the primary near-term revenue stream, with email sponsorships priced around a $30 CPM. Events added ticket revenue, while future reader-informed products were planned; the deck does not describe a subscription or paywall model. At 200,000 subscribers and a 43% open rate, daily opened audience was about 86,000.
The company reported average monthly advertising revenue of $25,000 and $490,000 of event revenue over 16 months from 3,500 attendees. Monthly readers grew from roughly 750,000 to 1.9 million in eight months. The model should connect subscriber growth, opens, sponsorship CPM, event attendance, and editorial and event costs.
A turnkey financial model
Live formulas, no hardcoded values
Outputs are driven by live formulas, so the workbook updates from its assumptions instead of relying on hardcoded results.
All assumptions in one tab
Inputs are clearly marked in the Assumptions tab and separated from calculations, making it clear what to change and what to leave intact.
Statements always balancing
For integrated-statement models, the balance sheet, cash flow, and supporting schedules tie through properly.
Distinct schedules for clarity
Debt, working capital, taxes, and cash flow can get messy quickly. We group calculations in clear schedules, not across disconnected tabs.
No hidden macros or external links
There are no unexplained external workbook links or macros to undermine auditability or portability.
Changes flow through the model
Update a key driver and see the impact carry through the forecast, financing, and return outputs. We never use hardcoded numbers in formulas.
About The Hustle
thehustle.co
How to build a detailed financial model for The Hustle
A complete walkthrough of the business, drivers, and assumptions behind the downloadable The Hustle model - distilled from its pitch deck and publicly available information.
Product & value proposition
The Hustle is a daily email newsletter delivering business and culture news in a conversational, witty tone - positioned as "The Wall Street Journal + The Daily Show." Delivered each morning at 9:00 AM. Audience: 71% male, 65% aged 18–34, concentrated in tech/advertising/business development in major cities. Described as HENRYs (High Earning, Not Rich Yet). Hustle Con: annual conference, 1,500 attendees from 26 countries; owned by The Hustle since 2014.
Revenue model
Three stated revenue streams:
- Advertising (primary, near-term): Email sponsorship at ~$30 CPM (per 1,000 email sends).
- At 200k subscribers and 43% open rate, effective daily opened audience = ~86,000.
- Events: Ticketed conferences and monthly events (Hustle Con model). Revenue generated over 16 months cited.
- Products: Future; to be defined based on reader data. Comparables cited: Twitch, PopSugar/ShopStyle.
No subscription/paywall revenue mentioned.
Traction & metrics
All figures as at time of deck (deck context suggests early 2017, given "Jun 2016–Jan 2017" advertising data):
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Daily email subscribers | 200,000 (since April 2016) | - |
| Daily open rate | 43% | - |
| Avg. monthly advertising revenue | $25k (Jun 2016–Jan 2017) | - |
| Total events revenue (16 months) | $490k (from 3,500 total attendees across all events) | - |
| Brand ambassadors | 1,000+ | - |
| Monthly readers (Apr 2016) | ~750k | - |
| Monthly readers (Dec 2016) | ~1.8–1.9M | - |
| Ad email CTR | 3.15% (vs. 0.15% industry avg) - 18x | - |
| Open rate vs. industry | 42% vs. 19.3% (IBM benchmark) - 2x | - |
| Net Promoter Score | 73 (n=800) | - |
| Monthly event signups | 600+ | - |
| Hustle Con attendees | ~1,500 from 26 countries | - |
Growth trajectory: monthly readers grew from ~750k (Apr 2016) to ~1.9M (Dec 2016), roughly 2.5x in ~8 months.
Unit economics
- CPM (advertising): ~$30 per 1,000 email sends
- Implied monthly ad revenue per subscriber: at $25k/month on 200k list = $0.125/subscriber/month
- Events revenue per attendee: $490k / 3,500 attendees = ~$140 blended avg ticket across 16 months
- No CAC, LTV, or margin data in deck.
Competition / moat
- Moat framed as audience quality and engagement, not content exclusivity.
- Key moat signals:
- 2x open rate vs. industry (42% vs. 19.3%)
- 18x ad CTR vs. display average
- NPS of 73
- 1,000+ brand ambassadors driving organic growth
- Legacy outlets (WSJ, Bloomberg, CNBC) cited as incumbents failing to capture millennials.
- No direct digital-newsletter competitors named (Morning Brew, etc. not mentioned).
Team & funding ask / use of funds
- Founders implied by Hustle Con origin (2014).
- Goal stated: grow to 1 million daily subscribers with industry-beating open rate.
