# The Hustle Financial Model Daily email newsletter targeting millennial business professionals, monetised through advertising, events, and future products. - Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/the-hustle - Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/the-hustle.xlsx - Category: Media/Gaming - Model type: Marketplace / GMV - Funding round: Seed - Funding: $1M - Founded: 2017 - Geography: US-focused, but Hustle Con drew attendees from 26 countries. [DECK slide 6] - Customer: B2B ## About the company 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. ## What's included - 5-year monthly revenue build with stage-appropriate growth assumptions - Full P&L, headcount plan, and operating-expense schedule - Cash-flow statement, runway, and burn-rate tracking - Valuation via exit multiple with a DCF cross-check - Returns analysis with MOIC and IRR - Unit economics including CAC, LTV, payback, and cohort retention ## 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: 1. **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. 2. **Events:** Ticketed conferences and monthly events (Hustle Con model). Revenue generated over 16 months cited. 3. **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:** 1. Assumptions - all drivers in one place 2. Subscriber Build - monthly cohort: starting base, new adds, churn (if any), ending list 3. Advertising Revenue - list × open rate × CPM × sends/month × ad slots 4. Events Revenue - events count × attendees × avg ticket 5. Products Revenue - placeholder / zero for Year 1 6. P&L Summary - revenue lines, gross profit by segment, opex, EBITDA 7. Dashboard - KPIs: subscribers, open rate, monthly ad rev, events rev, total revenue, EBITDA margin ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the The Hustle financial model free? Yes. The The Hustle model is a free Excel download with live formulas. ### Can I change the assumptions? Yes. The workbook is editable and its live formulas recalculate when assumptions change.