Recommended financial model
- Archetype + why: Email media / advertising P&L with events revenue line. Not SaaS (no subscription); not marketplace. Primary driver is subscriber list size × open rate × CPM. Events form a secondary line. A 3-statement model is not warranted at this stage - a revenue-build driver model with a simple operating expense structure is appropriate.
- Forecast horizon & granularity: 3 years (2017–2019), monthly for Year 1 (subscriber ramp is the critical variable), quarterly for Years 2–3.
- Key drivers & assumptions:
| Driver | Value / Assumption |
|---|---|
| Daily subscribers (base, start of forecast) | 200,000 |
| Daily open rate | 43% |
| Email CPM (advertising) | $30 per 1,000 sends |
| Ad sends per month | ~22 weekday sends/month |
| Ad spots per send | 1–2 sponsors per email |
| Monthly subscriber growth rate (near term) | ~8–10% MoM |
| Monthly subscriber growth rate (steady state) | 3–5% MoM |
| Target subscriber count (stated goal) | 1,000,000 |
| Open rate decay over time | Slight decline as list scales |
| Events: events per year | 12 monthly + 1 annual conference |
| Events: blended avg revenue per attendee | ~$140 |
| Events: attendee growth rate | 20% YoY |
| Products revenue | $0 in Year 1; small in Year 2+ |
| Gross margin on advertising | ~85–90% |
| Gross margin on events | ~40–50% |
| Avg monthly opex (editorial, tech, sales, overhead) | $ASSUMED - not in deck |
- Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):
- Base: Subscriber growth slows to 5% MoM after reaching 500k; open rate holds at ~38%; 1 ad spot/send; events scale gradually.
- Bull: 1M subscribers by end of Year 2; open rate holds at 42%+; 2 ad spots/send; CPM expansion to $40+.
- Bear: Subscriber growth stalls at 300k; open rate declines to 30%; single ad slot; events revenue flat.
- Required sheets / outputs:
- Assumptions - all drivers in one place
- Subscriber Build - monthly cohort: starting base, new adds, churn (if any), ending list
- Advertising Revenue - list × open rate × CPM × sends/month × ad slots
- Events Revenue - events count × attendees × avg ticket
- Products Revenue - placeholder / zero for Year 1
- P&L Summary - revenue lines, gross profit by segment, opex, EBITDA
- Dashboard - KPIs: subscribers, open rate, monthly ad rev, events rev, total revenue, EBITDA margin
Frequently asked
Is the The Hustle financial model free?+
Yes. The The Hustle model is a free Excel (.xlsx) download with live formulas. Sign up with your email and the workbook is yours to keep, review, and edit.
What's included in the model?+
A 5-year monthly forecast with P&L, cash flow and runway, valuation (exit multiple plus a DCF cross-check), MOIC/IRR returns, and unit economics, with live formulas throughout.
How was this model built?+
It was built from The Hustle's pitch deck and publicly available information, then structured to investment-banking standards as a fully editable Excel model.
Can I change the assumptions?+
Yes. You can change assumptions and the live formulas will recalculate in the downloadable Excel model.
Have more financial modelling questions? Contact us
Created by ex-finance professionals
Hey, I’m Alex and I created Finamodel.
Over my years in the finance industry I kept building the same models over and over again. Same structure, same assumptions, different logo. So I started building frameworks to turn them into clean, reusable templates.
Every model here is one I’d actually use for a client, and I personally vet each one before it goes up.
I’m not an expert in every industry, but I’ve built enough models to know what belongs in one. And when something is completely foreign to me, I reach out to my network for experts to work on our models with us.
Having a template library on hand cuts a first build from hours to minutes.
Need help finding your model? You’ll find me in the Finamodel app!
Other Media/Gaming Startup Financial Models
Browse another startup in the same category.
Almost Friday
Almost Friday is a multi-platform comedy/lifestyle media brand built around the "Friday Beers" universe, monetising through apparel, brand partnerships, events, podcasts, and music.
Amagi
Cloud-native SaaS platform for TV/OTT channel creation, distribution, and ad monetization (FAST-focused)
Audoo
IoT + SaaS platform that captures real-time public music performance data and reports it to Performing Rights Organisations (PROs) to enable accurate royalty distribution.
Backbone
Backbone makes a mobile gaming controller (hardware) + unified software platform (Backbone app) that aggregates all game streaming services in one place.
Beacon Pines
Beacon Pines is a cute-and-creepy narrative adventure game set inside a magical storybook, developed by indie studio Hiding Spot Games.
Bear and Breakfast
A management/adventure video game where you play as a bear running a B&B cabin in the woods.
Bioshock
BioShock is a first-person action horror game pitched to a publisher for development funding - a game-development studio deal, not an operating startup.
Button City 2018
Indie narrative adventure game about cute animal kids saving their local arcade, targeting console and PC.
